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SMSes stir
ut ssp into action
Chandigarh, December 19 By 11 pm, in response to a wireless message, 195 policemen led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Roshan Lal travelling in 55 Police Control Room (PCR) Gypsys, three trauma vans, a few other assorted vehicles and a large number of motorcycles had congregated at the roundabout located at the junction of the city’s two prominent most roads - the Jan Marg and the Madhya Marg - much to the curiosity of scores of passersby. Informing the policemen about the ladies’ night out and the vulnerability they could face, Naunihal instructed the policemen to set up barricades across the city and check every vehicle being driven by youngsters. “If you see a girl or a woman standing or walking alone, then stop and ask her if she is alright. Escort her home if she does not have a ride,” said Naunihal. It was evident that the sordid gang-rape incident in New Delhi was uppermost on the SSP’s mind. “How many of you have heard of the tragic incident in Delhi?” he then went on to ask the policemen. All the policemen present raised their hands. “Such meetings also help us to carry out a check of our forces and equipment,” he told The Tribune. “We can check whether the Gypsys are in order,” he said adding “such a show of force also adds to building public confidence”. Interestingly, in response to queries, three policemen pointed out that their wireless sets were not functioning properly while some others reported problems with their PCR vehicles. “We will ensure that the pubs and discotheques shut down by 1 pm,” said Naunihal, adding that the time between 1 am and 2 am was the most vulnerable since that was when women would be returning home. The meeting ended at 11.45 pm.
No women police personnel
Interestingly, while the entire exercise was aimed at protecting women, policewomen were conspicuously absent.
No cop on jan marg after one hour of meeting
An hour and 15 minutes after the SSP issued directions to policemen, not a single policeman was seen on entire Jan Marg at 1 a.m. This despite the fact that the SSP had said not a single car would be allowed to pass through the city roads without checking
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NGO holds protest against Delhi gang rape
Chandigarh, December 19 People from all walks of life joined hands to show their solidarity with the victim. Davesh Moudgil, president of the organisation, and general secretary Jasjyot Singh Almast jointly issued a statement. They said: "The Central government should make stringent laws. There should be death sentence for such a heinous crime and justice should be quick. Quick judgement on such issues reinforces the faith of people in our legal system."
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City ‘unsafe’ for women pedestrians
Chandigarh, December 19 During a random survey conducted by Chandigarh Tribune across three sectors, Sector 36, 15 and 34, where a large number of paying guests reside, many of these girls interviewed shared incidents where they were harassed while walking on the road. One of the girls residing in a PG accommodation narrated an incident where eve-teasers took away her mobile phone when she made an attempt to dial “100” for her rescue. There were some other incidents when girls were almost pulled inside vehicles while walking on roads near their residences. Anandita Puri (name changed), a BA student in MCM DAV College, Sector 36, while returning to her residence from the market in the same sector, said: “Since I do not have any vehicle here, I always preferred to walk to reach nearby locations. About six months ago, I was stopped by a group of men in the evening while I was walking along the road in front of the Fragrance Garden. They first passed some lewd comments while slowing down their car. As I answered back and took my cellphone out to dial “100”, one of them came out of the vehicle and rushed towards me and took away my cellphone.” “Thankfully, a passerby noticed the scene and stopped his car. They somehow felt that the man was known to me and ran off immediately. I even lost my cellphone as they did not return it. Since that day, I always ensure that somebody accompanies me in the evening in case I go out for some work,” she added. Maneesha (name changed), a paying guest who takes coaching for engineering entrance from a Sector 34-based institute and resides in the same sector, said: “I came to Chandigarh from my hometown, Bathinda, in the beginning of this year. Since my institute is at the walking distance from my accommodation, I used to walk alone initially. But I have started taking an auto ever since a group of men tried to pull me inside the car while I was returning from the institute. This incident happened around a month ago. I was moving towards my home walking on the road opposite to the main market in Sector 34. Suddenly, a car stopped near me and the man sitting at the back seat tried to pull me inside. I picked up a piece of brick and hit him hard. Within seconds, they fled from the spot. But the scene still haunts me.” The inflow of girl students from the neighbouring states has increased in the city over the past couple of years. Other eight girls interviewed in the markets across these sectors had similar stories to share. Many of them said they keep pepper spray in their bags for safety since many of them could not afford to hire autos for commuting every time.
