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Truck driver goes on the rampage
Chandigarh, December 28 The mishap occurred at 7.30 pm. The truck (PB 65 M 4572) was reportedly being driven by Jagpal Singh at a high speed. The driver of the truck overlooked the traffic constable’s signal to stop as he jumped the red signal and first hit a cyclist and then crushed a motorcycle, killing its rider Ajinder Singh of Sangrur on the spot. The truck then landed on the road divider on the railway station road and hit an Alto car and a Zen Estilo waiting at the signal on the other side. The truck moved on to the road and hit three more cars going towards the railway station side. The last vehicle to be hit by the truck was a Honda Activa scooter. A woman was riding the scooter and was negotiating a newly constructed slip road when the mishap took place. The mishap led to an hour-long traffic jam on the busy railway station road as a police crane lifted the damaged vehicles, making space for the restoration of traffic. The railway station road was blocked for half an hour for traffic. The driver of the truck, Jagpal Singh, was arrested on the spot in a case of causing death due to negligence under Section 304-A of the IPC. The driver of the truck told the police that the brakes of the truck failed, resulting in the mishap. However, eyewitnesses said the driver was drunk and was driving recklessly. “The driver told us that the brakes of the truck failed. We will get the truck examined to verify his claims. He has been arrested,” said Inspector Narinder Patial, SHO of the Industrial Area police station. Traffic constable Rajpal, who was manually manning the traffic signal when the mishap occurred, said he had a narrow escape as the truck driver ignored his signal. “I signalled the truck driver to stop, but he refused to apply brakes and hit so many vehicles, leaving one person dead on the spot,” he said. The injured were rushed to the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital in Sector 16 where the the bike rider, Ajinder Singh (35), was declared brought dead. Two of the injured were identified as cyclist Ram Jas and Noor Alam. The police said the remaining injured were discharged after first aid. The deceased Ajinder Singh worked for a firm at the IT Park and was returning to his home in Silver City, Zirakpur, when the mishap occurred.
Victim was riding mobike
The victim, Ajinder Singh of Sangrur, was riding a motorcyle and was killed on the spot after being hit by the truck
Brakes failed?
The driver of the truck told the police that the brakes of the truck failed. However, eyewitnesses said the driver was drunk and was driving recklessly
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Finally, fog gives way to flights
Chandigarh, December 28 “Several passengers were virtually held up at the airport for the past three days since fog did not allow any flight to take off from the airport. The weather conditions improved today, resulting in better visibility, which allowed air traffic to resume. There was some initial delay, but the visibility improved around 10 am, after which there was no problem in landing and take-off," said an official at the airport. Station Manager, Air India, MR Jindal said the air traffic was normal today and all their flights to various destinations took off on time. An official of an airline said, “We want air traffic to remain smooth but since weather can play spoilsport anytime, we advise passengers to check up with their airline before arriving at the airport.” Jet Airways has suspended its morning flight to Delhi till January 15. Officials of the private airline said the decision had been taken due to the prevailing weather conditions. “The early morning flight is not possible due to the prevailing conditions. The flight will resume on January 15 as the weather is likely to clear by that time,” said an official.
Smooth traffic likely today
A senior official at the airport traffic control office said though the weather was likely to remain cloudy on Saturday, the visibility was expected to be over 1.5 km, which allowed flights to land and take off comfortably
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Mayoral elections: Congress, BJP-SAD candidates file papers
Chandigarh, December 28 The candidates of the BJP-SAD alliance were the first ones to file their nomination papers today. Accompanied by local BJP president Sanjay Tandon, former MP Satya Pal Jain and BJP-SAD councillors, Arun Sood filed his nomination papers for the Mayor's post, Rajesh Gupta Bittu filed his papers for the Senior Deputy Mayor's post and SAD councillor Malkiat Singh filed his papers for the Deputy Mayor’s post. After the BJP-SAD candidates, it was the turn of the Congress candidates to file their nomination papers. In the presence of CTCC president BB Bahl and Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal’s son Manish Bansal, Subhash Chawla filed his nomination papers for the Mayor’s post, Rana Kashmiri Devi for the Senior Deputy Mayor’s post and Satish Kainth for the Deputy Mayor’s post. The papers were filed in the office of Joint Secretary, Municipal Corporation, Rajiv Gupta. Elections will be held on January 1. Know your candidates (Mayor's post)
Candidate: Arun Sood
Candidate: Subhash Chawla Candidates' priorities My priority will be to improve the condition of roads, the sanitation system, water supply and streetlights in the city. Besides, I will also work for the improvement of the departments of Primary Health Care and Primary Education, which were recently transferred to the MC — Subhash Chawla, Cong candidate for Mayor's post During the past one year, 70 per cent of the developmental works have been done in wards of BJP-SAD councillors. My priority will be development of neighbourhood parks, water, roads, sanitation and welfare of colonies and villages — Arun Sood, BJP-SAD candidate for Mayor's post
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Parties move to check cross-voting
Chandigarh, December 28 Local Congress MP and Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has called a meeting of all Congress councillors at Congress Bhawan, Sector 35, tomorrow. Bansal, who was not present during the filing of nomination papers by party candidates, is specially coming to hold this meeting. At the meeting, Bansal is expected to exhort all councillors to vote and support the party candidates for the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor's posts. Before the announcement of Subhash Chawla’s name for mayorship, there were many contenders for the top post from the Congress. Senior BJP leaders are also trying to ensure that there is no cross-voting. They are also trying to get the support of the BSP, nominated councillors and an Independent. The BJP today moved an application demanding that mobile phones should not be allowed inside the
polling booth. Besides, the polling booth should not be covered from all sides. During the mayoral elections in 2011, sources said to check cross-voting, all Congress councillors were instructed by the party to click the picture of the ballot paper with their mobile phone before casting
their votes.
