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Major relief for traders
Chandigarh, October 14 Earlier, to make minor alterations inside upper floors of SCOs, the building owner had to get the building plan resanctioned from the estate office. Now, getting the building plan resanctioned is not mandatory. The owners will, however, have to follow the safety and building rules. At present, a large number of building plans related to minor alterations are pending with the estate office. In these cases, sanction has been withheld due to minor additions and alterations in the internal planning of partitions, which has not been sanctioned prior to construction. Confirming the development, Assistant Estate Officer Rahul Gupta said for minor changes, there was no need for prior sanction from the estate office. He said the private architect engaged by the building owner would have to submit a copy of the revised plan prior to the execution of the work to the estate office for record purposes only. He said while doing partitions, the owner had to comply with the building and fire safety rules. The UT Administration order reads, "The initial sanction of the building plan is mandatory. However, resanctioning of plans for upper floors of SCOs shall not be required in case there is any realignment/readjustment of temporary partitions in the existing building. The private architect must ensure that the changes are as per the building rules/ architectural control and he/she shall submit a copy of the revised plan prior to the execution of the work at the site to the estate officer for record and reference. In this case, permanent features such as toilets, stairs, lifts and public health ducts shall remain the same as in the initially sanctioned plan." "Since the problem of non-sanction of partitions also exists in various buildings of the IT Park, the provision in the above mentioned notification may be extended to the buildings of the IT Park to expedite the sanction of various buildings stuck in the revised sanctioned plan due to such changes by IT companies. The estate officer, UT, may accordingly instruct the Plan Approval Committee (Lower and Upper) to sensitise private architects on this issue and clear the backlog accordingly,” the order reads. Welcoming the decision, Charanjiv Singh, president of the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal, said earlier traders were getting notices from the estate office for minor changes in upper floors of SCOs. This decision would provide them a major relief.
No need for sanction
Assistant Estate Officer Rahul Gupta said for minor changes, there was no need for prior sanction from the estate office. The architect engaged by the building owner would have to submit a copy of the revised plan prior to the execution of the work to the estate office for record purposes only
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Women artistes to add colour to Ramlila
Chandigarh, October 14 Interestingly, Neelam Colwin, who belongs to the Christian community and is pursuing her MA in classical dance from the GCG-11, will be participating in the Ramlila in Sector 28 this year. She says the Ramlila provides a great platform to inculcate moral values. On reservations over women artistes' particiapation in the Ramlila, she says our society still has the stereotype image of the Ramlila that the audience generally does not belong to good families. Besides, beacause of the odd hours, security is also a matter of concern for women artistes. However, this mindset needs to be changed, says Neelam, who will play the
characters of Shabri and Surpanakha. Navneet Kaur, who has a doctorate in theatre from the PU and will play the characters of Mandodari and Kaikai in the Sector 28 Ramlila, says Indian folk, especially pertaining to religion, has always been rigid about women's participation. For instance, in Jatra in West Bengal, Kathakali in the South or Yakshagana, predominately performed in Karnataka and Maharastra, there are reservations over women's participation like in the case of the Ramlila in the North. The Sector 22 Ramlila will see six women artistes playing different characters. Four of them, Pooja, Lalita, Babita and Mamta, are participating in the Ramlila for the first time. Law graduate Meenakshi Mehr, who played the role of Sita in the Ramlila last year in Sector 22, will be seen playing several roles this year. She says she gets mental peace taking part in the Ramlila. “I feel that more women artistes must take part in the Ramlila, not only to enrich tradition but also because of the fact that there are several characters which only women artistes can play well,” says Meenakshi. The Sector 20 Ramlila organisers have introduced a woman artiste in their troupe for the first time. One of the organisers, Surinder Sharma, says these days, men artistes often hesitate in playing women characters. Mukesh Sharma, director of the Sector 28 Ramlila, says while conservative mindset is the core issue, the budget for the Ramlila and availability of women artists are also major issues. First timers
The Sector 22 Ramlila will see six women artistes playing different characters. Four of them, Pooja, Lalita, Babita and Mamta, are participating in the Ramlila for the first time
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Ramlila passion for this Panchkula official
Panchkula, October 14 Pawan Sharma is playing the role of Rama for the past thirty-two years and this time Saurabh Sharma, 26, son of Pawan Sharma, will be playing the role of Lord Rama. “From the school time I used to watch the role of God Rama. From the very beginning I had desire to play this role so I am doing this,” said Pawan Sharma. Sharma is working as a senior officer in the Chief Minister Cell at the Haryana Civil Secretariat. Inheriting the role from his father, Saurabh Sharma, who has completed his M Tech from Panjab University, Chandigarh, will be playing the role this time. “I used to play chota Ram and now, finally, I will be playing the role which my father played for years.”