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Schoolmates pose no threat, say girl students
Chandigarh, December 19 Girl students said more than focusing on students, the administration and the police should check eve-teasing by elderly people in the buses. A class X student of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 10, who commutes through the local bus, said she felt safe when boys of her class travel in the same bus because the possibility of eve-teasing was far less while travelling in a group. “There should be some mechanism to check passengers in the buses who are not known to us and are mostly involved in eve-teasing,” a student said. The girls said if the administration actually wanted to ensure the safety of girl students, then the buses meant exclusively for girl students should be started. A class XII student of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16, said outsiders were mostly involved in eve-teasing and that could only be checked with the deployment of the police. “Mostly, boys who are not the students of our school tease girls outside the school campus and in the buses,” the student added. Meanwhile, the students said the 10-minute gap between girls and boys to leave the school was useless till the frequency of CTU buses was improved. Even after coming out of the schools five minutes later, boys could indulge in eve-teasing with girls waiting for buses at bus stops. The students, studying in government schools, situated in the prominent sectors of the city, have to wait for at least 15 minutes to catch a bus. A class X student of GMSSS, Sector 16, said the bus service also needed to be strengthened unless there would be no point in leaving the schools early. “It hardly matters if boys leave the school five minutes late. The girls who go back to their homes with their parents or those who ride a bicycle will leave, but the girls travelling by buses will have to wait for buses at bus stands,” a student said.
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UT police steps up security
Chandigarh, December 19 The police has deployed PCR vans outside all popular haunts in Sectors 9, 10, 11, 15, 22, 26 and Sector 35. The police held special nakas and challaned a number of rowdy youths for rash driving.
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SP (Traffic) stuck in jam
Chandigarh, December 19 Vehicles were stuck on all the four sides of the Matka Chowk for as far as 1 km. Commuters faced a harrowing time as they were stuck for more than 45 minuets in the jam. The SP then got down from his official car to take stock of the situation. It came to light that a car had broken down in the middle of the road, which led to the traffic jam. Chaudhery then instructed the traffic staff deployed at the roundabout to clear the jam immediately and spent close to 45 minutes himself clearing the jam. “Such a huge traffic jam in the city in the afternoon is totally unacceptable. I immediately pulled up the Inspector on duty as there was no extra force deployed on the stretch and the Traffic Control Room was not informed. A smooth flow of traffic was soon restored. We are making all efforts to see that the city traffic remains smooth with minimum hassles,” said the SP (Traffic).
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Joint team removes P’kula encroachments
Hina Rohtaki Tribune News Service
Panchkula, December 19 “We were informed that encroachments were back again and today not only tents but also temporary kitchens and toilets were dismantled,” said OP Sihag, Executive Officer of the MC. Tents pitched outside former Punjab Chief Secretary Jai Singh Gill’s residence near house number 199 in Sector 6, Panchkula, and outside former Punjab Additional Director-General of Police SC Jain’s residence in Sector 7 were removed. The beddings, coolers and other belongings kept inside the tents were thrown aside. The temporary bathroom, kitchen and tents put up by the security staff of Punjab Inspector-General of Police (IGP) BK Garg near his residence, house number 1205 in Sector 7, Panchkula, were also dismantled. Though the team had got the encroachments removed two days ago, the encroachers pitched the tents again. Interestingly, there were efforts to pitch the dismantled tents again at Gill’s residence but the team came back and got the place vacated. “A notice has also been issued to Gill for flouting the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. No one is allowed to violate the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” added Sihag. The Chandigarh Tribune had reported about the encroachments made outside the bureaucrats’ houses in Panchkula.
