Chandigarh, October 19
Ever since he joined the UT police in October, 2010, the 2008-batch IPS officer, Deshraj Singh has caused controversies. While he was recently in news after an Inspector accused him of humiliating and harassing him by repeatedly initiating departmental inquiries against him, lawyers of the district courts had also protested against him following an incident of attack on a naib court in May last year.

Chandigarh, October 19
All is not well with the city’s first 24x7 LPG-driven radio auto-service. Within three years of launching the pink-coloured “Tuk-Tuk” autos, the operators are struggling to keep the business running.

At least 50 per cent of the swanky autos remains off road due to the rising input costs and short-distance travelling by the commuters. The increased cost of LPG, from Rs 26 per kilo in 2009 to Rs 52 in 2012, has put the operators in a tight spot as their request for a hike the fares by at least 58 per cent is pending with the Chandigarh Administration.

State Transport Authority Balbir Singh Dhol, said the request of the radio taxi and radio auto operators for a hike in the fares was being anaylsed and certain queries had been sought from the operators.

VS Dhillon, proprietor of Tuk-Tuk auto service, said they have requested that the fare should be increased from Rs 13 per km for the first kilometre and Rs 8 for every next kilometre to Rs 20 per km. Due to high running costs, including maintaining a 24x7 call centre, the operator is finding it hard to run the business. “I am running a loss of around Rs 1 lakh per month, but still continuing with it,” he said.

Another auto operator said despite their call centre receiving around 300 calls daily, they responded to only 150 calls because short distance travel was making the business unviable.

Dhillon, who is also the proprietor of a radio taxi service, Fab Cab, said the business of radio taxi had not remained as profitable as earlier.

Official of another radio taxi operator, Mega Cab, Arvind , said the profitability in the business has gone down due to soaring petrol and diesel prices.

“Radio taxis are quite popular with the city residents, especially women, as these are a safe option even for moving around at night. The Delhi and Punjab governments have already increased the fares,” said a taxi operator.

The operators lament that the fare was last revised in 2008, from Rs 12 per km to Rs 15 per km. The price of diesel, which was then Rs 31.65 per litre, has now increased to Rs 47 per litre, and another hike in diesel rates is on the cards in the coming days.

Another official said apart from the hike in the prices of fuel, salaries have to be paid to the drivers and other staff and maintenance costs too must to be considered. The profitability of running the cabs in Chandigarh, he claimed, was low due to the short distances. He added that while the demand from residents for the service is high, they do not have a sufficient number of cabs.

Many radio taxi operators have also closed their businesses.

The fares of the taxi cabs were revised in September 2008, and since then the fuel prices have seen increases. The radio taxi services were launched in 2006 with four operators-Mega Cabs, Indus Taxi, Mico Cabs and Eco Cabs. Since then, Mico Cabs and Eco Cabs have stopped their operations, finding the business non-feasible. In May last, Indus Taxi too withdrew their services.

Chandigarh, October 19
Despite having spent more than Rs 3.5 lakh on fumigation in the city over the past two months, the UT Administration has failed to control the spread of the deadly dengue virus.

The rising number of dengue cases in city, having reached 150, has brought to the fore the hollow claims of the UT Health Department about the "effective, preventive measures" against the spread of dengue virus.

According to the officials, fumigation drives have been conducted for 24 days each in the last two months. "One round of fumigation covers three Sectors. We have spent nearly Rs 18,000 per day, conducting two rounds of fumigation," said the Director, UT Health Services, Dr Rajiv Vadera.

While the government hospitals in the city are flooded with patients suffering from high fever, with more than 100 admissions everyday, officials claim to have covered all the Sectors and periphery areas in their fumigation drives. "In addition to fumigation, our officials have been regularly visiting households to educate people on the techniques to prevent the spread of the virus. This year, we have been able to control the outbreak of malaria in the city by cleaning dirty water. However, since dengue virus breeds even in clean water, we had to put in more efforts in education people on avoding storage of water," Dr Vadera added.

The number of patients visiting the OPD at the GMCH-32, everyday has doubled over the past two weeks. At the PGI, more than 30 patients of dengue have been admitted. At the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, the average number of patients with high fever visiting the OPD daily has remained above 500 for the past one week.

