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Police fails to check eve-teasing
Chandigarh, February 14 Claims of high security and safety of girls fell flat as a series of eve-teasing incidents were reported outside DAV College. Notably, despite being the hotspot, the area lacked security arrangements. A group of four girls coming out of the college campus around 12.30 pm were pushed by a few youths. When the girls opposed, one of the youths replied: “Go and tell the constable standing there.” The constable, standing a few steps away, chased the youth but failed to nab him. “He took advantage of heavy traffic. I followed him, but failed to catch him,” said constable Raj Kumar. However, the girls refused file a compliant. They said: “We don’t want to get into trouble. We told the police personnel about the incident, but they failed to nab the culprit,” said a girl. “The police should have barricaded the area. There was no deployment of the police and the youths were seen taking full advantage of it,” said Pritam, a student of the same college. “I am not aware of the incident. But I assure you that action will be taken against the accused,” said Rajesh Kallia, DSP (Law and Order).
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Big fat Punjabi wedding on ‘day of love’
Mohali, February 14 The joy came with a fortune cookie for Simrat Kaur when her bridegroom, Aman Araich, came in a red chopper at the wedding venue where a swanky limousine was already waiting for the couple to take them to a local gurdwara. Aman, a Canadian citizen, said he wanted to begin his new life with his beloved in style. “We have purposefully selected Valentine’s Day for our wedding and I wanted to make it the most memorable day for us,” said Aman. Aman, who had studied in a local private college, said he had seen Simrat for the first time in the college. “It was love at the first sight,” said Aman. Simrat, who belongs to a middle-class family, said she was happy and excited. “Aman has fulfilled my dreams. This is my best-ever Valentine’s Day for obvious reasons,” said Simrat. The bridegroom’s family did not accept gifts, ‘shagun’ or dowry from the bride’s family.
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Retired Major arrested for raping three minors
Panchkula, February 14 The accused, 65-year-old major Harish Sharma (retd), a resident of Sector 19, had taken a house in Sector 12 on rent from where he was nabbed. Two girls were aged five and one was eight-year-old. The victims told about the incident to a neighbour. The medical examination of the victims was conducted which confirmed rape. The police registered a case under Sections 376 (rape) and 377 (sodomy) against the accused following a complaint by the victims’ father, Gopal, at the Sector 5 police station.
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Officials fail to operate wireless sets, tricity lacks equipment
Chandigarh, February 14 These points were discussed in a review meeting conducted by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) with the officials of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. Deputy Commissioner, Mohali, Varun Roojam took the help of an operator to use his wireless set. Chandigarh
The UT Administration failed to dispose of 24,000 bodies after the earthquake. Before the mock drill, the UT officials were asked to dispose of 5,000 bodies, but the NDMA changed the figure at the last moment to check the efficiency of the administration. There was also a task for the administration to handle a situation where rumours were being spreading through the electronic media. For this, the UT officials decided to hold a press conference at the DC office, but it took one hour for the
officials to talk to the media. In the initial one hour, the wireless system of the UT Administration remained clogged leading to chaos on city roads. Residents’ welfare associations were also not happy as the administration failed to involve them in the exercise.
Panchkula
Panchkula SDM Sarandeep Kaur Brar said that initially officials and employees were not enthusiastic, but when they were told about the importance of the exercise, they worked hard. Panchkula administration also lacks machinery and equipment like steel cutters, glasscutters, ambulances and fire tenders to deal with a disaster. Now, the Panchkula administration has set up an emergency operation centre. But in the second week of January, there was only one room, a peon, a bicycle and a trunk in which there were a few caps and shoes and four helmets in the name of civil defence. During the meeting, the SDM said the administration needed more funds for modern machinery. Next time, the administration would also include villages in the exercise, said the SDM.
Mohali
Deputy Commissioner, Mohali, Varun Roojam said after the drive, they realised that there was a need to include private hospitals in the exercise. The communication system was working well at the top level, but there were some shortcomings at lower level. In the present scenario, the district administration was not fully equipped and equipment like sensors, sheet cutters were required for a better rescue operation, he added.
Public representatives not serious
The Chandigarh MC councillors were not serious about the mock drill exercise. During the meeting between the councillors, NDMA officials and senior UT officials, a few councillors asked the officials what was going to happen tomorrow. “Will there be an earthquake. Please inform us in advance so that we can send their relatives and friends out of the city,” said a councillor.”
