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Third city-New Delhi Shatabdi chugs off
Chandigarh, January 14 The new Shatabdi has been started after a gap of 18 years. On the first day, around 550 passengers boarded the train. The train will leave Chandigarh at 11.40 am and reach New Delhi at 3 pm. The train will start its journey from New Delhi at 7.15 pm and reach Chandigarh at 10.35 pm. Unlike the earlier Shatabdi trains, it will have no stops between the two stations. It will run six days a week, except Sundays. Railway officials revealed that the fare of the executive class would be Rs 1,080, including service tax. This will include lunch or dinner. The fare of the chair car will be Rs 513. This train will have nine chair car coaches having a capacity of 702 passengers and one executive coach with a capacity of 56 seats. The new Shatabdi will provide the passengers sufficient time to board and alight unlike the other two Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi trains which halt at the Chandigarh railway station for just eight minutes. In reply to a query, Union Minister Pawan Bansal said that he was satisfied with the passengers’ turnout and if required, the timings of the train would be changed according to
the response. Railway officials said the train would be stationed at the Chandigarh railway station at night and around 20 personnel of electrical and mechanical staff would be deployed for the maintenance of coaches.
History of Shatabdi
Train year First Shatabdi 1989 Second Shatabdi 1994 Third Shatabdi 2013
Fare
Coach Fare Executive class Rs 1,010 Chair car Rs 482
Reservation suspended for six hours
Three hours after the new Shatabdi was flagged off by Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, the reservation of the train was suspended for six hours (from 2 pm to 8 pm) as there was confusion on fares. Earlier for executive class, the fare was fixed at
Rs 1,080 and for the chair class at Rs 513. But after the revised fare, it was
Rs 1,010 for the executive class and Rs 482 for chair car. “The reservation was suspended as the fares had to be reduced. It took five to six hours to take the approval from the ministry,” said senior divisional commercial manager GM Singh. He said the extra fare of
Rs 70 for the executive class and Rs 51 for the chair car was refunded to the evening passengers.
Train delayed by an hour
The morning Shatabdi was delayed by an hour on Monday due to fog. The train was to reach the Chandigarh railway station at 11.05 am, but it arrived at 12.15 pm.
A passenger, Ashish Sharma, said during the journey he came to know about the third Shatabdi. But if the train did not reach the destination on time, it would be of no use. Another passenger Trikah Singh said things would not improve until the authorities improved the signal system. “There is no use of starting a new train if it d.oes not arrive on time,” he added.
Timings
The Chandigarh-New Delhi Shatabdi will take 3 hours and 20 minutes to cover the distance between the two stations. The Shatabdi will start from the Chandigarh Railway Station at 11.40 am and reach New Delhi at 3 pm. It will start from New Delhi at 7.15 pm and reach Chandigarh at 10.35 pm. Railway officials revealed that the fare of the executive class would be
~1,080, including service tax. This will include lunch or dinner. The fare of the chair car will be ~513. This train will have nine chair car coaches having a capacity of 702 passengers and one executive coach with a capacity of 56 seats.
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Flagging off of Shatabdi
Chandigarh, January 14 The well-dressed sanitation workers were at their job to make the station spic and spam while police personnel were busy clearing the traffic in front of the station and also checking the commuters through metal detectors, which were finally installed at the entrance of the station. The passengers in the third Shatabdi felt like VVIPs. The city station got a face-lift as promised by the rail ministry last month. Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal walked through all the coaches and interacted with passengers before flagging off the third Shatabdi. Bansal asked the commuters whether they were satisfied with the interiors of the coach and if they felt the need of the third Shatabdi? In reply, a Chandigarh-based Bedi family said that they were feeling like VVIPs, as the country’s Railway Minister was there to see them off from the railway station. Shikha, a passenger, said that she felt good when she received a rose from a railway employee when she boarded the train. Hundreds of spectators who came to the station to drop their near and dear ones also saw the third Shatabdi being flagged off by Bansal at the platform. It was a lucky day for driver Ram Ditta and guard Anil Sharma, as they personally met the Railway Minister and interacted with him. They explained him about the working of the engine.