Dasehra celebrations go hi-tech in city
Vivek Gupta
Tribune News Service

Artists work on effigies at Sector 31

National AD Ramlila Club in Mani Majra has prepared revolving effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakaran and Meghnad for Dasehra celebrations to be held in the circus ground near the housing board chowk.

“Ram Ki Barat” being taken out in Sector 28, Chandigarh. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

Monu Mehra, president of the club, said that it was for the first time in Chandigarh that revolving effigies of Ravanas, Kumbhakaran and Meghnad were being prepared. The moving effigies would provide a dramatic effect to the festival celebrations, he added.

According to him, artisans from Punjab were specially hired for this purpose. Besides, the revolving effigies, they have also prepared a dummy of ‘Pushpak viman’ over a car which will be used to carry the Ravana to the vmain enue. The height of all the effigies will be around 50 feet, he says.

New sytem to burn effigies at Sector 46

Chief patron, Sanatan Dharma Dasehra Committee, Jatinder Bhatia, said that this year they had arranged a special system to burn the effigies. Rama will come on the stage and shoot arrows to set the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhkaran and Meghnath on fire.

Ravana’s effigy will be special, he says. Soon after catching fire, the crackers will ooze out first from his ears, then from his nose and it will then burst out along with other effigies.

The function will begin with the Lanka Dehan scene, he says. An artificial structure coated with golden paper, resembling Ravana’s Lanka, is being prepared at the venue, and will be burned before the effigies.

The height of the Ravana’s effigy is expected to be around 73 feet, and the other effigies would be 4-5 feet shorter in height, he said. “Last year, too, we had the biggest Ravana, which was 69 feet in hight. The total expenditure involved is around Rs 3-4 lakh,” he said.

Invitation to heads of all religions at Sector 24

Prem Shammi, general secretary of Saraswati Dussehra Committee, Sector 24, says, “We have invited heads of all the religions, including maulvis, priests, and pandits, who will give the message of communal harmony from the stage during the celebrations at the ground in Valmiki Mandir. The height of the Ravana is expected to be around 60 feet.

Effigy sizes to be increased at Sector 17

Secretary of the Sector 17 Dasehra celebrations, at the parade ground, said that the size of Ravana effigy inthe Ramlila will be of 70-75 feet. He aslo said that it would be adorned with all possible decorations.

Chandigarh, October 19
For Ramlila lovers of the city, Saturday will be a major highlight, as the 'Sita-Haran' scene, one of the more popular scenes of Ramlila, is all set to be staged. Ramlila organisers are making special efforts to make it special.

Leading actor of the Ramlila being staged at Sector 7, Sanjay Kumar, said that the fight between Ravan and Jatayu will be held in the air. He said that Sita-Haran and Lanka-Dehan are the two most important scenes.

Ashok Chaudhary, involved with the Ramlila being staged at Sector 20, said that a special set has been prepared for the scene. Besides, special effects will be used to depict the fire in the 'Laxman Rekha' sequence.

Sector 29 Ramlila organisers are also making special efforts to ensure that the scene is memorable. Jyoti Swaroop Bhardwaj, involved in the Sector 29 Ramlila, said that they have arranged a special flying Jatayu. Also, a special light and sound show has been created for the 'Jatayu Sanskar'. According to him, while all scenes are equally enjoyable, this scene sets the motion and is the turning point of Ramayana, and is therefore very interesting to watch.

Sanjeev Khan, from the Sector 30 Ramlila, said that they have designed a special set, and have a flying Jatayu as well.

The Ramlila being held at Sector 17 offers to be different as it has been designed on the basis of a light and sound show. No other Ramlila has a 80-feet wide stage.

Chandigarh, October 19
77 years ago, in 1935, Arjuna Amateur Dramatic Club began staging Ramlila inside the then campus of Panjab University in Lahore. Years passed, the country went through Partition and the university campus kept shifting to different places. But there was never a year when this stage was not lit up during the festivity.