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Drug overdose death Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 19 The police is also investigating whether the arrested drug suppliers used to supply drugs to other college students as well and are finding out the nexus. Radhika Vashisht, a BA-II year student of the college, died of overdose of heroin yesterday. Radhika, a resident of Ambala, was staying as a paying guest in the city and consumed the drug at a hotel in Sector 22 where her friend Shaina had called her. The police today procured two-day police custody of the accused, Gagandeep and Saurabh. The police told the court that they had to take the accused to Amritsar to find out the source of the drugs. The police said the two accused threw away her mobile phone after she died. It said they had to trace the victim’s mobile phone after interrogating the accused. The police said the girls had earlier met the drug supplier at a CITCO-run eating joint in Sector 10 near the Leisure Valley. Radhika was habitual
to drugs
Police investigations into the death of the college student revealed that this was not the first time that Radhika had consumed a heavy dose of drugs. Her parents told the police that she had a similar attack of vomit of blood 15 days ago, too. “This was not the first time she consumed drugs. Our investigations have established that she was habitual to drugs,” said the investigating officer. The accused,
Gagandeep, while talking to mediapersons outside the district courts, said he was not a drug supplier but himself a drug addict. “I never knew
Radhika. She was introduced to me by a common friend as she wished to buy drugs. I purchased 6 grams of heroin from a person in
Amritsar. Radhika had purchased 2 grams of heroin from me,” he said. The accused said he could never imagine that she would die of drug overdose. The police had registered a case under Sections 304, 328, 34 of the IPC and 21, 22 of the NDPS Act at Sector 17 police station against
Gagandeep, a resident of Sector 24, Chandigarh, and Saurabh, a resident of
Amritsar. Radhika was rushed to the Sector 16 hospital in an unconscious state on December 17 night. She died the following day at the PGI due to drug overdose. She had consumed a heavy dose of heroin at a hotel in Sector 22 here where she was called by her friend
Shaina, a dancer. The police has recovered 4.5 grams of heroin from the possession of the accused.
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UT submits draft copy to Shivraj Patil
Rajinder Nagarkoti Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 19 UT chief architect Sumit Kaur submitted the draft copy today. Patil has given 10 days' time to the chief architect to submit the final copy. It was on December 23, 2009, when the Punjab and Haryana High Court had first directed the administration to finalise the plan within 12 months but the administration had sought number of extensions from the court to complete the plan. A senior official of the UT Administration said they would first notify the draft policy and thereafter would sought objections from the public. The administration will give one-month time to the residents to submit their objections on the master plan. Finally, after considering the suggestions and objections of the residents, the administration will notify the final master plan and will submit the copy to the High Court as well. The Department of Urban Planning has prepared a draft master plan, taking into consideration the future requirements of the residents. The master plan proposes development of residential, commercial, industrial, public,semi-public areas, traffic, transport and green spaces.
Commercial
The administration has laid a lot of emphasis on providing better commercial infrastructure. Presently, there are no marriage palaces in the city. To address the problem, the area near Dadu Majra will partly be developed for marriage palaces and other commercial activities. Two freight stations have been proposed at Industrial Area, Phase I, and near the railway track. A warehouse in Sector 56-west has also been proposed. The administration is planning to develop a commercial belt along north of Vikas Marg and to shift motor market from Sector 28 to Industrial Area, Phase II.
Residential
Under the residential segment there will be expansion of Dhanas village. A piece of land, measuring 92.47 acres, has been proposed for rehabilitating slum dwellers and general housing in Maloya village. According to the plan, there is a provision of rental accommodation in Industrial Area Phase I.
Public/semi-public
For injecting new lease of life in the health sector, an area in Sector 53 has been identified for a trauma centre. Other initiatives in public/semi-public segment include conservation of historic fort at Manimajra, 66 KVA sub-station in Sarangpur and the development of Industrial Area, Phase III.
Traffic and transportation
For the smooth flow of traffic and effective transportation, the authorities have come up with several proposals. A transport/warehousing area in Sector 56-west is being contemplated, while a 100-ft-wide loop has been proposed after extending Shanti Path and Vikas Marg. The other initiatives proposed, include shifting of transport area from Sector 26 to Daria and upgradation of the airport.
