Chandigarh, December 5
'Vanity is my favourite sin', said Al Pacino in a movie "The Devil's Advocate" in which he played the role of the devil.

(Top): The names of Congress MP Pawan Bansal, along with the names of former Mayor Subhash Chawla and former councillor Harpreet Kaur Babla, figure on a plaque marking the inauguration of a green belt in Sector 27 in 2003; and a plaque with the name of Roshan Sunkaria, who served as the MC Commissioner, was installed on a fountain in the same green belt in 2009. Tribune photos: Manoj Mahajan

Vanity, it seems, runs deep among politicians, successive administrators and officials in the city. Be it retired Lt Generals serving as Administrators of this union territory, politicians ranging from MPs to Mayors to relatively unknown councillors or IAS officers posted on deputation in the city, all have and continue to be on a self-glorification spree with their names figuring on plaques marking the inauguration of projects, some of them as ordinary as a small park or a small green belt.

So deep is the vanity that in 2009, a Punjab-cadre IAS officer, Roshan Sunkaria, who served as the Municipal Commissioner of Chandigarh, got an inaugural plaque with his name installed on a fountain in a green belt in Sector 27. Only six years earlier, in 2003, Congress MP Pawan Bansal's name along with the names of a former Mayor Subhash Chawla and Harpreet Kaur Babla, former councillor, figured on a plaque marking the inauguration of the green belt. That made it two inaugural plaques with two different sets of people in the same green belt in a span of six years.

This exercise in self-glorification bordering on vanity is occurring as both an eyesore and a violation of the spirit of the city's edict laid down by Le Corbusier.

Be it former UT Administrators Lt Gen JFR Jacob (retd) and Gen SF Rodrigues (retd) or Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, all of them had installed plaques of their names in the different green belts.

This list also includes former UT Advisers Jagdish Sagar and Pradip Mehra, former MC Commissioner Roshan Lal Sunkaria, former Mayors Ravinder Pal Singh, Subhash Chawla, Pardeep Chhabra, Harjinder Kaur, Anu Chatrath, etc. and number of councillors of the civic body.

Swaran Singh Kamboj, president of UT cadre educational employees union, said there should be some policy for the installation of plaques in green belts otherwise every green belt will have a number of plaques in the names of politicians and bureaucrats.

Shiv Singh, manager with a private bank, said the plaques which were installed by politicians and officials are an eyesore. The MC should stop the use of these plaques for glorifying any individual, he added.

Ravi Chandna, a resident of Sector 38-West, said instead of taking credit of inauguration of green belts by installing plaques, which are an eyesore, officials concerned and politicians should ensure proper maintenance of these parks and green belts.

The city’s VIPs put up several plaques as they went about inaugurating projects, not realising that these would turn out to be eyesores. Politicians, officials and Army officers have left a trail of civic scars. Tribune staffer Rajinder Nagarkoti, lensmen Manoj Mahajan, Parvesh Chauhan and S Chandan take a closer look

‘Politicians made a mockery of exercise’

Chandigarh, December 5
A 14-year-old boy reportedly hanged himself to death after being reprimanded by his parents for consuming drugs. The teenager reportedly used to inhale correction fluid and took the extreme step after his parents scolded him and asked him to mend his ways, the police said.

The incident has also brought to fore the open sale of correction fluids in the city, which has been banned by the UT Administration.

The incident came to light when the teenager's two sisters came home from school and found the his room locked from inside.

He did not respond to their repeated knocks at the door.

They peeped through the window of the room and saw him hanging with a ceiling fan. His parents were away for work when the teenager ended his life.

His sisters called the neighbours. The boy was declared brought at a hospital.

Inspector Diwan Singh said the boy was under the influence of drugs when he took the extreme step.

Chandigarh, December 5
A day after Chandigarh Tribune highlighted an encroachment by member of Rajya Sabha and northern region in charge of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) KD Singh, officials of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation today visited the spot and gave two days time to remove the encroachment.

KD Singh has encroached upon an open space, including the road berm, by constructing a car shelter in violation of MC bylaws outside his house in Sector 9.

Today, officials of the enforcement wing led by an inspector reached KD Singh’s house to remove the encroachment. An MC official said that KD Singh was not in his house. His staff members were not in possession of the keys to the cars and they were given two days time to remove the encroachment, he added.

Dr Praveen Rathee, political secretary to KD Singh, said the MP was in Delhi to attend the Parliament proceedings, therefore they had sought two days time from the MC. He assured they would comply with the building bylaws and would do the needful.

MC Additional Commissioner Lalit Siwach said they would follow the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and would remove the encroachment from public land. MC Commissioner VP Singh was not available for comments.