“This Ramlila, in fact, reflects upon the ups and down which the university saw over the years,”[ said Deepak Kaushik, general secretary of the Hari Naam Sankirtan Prachar Mandal under whose aegis the Lahore-born Arjuna Amateur Dramatic Club has been organising this Ramlila on the Chandigarh campus of Panjab University since its inception here in 1956. Kaushik, who is engaged with this Ramlila since 1991, said that after Partition, the university shifted from Lahore to Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Shimla and Solan, before coming to Chandigarh. But the staging of Ramlila continued uninterrupted, he said.

Members of the mandal, who all are from the PU, say that people like Master Khem Raj Behal, Tara Chand Gandhi, and Babu Mohan Lal started the Arjuna Amateur Dramatic Club which was active in staging plays and cultural activities against the British rule. PU employee Rajan Sharma, who is a part of this Ramlila since the age of four, and currently plays Rama, says that the contribution of Prof Lekh Raj Sharma, former head of chemical engineering department, had a big contribution in keeping this Ramlila alive when it moved to Chandigarh, along with the campus, from Solan. “He remained the president of the club for thirty years and inspired several generations on the campus to remain attached to our roots,” he says.

Chandigarh, October 19
A day after UT’s three-member probe committee looking into the PS Shergill’s report on the scam submitted its action taken report with the UT Advisor, Dinesh Sood, the whistle blower in the scam, while terming the outcome of the inquiry as mere an eye wash has announced to move the court on the issue.

The committee has initiated proceedings against eight allotments that have been found to be in violation of the terms and conditions laid down for allotment of booths in the Krishna Market, Sector 41 market.

Dinesh stated that the inquiry committee did not bother go in to the facts of the complaints regarding the allotments made between 2002 and 2007 in the Sector 41 market. He claimed the inquiry committee steered clear of any controversy.

He said he had given list of the booths that were either sold on the GPA basis and had been rented out to other by the allottees of many as it was in violation of the allotment terms and conditions.

“The Shergill report had stated that the financial dimensions of the fraudulent allotment ran into crores of rupees, including money paid to politicians, police officials and officials of the estate office. But the estate office has not bothered to check the facts”, said the whistle blower while adding that there was threat to his life. Meanwhile, reacting to the outcome of the case, Chandigarh BJP President, Sanjay Tandon, said every effort was being made to protect the main persons behind the scam. Rather they are cancelling a few allotments and taking an action against some persons, the inquiry would be mere an eyewash, he said. Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee (CTCC) President, BB Behl, said it was political issue. “The names of certain persons was being unnecessarily being dragged in to the case. The allotments of the booths had been done in a fair manner,” he said.

Chandigarh, October 19
Confusion prevailed between the municipal corporation electricity committee chairman and secretary on the sanctioning of Rs 74 lakh agenda in a meeting held yesterday. Interestingly, in the press release, which was issued after the meeting by the public relations department, it was mentioned that issues of around Rs 74 lakh was approved by the committee on which the Congress councillors, who were also the members of the committee alleged that the chairman of the committee, Arun Sood, who is a BJP councillor had approved the amount without the required quorum in the meeting.

When contacted committee chairman, Arun Sood said he was informed by the corporation officials that to hold the meeting, one third quorum is required which means out of total nine members of the committee three were required. He said that in meeting four members were present so all the issues approved by the committee should be considered as approved. He said that it was strange that the corporation officials were raising the issue about the presence of less members in the meeting.

However, the secretary of the committee, SP Singh, said that as the quorum of the committee was not as per the norm due to which no issue can be considered as approved as members only had discussions.

MC Commissioner, VP Singh, said he is clueless about the issue but if without the required quorum the agenda was approved it will be considered as cancelled.

MC Deputy Mayor, Satish Kainth, alleged that as the BJP councillor had violated the norms of getting approved the issues without required quorum he should resign from the chairmanship of the committee.

Chandigarh, October 19
The Municipal Corporation Chandigarh carried out an anti-encroachment drive at Sector 22 Shastri Market and its outskirt area. The MC team challaned 75 violators for encroaching upon the government land.

The drive was carried out under the supervision of Additional Commissioner, Lalit Siwach, and assisted by Superintendent Kashmir Singh and other enforcement staff of the MCC.