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Reality belies Mayor’s claims
Chandigarh, December 19 At a press conference, which was called by the Mayor today to list this year’s achievements, she also took credit of those projects, which are far away from being completed. Though it was Raj Bala Malik’s press conference, the MC officials replied to media persons’ queries. To a majority of questions related to roads, lights, parking, water crisis, the Mayor remained silent as the MC officials gave the answers.
Opposition not invited to press conference
Congress councillors, MC officials and even nominated councillors were invited to the press conference but the
SAD-BJP councillors were not invited. Congress councillors Rana Kashmiri Devi and Gurbax Rawat were not present at the press conference. Reality check Claim: Green belts developed in Sector 50 and 51 Reality: No green belt has been developed in Sector 50 and 51 this year. Claim: Many community parking lots have been set up in different sectors. Reality: Not even a single community parking lot has been set up this year. Claim: Work on an over bridge in Sector 17 is under way. Reality: It was not present Mayor Raj Bala Malik but former Mayor Ravinder Pal Singh who had initiated the project. Claim: Stringent steps have been taken to control the stray cattle and stray dog menaces. Reality: Residents are still facing the problem of stray dogs and stray cattle. In the southern sectors motorists find it very difficult to drive at night as stray cattle keep sitting in the middle of roads. Claim: The birth and death registration system has been streamlined this year. Reality: The functioning of the birth and death registration department has deteriorated. The authorities have stopped SMS alert service, which was beneficial for residents. Besides, the residents are receiving certificates in 20 or 25 days. Earlier, these used to be delivered in three or five days.
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It’s bumper to bumper as vehicles jostle for space
It’s literally a crawl for commuters who travel on the Chandigarh-Panchkula main road to reach their destinations. In the third part of the series on city's traffic chaos, Tribune reporter Hina Rohtaki and photographers Pradeep Tewari and Nitin Mittal take the road and check the ground reality.
“We had looked into the suggestions made by the commuters, To avoid the traffic chaos at the Railway light point, the Chandigarh Traffic Police had conducted a survey and mooted a plan for a flyover, but the same was not approved by the engineering department saying that Chandigarh is a heritage city and such a project was not feasible,” said SP Traffic Maneesh Chaudhary. The slip road from the Sectors 7 and 18 light point in Panchkula merges at the Housing Board Chowk, which already has heavy traffic inflow from Mani Majra and Motor Market. “Auto-rickshaws and buses add to the chaos at the Housing Board Chowk, which is already choked by the inflow of traffic from three sides. As the slip road ends near the bus stop, the traffic comes to a halt,” said Balbir Singh, a resident of Sector 17, Panchkula. It took the Chandigarh Tribune team about three minutes to cross the Panchkula Sectors 7 and18 lights to go towards the slip road. Crossing the Housing Board Chowk to go towards Kala Gram also took another three minutes. During the peak hours, it took four minutes to cross the Kala Gram light point (including waiting at the traffic light).
“ The situation worsens in case of a VVIP visit or if there is an accident. When these VVIPs visit, the routes are blocked resulting in traffic jams,” said Debojit Ghosh, a resident of Sector 20, Panchkula. It took eight minutes to cross the Railway light point. Once the routes get diverted at the transport light point, one towards the Tribune Chowk, second towards Madhya Marg and the third towards Timber market, it just takes one minute to cross the stretch. Choke points Housing Board Chowk, Kala Gram light point and Railway light
point
VVIP visits and accidents a nuisance
The situation gets worse from the Railway light point to Kala Gram point in case of any accident or VVIP visit which results in traffic jams. In such a situation, the traffic is diverted to the slip roads on the left at the Railway light point.
Problem area
Kind of traffic: Office goers,shopkeepers and students. It is not only Panchkulaites but those residing on the outskirts of Panchkula who take this route via Panchkula. Kind of vehicles: Buses, cars, SUVs, auto-rickshaws, two-wheelers, Rickshaws and canters. Trucks have been banned from 8 to 10 am. There is no separate lane for the two-wheelers or cyclists which further chokes the lanes of the four-wheelers.
