Chandigarh, December 30
Chandigarh mourned the death of Delhi gang rape victim today as silent peace protests were held at several places in the city against the crime.

Artistes of Punjab and Chandigarh gathered at Sector 17 Plaza and held a peace protest and condolence meeting against this tragic incident.

Among the artistes Amardeep Gill, Darshan Aulakh , Gippy Grewal, Nirmal Sidhu, Harinder Bhullar, Roshan Prince, Shaminder Mahal, Yuvraj Hans, Aman Dhaliwal, Sachine Ahuja, Kartar Cheema, Tejwant Kittu, Money Ujala, Jassi Gill, Nishan Bhullar and Pali Gidarbaha were present.

Darshan Aulakh said that the purpose of the silent protest was to show their solidarity with the victim and her family. He further said they also demanded speedy justice for the rape victim as well as a stern law to stop such crimes against women and children. “Whatever happened in Delhi shocked all of us. This must stop,” said actor Gippy Grewal.

United in grief were the teachers of Panjab University who held a candle light march on the PU campus demanding justice. The teachers assembled at the Gandhi Bhawan and marched till the Student Centre where they observed a two-minute silence.

The teachers and their family members pledged to continue their fight against crime against women. PUTA president Mohammed Khalid said that he was going to write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and various parliamentarians demanding stringent laws for crime against women and children.

Teary-eyed residents of Sector 40 also gathered to show their solidarity. They gathered at a community park and marched across the sector holding candles. Dr Kanchan Mehra, one of the residents, stated that they wanted speedy justice for the victim and hoped the government woke up to ensure safety of women in india.

Members of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry today paid floral tributes to the Delhi gang-rape victim who died yesterday. As many as 60 persons gathered at the market of Sector 7, Panchkula, for the cause.

“Mindset of people must change. There are loopholes in the system. Even if the government changes, the laws will still remain the same. So there should be an amendment in the laws,” said Vishnu Goel, president of the Haryana Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Panchkula, December 30
A six-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 20-year-old youth in Rajiv Colony, Sector 17, Panchkula, last night. The victim, a student of Class 1, was alone at home at the time of the incident. The suspect, Raju, has been arrested. Raju was working as a driver with the victim’s father, who owns auto-rickshaws.

On a complaint of the victim's father, a case under Section 377 (unnatural sex) and the Protection of Child Rights Act was registered at the Sector 14 police station here. Raju is a resident of Mauli Jagran.

“The victim said last night when her parents were away to Chandigarh, she expressed her desire to have chips. Raju took her in an auto-rickshaw saying that he would buy her chips. He parked the auto-rickshaw in an isolated place near the Labour Chowk and committed the crime. He then dropped the girl back,” said Sewa Singh, in charge of the Sector 16 police post.

The police said Raju had threatened the girl not to reveal anything to her parents.

A medical examination of the child was conducted, which confirmed rape. The

girl is a student of a local government school.

“We have recorded the statement of the child and arrested the accused. He will be produced in court tomorrow,” said Sewa Singh. 

Chandigarh, December 30
Even as the UT police has launched an extensive drive against eve-teasing, one of its constables was arrested in a molestation case today. The accused, posted with the traffic police, has been suspended.

The police has registered a case under Section 354 of the IPC against constable Jatinder Pal Singh for allegedly molesting a girl, who came to deposit her challan fee at the Traffic Police Lines, Sector 29, yesterday.

The incident occurred when Jatinder Pal Singh, who was posted in the Police Lines, approached the girl, claiming that he would deposit her challan money and she need not stand in the long queue.

In her complaint to the police, the victim said the constable took her challan slip inside the challaning branch and handed over a slip mentioning three mobile phone numbers to her, asking her that she could give him a call on any of these numbers and he would help her in all ways.

The victim, a college student, said when he questioned his motive behind giving the phone numbers, the constable touched her back.

The police said the girl raised the alarm and lodged a complaint against him at the Industrial Area police station. 

Chandigarh, December 30
Hundreds of passengers were stranded at the city airport today as the air traffic once again remained disrupted throughout the day due to poor visibility.