Lessons learnt
— Necessity of disaster management plans at various levels — Need for the state-of-the-art emergency operation centres at the state and district-level with redundancy — Use of wireless communication system for the stakeholders — Need for adequate number of ambulances — Recognise the capacity of having better road accessibility in case of a disaster — Identification of requirements of the state-of-the-art equipment and systematic inventory of resources, both in government and private sector
Blame put on media
When officials of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali complained about the negative coverage of the mock drill exercise in the print and the electronic media, JK Sinha, retired DG, CRPF, and a member of the NDMA, said it was the duty of the media to highlight the shortcomings. “The administration should take it in a positive way and should find out the solutions of the problems faced during the exercise,” he added. (With inputs from Akash Ghai)
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Golf Club lease row heads for end
Chandigarh, February 14 For, the former Apex Court Judge, Justice Kuldip Singh, has been appointed as a mediator by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to resolve the renewal of lease row between the Golf Club and the Chandigarh Administration. Already, the two battling sides have been asked to appear before Justice Kuldip Singh on February 18. Taking up the matter on Wednesday, the Division
Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain also directed the club to pay Rs 10 lakh, in addition to Rs 20 lakh already paid to the UT Administration. The Bench also fixed March 4 as the next date of hearing. Justice Kuldip Singh has already been appointed as a one-man commission to look into the acquisition of properties by high-ups on Chandigarh’s periphery. Recently, Justice Kuldip Singh became the first Apex Court Judge to be presented with the “lifetime achievement award”. As the case came up for hearing this morning, the club management informed the Bench that it had already deposited Rs 20 lakh with the Administration, in compliance with the court's directions issued on January 30. Appearing on the behalf of the Chandigarh Administration, senior advocate Girish Agnihotri told the Bench that the money sought by the Administration was not exorbitant. Elaborating, he said the club had around 3,800 members. Even if one member paid Rs 450 a month, they could easily pay the lease amount. “Club has a huge income from other sources, like it charges Rs 1,000 per person/per day from non-members to play golf on its premises and various other charges for using the club’s gymnasium," he claimed. Acting on the petition filed by the Golf Club against the enhanced lease amount sought by the Chandigarh Administration, the High Court on the previous date of hearing had asked it to pay Rs 20 lakh. The High Court had earlier made it clear that it wanted the Administration and the club to put their heads together for resolving the row. Seeking directions for setting aside the order/letter issued by the Administration on November 15 and 16, last year, the club had contended that the same was totally illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory. The Administration, vide the letter, had asked the Club to deposit lease money from March 16, 2008, to March 15, 2013. The amount, as per the calculations, comes out to be Rs 9, 27, 48000. Directions were also sought by the club to extend the lease of the petitioner society either in terms of draft lease proposed by the latter on December 2, 2009, or on terms similar to that of the Delhi Golf Club, both in terms of lease money as well as tenure.
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Some celebrate love, some work on valentine’s day
Chandigarh, February 14 The extensive security arrangements made by the police department throughout the city did not deter revellers from visiting these parties along with their friends and loved ones. Arushi from Kava, Sector 26, said both the restaurant and the lounge bar were jam-packed with people from every walk of life. Youngsters, who could not shell out enough money to spend their day at these expensive hangouts, preferred to visit the ‘geri’ route in Sector 10. Following the awareness created in the aftermath of the Delhi gang rape incident, girls felt more secure on this Valentine’s Day. Not many youths dared to unnecessarily trouble us today, said a girl. Not only youngsters, the elderly were also seen buying gifts for their spouses. An elderly couple said they always exchanged gifts on Valentine’s Day and remembered the old days. Many weddings solemnised in the evening culminated the celebrations on a high note. A marriage palace owner said a large number of weddings took place today, since Valentine's Day and Basant Panchami fell on the same day.
Chandigarh:
While city youngsters were celebrating Valentine’s Day, some youths were busy ensuring that no untoward incident took place on the occasion.
Young recruits of the Chandigarh Police were deployed in various parts of the city to provide a trouble-free environment to couples. “Duty takes preference over love. Even we wanted to be with our loved ones on this day, but shouldering this responsibility is more important,” said Rinki, a constable deployed at Shanti Kunj. “My duty is my love, and performing it on Valentine’s Day is the best way to celebrate the occasion. It is important to stop miscreants from spoiling the day for others,” said Pawan, a constable. Pawan’s subordinate Sukhdeep said: “Helping others to enjoy Valentine’s Day is our way of enjoying it.” Rajesh Kallia, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Law and order), UT, said: “Taking extra precaution, the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) was deployed on various routes. Women constables along with an adequate staff were also on the patrol duty. Special security arrangements were made outside pubs, discotheques and eating joints at night. Miscreants including drunkards, eve-teasers and traffic violators were challaned.” A total of over 500 police personnel, including the IRB, were deployed throughout the city.