Who is to blame Heavy inflow of traffic
Since the density of vehicles are more on the three routes (Sector-7/18 light point, Zirakpur and from the Fun Republic side) while going from Panchkula to Chandigarh ther is no other option available like in Mohali.
Administration
The local administration has failed to come up with proper traffic management planning.
Steps that may help
Steps taken to ease congestion
Synchronisation of the traffic lights
In order to avoid heavy traffic, the Chandigarh Traffic Police has done the synchronisation of the traffic lights from the Housing Board Chowk to Transport Chowk again.
Traffic lights switched off during peak hours
The traffic lights at the Railway light point are switched off during the peak hours (as per the vehicular flow). An official in the Chandigarh Traffic Police says that whenever there is a heavy vehicular inflow at any point of time, they switch off the traffic light and man the traffic themselves.
Five police personnel deployed
Five policemen are deployed at the railway light point, including two woman constables, a head constable, a constable and a home guard.
The waiting time at the Kala Gram light point has been lessened and for continuous flow of traffic, the moving time has been increased, since the traffic inflow from Mani Majra is far less as compared to that from Panchkula side.
New slip road at Railway light point
Another slip road has been constructed at the Railway light point so that traffic may be diverted in times of need. RITES survey
A study conducted by the RITES during 2008-2009 showed that the daily traffic volume is the largest on this stretch. Even the number of vehicles on the stretch is the highest as compared to that on the other roads. The total number vehicles near Transport Chowk was 145,157 that on the railway station intersection 141,366 and 148,481, the highest on the Housing Board Chowk. The morning peak hours percentage of the traffic in the city was 10.07 per cent at the Chandigarh railway station, 9.18 per cent near the Transport Chowk and 8.35 per cent at the Housing Board
Chowk. Administration’s take
SK Chadha, UT Chief Engineer Maneesh Chaudhary, SP (Traffic), Chandigarh Mukesh Kumar, Traffic Inspector, Panchkula Commuters speak Vijender Singh, resident, Baltana Neha Sharma, resident, Panchkula Ritu, resident, Panchkula Suresh Kumar, resident, Panchkula
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Rs 20 lakh raised for Patiala hospital
Chandigarh, December 19 Over these years, the foundation, headed by Dr Amrik Singh Chatha, introduced a high-tech ambulance, liquid oxygen plant, digitised X-ray system and a freezer in the blood bank. The alumni, who constitute major part of the foundation, have also set up an inter-com facility in the hospital recently in addition to ensuring the availability of life-saving drugs at the hospital. “We have planned to set up a serai in the hospital for patients and their attendants. The 20-bed serai will also have a cafeteria,” said Dr Amrik Singh Chatha. Dr CS Nandra, one of the key members in the Foundation, said: “Today’s fund-raising event has been a big success. This is the first such event organised in India and the response was wonderful.” Dr Chatha said the foundation had also planned to recruit younger people to enhance the services at the hospital. About 100 volunteers had gathered to attend the event. The money donated by volunteers varied from Rs 1,000 to1,00,000.
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1 challaned for violating cigarette and tobacco act
Chandigarh, December 19 Social activist Pankaj Chandgothia called the police control room against the public advertisement of tobacco products and the police swung into action immediately. This was a straight violation of the Section 5 and 6 of the Cigarette and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003. The police has challned the person, who has put up the advertisement.
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Police slaps Rs 15 crore security bill on PCA
Mohali , December 19 SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar sent a notice to the PCA authorities, stating that from 1995 to 2012 about 35 matches were held at the PCA Stadium and the bill for that period came to Rs 14,74,83,622 . The district police chief also sought help through the Mohali Deputy Commissioner from the Punjab Principal Secretary ( Home) to secure the amount from the PCA. According to the police, Rs 1.84 crore were spent on the security arrangements during the recent IPL matches, held at the stadium, while the rest of the amount was for the other matches . A police official said police personnel from other districts had to be called here to provide proper security to players , visitors and residents during the cricket matches. Sources said though the PCA and the companies associated with the matches made good profit, not a single penny had been given to the police for the security arrangements. However, the PCA has held that the police unnecessarily deploys additional personnel, which increases the expenditure on security and association engages its own security staff in a large number during the matches. Earlier in 2008, the then SSP Ranbir Singh Khatra had sought payment to the police for the security arrangements during matches but the demand went unheard.