Airport officials said low visibility due to cloudy weather did not allow any of the flights to land at the airport. As a result, all outbound flights were cancelled. Earlier, it appeared that flights might resume after 1 pm, but the visibility remained below the permissible limit, which led to the cancellation of flights.

Air traffic has remained uncertain for the past one week. On December 22, all flights were cancelled. On December 23, three flights were called off. On December 24, two flights could not take off, while all flights were cancelled from December 25 to 27.

MR Jindal, Station Manager, Air India, Chandigarh, said all their flights were cancelled today.

"Since the weather remains uncertain, we have advised passengers to come to the airport tomorrow only after checking with the airline," he said.

Meanwhile, several trains were running behind the schedule.

The Howrah-Kalka Express arrived in Chandigarh over nine hours late, causing inconvenience to the passengers.

While it was scheduled to reach the city station at 3.15 am, it chugged in at 1 pm. The Sadbhavna Express, reached Chandigarh from Lucknow three hours behind its scheduled time of 10 am. The Shatabdi Express from Delhi was one hour late.

The Chandigarh-Lucknow Express, which leaves Chandigarh for Lucknow at 5.15 pm, has been cancelled till February 18 in view of the poor weather conditions. 

Immediate

* Proper recording of events shall be maintained in the patient’s file i.e., date/time, name of examining consultant/ residents, with legible signatures. This should include communication with the patients or his attendants.

* The condition/ progress of the patient should be communicated to the patient’s attendants preferably by the attending senior doctor or nurse on a regular basis.

* At the entry point where the patient is first received, there should be one senior resident who will be responsible for screening and prioritisng. A junior resident should assist him.

Short term

* Each department associated with trauma patients should have consultants and residents posted for a continuous period of four weeks at the trauma centre to maintain continuity and better patient care.

* A cadre of trauma nurse coordinator should be created to monitor the management of injured patients throughout their hospitalisation and report to the administrative head of the ATC about any deficient management

Long term

* Improvement of coordination between hospitals located in the tricity for dealing with certain category (low injury severity score ISS) of injured patients.

* Establishment of academic department of emergency medicine and initiation of MD course in emergency medicine at the PGI to provide immediate care to severely injured patients.

* Looking at large number of injured patients coming for treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh, there is need to increase the number of operations theatres and trained manpower at all levels.

Mohali, December 30
The District Magistrate has imposed a ban on keeping restaurants, hotels, marriage palaces and clubs opened after 12.30 midnight on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1 in Mohali district.

The District Magistrate has also imposed a ban on the carrying of firearms, ammunition, explosive material and sharp-edged weapons in the district 
on December 31 and January 1.

Chandigarh, December 30
To win mayoral elections, the political parties - Congress and BJP-SAD alliance - have started promising to fulfil each and every demand of nine nominated councillors, who were almost sidelined in the past one year.

Today evening, in a meeting between the Congress and nominated councillors, Congress leaders have once again promised to give ward development fund to the nominated councillors to the tune of Rs 1 crore every year. Giving the ward development fund to the nominated councillors has been a contentious issue in the civic body. It has been rejected on earlier occasions by all parties.

A suggestion also came from the side of nominated councillors in the meeting that in case of any inauguration or stone-laying ceremony in their area or sector, where they reside, their names should also be highlighted in the plaque, along with Mayor and area councillor.

Sources revealed that on this suggestion, Congress leaders said they would accept their all demands. They said the Congress also agreed to give more importance to nominated councillors in the coming years.

Congress president BB Bahl, candidates Subhash Chawla, Rana Kashmiri Devi, Satish Kainth and other Congress councillors were present in the meeting, which took place at the residence of nominated councillor DS Sandhu in Sector 35.

Earlier today, candidates of the BJP-SAD alliance Arun Sood, Rajesh Gupta and Malkiat Singh also met some nominated councillors, along with the local BJP president Sanjay Tandon, and other BJP-SAD councillors.

During the previous Mayoral elections, the nominated councillors had interviewed the candidates for the Mayor, senior deputy Mayor and the deputy Mayor of both the Congress and the BJP. They had then enmasse voted for the Congress, ensuring the win of the party on all three posts.