Alliance pins hopes on nominated councillors
Evean as it appears to be a win-win situation for the Congress, this has not deterred the BJP-SAD alliance from pinning its hopes on nominated councillors, who were instrumental in Harjinder Kaur’s victory in 2006. Harjinder had won the mayoral election by one vote at a time when the Congress was in a majority.
Cong has 12 councillors
The corporation has a strength of 36 members, including 26 elected councillors, nine nominated councillors and an MP. The Congress has 12 councillors, the BJP-SAD alliance 11, the BSP two while one is an Independent. The local MP, who is an ex officio member of the House, also has a vote.
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NEIGHBOURHOOD 2012 Chandigarh Tribune reporters look back at the year gone by to list the highs and lows of departments in the neighbourhood of the city.
Highs
Lows
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Fiza’s tragic death moved everyone
Highs
Lows
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Year started on a bad note for Patiala royal family
With the SAD-BJP combine retaining power in the state, the year started on a bad note for the royal family. While Amarinder’s brother Malvinder Singh left the party during the elections to join the Akali Dal, the defeat of Amarinder’s son Raninder Singh Tikku from Samana was a setback to the royal family.
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Mohali Hospital docs under
scanner
Kulwinder Sangha
Mohali, December 28 The DC, who is also the chairman of the District Red Cross Society, which is running the drugstore, has directed the chemists concerned to keep a daily photostat record of the prescriptions given by the doctors. The records will be checked by the authorities to determine which doctors were violating the directions to prescribe low-cost generic medicines available at the drugstore. Generic medicines of prominent companies like Cipla, Ranbaxy, Cadila, Alderin and Wockhardt are available at the drugstore, but are not being prescribed freely by certain doctors. The DC, who made a surprise check at the hospital a few days ago, along with the Additional Deputy Commissioner, expressed his annoyance with doctors for ignoring the directions, thereby harming the interests of patients from the economically weaker sections. The DC told The Tribune today that the ADC would monitor the prescription pattern of the doctors at the hospital. He said one doctor in particular was rarely prescribing medicines being provided at the drugstore. If the doctors persisted in violating the directions on generic medicines, he would write to the higher authorities in this regard, the DC added. He said steps were being taken to renovate the drugstore to make it more people friendly as well as increase the number of low-cost generic medicines at the outlet. The Punjab Health Systems Corporation was supplying 120 types of medicines, including surgical items, to the drugstore. The number would be increased to 150. Efforts would also be made to make available inexpensive branded medicines there. Varun Roojam said he had asked the Civil Surgeon to provide a list of such branded medicines to him. He added that the Kharar and Dera Bassi Civil Hospitals were not availing themselves of the fixed supply of low-cost medicines. They had been directed to do so as in the case of the Mohali hospital.
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UT forms high-level panel
Chandigarh, December 28 As per information, the Education Department has already placed the modalities of both the issues before the committee, which is likely to take the final decision soon. As far as the issue of free school uniforms is concerned, the department has in-principle agreed to appoint a school management committee (SMC) in each government school to buy school uniforms. “The process of appointing SMCs will help the department in removing several procedural lapses and delay in buying school uniforms for over 1 lakh schoolchildren in Chandigarh,” said a senior official of the department. According to the official, while the decision to appoint SMCs has already been taken, the committee is standardising the overall procedure for SMEs so that every school follow a uniform system for buying school uniforms. It is pertinent to note that the Education Department has failed to provide school uniforms this academic session. On this, senior officials said the delay was unfortunate but the new system would solve the problem. On the other hand, the issue of per child reimbursement is at the last leg of discussion. The Education Department has already finalised the per child reimbursement rate at around
Rs 1,000 per child. “Once the rate is finalised, private schools will get reimbursement against the number of EWS students they have enrolled under the provisions of the RTE ACT," said an official. The official said the in-house
committee of the department had already verified in all the private schools about the number of
EWS students."