KD Singh has covered the entire open space in front of the house (H No 159, Sector 9) and converted it into a large parking lot for his swanky cars. The pillars have been erected from outside the boundary wall of KD Singh’s residence, for the car shelter.

Director-Principal of the GMCH-32 Dr Raj Bahadur said, “The issue of poor performance of the Jan Aushadhi Centres was discussed during a meeting of the health committee. It was learnt that there was poor supply of drugs to the stores and at a time not more than 150 drugs were available. Even surgical items are not available at the stores. Another major reason for the lack in popularity of these stores is the fact that some of the medicines produced by the private manufactures turn out to be cheaper at other stores than that at the Jan Aushadhi Centres since the centres purchase them from the PSUs.”

Mohali, December 5
With the Municipal Corporation turning a blind eye, the cable TV operators never bothered to pay ground rent for at least two years and treated the town as their backyard, fixing poles and wires as it suited them. In fact, the civic body does not have any list of the cable TV operators, due to which notices cannot be issued to them for the non-payment of the ground rent . Moreover, the corporation does not have a clear policy regarding the issue.

Surprisingly, the authorities concerned have failed to take note of the lapse on the part of the civic body. Sources said a cable operator had approached the civic body for paying the ground rent more than a year ago but the amount could not be collected as it was not clear whether the rules meant for the council or the corporation were

to be applied in this regard . The status of the civic body had been kept on changing from the council to corporation and vice versa over the past two years, and now finally, it has become a corporation.

Moreover, the cable TV operators fixing poles on footpaths, roadsides and even on green belts with impunity. Interestingly, the ground rent for the use of public land is merely Rs 1,000 per year per phase. The residents feel the ground rent should be revised on the basis of the number of poles fixed and strict corporation rules should govern the cable TV business.

Moreover, the cable operators do not seek permission from the civic body for putting up poles and function only according to their own convenience. The poles were put up by certain cable TV operators on the footpath in Phase IIIB1 which were constructed by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority after widening the sector-dividing road at a cost of Rs 5 crore.

There were around 40 cable TV operators, including sub-operators, functioning in the town a few years ago. Their number have come down during the recent years. Despite repeated attempts, the corporation officials were not available for comments. 

False claims
Following news reports published in The Tribune, the Mohali police had earlier claimed that all tents in the town had been removed. But the presence of above-mentioned tents here just belied the claims of the police. 

Panchkula, December 5
The Panchkula Municipal Corporation (MC) has given another two days for the removal of encroachments. They had come up again just two days after a joint team of HUDA and the MC removed the encroachments from outside the houses of bureaucrats.

The encroachment can be seen again in front of House Number 199, residence of former Punjab Chief Secretary Jai Singh Gill in Sector 6, Panchkula. A Tribune photograph

“We have given them more two days. If they don’t clear them again, we will take the necessary action,” said OP Sihag, executive officer of the MC.

The tent outside the residence of former Punjab Chief Secretary Jai Singh Gill had come up again near house number 199, Sector VI, Panchkula. Even the bathroom and kitchen of the staff of Punjab IGP BK Garg have also been erected near his residence in Sector VII, Panchkula.

The MC took the action after the story was highlighted in the columns of Chandigarh Tribune. Encroachments near the residence of Haryana ADGP MS Mann in Sector VI, Panchkula, have been dismantled.

The Panchkula Administration had defied the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and had failed to take any action against the violators. Ram Niwas, Principal Secretary Urban Local Bodies, had also pulled up the authorities.

Chandigarh Tribune had reported in its columns that Garg’s security men had erected six tents with a special bathroom and a kitchen outside his residence. All kinds of facilities, beddings and televisions had been provided in these tents. Similarly, a toilet had been constructed in a park near the residence of Mann, which reportedly was being used by security guards.

Jai Singh Gill had also provided the tent facility to his guards near his residence.

Chandigarh, December 5
A 62-year-old former administrative officer with the the Haryana Government succumbed to injuries today. Chaman Lal Sharma, who retired as the administrative officer, Department of Information, Public Relations and Cultural Affairs, had met with a road accident on December 2 near Kala Gram. The accident took place when he was coming from the Kala Gram Craft Mela with his family and was crossing the road. He was hit by a motorcycle.

Immediately, the PCR had taken him to the GMCH, Sector 32, where he remained in the ICU. After hitting him, the motorcyclist ran away. The police had registered a case of causing death due to negligence under Section 304 A of the IPC. Dhaminder, the motorcyclist, has been booked in the case. Chaman Lal is survived by his wife, daughter and son.