Panchkula, December 30
The police today interrogated the family members of MLA Ram Kumar Chaudhary, who is wanted in the Jyoti murder case. The police has also claimed to get some important clues regarding his whereabouts.

The Doon MLA yet again gave police the slip after paying obeisance at the Haripur temple during the wee hours here today.

“His family members were at the home today and we interrogated them regarding the whereabouts of Chaudhary. We have got some major clues and within a day or two, he will be arrested,” said S. Arul, Superintendent of Police (SP), Baddi.

He said: “We conducted fresh raids today and last night as well and hope to nab Chaudhary and his accomplices soon.”

The Baddi police is now conducting raids at its level.

According to sources, the police received a tip-off that the Doon MLA was again visiting the Haripur temple today. By the time the police reached the temple, no one was found there.

Chaudhary has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking anticipatory bail. The case will be taken up on Monday.

The police claims that the houses of the other accused, Gurmeet, Dharampal and Paramjeet, were found locked.

“We have sealed all routes to Himachal Pradesh and police force has also been deployed there. Raids were also conducted at various suspected hideouts to nab the accused,” added Arul.

Chandigarh, December 30
The UT police’s list of accused on the run-proclaimed offenders (POs) - has crossed 2,400 mark this year. The number of offenders conning the law is on a high and even the formation of the PO cell of the police has failed to yield desired results with the figure witnessing a 100 per cent rise in the last five years.

There were 840 POs at the end of 2006, their number increased to 1,217 by the end of 2007. The police list comprised of 1,479 POs at the end of 2008, and the number was 1,824 in 2009. The number crossed 2,000 mark last year and the number of POs was 2,615 in January this year and 281 such offenders were added during the course of the year.

The police managed to nab 116 POs this year and the number of POs in December this year is 2,359.

The Sector-17 police station tops the list of POs with total of 457 accused at large in various criminal cases. Next in line is the Mani Majra police station with 337 proclaimed offenders in its jurisdiction.

Some of these offenders are absconding for more than 15 years. A large number of POs are wanted in cheque bounce and cheating cases. A huge percentage of the POs are wanted in cases related to cheating, forgery, theft, robbery, gambling and under the Excise Act.

In October this year, the police had busted a gang of vehicle thieves in which an accused Raj Kumar was a proclaimed offender since 2010. The Economic Offences Wing of the UT police had also busted a gang of six members last month in which the accused were wanted by the police of six states for duping traders.

Last year, the police achieved a success by nabbing a PO in a gang-rape case, 19 years after the court declared him a PO. The police had also nabbed a PO who had jumped parole last year and he was arrested from Mani Majra.

DSP Ashish Kapoor, who is heading the PO cell, said they had arrested 63 POs in cheque bounce cases this year which was a major achievement. “A large number of these offenders are those who have not appeared before the court. Efforts are on to nab as many of them as possible” he said.

Police Station POs (as in

Dec 2012)

Sector 3 90

Sector 11 243

Sector 17 457

Sector 19 111

Sector 26 146

Mani Majra 337

Industrial Area 98

Sector 31 89

Sector 34 308

Sector 36 226

Sector 39 254

Chandigarh, December 30
A study conducted by the Department of Psychiatry, PGIMER, which aimed at determining the incidence of childhood psychiatric disorders, found that 18 out of 1,000 children in Chandigarh develop psychiatric disorders every year.

The children included in the study were aged between 4 and 11 years. Symptoms of childhood psychiatric disorders included anxiety, low scholastic achievement, addiction to drug and alcohol and other behavioural problems.

Some of the key challenges in addressing the problems, as identified by researchers, were the lack of any mechanism for screening and identification of such disorders in children under the current education system followed in schools in the country.

“There is also a lack of any system for addressing these problems in children at schools. Many of the schools do have counsellors for helping the children, but they need special educators who can help them in learning the lessons also, in addition to providing emotional support to them,” said Dr Savita Malhotra, Head of the Department of Psychiatry at the PGI.

The study, which was originally conducted across all categories of schools in Chandigarh, including government, private and private-aided in 2000, was followed up in 2006.