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Snarl-ups add to chaos, violators challaned
Chandigarh, February 14 Youngsters from across the city and adjoining areas had started visiting the university campus since morning. With only Gate No II, opposite Sector 15, opened to enter the campus, the road between Sectors 14 and 15 witnessed traffic snarls with long queues of vehicles lined up. To regulate the traffic, gates opposite the PGI and Sector 25, which were to remain closed till 3 pm for security reasons, were opened by afternoon. To avoid any untoward incident, there was a heavy deployment of police on the campus. While the area Station House Officer Gurmukh Singh and Deputy Superintendent of Police (Central) Ashish Kapoor were already present at the Student Centre, the UT Senior Superintendent of Police, Naunihal Singh, also paid a visit to the campus. Despite earlier claims made by the university authorities that persons without identity cards would not be allowed to enter the campus, outsiders were seen entering the campus easily without any checking at the gates.
300 challans issued
The Chandigarh Police issued 300 challans for various offences on Valentine's Day. A total of 16 checkpoints were set up at various locations in the city. Nakas were also set up at colleges, girls' hostels and in busy markets to prevent rash driving and eve-teasing. The police issued 155 challans for overspeeding and 47 for black filming of windowpanes of vehicles. Youngsters found triple riding on two-wheelers were also challaned. Some joint nakas of police station personnel, PCR and other units including the Indian Reserve Battalion were also set up between 8 am and 3.30 pm. At these joint nakas 32 challans were issued for various violations. Nine vehicles were also impounded for violating traffic rules. The traffic police collected fines worth Rs 34,700 on the spot.
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Artificial flowers, not natural ones, in demand this year
Chandigarh, February 14 Florists claimed there was a poor response on this Valentine’s Day. Anil Bhatia, a flower shop owner, said last year the sale of flowers began at the beginning of the Valentine’s week. “This year, however, we recorded a very negligible sale,” he said. “We were expecting sales to pick up today, but that did not happen,” he said. Another florist, Mahesh, said sales failed to pick on Valentine’s Day, despite the rate of flowers not being increased much. A stick of red rose was available for Rs 20 to 30 and a bunch of flowers could be bought from Rs 200 onwards. Florists said the shifting preference towards exchanging gifts on this day had hit their business. “Youngsters look for long-lasting gifts and gift galleries in the city are providing them with adequate options,” said a florist. Owner of a gift gallery in Sector 11 Dewakar Sahoonja said their sale was overwhelming this year, much better than the previous year. He said preferences of the youngsters had changed. “They always look for something new and innovative. We sold many artificial flowers this year,” he said. Florists, however, felt the relevance of natural flowers would always remain. They are hoping to do better business next year.
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Subject specialisation issue raised
Chandigarh, February 14 Ajay Ranga, a Senate member and Assistant Professor at UILS, while raising the issue at PUTA meeting and citing his own example, said “I have specialisation in criminal law, however, I have been teaching various other subjects including land law and service law”, he said. The teacher further said there was no problem in teaching other subjects, however, if a teacher was given the subject of his/her specialisation, in which the teacher had done research, the result would be better. The issue was backed by another teacher, from University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), who said the situation was similar in their department too. Ranga claimed the situation was same in other Arts departments also, including Political Science, English and History. Teachers demanded that the distribution of subjects among the teachers be made as per their specialisation, so that they could give their best. The issue of appointing chairpersons in all the departments on a rotation basis, irrespective of designation and seniority, was also once again raised at the PUTA meeting. At present all departments, including UIET, Dental College of PU, University Institute of Applied Management and Sciences (UIAMS), UILS, Centre for Human Rights, Centre for Social Work and Centre for Police Administration, are not following the rule. Professor Akshay Kumar, English Department, raised the issue. Ranga, in response, stated that two committees had already been formed on the issue and had even submitted their reports to PU. The reports recommended that the chairperson should be appointed on rotation basis, however, PU was silent over the issue. “PUTA should take-up the issue and ensure that they committees report is adopted, which is also as per the UGC rules and PU calendar”, Ranga said.