Panchkula, December 5
In the Samjhauta blast case, the security today failed to bring the accused Aseemanand and other two accused to the court here this morning. When they reached the court by afternoon, the judge had gone on leave following which the case was deferred. The case had come up for hearing in the Additional District and Sessions Court

Aseemanand and the other two accused were to be produced in the court but the security could not produce them in the court as the transportation could not be provided on time. It was only in the afternoon that the accused were brought to the court.

By afternoon, the judge had gone on leave. Though Aseemanand and the other accused were produced before the other judge but the case was deferred for the next hearing.

It was on August 9 the NIA had filed a charge sheet accusing two persons, including RSS worker Kamal Chauhan of planting bombs, in the Indo-Pak train, in which 68 people were killed. 

Chandigarh, December 5
The Indo-Swiss Training Center (ISTC) kicked-off its golden jubilee celebrations, here today. Padmashree Chandra Mohan, chairman, Governing Council of Punjab Technical University’s Gian Jyoti School of Total Quality Management and Enterpreneurship, Mohali, addressed the students and ISTC staff .

Recalling his experience with ISTC students, he said students here get an exhaustive practical experience and would do well in the industry.

The foundation stone for ISTC was laid on December 5, 1962, at the Central Scientific Instruments Organisation in collaboration with the Swiss Foundation for Technical Assistance. The purpose was to produce skilled technical manpower to fill the gap between engineers/designers and workmen. It offers diploma courses in several technical disciplines.

Dr Pawan Kapur, Director CSIO said its laboratories and infrastructure were being modernised at an outlay of Rs 34 crore. New courses on robotics and automation, bio-medical, advanced instrumentation technology and computer-aided manufacturing were being introduced. The vision was to transform ISTC into a global technical education centre, he said.

Former ISTC alumni, including Harpal Singh, who was associated with the construction of a 10-storey building within 48 hours in Mohali, also shared their professional experiences and advised students to pursue academic excellence.

Chandigarh, December 5
In continuation of the commitment Christy Clark, Premier of the British Columbia (BC), a province in Canada, made during her visit to India in November last year, to open a new trade and investment office in Chandigarh, her Finance Minister Michael de Jong, will be here on Friday next to inaugurate it at the Canadian Consul-General.

The office, Christy Clark observed, would further strengthen the burgeoning business opportunities between India and the British Columbia. The BC exports to India between January and September this year are up 224 per cent over the same period last year.

Intriguingly, when Christy Clark reconstituted her Council of Ministers on September 5 this year, it did not have any nominee of the Indo-Canadian community. Elections to the British Columbia provincial assembly are due soon. The present ruling Liberal party probably has the strong Indo-Canadian constituency of the province in mind while opening the new trade and investment office here.

The co-location arrangement between the trade and investment office and Consul-General will provide the province with an excellent professional environment to conduct business in a coordinated manner.

Another similar office is being opened in India's financial capital Mumbai. Strong connections of Chandigarh with the Indo-Canadian community would also provide the much-needed fillip to promoting trade and business and cultural relations.

Before leaving for India on a personal-cum official tour of India early this week, Michael de Jong was quoted as saying "We attach great importance to capitalising on the growing bi-lateral business and cultural relations between India and British Columbia. It is essential that we energetically pursue provincial investment opportunities and educational ties with this vast and vibrant nation."

Minister de Jong, who arrived in Amritsar on Monday to fulfil a personal commitment that he had made during his time as Minister of Health to walk the distance between Amritsar and Chandigarh. The walkathon was arranged to raise awareness around the chronic diseases of diabetes and hypertension. The event, however, has now been modified.

The British Columbia Minister was to be assisted with the professional aspects of the health tour by Dr Gulzar Cheema, former Minister of Mental Health for British Columbia and a general practitioner in the Lower Mainland. Moreover, iCON, the Inter-cultural Online Health Network based at the Faculty of Medicine in the University of British Columbia, had promised enthusiastic support and medical expertise to this undertaking.

The BC government had declared that the walking tour of Punjab was a private undertaking by the minister. All costs associated with this undertaking were to be personally borne by de Jong; including the round trip flight to India.

Chandigarh, December 5
Parents made a beeline for schools to buy forms for admission of their children to entry-level classes today.

A woman leaves with her child after buying the form at Bhavan Vidyalaya Junior School in Sector 33, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan

After most of the local schools agreed to follow the common admission schedule prepared by the UT Education Department, the sale of forms started at 9am today.

Bhavan Vidyalaya Junior School, Sector 33, sold around 600 forms for the admission to pre-nursery classes. “The response was better as compared to the last year. The sale of forms will continue till December 15, and later on we will move ahead with the admissions,” said a school official.