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Himachal MLA again gives police the slip
Holds havan at his residence in Baddi, Panchkula police reaches spot late Hina Rohtaki Tribune News Service
Panchkula, December 28 Chaudhary had held a havan at his residence last evening, but by the time the police reached the spot it was over and Chaudhary was no where to be seen. This is the third time that the MLA eluded the police party. “We received a tip off that a havan was being organised at Chaudhary’s residence, but when we reached there, the ritual was over,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Virender Sangwan. “Our teams were present during the Congress Legislature Party meeting and the oath-taking ceremony of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, but Chaudhary did not turn up,” added Sangwan. According to sources, around 10 priests had been arranged to conduct the havan, where Chaudhary was present with his family, including father and brother. Earlier, on December 20, when results were declared for Himachal Pradesh’s Legislative Assembly, the Panchkula police refrained from arresting Chaudhary, even when he visited a temple with his supporters in full public view. “On the day of election results when Chaudhary won, looking at the law and order situation, we decided to arrest him the next day. Moreover, though the Panchkula police had secured arrest warrant against him on December 19, it was received later on December 21,” said Superintendent of Police (SP), Baddi, S Arul. Chaudhary submits bail plea in High Court
After the Panchkula Court rejected Ram Kumar Chaudhary’s application for an anticipatory bail, the suspect moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The hearing of the case will come up on Monday. In his bail application, filed in Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chaudhary has stated that according to news reports, Panchkula police had not corroborated the evidence against him, and the whole case was based on suspicion arising from some mobile phone calls. The petitioner further stated that the police had failed to ascertain the motive of his involvement in the case. He also stated that he was ready to
join the investigation to clarify any doubts.
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Car hits Home Guards volunteers at barrier
Chandigarh, December 28 The police has arrested 31-year-old Gurpreet Singh, who works at a Mohali-based BPO, for rash and negligent driving, and an attempt to murder. After hitting the three volunteers, Gurpreet also hit a car at Sector 31 light point, following which he was nabbed. The registration number plate of his car had broken into two pieces and one of the parts was recovered from Sector 30, while the other from the Sector 31 light point. The injured Home Guard volunteers have been identified as Jasbir Singh, Sarwan Singh and Baljinder Kaur. They were admitted to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. There condition was reported to be stable. The incident occurred around 1 pm when volunteers were yet to remove the barricades. The car hit all of them and fled from the spot. The incident also led to traffic jam on the spot, when some people tried to chase the car. Rajesh Ahuja, who made the call to the police control room, said three persons were standing alongside the road when the car hit them. The car also hit two police barricades, he said. The accused will be produced in a local court tomorrow. Accused was intoxicated
The accused, Gurpreet, reportedly
seemed heavily drunk at the time of his arrest. The police has taken his
blood sample to find out the nature of the substance consumed by him, as
the police personnel could not sense any odour of liquor in his breath.
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19 years on, fight for justice continues
Hina Rohtaki Tribune News Service
Panchkula, December 28 In December 21, 2009, the CBI court awarded six months of rigorous imprisonment to former Haryana DGP SPS Rathore. The Apex Court, on November 11, 2010, granted him bail. The decision was challenged by Ruchika's family, but the case is still pending. On June 1, this year, the Panchkula CBI Special Court accepted the closure report given by the investigating agency in two cases -- forgery of documents and harassment meted out to Ruchika’s brother Ashu by Rathore. Ruchika’s father SC Girhotra and Ashu were present in the court but raised no objection. While the accused recently bought a Mercedez Benz for his wife and paid Rs 9 lakhs to get a vanity number for it, Ruchika’s family members decided to give up their battle, saying that they had no other option. The closure report has now been challenged in the court by Anand Prakash, father of Ruchika’s friend Aradhna. “The justice was too little and too late,” said Anand Prakash, adding, “Ruchika’s family had to give up the fight, because they are completely shattered.” Will come back to India to continue the fight Had people like SPS Rathore been convicted for their crimes, the things wouldn’t have been they are in the country. Molesters know that they can easily get away with the crime the way Rathore did, and that is the reason such insecurity prevails in the minds of women in the country today. I’ll soon be coming to India to continue the fight for justice for Ruchika. — Aradhna, Ruchika’s friend, Sydney, Australia
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Childline Advisory Board holds first
meeting
Chandigarh, December 28 Chandigarh Social Welfare Board Chairperson Kamlesh released a childline sticker on the occasion. The attendees discussed the performance of the childline. Project manager Dr Sangeeta Jund apprised the attendees of the various cases handled under the project. During the meeting, the chairman emphasised on the commitment made by the administration to make the city child friendly. The UT Administration had constituted the advisory board last month in order to synergise the efforts being made by various agencies towards achieving the dual aim of ensuring child protection and child welfare.