This Dasehra, people of Panchkula will see a talking Ravana. Besides, the people of the city will have an opportunity to witness the tallest Ravana, having a height of 70 feet. “To attract the crowd we have decided to introduce a talking Ravana to get an element of reality. Even the script of Ramlila this time is quite simple so that the youth could get the exact message,” said Vishnu Goel, chairman
of Mata Mansa Devi Charitable and Development trust. “Instead of sanskrit words, we have used simple hindi words so that it is not difficult for people to understand the meaning of dialogues,” said Sandeep Gupta, general secretary of the group. Introducing a high-tech Ramlila this time, the pushpak viman will be the most attractive thing. Special seating arrangement
have also been made.
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Run over by car, PEC student dies at PGI
Chandigarh, October 14 The girl succumbed to her injuries at the PGI today. The police has arrested first-year engineering student Piyush Bhadhari in a case of causing death due to negligence under Section 304-A of the IPC. The case has been registered at the Sector 11 police station. The mishap occurred at around noon on October 11 when Charu, a third-semester student (production), was walking towards her hostel along with two of her friends. An Alto car (CH01 AD 1711), being driven by Piyush, came speeding towards the three of them. While Charu’s friends had a narrow escape, she was run over by the car. It later came to light that Piyush was learning how to drive when he lost control of the steering wheel. Charu was taken to the PGI, where her lungs were found to be severely damaged as a result of the accident. She succumbed to her injuries today. Charu is survived by her parents and a younger brother. She was a resident of
Panchkula.
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A promising career cut short
Chandigarh, October 14 "Roads in the city are not safe.
I got her admitted to a hostel so that she could concentrate on her studies and was saved of the hassles of commuting daily from our Panchkula residence to PEC in Sector 11, Chandigarh. Little did I know that she will be killed on the college campus," said a wailing Ajay Mehta. He said his daughter last came home two weeks ago. A promising student and IAS aspirant, Charu Mehta was worried about her studies and missing her classes even on the deathbed. Such was her devotion towards studies that while lying critically injured at the PGI, she asked her father about the lectures she will miss during her stay in the hospital. "I kept talking to her until last evening and all she was worried about was her lectures. 'Papa, lectures ka kya hoga'," Charu had asked her father in the hospital yesterday. "She wished to top the civil services examination. She kept talking to me after the accident and when she expressed concern over missing her classes, I told her that I will get her photostat copies of all. She was studious and aimed high in life," said Ajay Mehta, who is a senior manager with the State Bank of Patiala. Charu's mother is an engineer and works with Bharat Electronics. Her brother is a student of Class XII.