On security of women in trains
It will not be possible to provide women constables in each of the 51,000 coaches that the Indian Railways runs. We have taken steps to sensitise the male constabulary regarding the issue and asked them to ensure that no male passenger boards the compartments reserved exclusively for women. But wherever possible, we will be deploying women constables in
trains. — Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union Railway Minister
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Jyoti’s call gave police the lead
Panchkula, January 14 After strangulating her to death, the assailants had damaged her face to conceal her identity. The MLA also told the police that he had purchased two SIM cards using fake documents, one of which he had given to Jyoti, to keep their relationship a secret. When the girl had undergone abortion at a hospital in Sector 20, Chandigarh, Chaudhary had introduced him as her husband. "Jyoti used to call on the unofficial number of the MLA. Jyoti had purchased another SIM card using her sister Ishu's identity proof. She had called Chaudhary from that number. The phone call gave us the lead," the police added. Though the police has recovered the car that was used to pick up Jyoti from her rented accommodation from the MLA's residence at Baddi, the police is yet to impound the truck that crushed the victim's head. The driver of the truck, Tilak Raj, is at large. While making a confession yesterday, Chaudhary said on the pretext of taking her for an outing for three days, he and Dharmpal picked up Jyoti. He tried to convince her saying he was busy as elections were nearing and did not want to continue the relationship. But the victim started threatening him saying she would tell his wife that she was carrying his child. Following which, he along with Gurmeet and Paramjeet strangulated her.
Victim was threatening Chaudhary
Chaudhary told the Panchkula police that Jyoti was continuously threatening him. She had told him that she would spoil his reputation. Chaudhary said he did not want to sever ties with
his wife.
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Zirakpur man robbed of car, valuables at gunpoint
Panchkula, January 14 A case under Section 392 (robbery) and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered at the Sector 5 police station. “Karan was dropped by his friends near the Sector 9 market and he had just entered his car when two unidentified miscreants stopped him,” said a police officer. He added: “The two youths pointed a gun at Karan and entered the car. Their two accomplices also entered the car and threatened him.” “The miscreants took the vehicle towards Derabassi and thrashed him. When Karan cried for help, they pushed him out of the
car near Mubarakpur and fled with the car and valuables,” added the police officer. Victim’s father Ravinder Singh said: “Karan
called me from someone’s cellphone for help. We reached the spot and informed the police.”
The victim, Karan Singh, a resident of Dhakoli in Zirakpur, had parked his car near the Sector 9 market in Panchkula when four miscreants forcibly entered his car. They trained a gun at Karan and asked him to hand over the valuables. When he cried for help, the robbers pushed him out of the car near Mubarakpur.
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Document seekers suffer due to pendency of RCs, DLs at RLA
Chandigarh, January 14 Many document seekers have been complaining that for the last four months, RCs of their new vehicles have not been issued. Barjinder Singh, a resident of Sector 43, said his document had been pending since October last and now the RLA had extended the delivery date to next month. Another applicant, Ritu, a resident of Sector 49, said her document had been pending since May last. The documents seekers complained that the deadline to issue RCs was being extended but they had to suffer at hands of the traffic police, especially while travelling outside Chandigarh. The document seekers are doing the rounds of the RLA only to be given another date. Sources said the pendency in the documents was due to the huge backlog in printing, but it would be cleared in the next few weeks. Due to the delay in issuing of the documents, the new vehicle registration series (CH 01 AR) is expected to be exhausted by the end of this month. No solution to problem In a classic case of major faux pass on the part of the RLA, a 72 year-old resident, HC Joshi, has been issued a driving license, which has July 26, 2012, as the date of issue and date of expiry. The driving licence is issued for a period of three years. A repeated visit by the senior citizen to the RLA has failed to mitigate his problem.
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Yamunanagar resident dies of swine flu at GMCH-32
In addition, 18 cases of swine flu have been reported at the PGIMER so far, including four from city and 14 from other states. Gangaram, the Yamunanagar-based patient, died at 5 am today at GMCH-32. He was earlier admitted to a private hospital in Mohali and was later shifted to GMCH. He was in the ICU for the past two weeks, said an official from GMCH-32. Health department officials said that the cases were not epidemiologically linked and the primary source had not yet been identified. Dr Anil Garg, Nodal Officer for National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme, UT, said, “It has been confirmed that these cases are not epidemiologically linked, which means that except for the three technicians at the PGI, none of the patients have picked up the infection from one another. This indicates that the spread of the disease is under control. Right now, it is difficult to determine the primary source of the infection due to isolation of the cases.” The first death due to swine flu was reported at the PGI. A patient from Patiala died on January 6. Following, a 29-year-old patient from Mani Majra died on January 11. Other than four cases reported from the city, including one reported in September 2012 and other three detected in December 2012, 14 cases from Himchal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh have been reported. Experts said that residents must be watchful of prolonged flu-like symptoms and take precautions.