During the drive, all the walls and passages were cleared from the Shastri Market, Sector 22. The team also removed and seized gas cylinders, tables, chairs, readymade garments, deep refrigerators and coolers from the inner passages of the markets. In addition, rehri pheris were removed from the outskirts of Sector 22.

Mohall , October 19
In a bid to ensure health for all, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the government was committed to upgrading the entire health infrastructure to provide the best medical care, diagnostic and treatment facilities to people, especially in the far-flung Kandi and border areas.

Addressing a gathering on the occasion of the foundation stone-laying ceremony of a multi-specialty centre at Sector 82 here, Badal said the government had already spent nearly Rs 350 crore on upgrading the infrastructure in government hospitals at the block, tehsil, subdivision and district levels.

Later, talking to the mediapersons on the sidelines of the function, Badal said the Shruti episode was unfortunate and gave an assurance that the government would go to the bottom of the case to ensure exemplary punishment to the culprits.

The Chief Minister said he had convened a special debate in the Punjab Assembly on the political vendetta issue. He said, “Criticism for the sake of criticism is not at all desirable, but healthy criticism is always welcome”.

When asked to comment on the recent visits of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, the Chief Minister said there would be no tangible impact on the political scenario of the state, especially the prospects of the SAD-BJP alliance in the Lok Sabha elections. Rather, Badal said, his frequent visits to Punjab would make the alliance stronger as people were already fed up with the “arrogant and anti-common man” policies of the Congress-led UPA government.

Panchkula, October 19
You may call it the easy-attitude of people or the messy system prevailing at the Mansa Devi shrine during the ongoing Navaratras due to which some devotees are preferring to pay obeisance and making donations online. Interestingly, most of the devotees are local people who are going for “e-obeisance”.

A total donation of Rs 35,000 has been received online from the devotees. The least amount that has been paid through online is Rs 51.

Though the website was launched in September 2011 to facilitate NRIs, locals, too, are making the most of it. ''It is tiresome to stand in long queues. At times, the cops deputed there add to our woes as they let their relatives jump the queues. Thus, this time we preferred to pay obeisance to the goddess and donate Rs 2,100 online," said Vineet Joshi, a resident of Sector 10.

Parwinder Kaur, an accountant at the shrine, said, ''We are donations online also. It is not just NRIs who are making e-donations, but locals as well. The offerings range between Rs 51 and Rs 21,000. In these three days, we have received Rs 35,000 as online donations.''

Taruni, a resident of Sector 12, Panchkula, voiced similar concerns. “Rather than getting jostled in the long queues and tolerating the misbehaviour of the security guards, it is better to pay obeisance online. No one misbehaves and you pay obeisance from your air-conditioned room,” said Tarini.

''I play a hymn on my mobile phone, log on to the temple website and my entire family pays obeisance. It is the first time that we went for virtual ''darshana''. We did not visit the temple because mismanagement of the shrine board makes things difficult there,'' said Raghav Chaudhary, a resident of Sector 14, Pachkula.

There are other people who are wary of visiting the crowded shrine along with their children during the Navaratras as an infant was kidnapped from the place. ''I did not visit the temple as I was a bit scared to go there along with my little son. Therefore, I paid obeisance online,'' said Raj Singh of Sector 16, Panchkula.

Chandigarh, October 19
Cutting across the party lines, resentment prevailed among the Municipal Corporation councillors, who alleged that Mayor Raj Bala Malik had ignored them while selecting representatives for a one-day seminar on solid waste management, which was held at Nagpur recently. The councillors alleged that before selecting the panel the Mayor did not seek their consent.

The one-day seminar was held at National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur. BJP councillor Davesh Modgil and nominated councillor Surinder Bagha along with the Mayor had attended the seminar. Additional Commissioner Sunil Bhatia, Joint Commissioner Rajiv Gupta and Superintendent Engineer Mukesh Anand were other officials of the corporation who attended the seminar.

Sources said some disgruntled Congress councillors in a meeting had decided that they would bring the matter to the notice of the high command. They also asked why the Mayor had not selected the members of the sanitation committee as it was there subject which was to be discussed during the seminar.