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Dengue: Authorities yet to get their act together
Panchkula, October 14 Though they have been informed about dengue cases, the authorities have been unable to detect the source. Dr Anil, Panchkula malaria officer, said, “I will check the area. We have to take permission from the head of the department to get sprays and fogging done when the cases are above moderate.” Yesterday, 16-year-old Devinder Vadera, a resident of Sector 10, had died due to dengue at the PGI, Chandigarh. A nullah in the area has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. No fogging has reportedly been done in the area. Messy conditions and wild growth surround these houses. He said two to five cases were considered as moderate. “The Rajiv Colony is located adjacent to these houses. That is why these houses have been attacked by this vector-borne disease,” he said. “Humid conditions prevail in the area. Every time people of the colony throw water in the area, it becomes
a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The administration also has a big role in checking dengue,” said another doctor. “My children are suffering from dengue. Three of my neighbours are also suffering from the disease. The local chowkidar is also down with dengue,” said Pawan Sharma, a resident of Sector 17, Panchkula. “The authorities seem to be sleeping. Are they waiting for more casualties in Panchkula? We are suffering because of no fault of ours. If they get continous fogging and sprays done, people won't suffer,” said Lakshmi Datta, a resident of the area. Executive Officer of the municipal corporation OP Sehag said, “We provide all requisite material to them like kerosene. I am not aware why they don't get fogging done.”
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Spread of dengue belies UT’s claims
Chandigarh, October 14 Though the officials claim to have initiated regular fumigation in the city ahead of the rainy season, more than 123 residents have been afflicted with dengue this year, against 73 cases last year. According to experts at the PGIMER, dengue has become a disease as common as malaria, though its (dengue’s) virus has undermined the effect of the available vaccines, rendering the disease incurable. Dr Naresh Sharma, Head of the anti-malaria unit, said fumigation drives had been conducted in all parts of the city, including the periphery areas, for the past two months. However, sources revealed that fumigation drives were not initiated in the city until the middle of September when more than 70 cases of dengue had already been reported in the city. It was only in the periphery areas where fumigation was done regularly ahead of the rainy season. The officials, on the other hand, said it was a lack of awareness among the residents which is to blame for the consistent rise in the number of dengue cases in the city this year. “Following special inspections conducted by our teams at the residences of the persons afflicted with dengue, we found that a majority of households had not covered vessels in which they had stored water. This appeared to be the key reason for the breeding of dengue mosquito,” said Dr Sharma. This year, more than 141 cases of malaria and 187 cases of dengue from the region have been reported at the city hospitals, in addition to two deaths caused by dengue.
Fact file
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open house response
While the councillors are people’s representatives in the Municipal Corporation and are accountable to the electorate, the officials are not. These officials, from Commissioner to low-rung staff, do not obviously have people's welfare on their minds when they choose a different line of action on a given issue.
This conflicting attitude between the two working arms of the corporation more often impedes the progress of many ongoing welfare schemes. Since the government employees are on deputation, they have different sets of priorities and want to pursue them in their own way and do not consider them to be subservient to the elected councillors. The remedy of this malady lies in the introduction of a system wherein two sets of ACRs are initiated for all the officials of a corporation. One by their immediate boss and the other by the Mayor/or the councillor of the area concerned. Both these ACRs will have equal impact on the next promotion of the each employee. Such a system is bound to bring an attitudinal change among officials. The result will be both the working arms of the corporation will start cooperating with each other on the solution to a given problem. When this happens House meetings will be conducted in more congenial atmosphere. — SC Luthra Mani Majra Councillors should mind their language
It is sad that meetings of the Municipal Corporation on some important agenda are not being held due to differences among the elected representatives of the House and the officials. As a result, important agendas of interest to the residents and the city have remained unresolved. It is unfortunate that the use of objectionable language by one of the councillors against the officials has become a reason for the ugly spat among them. It would be in the interest of the residents of the City Beautiful that the councillor concerned apologises for using abusive language against the officials of the MC so that this ugly episode is resolved once for all. Let the House take up all the pending issues and decide the same at the earliest. The councillors and the officials of the MC should be sensible and mature enough to allow the House to function in a responsible manner. The sooner the issue is resolved the better it is. — RK Kapoor Chandigarh Common man is suffering