Common symptoms
Take care
Wash hands often with soap and water for 15 to 20 seconds or clean hands with alcohol-based hand cleanser.
The cure
Tamiflu cures swine flu. The medicine is available at all three government hospitals, including PGIMER, GMSH-16 and GMCH-32, free of cost. Private clinics and hospitals can avail the medicine from the UT Health Department.
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preservation of heritage
Chandigarh, January 14 A senior official of the UT Administration said the expert committee had placed architectural landmarks in Capitol
Complex, including the UT Secretariat, Punjab and Haryana High Court and Open Hand under Grade I. The committee has suggested grading of heritage in three categories - I, II, III. The official said as Sectors 1-30 were the heritage sectors, original structures there needed to be preserved at any cost. The UT Administration has constituted an 18-member panel following the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs to supervise the architectural preservation plans in City Beautiful. The committee comprises chairman UT Adviser KK Sharma and members, including UT Home Secretary, UT Finance Secretary and other UT senior officials. It also has a representative of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Union Ministry of Urban Development, Union Ministry of Culture and State Archaeological Department. The committee has been formed following the approval of the recommendations of the UT Experts Committee for the preservation of city's architectural heritage.
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Daily wagers apprised of their rights
Mohali, January 14 They were told that they could get the membership and smart card by paying Rs 25 and a monthly instalment of Rs 10. The smart card holders will be entitled to free medical treatment, Rs 1 lakh ex gratia in case of death while working, Rs 50,000 disabling grant in case of permanent injury, interest free loan of Rs 30,000 for marriage or Rs 5,100 for the wedding of their daughter and scholarship of Rs 1,500 to their wards," said Arora. Arora added that the poor were not apprised of their rights and schemes by the government. "We have been holding meetings with patwaris to reach out to the rural population. We have held three meetings so far," said Arora.
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Administration warned against overdrawing of power
Chandigarh, January 14 Besides, the NRLDC has also asked the UT Administration and the power grid (that supplies power to the Administration) to enforce power cuts. The warning has come in the wake of the city and northern states overdrawing power from the northern grid. It is winter and still some states in the northern region are overdrawing power from the northern grid. A senior official of the UT Administration said that after the northern grid collapsed last year, the NRLDC had also begun giving instructions to the suppliers as well, to cut the power supply to maintain the northern grid. During the winters, the demand of power in the city is around 210 MW. At present, Chandigarh had no power-generation capacity and gets power supply from various Central power-generation stations in the region.
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mc budget
Chandigarh, January 14 Last year, the councillors had raised the issue at the MC House meeting that the authorities had not taken any initiative to consult them before preparing the budget. They had even alleged that the distribution of funds was uneven for major projects. Subhash Chawla said that the councillors could send their suggestions, which would be discussed before finalising the budget for the next fiscal. In the suggestion, the councillors could demand for funds for projects in their respective wards, he added.
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Police dept adds 35 bikes to its fleet
Mohali, January 14 Apart from these, seven Tavera vehicles would also be stationed on duty. The SSP added that each official on patrolling duty would work for eight hours and round-the-clock patrolling would be done in three shifts.
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Road safety week begins today
Chandigarh, January 14 During the road safety week, different activities will be organised in association with the educational institutions, social organisations, corporate organizations and transport departments to raise the level of the awareness on road safety.
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Seminar on role of media
A seminar on 'Role of Media' was organised at
Panjab University's ICSSR hall on Monday. A deliberation was held on the commodification and commercialisation of women in the media industry which includes bollywood, electronic and print media. Lalit Joshi who was one of the key speakers on the occasion said media should play a responsible role in the society and the news stories should be well researched.