Meanwhile, Mayor Raj Bala Malik said councillors from every party represented the corporation at the event and she was an envoy of Congress party as well a Mayor of the corporation. She said it was her prerogative to select the councillors and there was no need for the participation of another Congress councillor as it would have been a wastage of public money.

Deputy Mayor Satish Kainth said it was strange that none of the committee members were asked for participation. BJP councillor Rajesh Kumar Gupta said he was clueless about any seminar at Nagpur.

Panchkula, October 19
In a tragic incident, a 14-year-old boy suffered serious injuries after he fell off the roof of a Haryana Roadways bus near Sector 6 here today. The boy was rushed to the General Hospital, Sector-6. Later, he was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh.

The driver of the bus did not know that the boy was sitting on the roof and fell off the bus. The boy was rushed to the hospital when a passerby noticed that the boy got injured.

The condition of the boy is critical and he is still unconscious. “The bus took a sharp turn and he fell down. The driver did no know that such incident had happened,” said Rita Malik, an eye witness.

“We don’t even know his name. He has received serious injuries on his back, head and even face. He has suffered very serous injuries,” said a doctor at the PGI, Chandigarh.

Chandigarh, October 19
In order to restrict the delivery of subsidised cooking gas cylinders to three till March 2013 and six cylinders every financial year, the oil companies have upgraded the booking softwares of the LPG distributors of the city.

Besides, the distributors are monitoring the delivery of subsidised cylinders through domestic gas consumer card (DGCC) booklet by entering the details of every delivered cylinder.

AK Bhatia, patron of All-India LPG Distributors Federation, said the oil companies and the LPG distributors has upgraded their booking softwares. He said with every booking of subsidised cylinder, the booking system would generate a slip or cash memo, which would have details regarding the subsidised cylinder.

Varinder Bhandari, booking officer with Shivalik Gas Service, said delivery boys were also mentioning details regarding the cylinders on consumers’ booklets. Consumers would have to produce the booklets to delivery boys while receiving cylinders, he added.

An official of an oil company suggested that the consumer should check the entry made by delivery boy and sign the DGCC booklet. “Consumers should check that the serial number of the DGCC matches with that printed on the cash memo,” the official added.

Meanwhile, The distributors have been carrying out a drive against the people who have connections on more than one address.

Students of Spring Valley School dress up as various characters from the Ramayana in Mohali on Friday. A Tribune Photograph

mohali scan
Dasehra celebrations

The tiny tots of Spring Valley School, Phase XI, Mohali celebrated festival of Dasehra on the school premises.

The children came to the school dressed up in costumes relating to the various characters of the epic Ramayana like Sri Ram, Lakshman, Sita, Hanuman and Ravana. Effigy of Ravana, which was made by the tiny tots and teachers, was consigned to flames. Principal Ravinder Kaur narrated a brief story from the Ramayana.

Later, Inderjit Kaur Buttar, the chairperson of the school, distributed sweets among the children.

Tribune Reporters

Panchkula, October 19
In a bizarre case, the Panchkula police was forced to challan its own PCR vehicle this morning after a ruckus outside the district courts in Sector 1, Panchkula, over the parking of the PCR vehicle in the ‘no-parking zone’. The vehicle was parked in the middle of the road.

“The PCR vehicle was parked in the no-parking zone and even SHO Nupur Bishnoi’s staff car was wrongly parked just outside the district courts complex. We requested the policemen to park their car on the side of the road but they shouted at us and said they won’t remove the vehicle,” said Satish Kadiyan, president of the Panchkula Bar Association.

He said: “We kept requesting the policemen for about half an hour saying that the people are facing inconvenience. But they did not listen to us.”

It was after Nupur Bishnoi and additional SHO Ajay Singh Rana reached the spot and reportedly exchanged heated arguments with the advocates that a huge crowd gathered there. Other members of the bar association also started protesting. As they were engaged in arguments, traffic on the road came to a standstill.

“No one is above the law. Not even the police. If they have violated the rules, why should not they be punished?” added Kadiyan.

The advocates also alleged that the police was unnecessarily making an issue out of a trivial matter.

Panchkula, October 19
The erring driver in whose name the challan was issued was not even carrying his driving licence. Even after such a big scene was created for wrongly parking the PCR vehicle, the police made it a prestige issue after the challan was issued and did not remove the vehicle from that place.