The unruly behavior of Councillors has become quite common. The recent incident of a walkout by the MC officials during a House meeting has drawn a lot of criticism. Any breach of the code of conduct and use of derogatory language in the House should not be tolerated. If any such incident occurs, the councillors should attend the House in a disciplined way and such matters can be properly taken up with the executive head. A walkout is no solution, rather it is an insult to the entire House and can lead to more trouble. It is the common man who is suffering because of their attitude. Most of the projects approved a long time ago in the House have not been allotted to anybody till date. With many projects hanging fire, the job should be handed over to the councillors of the respective areas and they should be provided with adequate funds and staff to speed up the projects. — Dr Shruti K Chawla Chandigarh Elected representatives have the right to question
Elected representatives have every right to make questions and seek answers from officers. After all they have to be answerable to people. Councillors using words "nikamme" or "sarkari jamai" should be avoided. I am of the opinion the general public is in anguish over disruptions in the House over the issues raised by the councilors. The Ministry of Home Affairs should implement the rule, “no work, no pay”, for councillors and officers if minimum hours of business are not transacted. — Sachin Sharma Chandigarh Walkout by officials condemnable
It was a black day in the history of MC and the officials should not forget that they are public servants. They should learn to bear criticism. People look at councillors for development works and they are answerable to the public. Despite several reminders for the execution of work, these officials delay them without any reason and keep on putting objections. Strict action must be taken against the erring officials for indiscipline and unruly behavior so that the act is not repeated. The House is in its first year and has witnessed several heated debates, during which nasty comments had been made by both the sides. Being government servants, they do not have any right to walk out of the House. — Vineet Kapoor Panchkula Immature act by
MC officials
It was very immature on the part of the officials to walk out of the MC House. Earlier also such disputes had arisen. The MC officials need to be responsible and answerable to the councillors because the latter represent the common people. The residents’ problems reach the House through elected councillors. The councilors have the right to know about the details of the ongoing development work so that they can act accordingly. A problem needs to be discussed in the House instead of staging a walkout and making a mockery of democratic institutions. — Isha Dahiya Panchkula Walkout from House
very unfortunate
The ruckus that was witnessed between the councillors and the officials of the corporation after which the officials staged a walkout from the House can at best be described as highly unfortunate. Both the parties should have shown maturity while deliberating on the issues relating to the citizens’ health. Water supplied by the municipal corporation has been more often than not found contaminated. Muddy water supply, both to the sectors and colonies, has been often reported. Chlorination sets installed at many tube-wells have been non-functional. The action of the officials can not be justified from any angle. — Satish Chandra Sharma Chandigarh Cooperation need
of the hour
This has not happened for the first time. The MC officials had also walked out of the House on August 29, 2011, when they boycotted the House proceedings. Consequently, a huge amount of taxpayers’ money had been wasted and developmental in city suffered tremendously. This reflects the Municipal Corporation, the only elected body for the UT of Chandigarh, is not doing well. There has already been a serious setback to civic amenities for a considerable time.
— SK Khosla Chandigarh Open House Question
Dengue: Who is to blame, the administration or the residents themselves? Is sensitisation enough or what else should be done to combat the disease that is spreading as frequently as malaria? Send your suggestions to
openhouse@tribunemail.com
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Gandhian ideas expressed through dance
Chandigarh, October 14 India’s leading contemporary dancer Geeta Chandran’s abstract solo dance performance at the Tagore Theatre on Sunday evening was like pulling the warp and weft of ideas, beautifully assimilated to recreate Mahatma Gandhi's vision for change. Based on the theme “Gandhi: Warp and Weft”, Geeta’s performance had a tapestry of Gandhian ideas, interpreted through her rhythmic and powerful dance movements, which flowed ceaselessly from one concept to another. The performance broadly comprised of six concepts taken from Gandhian philosophy, woven thread by thread and reflected through the physical gesture. First came the concept of religious unity which saw Geeta creating a divine narration on the stage through her movement in consonance with the soothing music. The second section, ‘Celibacy’, probed Gandhi’s experiment to set aside desires of the material things. The highlight was her transformation from soulful movements to strong physical vocabulary as she began exploring the theme ‘Satyagrah’, inspired by the Gandhi’s prison writings, his mass civil disobedience and movements like the Dandi march. She was aggressive yet pained as she explored another section on caste oppression and prejudice. The concluding section, 'Khadi', examined Gandhi’s belief for ecological sustainability and balance. Throughout her performance, which was organised by the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Kala Academy, she incorporated classical bharatanatyam
as well as contemporary movements, and brought to the fore the variation
of her bodily gesture as well as her mental transformation.