Warm welcome for third Shatabdi
One of the major demands of the local people was fulfilled today when Railway Minister and local Member of Parliament, Pawan Kumar Bansal flagged off the third Shatabdi between Chandigarh and Delhi. Paramjit Singh, Member of Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee (ZRUCC), Northern Railways, welcomed the move and thanked the Bansal. “We are quite hopeful that the coming railway budget will bring more cheer to the people of tricity as a few new trains have also been demanded, ie, Amritsar to Haridwar intercity via Chandigarh, Chandigarh to Goa via Pune, Chandigarh to Patna, Chandigarh to Nanded Saheb, Chandigarh to Gurgaon and Chandigarh to Jammu”.
Red Ribbon Express
The Red Ribbon Express (Phase-III) returned to Delhi on January 10, after a yearlong journey covering 23 states and halting at 162 Stations across the country. The train reached 1.14 crore people across these states. Chandigarh State AIDS Control Society bagged three awards at the national level, for the second time, for the successful implementation of the ‘Red Ribbon Express campaign’ in the state.
Smart card enrolment
The Department of Food & Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Chandigarh, is conducting smart ration card enrolment at e-sampark centre, Manimajra from 15th to 20th January, 2013 and subsequently, the essential commodities under TPDS would be distributed to only those beneficiaries having these smart ration cards. The left-out beneficiaries, who were unable to get themselves enroled in the year 2011, who are registered with M/s Sunil, M/s Akhilak, M/s Sharma & M/s Dilshad kiryana store, Manimajra, respectively and M/s SP Brothers kiryana store, Kishangarh village are required to enroll themselves at e-sampark centre, Chandigarh, during the aforesaid period from 9.30 am to
6 pm. — TNS
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A message lost somewhere
Chandigarh, January 14 The university, in its endeavour to sensitise students about crime against woman, had invited SSP Naunihal Singh as the chief guest to interact
with students. The SSP, after lighting a bonfire, urged the students, especially boys, to ensure incidents such as the Delhi gang rape never took place in Chandigarh. As soon as the SSP left the Student Centre, where the function was held, the disc jockey started playing controversial songs of Honey Singh, including “Kudiye ne tere brown rang ne”, “Ena vi na dope shope mareya karo” and “Marjani paundi bhangra”. The students, who till a few minutes ago were listening to the address of the SSP, joined the celebrations, tapping their feet to the beat of songs that allegedly demean women. A senior senator said there was no problem in celebrating; however, student council representatives, who organised the event, should have ensured that such songs were not played on
the campus. President, Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU), Manoj Lubana denied that any controversial songs were played during the celebrations. “We just wanted students to celebrate and enjoy music. The DJ played only those songs which are non-controversial. Neither students nor the PU authorities had
any problem with the songs being played,” said Lubana. Former student council president Pushpinder Sharma, also a SOPU leader, who was present at the function, admitted that such songs should not have been played. Honey Singh was forced to cancel his scheduled show on the New Year eve, following protests in the backdrop of the Delhi gang rape. The lyrics of some of his songs have been termed offensive towards women, and an online signature campaign has also been launched against these songs. Poor male turnout at awareness seminar Not more than 15 per cent of the attendees at a seminar to motivate youth to “respect and protect” women at Post Graduate Government College for Men, Sector 11, were male students. Majority of attendees at the seminar, organised by the Chandigarh Social Welfare Board, were girls. During the seminar, inaugurated by Madhu Bansal, wife of Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, senior religious leaders and representatives of local NGOs highlighted the role men can play in eradicating crime against women. Bansal motivated social activists to sensitise men on the
issue.