Saupin’s School, Sector 32, sold around 300 forms on the first day. “We have received a good response from the residents. There have been over 289 registrations in various categories. We are expecting more parents in the coming days," said Aarti Malhotra, a school spokesperson.

Gurpreet Bakshi of St Kabir School, Sector 26, said in comparison to the last year, more forms were sold on the first day. “This year the competition will be tougher and we are looking forward to admit bright students,” Bakshi said.

The chairman of Vivek High School, HS Mamik, said: “The sale of forms started off well, and like every year we are expecting a good response.”

Chandigarh, December 5
From the next academic session, all the PU-affiliated colleges in Chandigarh and Punjab will be allowed to admit only up to 40 students to the career-oriented add-on courses being offered on their campus. The decision was taken in a meeting attended by various college principals today.

In a bid to provide varied carrier opportunities, add-on courses have been introduced at the undergraduate level, and students can opt for any of these courses while pursuing graduation. However, in absence of any limit set by the PU authorities, many colleges have admitted more than 100 students to such add-on courses.

Gurdip Sharma, principal, GGDSD College, Hoshiarpur, a member of the committee that took the decision of limiting the student intake, said that as per the University Grants Commission (UGC), colleges could not admit more then 40 students in each add-on course; however, many colleges were violating the norms.

The add-on courses being offered by various colleges include mass communication and video reporting, disaster management, banking management, insurance business, entrepreneurship in small business, tourism and travel, event management, animation and graphics and web designing.

The committee also decided that all the colleges will be required to send the internal assessment of students to the university before March 31. The move is expected to help in declaring the results of undergraduate courses on time, which usually gets delayed every year.

The committee also decided that the colleges that are also recognised by the UGC will not have to pay any annual affiliation charges for extension of the add-on courses. At present, PU charges a fee from the colleges.

Patiala, December 5
Second World Punjabi Literary Conference was inaugurated at Punjabi University here today. In his presidential address, Vice-Chancellor Dr Jaspal Singh said Punjabi University was established with a mandate to promote and propagate Punjabi language, literature and culture.

He informed that the university had been instrumental in establishing Punjabi academies in West Bengal and Uttarakhand too.

He requested the Punjab government to take measures for the development of the language, and also discourage obscene literature.

The Vice-Chancellor also urged litterateurs to create quality literature to make Punjabi language, literature and culture popular at the world level

Chandigarh, December 5
The colleges affiliated to Panjab University are facing a dearth of UGC-NET qualified teachers for professional courses, including computer science and applications, fashion technology and library sciences.

While the university remains steadfast on its stand that only NET qualified teachers should be appointed to the colleges, the colleges have expressed their helplessness in filling the posts.

The issue was raised at a meeting attended by principals of all the PU-affiliated colleges recently. Principals had urged the PU Vice-Chancellor to find a solution, so that neither the colleges were forced to shut the courses, nor the standard of education was compromised.

Tejinder Kaur Dhaliwal, principal, Guru Nanak College for Girls, Muktsar, said that the colleges were facing an acute shortage of teachers for fashion designing and library sciences.

“As most of the colleges in Punjab are facing financial crunch, the colleges have introduced professional courses such as fashion designing; however, at the time of recruitment, colleges are unable to attract UGC-NET qualified teachers,” she said. She further said that the university should cooperate with the colleges, and allow candidates from various fashion institutes to teach students.

Another principal said that colleges were not getting qualified candidates for library sciences, following which most of the colleges had recruited teachers who were not NET qualified. “Almost all the colleges have libraries and for filling the posts there is a need for NET qualified applicants; however, there is a shortage of such candidates,” the principal said.

During the meeting, Puneet Bedi, principal, MCMDAV College, Sector 36, had also highlighted the shortage of qualified teachers for computer science and applications. 

Chandigarh, December 5
Members of Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) today submitted a memorandum to the Dean Student Welfare demanding beautification of the Student Centre.

In a meeting with the DSW and officials from the engineering wing, the students demanded that additional benches be installed at the Student Centre, the area be cleaned regularly and more dustbins be installed in the area.

The students also demanded that the construction of the girls’ hostel on the PU South Campus, which has already been delayed by over six months, should be completed at the earliest.

SOPU president Manoj Lubana said that due to the delay in construction of the hostel, hundreds of students were waiting to avail the hostel facility that should have been made available in the current academic session.

Other demands included renovation of the library’s outer section and enhancement of library facilities being provided to the students.

Lubana said that the authorities had assured them of a time-bound implementation of the demands.