A representative sample of schoolchildren was assessed through a two-stage evaluation process involving teachers and parents rating. Children who scored below the cut-off for psychiatric disorder on both screening instruments were re-contacted six years later.

Over 186 children and their families were personally available for reevaluation. All children and their parents were reassessed on parent interview schedule and underwent a detailed clinical assessment by a psychiatrist.

“Twenty children out of the 186 followed up had psychiatric disorder giving the annual incidence rate of 18/1000/year,” reads the study published in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 2009.

“The underestimation of understanding levels among children by parents is another cause for the development of psychiatric disorders in children. It is important for parents to understand that children are most affected by the happenings around them and deviation in behaviour among children must be taken up seriously,” Dr Savita said.

“It is pertinent to mention here that childhood psychiatric disorder can be a percussion of adult psychiatric disorders,” Dr Savita added.

Chandigarh, December 30
Driving a car or riding a two-wheeler on the dividing road of Sectors 22-23 is very risky, courtesy heavy fruits hanging on the trees alongside the roads.

On many occasions, the fruits that weigh around 2 kg to 4 kg suddenly fall from the tree on the motorists, which damage the vehicle or lead to accidents.

RK Aggarwal, a scientist in Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), said that recently he was passing through the dividing road of Sectors 22-23 with his family when a fruit fell from the trees on the front windshield of his car and broke it completely.

He added that though he and his family escaped unhurt but now they were afraid to drive through the road. He further added that on this issue he had written mails to the Municipal Corporation and the UT Administration but to no avail.

When contacted, Navraj Singh, SDO, Horticulture Department, UT Administration, said that these trees were planted when the Chandigarh city was planned but there is no policy for the regular removal of the fruits from the trees.

Panchkula/Chandigarh, December 30
With the winter at its peak, heart attack cases have almost doubled in the city. Over 10 cases of heart attack are being reported daily due to the prevailing weather conditions. According to senior doctors, heart attack cases have shown a rise after December 20.

“During normal days, we used to receive about four to five patients daily, but after the winters have set in, about nine to 10 patients get admitted to Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) daily,” said Dr Yashpal Sharma, Head of the Department of Cardiology, PGIMER, Chandigarh.

Most of the patients are elderly who reportedly suffer from heart attack.

Sharma said: “Usually, mortality rate also goes high these days due to the rise in heart attack cases, but here we control the situation when patients are admitted to CCU”.

It is said that heart patients are prone to oxygen infections and strokes when they are exposed to cold weather.

“Due to fog, the cases of heart attack have almost doubled here, too. We keep patients under observation and those who are very serious are referred to the PGI,” said a doctor at General Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula.

“This is the time when people suffering from heart diseases should take utmost care. They should avoid going for walk early morning. They should keep themselves covered,” said VK Bansal, Civil Surgeon of the General Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula.

How to remain safe during winter

Take steam before going to bed
According to experts, taking steam from the plain water (without adding anything to it) is the best solution to improve breathing during the winter. Preferably, steam should be taken before going to bed.

Keep body hydrated
Intake of water reduces during the winter, which leads to dryness inside the body. In case the body contacts flu, dry cold leads to cough. Regular intake of water, along with warm liquids, keeps the body active and immune.

The number of vehicles parked erratically outside the liquor vends that have come up at various sectors are resulting in maximum number of road accidents. Be it Sectors 48,49,46 and 47 intersection, Kala Gram traffic signal, Housing Board Chowk, Fun Republic Traffic signal to name a few, all have customers’ vehicles' parked in front of the liquor vends in the evenings as they eat up the limited road space. Besides, the right of way is almost denied to the pedestrians on the Zebra crossings as there is no policeman to enforce it. This is the main reason of pedestrians’ casualties topping the list of fatalities at these man-made death traps.

SC Luthra, Mani Majra

Underpasses a must

The best and viable solution to ease traffic jam in the City Beautiful is to immediately start under-passes and Metro rails so that the roads get respite from the heavy volume and the public is saved of the tribulations of long traffic wait. So far, the Chandigarh Administration has remained oblivious to this important aspect of daily life and could not imagine and compare the rising population, and the huge traffic with the road requirements. Besides, strict checking by the Chandigarh traffic police must be done to check the rising pollution levels.