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school admission
Chandigarh, January 14 Seats reserved for the economically weaker section (EWS) applicants and for the wards of alumni and staff, besides siblings of existing students, have left very few seats for a large number of applicants not covered under these criteria. Delhi Public School, Sector 40, reserved as many as 51 seats out of 113 for the wards of alumni and
staff, and siblings of existing students. At Vivek High School, 50 per cent seats were allocated on a similar preferential basis, while at Strawberry School, Sector 26, the number was as high as 116 out of 160. Saupin’s School, Sector 32, set out 19 of 90 seats. A parent, Vijay Arora, said there was no uniformity in the selection criteria, with different proportion of seats being allocated to different categories by the schools. Another parent, Nitin Jain, complained of lack of transparency in the allocation of seats. Parents accused the Chandigarh Administration of not regulating the process effectively. “Schools change their selection criteria arbitrarily and allot a major chunk of seats to their alumni associations, but the regulating agencies remain silent. They claim they are responsible only for the 25 per cent reserved seats under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act. Even there, there is no clarity whether the reserved seats that go unfilled will be converted to the general category,” said another parent, Rajiv Singla. Parents are now banking on draw of lots to be conducted at the four missionary schools in the city, besides Bhavan Vidyalya, Sector 33, and St Kabir School, Sector 26. HS Mamik, president of Independent School Association, Chandigarh, said schools were following the global system of giving
preference to wards and siblings, and of admitting students from the
neighbourhood. He said the core problem was the intake capacity of schools had not gone up in the last 10 years. On the contrary, it has been reduced due to provisions of the RTE Act, he said. "The problem cannot be solved till new schools come up in the city and the existing schools add more classes,” Mamik said. Reema Dewan, principal of Delhi Public School, Sector 40, said the school had offered adequate number of available seats to applicants not covered under various preferential categories. “More than 50 per cent of the seats available after reserving seats under RTE Act were allotted through a draw of lots,” she said. A senior official of the Education Department said the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development did no allow the administration to interfere in the allocation of seats beyond reservation of seats under the RTE Act. “Parents are free to approach court for filling any loopholes in the existing policy,” he said.
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Winter timings in government schools extended till Jan 31
Chandigarh, January 14 A senior official of the department said timings will be reviewed, and if found necessary, will further be extended. The single shift schools will remain open from 8.30 am to 2 pm. Timings of schools having a double shift will be 8 am to 1.30 pm and 11 am to 5 pm.
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Vehicle-free zoning at PEC delayed till January 28
Chandigarh, January 14 Chairman, estate and works, SK Suman said: “We had planned to implement the decision from January 14; however, the preparations have not yet been made.” The two main parking lots were under construction and the process to procure barricades was still under process, said Suman. The university has also failed to install sign boards as yet. The increase in traffic and a fatal accident on the campus a few months ago had provoked the PEC authorities to take the decision. As per the plan, entry to the campus will be allowed only through Gate Number I for two wheelers and Gate Number III for four wheelers. The vehicles will be allowed to move till specific parking areas.
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Swami Vivekanand’s birth anniversary
Chandigarh: The 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand was celebrated with zeal, fervour and enthusiasm at Government Model High School, Sector 38-D. On this occasion, Swami Subhadranand preached the teachings of Swami Vivekanand, who was credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion in the late 19th century. To commemorate the event, a general lecture was also held. Headmaster of the school Surinder Kumar inaugurated the anniversary celebrations at the school auditorium. GMHS-28
Swami Vivekanand’s 150th Jayanti was celebrated at Government Model High School, Sector 28. Special morning assembly was organised on this occasion. Ram Parkash Sharma shared his valuable thoughts regarding the life & history of the great legend. Headmistress Susham Lata motivated the teachers as well as students to become good citizens & do their work with full devotion and also follow the path shown by Swami Vivekanand. Cultural programme
Various activities were organised at the Government High School, Sector 46 C, by special training centres. Heera Negi, councillor Sec-32 and Sec-46 was the Guest of Honour on the occasion. Students performed Nukkad Natak, Folk Dance and Hip-hop dance. Fancy dress show was performed by nursery section. Headmistress Suhinder Kaur felicitated the guest and students and gave away prizes to meritorious students. Founder’s day
Panchkula: Satluj Public School, Sector 4, organised a joint staff meeting for the faculty on the 37th Founder’s Day. School principal Krit Serai spoke on the importance of quality in teaching and learning. Director of the school Pritam Singh Serai elaborated upon the achievements made by the school over the years. A special assembly was held for students. Students presented songs and dance performances. Accolades
Mohali: Archit Puri, a student of Class ninth of Gian Jyoti Public School, Phase 2, won the gold medal for his performance at the 12th SOF National Cyber Olympiad, conducted by Science Olympiad Foundation. Principal Ranjeet Bedi congratulated Puri and all other participants for shining in the competition. She motivated other students to participate with zeal in future contests to explore their worth.
— TNS
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Chandigarh, January 14