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12 cases of misusing govt accommodation reported
Chandigarh, December 19 The inspection teams, comprising officials of the House Allotment Committee and the engineering wing, reported violation of the terms and condition of allotment. During the course of checking, 10 cases of sub-letting and two cases of misuse of accommodation for commercial purposes by unauthorised construction in the courtyards and further to lease them to unauthorised persons have been reported. The officials said the department was in the process of issuing show-cause notices to the defaulters. The official said the government employee, held guilty of sub-letting, would be charged penal rent at the rate of fifty times than the normal licence fee and the employee would be liable for disciplinary action under the relevant conduct rules. Moreover, the rules provide that such government employee will not be entitled to another allotment of government residence during the entire service period. Such drives will regularly be carried out in the future as well.
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MC launches online grievances redressal facility
Chandigarh, December 19 Under the facility, city residents can lodge online complaints to various departments like building and roads, streetlights, enforcement, health and sanitation, horticulture, water supply and sewerage disposal. The MC has provided the facility on the MC's official website.
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Multipurpose stadium at Zirakpur to come up soon
Chandigarh, December 19 Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, said the government would spend about Rs 80 crore to come up with a new international standard sports stadium in the area. In order to nurture the sporting talent at the grass-root level, the stadium would be equipped with all modern facilities. For this purpose, a total of 20 to 25 acres panchayat’s land has been marked and the project is expected to get over with in the span of three years.
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PU to introduce table marking in semester system
Chandigarh, December 19 After the introduction of the semester system at PU and PG courses in affiliated colleges, the answer sheets are being evaluated twice a year, which has doubled the workload on the examination branch. The table marking already exists in annual examination system at the undergraduate level. PU Registrar AK Bhandari, controller of examination, said the teachers had been informed about the table marking and it would help the university in getting the answer sheets evaluated and declaration of results on time. "Since the semester system was introduced, it's for the first time that the table marking will be introduced for the PG courses," Bhandari said. Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) President Mohammed Khalid said that the table marking will definitely help in declaring the semester results on time. "Table checking increases the productivity of a teacher while evaluating the answer sheets at evaluation centre," the PUTA president said. The evaluation process is starting from December 20 and PU aims to finish it by January 15. "We are aiming to declare the results of all the PG courses by February 15," the Registrar said.
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PEC to hold alumni meet on December 22
Chandigarh, December 19 The PECOSA members said they had charted out a slew of events for the day to remember their college days. The said their families would get an opportunity to interact with each other during the event. This year, the batches, who had passed out in 1963, 1978, 1988 and 1998, would be honoured by the PECOSA during the alumni meet. Jaspal Bhatti was also from 1978 batch, which will be honoured this year. The cultural evening, held in September every year, will be dedicated him. The PECOSA members said the felicitation ceremony function would start with the snapshots from Jaspal Bhatti's life. A tribute will be paid to him and Savita Bhatti, Jaspal Bhatti's wife, will be honoured during the event. More than 300 alumni along with their families are expected to attend the event.