Gurmit Singh Saini, Ontario, Canada

Open house question Do women feel safe in Chandigarh even when they are accompanied by male friends? What should be done? Write your suggestions to penhouse@tribunemail.com

Change office, school timings

The measures which can be taken to solve this problem are few, but very valuable. Firstly, the authorities can stagger the traffic by asking the school or the office authorities to change their timings.Roads should be widened and more lanes should be added for cycles, auto-rickshaws, cars and buses. Those not following lanes should be fined heavily. Metros can be started too to overcome the problem.

Priya Darsh Growar, Mohali

Widen roads, make flyovers

It has really become very difficult to drive on the city roads these days as the traffic has increased manifolds. Either the roads need to be widened more to accommodate the future traffic or the number of vehicles be restricted on the city roads. Family cars have become a necessity instead of luxury these days. The Administration has to think of making flyovers. The Madhya Marg and the Tribune-Picadilly roads face more traffic hazards and many accidents occur on these spots.

RK Kapoor, Chandigarh

Underground parking lot, slip roads needed

In my views, the infrastructure should be planned and laid in a phased manner to build fly overs, widening of roads, multi-storeyed /underground parking lots and slip roads. Immediate focus on marking of roads and separate drives for rickshaw and cycling will help in smooth drive.

OP Garg, Patiala

Enforce traffic rules

The city has tremendous load of traffic due to development of two major adjoining cities - Mohali and Panchkula - and other urban area from where the people visit the city for job and business daily. This leads to congestion of vehicles on roads. The traffic rules are enough to control but these have to be implemented strictly to ensure the fear of law in the mind of offenders. There is a need to establish a joint control room of the three adjoining cities of different states with complete data of vehicles, then watch the traffic online, Internet system, and send challan to each defaulter of the tricity. There is also requirement to introduce challan ticket system regularly to be pasted on wrong parking and follow the action on fast track.

Sukhpal Singh, Chandigarh

Divert schools buses to other routes

A manifold increase in population and vehicles in the City Beautiful has led to traffic congestion.

The solution lies in improvement of primary roads, particularly radical and ring roads and other important roads. There is need to widen the roads and construct slip roads. After noon, school buses lead to heavy traffic congestion. To improve the situation, there is need to divert the same on other routes. There is need to deploy more policemen to control and divert traffic to connecting Udhyog Path etc during peak hours. The cycle lanes are not being used which leads to increase in volume of traffic on the main roads.

Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula

Remove traffic lights from roundabouts

The traffic problem can be solved if the Administration takes strict action to control the population and traffic. The Administration should build new subways to connect the North and South sectors to the internal roads like Sectors 11 and 15. The administration should remove traffic lights from all the roundabouts because these lights also create a problem.

Sumesh Kr. Badhwar, Mohali

Encourage public to use public transport

The city is all set to earn the dubious title as the country’s most polluted city. Keeping in view the ongoing scenario of running vehicles and its pollution in the city on the past few years, it has become necessary for the public to know about vehicular pollution and its effects on a human body. The state transport authority should encourage people to use public transport. The public transport should be made effective. The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU) buses should reach every corner of the city, especially during office timings. FM radio stations could play an important role in educating and informing the masses about the benefit of public transport.

Sachin Sharma, Chandigarh

Exhibitions on vacant land lead to traffic jams

The Chandigarh Police has considered the suggestion of the public and put up barricades on one side of the road in front of Gurdwara Sahib in Sector 34 during rush hours. The speed of traffic has become slow, which has helped in smooth running of traffic in front of the crowded market. In fact, most of time the vacant land in front of market remains occupied as exhibitions, social gathering and other functions are held there. This results in traffic congestion and jams on the roads.

Sukhpal Singh, Chandigarh

Traffic signals needed at rotaries

To avoid traffic jam at rotaries, there is an immediate need of traffic signals at all the rotaries as this would help ease traffic congestion.