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Kartarpur to house memorial to freedom fighters, says Badal
Mohali, October 14 The memorial would be established in memory of all those who had laid down their lives during the freedom struggle and would inspire the coming generations. He said the state government would soon start work on the “Jang-e-Azaadi” memorial. Work on the Rs 100 crore-memorial at Kartarpur would be completed in two years after its commencement. The Chief Minister said a memorial would also be made to Shaheed Udham Singh at Sunam. He said realising well that it was the duty of the state government to acquaint the youth with their rich cultural heritage, it had erected Virasat-e-Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib, the “Chhota Ghallughara Kahnuwan Chhambh Shaheedi Memorial” at Kahnuwan, the Wadda Ghallughara Memorial at Kup Rohira and the Fateh Burj at Chhapar Chiri. He said the government had set up the
Khalsa-e-Virasat complex at a cost of Rs 400 crore. More than 8,000 visited the complex
every day.
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paver blocks
Mohali, October 14 Kewal Krishan, a resident, said that it was difficult to take vehicles in and out of their houses due to the incomplete work. The corporation in the area had not undertaken any work for more than a week now, he complained.
— OC
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CHANDIGARH SCAN
Elected
Contesting for the post of president, Sanjeev Verma won the election with a huge margin, securing 1100 votes. Anil Saini won the election for the post of vice president by defeating four candidates. Manoj Koundal defeated Rajinder Bhatia to bag the post of general secretary by securing 1174 votes. Vinod Dhatterwal won the election to the post of secretary by defeating candidate Ajay Kumar by 878 votes. Mohinder Pal and Naresh Kumar defeated their rival candidates to win the posts of joint secretary and sports secretary respectively. Jasbir Singh won the elections for the post of cashier by securing 1044 votes.
Awarded
Allengers Medical Systems Limited, a Chandigarh-based company, has been awarded the Engineering Export Promotion Council award for medical and surgical equipments and orthopaedic appliances for two consecutive years, 2009-10 and 2010-11. Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal gave away award to the company's chairman-cum-managing director, Suresh Sharma, and RS Kanwar, executive director (overseas operations) at a function in Jalandhar recently. Fun time Students of Cubs Club Chandigarh went on an exhilarating ride with 40 children of Jai Durga Deaf & Handicapped Children Welfare Centre, Chandigarh on a "Hop-on, Hop-off" bus. The ride took the children on a half day tour of the City Beautiful starting from Shivalik View Hotel in Sector 17. This was a small initiative from the children of Cubs Club to get to know these children and make friendship with them.
Summit
The CII organised 'EduSummit', an event to discuss issues related to higher education, here today. The event was held in association with the Haryana government. The summit brought together academicians, corporates, financers, educational consultants and students to deliberate on how higher education can be made affordable. Speaking on the occasion, Dhanpat Singh, Financial Commissioner, technical education, Haryana, said that quality education is the key to inclusive growth and empowerment of a large section of population. Amongst others present on the occasion were Arun Grover, Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University.
Abacus competition
Participants from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir took part in the National Level Abacus Competition held today at Lajpat Rai Bhavan, Sector 15, Chandigarh. During the competition, they gave a live demonstration of their mental skills. The Education Minister of Punjab will award the winners on October 28.