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Foundation day
Chandigarh Baptist School, Sector 45, celebrated the 26 years of its foundation here on Wednesday. A flashback of 26 years of the school’s progress was presented through a slideshow. The outstanding students in academics and sports were felicitated during the function. Seven-day function
Government Senior Secondary School, Manimajra, inaugurated seven-day function here on Wednesday. Chief guest Chanchal Singh, Deputy Director (Schools), Bikram Rana, state liaison officer of NSS,Swami Anupmanand from Sri Ram Krishan Mission Ashram inaugurated the function. Christmas celebrated
Students of Green Castle Public School, Sector 47, celebrated Christmas on the school campus on Wednesday. The students decorated Christmas tree with balloons,bells ,gifts and stars. A speech was delivered by the headmistress on the occasion and the teacher dressed as Santa Claus, distributed sweets among the children. Game show
Gian Jyoti Group of Institutions organised a unique game show (competition) “Kaun Banega Champion- KBC”. The show
was planned with an objective to give students an opportunity to test their basic knowledge for the competitive exams, which they are likely to face in future. Bawika, a student, won a cash prize of Rs 1,000 and a scholarship of Rs 20,000 . Skin check-up camp
A skin check-up camp was organised at DAV School, Mohali, by Simply Health Plus Pvt Ltd in association with Max Super Specialty Hospital , Phase VI , Mohali. Dermatologists Dr Rita Dutt (senior consultant dermatology) examined near about 60 students and staff members. Felicitated
Updesh Kaur, headmistress, and Navinder Uppal ,PRT of KV 3BRD Air Force Station, Chandigarh were honoured with the KVS National Incentive Award by the HRD Minister at SR Auditorium, Delhi Cantt, for their outstanding contribution in the field of education. Annual-day function held
The annual day celebrations were held at KV GC, CRPF Mens' Club, Pinjore. Sarbjit Singh, DIG GC, CRPF, Pinjore, started the proceeding with lighting of lamp, which was followed by Sarswati Vandana . The main attraction of the function was the Hindi skit, which was presented by the primary wing. The skit highlighted the present status of grand parents in the family. Prize distribution function
Kendriya Vidyalya, AD Dappar held its annual prize distribution function with on Wednesday. Col Rishi Raj Yadav, Commandant, AD Dappar, and chairman of VMC, inaugurated the function. The children presented a Hindi skit “lapatta ganj mein audition”. English skit “Lost Spring” highlighted the issue of child labour. A visit to old-age home
Students of Shemrock Senior Secondary School visited the old-age home in Sector 15 on Wednesday . During their visit, the students presented gifts to the inmates and organised a small cultural
programme.
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With Panchkula having just three routes to reach Chandigarh, one witnesses heavy flow of traffic on the main
Panchkula-Chandigarh route. The biggest bottlenecks are found on this route as there is maximum inflow of traffic. To travel on the Railway light point, Kala Gram point and Housing Board route, it has become a cumbersome task.
The entire stretch, which usually takes just 10 minutes to cross, takes around 19 minutes during peak hours.
The biggest bottleneck is the Railway light point,which according to the RITES survey also sees maximum number of vehicles among all intersection points in Chandigarh
(ie 145,157 vehicles). 
Bus stop at the Housing Board Chowk leads to heavy traffic “Since there is a bus stop at the Housing Board Chowk, all auto-rickshaws, buses etc stop there. This leads to heavy traffic in the area. The slip road from Panchkula ends near the bus so the commuters have to wait till the time the buses clear the way resulting in traffic jams,” said Rita Kulkarni, a resident of Mani Majra. The Tribune team had to wait for three minutes to cross the congested area.
Waiting time lessened, moving time increased
The engineering department was not the only department to reject the flyover project; even the planning department did so. After the RITES survey, the Chandigarh mobility plan has been mooted and we are checking its feasibility. We are trying our best to check the
traffic menace.
Flyover and foot-hole bridges were proposed by the Chandigarh Traffic Police at the Railway light point, but the engineering department had rejected saying that Chandigarh is a heritage city. At least 150 proposals have been sent by us in the past one year, but all of them are lying pending in the engineering department. Recently, the synchronisation of traffic lights on this stretch has been done. The best is being done to curb traffic
problems.
For the continuous flow of traffic towards Chandigarh, the traffic lights are switched off at the Sectors 7/18 Panchkula light point. It has been done recently. I hope
it works. 
I commute from Baltana to Chandigarh daily and it takes me one-and-a-half hour. I come through Panchkula and most of the time is consumed on the Housing Board-Transport Chowk route.
I used to drive down to my college in Mohali but the drive on the stretch has become time consuming, so now, I take my two- wheeler to college.
Earlier, it used to take just 10 minutes to cross the stretch, but now, it takes 35 minutes to reach my college.
To drive on this road is a Herculean task. I feel that the administration should plan some surveys and do something to solve the problem. Some more alternative routes should be planned.