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Affected families stage protest
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 28 The protesters alleged that their jhuggis were demolished without any prior notice. A delegation of the protesters was allowed to meet Land Acquisition Collector Tilak Raj. Around 200 families were rendered homeless during the demolition drive undertaken by the UT Estate Office. Besides the 56 illegal commercial sheds of the Marble Market located in the area alongside the road, around eight acres of the government land was encroached by the slum dwellers, records of the department revealed.
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Sharry captivates visitors at Sector 17
Chandigarh, December 28 Maan opened the evening with song "Bebe Teri Aatte Di Chiri. He enthralled the audience with his special songs like "Chandigarh Da Chaska", "Yaari Da Vasta", and
"Yaar Anmulle". Sharry Mann has created wonders with his song "Yaar Anmulle" by breaking all previous records for an unsigned Punjabi singer on the internet. He swiftly became one of the most talked about names in the Punjabi music industry.
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Kirtan Samagam on New Year’s Eve
Chandigarh, December 28 The programme will start at 5.30 pm and end at 12.15 am. Renowned ragi jathas will present shabad kirtan to usher in the New Year. Langar will be served to the gathering.
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Police intensifies drive against drunken driving
Chandigarh, December 28
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From
schools St Teresa Convent School, Panchkula, wore a festive look during the annual day celebration on friday. India's rich cultural heritage was showcased durin the occasion. Many dance items were presented by the student. Workshop
Navleen Kaur, an eminent educationist from UK, conducted a teachers' workshop was in Guru Nanak Public School, Sector 36, on Friday. She discussed the problems of growing children during the workshop. She also stressed on making a positive influence on children. PowerPoint presentation were also shown to make the workshop more effective. NSS Camp
NSS camp of GGMSSS- 20 B, Chandigarh, on the theme environment concluded on Friday on the school campus. Bikram Rana, SLO (NSS), was the chief guest on the occasion. He urged the volunteers to work for society. Amarjit Singh, programme officer, presented the report of the camp and said 50 volunteers had attended the camp. The volunteers were sensitised about AIDS, stress management, environmental pollution by various resource persons. Socio-cultural exhibition
Sant Isher Singh Public School, Phase VII, Mohali, organised a socio-cultural exhibition on the theme of ‘Incredible India’ and ‘Virsa’. The colours of various states such as Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir were showcased during the exhibition. The stalls exhibited the ethnic, cultural and traditional aspects of each state. Dishes of different regions were also exhibited. Various dances like ghoomar and kalbaleya (Rajasthan) were presented by the students. Flag march
Gian Jyoti School, Phase II, Mohali, got the honour of being a part a flag march at the Wagah border during their one-day tour to Amritsar. They were given a special treatment by the Border Security Force. They marched with the Indian National Flag from the Swaran Jayanti Gate to the main gate of the Indian Border. Christmas celebrated
DAV School, Mohali, celebrated Christmas on Friday. A huge Christmas tree was decorated on the occasion. Sounds of jingle bells amused the children. They also sang it along with their teachers. Little Santa’s relished their lunch and exchanged Christmas gifts. Green Field Public School
Christmas was celebrated with fervour at Green Field Public School, Phase V, Mohali, on Friday. A colourful programme marked the celebrations. The children were told about the religious importance of the festival. The students of the cocoon section were dressed in red and white dresses. A student dressed as Santa Claus greeted the children and distributed among them. Director Sardar Jagtar Singh and Principal Dr Bhupinder Sharma greeted the children on the occasion. SGPC organises competition
The Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), Amritsar, organised a competition on the theme of “Dastar Mahaan Hai, Sikhi Di Shaan Hai” at Golden Bells Public School, Sector 77, Mohali. Students of class VII to XII participated in the competition. There were14 students, who participated in the competition. Jagdeep Singh, Ravi Inder Singh and Amritpal Singh were selected for the district-level competition.
— TNS
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Increase in
retirement age
Chandigarh, December 28 The demand to raise the retirement age of non-teaching employee was raised by Ashok Goyal. Later, a committee was constituted to look into the issue. Goyal, during the Senate meeting, had stated that the Punjab Government had already increased the retirement age and the same should be done by PU. One of the committee members said for implementing the proposal some amendments would be made in the university regulations and for that another committee had been formed. "The committee would work out the modalities of extending the retirement age from 60 to 61 years," said a committee member.
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BJP-SAD alliance
Congress
Panchkula CBI special court accepts a closure report filed by the investigating agency in the Ruchika Girhotra’s brother case - June 1, the Panchkula special CBI court accepted the closure report filed by the CBI in November, 2010, in two cases, forgery of documents and harassment to Ashu, against Rathore. Ruchika’s father SC Girhotra and brother Ashu were present before the court where they raised no objection on the acceptance of the report and said they were fine with it. The closure report has now been challenged in the court.