Interactive session
Taaleem College of International Studies, TCIS, conducted an interactive session on "Lessons in Leadership and Globalisation". Peter Maslen, was the eminent speaker. While addressing the session, Peter Maslen, CEO, Knowledge Universe, said that while the half of Silicon Valley in the USA is run by Indian students, the quality of rural primary education in India still needs to be addressed. In India nearly 100 million children do not go to school, while another 30 million go to schools only for the mid-day meal.
Meeting
The Indian Ex Services League Chandigarh is holding its elections on October 28. Sq ldr GS Deol, General Secretary of the League, said the elections for the executive committee and other office bearers would be held after the annual body meeting to be held at Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir Auditorium, Sector 24.
350 examined at cancer camp
A two-day free health checkup and mammography camp organised by the Chandigarh Breast Cancer Trust concluded today at Moti Ram Arya Senior Secondary School in Sector 27. An exhibition of educative posters on breast cancer, and the causes, symptoms, treatment etc of the disease, was on display. Around 350 individuals were examined and around 100 mammography scans were performed during the camp.
Hailed
A delegation of Property Consultants Association, Chandigarh, consisting of Rajesh Walia (chairman), Kamaljit Singh Punchi (senior vice president) and AP Singh, met the Finance Secretary, UT Administration, Chandigarh, and welcomed the decision to allow the use of basement for commercial purposes without taking any conversion charges. The delegation requested the Finance Secretary to expedite the process of issuing NOC to the GPA holders, or to wave of the clause of issuuing of NOC on the GPAs which have been executed prior to the Supreme Court orders. Rajesh Walia requested the Finance Secretary to allow need-based changes in the commercial buildings and to allow conversion of lease hold commercial properties into freehold. Kamaljit Singh Punchi requested the Finance Secretary to allow permission to mortgage of lease hold commercial properties and start registration of property consultants on PUDA pattern.
MOHALI SCAN
Union group formed
In the wake of the forthcoming elections of the PSEB Employees Union, a new group, comprising of Prabhdeep Singh Bhopa Rai, Sanjeev Kumar, Jagjit Singh, Harpel Singh and other members, has been formed to highlight the ‘anti-employee’ decisions taken by the management of the PSEB. Highlighting the issue, the group members said the formation of DPC, political interference, mass transfers, no overtime incentive, due leaves, etc were the issued on which the employees would be asked to vote.
Punjabi film team visits college
A team from the Punjabi Film "Sadi Wakhri Hai Shaan" visited the Doaba Group of Colleges and regaled the students with live performance of some of the highly impressive scenes of the movie as well as its title song. The team members interacted with the students about the various aspects of film making and declared that their film represented the true Punjabi culture. Director general of Doaba Group of Colleges, Dr Daljit Singh gave a floral welcome to the film personalities and conveyed her best wishes for the success of the film. — Tribune Reporters
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Business workshop at PU concludes
Chandigarh, October 14 The first day of the event saw a great response, with over 65 participants pitching in over 33 ingenious ideas. The top ten ideas which included interactive white boards, level tracking system via GPS (which would greatly reduce the waiting time of commuters using public transport), online workshops and career counselling for students, online tiffin service, and online portal for patients. On the third and final day, the students went for market research and collected feedback from their prospective customers. This data was further compiled, integrated and transformed into their business plan. The teams then presented their research before other teams in an elaborate manner. In the evening, a panel of judges selected the winning team which would be provided with Rs 50,000 as a seed fund to transform their idea into a business venture.
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Vivek High School celebrates founder’s day
Chandigarh, October 14 The play is set in a unique, rat-ridden town whose residents are in immense distress. Here they are introduced to the all-impressive personality of Pied Piper who has a solution to their problems. Trailing the Pied Piper was an enriching experience for students and a joyous journey with highs and lows, laughter and tears, a journey which taught the value of fulfilling promises, interwoven through skilful acting, melodious singing and graceful dancing. Students of other classes too put up an impressive show through different cultural performances which was enjoyed by the parents as well as the school staff.
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