Vineet Kapoor, Panchkula

Go in for car pooling

To ease the congestion, traffic signals must be installed at all T-points in order to prevent chaos and crashes. The slip roads must be constructed at a considerable distance from the traffic lights so that people do not have to wait for the congestion to clear for taking a left turn. Construction of short pedestrian crossings, wider sidewalks and footpaths will prove beneficial for commuters. The police should become strict while enforcing traffic rules.

Dr. Shruti K. Chawla, Chandigarh

Metros will bring great relief

The setting up of metro railways will be a great relief for everyone because then people can use metros to work, school, colleges etc instead of their private vehicles. Even now people should be encouraged to use public transports. Car pooling should be encouraged at schools, colleges and work places. These small steps can help a lot to manage the chaos cause by heavy traffic.

Isha Dahiya, Panchkula

Battery backup must for traffic lights

Chandigarh was designed for a population of five lakhs is now busting at seems with over 12 lakhs inhabitants. In 1967, the city had 940 registered vehicles that have now jumped to over a million rendering the infrastructure totally inadequate for this surge of vehicle growth. This has resulted in traffic snarls almost on each and every road in the city. Jams have become routine occurrences. The Administration has failed to deal with the problems and has not been able to evolve a policy that would take care of the ever-growing vehicle population in the city. The administration should have in its place a rapid transport system for the convenience of the public.

There should be a battery backup for all traffic lights and lanes should be marked for two-wheelers. The accident-prone zone needs special monitoring by the traffic police personnel.

Chandigarh, December 30
Due to the shortage of postgraduate teachers (PGTs), the Education Department has decided to take additional service of new Trained Graduate Teachers (TGTs) for PGT classes to meet the shortfall in several periphery schools.

Over 200 contractual TGTs are recently inducted in the department. Officials of the department said half of them were MA and M.Sc qualified and could be used for teaching senior secondary classes also.

As per information, the department is preparing the list of shortage of teachers in various government schools and these teachers would be shifted to those schools on the basis of priority.

A senior official said till the time new lecturers were not appointed, TGTs would be asked to take higher classes also. He said the aim of the department was to provide best of the education to children.

Not a permanent option

Vinod Sharma, president of the Government Teachers Union, said this step of the department was just a temporary arrangement. The department must take concrete steps to fill the shortage of postgraduate teachers.

While new recruitment of lecturers is required, efforts must be expedited to promote the masters/mistresses to PGTs (lecturers).

“This issue is hanging in the middle for the past several years but there is no final decision so far,” he said.

Sawarn Singh Kamboj, president, UT Cadre Educational Employees Union, said the department was not serious about the promotion issue. Several TGT teachers retired without promotion, which was unfortunate for the whole teaching community of the city.

Chandigarh, December 30
As part of measures to step up security on the PU campus in the wake of the Delhi gang rape case, the university has decided not to allow vehicles with tinted glasses on the university campus. The university has been receiving complaints that vehicles with tinted glasses are often parked near girls' hostels.

At a meeting held recently, the university authorities decided to check the entryy of vehicles with tinted glasses on the PU campus.

PU officials said they had received many complaints about vehicles with tinted glasses moving on the campus. “Vehicles with tinted glasses are even parked outside girls' hostels in the evening due to which we decided to disallow such vehicles on the campus,”€� said a PU official.

At present, the Chandigarh police is not allowed to issues challans to students driving vehicles with tinted glasses on the campus. As a result, students and visitors are often seen driving vehicles with tinted glasses on the campus.

Dean Students Welfare (DSW) AS Ahluwalia said the security wing of the PU had been alerted about checking such vehicles. “Vehicles with tinted glasses would be moved out of the campus or the drivers would be asked to remove the black film on the spot,”€� the DSW said.

The PU officials said if students resisted the move, the security had been asked to note down the number of the vehicle and inform the police. Hostel inmates would also be asked to remove black films from cars. Hostel wardens would have to ensure that students followed the decision.

The university has beefed up security near the girls' hostels. Chief Security Officer PK Dhawan said the security staff had been asked to immediately inform him in case any complaint was received from any girl student on the campus.