“The driver was not even carrying his driving licence. This shows the extent of the police’s callousness. It shows they feel themselves to be above the law,” said an advocate.

Meanwhile, a senior police official said: “Igot the matter settled and even asked the policemen to challan the PCR vehicle. I am not aware whether the erring policeman was carrying his licence or not.”

Despite the fact that a big scene was created for about one and a half hours, which led to a heavy traffic jam on the road, the policemen did not remove the PCR vehicle from the “no-parking zone”.

“It shows that policemen are so cheeky and stubborn. They made it a prestige issue as to how can anyone ask them to remove their vehicle,” said Vishal Singh, an eyewitness.

“Just because of their ego, there was a heavy traffic jam on the road. ,” said another passérby.

Chandigarh, October 19
The Zonal Youth and Heritage Festival concluded today at Government Home Science, Sector 10, with various enthralling events.

To mark the last day of celebrations, the participants from various colleges showcased their talent in the various dance forms.

The morning session included Kathak performances as well as group dances staged by various colleges. In the afternoon, folkdance, including luddi, sammi and gidda were presented by the students. The chief guest was eminent theatre personality Kamal Tewari, chairman of Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Academy.

Meanwhile, talent unleashed at the DAV College on the third day of the youth festival with scintillating performances. Twelve participants put forward their view points in debate on the burning issue: ‘FDI in retail is the best opportunity for the revival of Indian Economy’.

‘Youth unrest’, another burning issue, was highlighted by the participants in elocution. The folk instrumental, group folk orchestra, orchestra (Indian) and instrumental music mesmerised the audience and shall reverberate in their minds for long.

Mohali, October 19
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today assured the management of the Army Institute of Law (AIL) all possible support to make the institute a deemed university.

Addressing the fourth convocation of the institute, Badal said the AIL’s proposal on deemed university status would go a long way in making it one of the best institutions in the field of legal education.

He exhorted the students to play a pro-active role as upholders of law and justice in the society and reminded them of their foremost duty to bring justice to the downtrodden, the underprivileged and the poor sections. He asked them to be ready to face challenges and shoulder new responsibilities as they had entered a new phase of their life.

Conceding the request of the AIL for starting the LLM classes from the next academic session, the Chief Minister asked the management to send a proposal to him in this regard so that he could take up the matter with the Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala.

As many as 100 students of three different batches were awarded degrees.

Chandigarh, October 19
The Panjab University alumnus staying in different countries of the world will also be able to watch the university’s Founder’s Day celebration live online, as for the first time the university is going to have a live telecast of its function.

PU is all set to celebrate its 130th year of inception on October 20. This year is unique as it marks the university’s existence for 65 years before as well as after India’s partition (1947).

PU officials said people will be able to watch the lectures and celebrations sitting back at their home either by logging on to the PU website or by visiting another website: www.video.Flakes.tv.

As a part of the celebrations, lecture on ‘Interpretation of Early Indian History’ will be delivered by the eminent historian and PU alumna, Professor Romila Thapar, Professor Emeritus, Ancient Indian History, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, Delhi. The lecture would be followed by a panel discussion on the Panjab University Vision

2020 Document. The celebrations will conclude after a one-hour cultural programme. All the events would be telecasted live by the Panjab University.

“This is for the first time that the live telecast of the function will be done for the people who fail to attend the function,” PU officials said.

The recordings of the function will also be available online for the people who missed the live telecast. The alumnus has also been invited for the function, which would be held at the Law Auditorium in PU.

Dera Bassi, October 19
A training-cum-placement drive was organised at Sri Sukhmani, here, by OMST Technologies, Chandigarh.

Over 150 final year students of Electronics and Communication Engineering and Computer Science Engineering participated in the drive for their career guidance and placements opportunities in the company. Harsimran Preet Kaur (HR manager) along with her team conducted the drive.

With the upcoming trends in telecommunication, Sandeep (coordinator telecom), OMST Technologies, Mohali, presented a workshop on 3G, 4G, LTE and WIMAX. The workshop enthused the students to make a future in telecommunication. –– OC