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Creating magic with a dhol
Mohali, February 14 His credentials, however, surprise one and all. Virk, called Rocky by his friends, holds a senior post in the US Citizenship and Immigration Service at Cleveland, Ohio, and decides on the visa matters there. In India to attend the wedding of a relative, Virk also performs at public functions in the USA. “In the USA, it is mandatory to get permission for charging fee for performing in public functions while holding a government post,” said Virk. Virk, who has his roots in Jalandhar and was brought up in England, said music was his passion since childhood. “Gradually I was attracted towards dhol and today I play it very well. In fact I have been making a handsome income by beating dhol during ceremonies in the USA,” said Virk. Virk, the only dholi in Ohio, is paid between $500 and $900 for a two-hour performance. “Playing dhol is my passion and my job with the USA Government never came in its way. For me, playing dhol is like meditation,” said Virk, who learnt the skill on his own.
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PEC employees want management board dissolved
Chandigarh, February 14 The BOM was constituted in 2010 to manage routine affairs of the institute but had been taking policy decisions of the institute. The employees, in their representation, mentioned that it had been over two years that the interim board, having members from within the institute, had been in existence and involved in taking policy decisions, which had far-reaching implications. Professor Siby John of PEC said the BOG should be re-constituted and practice as it did in other institutes like IITs and NITs. The employees claimed that the BOM had members from within the institute only, however the BOG had around 20 members, majority of whom were from various disciplines of the society” John said. He added that it was surprising that the BOG had not been constituted since 2010 and the interim board was still functioning. The employees have also raised objections over the director of the institute as the chairman of the selection committee and also the appointing authority in contravention to the rules governing deemed-to-be-universities. PEC Director Manoj Datta, when contacted, said the interim BOM had written to the MHRD to look into some points, specifically regarding the interim board, so that it could be converted into a permanent body. “We are waiting for the reply from the MHRD’s review committee,” Datta said.
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Admn resorts to ‘Gandhigiri’
Chandigarh, February 14 As a prelude to the standard practice of issuing building violation notice to the owners of the property, the UT Estate Office has started putting cross marks on the front boundary wall of such houses. "The marks will encourage the occupants to lower the height of the boundary walls," said officials of the finance department, UT Chandigarh Administration. UT Finance Secretary VK Singh said the step was taken to discourage the house owners who had raised the height of the front boundary walls. As per the specification, the front boundary walls cannot be raised beyond 3 feet and 8 inches. Where as, the height of the front boundary walls has been raised in some cases up to eight feet. "Only in case of rear and side boundary walls, the height of up to 5 feet and 11.5 inches has been allowed but not in case of front boundary walls," said officials of the Estate Office. The officials have specified that in certain cases where cycle tracks were close to the boundary walls, residents were allowed to raise the rear boundary walls to 5 feet and 11.5 inches. No other relaxation has been allowed so far. The owners of houses (especially in the northern sectors), have particularly raised the height of front boundary walls. "After putting the cross mark, suitable time is being given to the violators to voluntarily reduce the height of the boundary walls, failing which notices of penalty and demolition will be served," said sources. Not only this, the property owners have been asked to remove the plaster and tiles from outside houses. This also disturbs the heritage of the city.
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A delight for birdwatchers
Chandigarh February 14 The event to be organised by birders along with Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) and Yuhina Eco Media will be held on February 17. The race is a dawn to dusk event where teams of birdwatchers will spend the entire day birding in and around the city. Justice SS Sodhi (Retd) will be the chief guest. The event which is coordinated by the Chandigarh Bird Club and the Avian Habitat and Wetland Society aims at spreading awareness about the richness of the fauna of India and to promote interaction between birdwatchers and conservationists. There will be no pre-determined routes, the teams, comprising four members each, can watch the birds in multiple locations within a 40-km radius of the city. The designated area spans the diverse habitat around Chandigarh from Timber Trail to Chhatbir, from Morni hills to the Sukhna wetland and sanctuary, Siswan and Perch dam and even parks.
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Temporary encroachments removed in Sector 25
Chandigarh, February 14 The enforcement team started the drive at 10 am and removed 20 temporary structures set up by junk dealers with the help of five JCB machines, 30 tractor-trailers and 20 tippers. Police personnel were also present at the spot. The drive was carried out peacefully under the supervision of Lalit Siwach, Additional Commissioner, and assisted by Kashmira Singh and other Sub-Inspectors of the enforcement wing of the MC. During the drive, 20 violators were challaned. Two vehicles of junk dealers were impounded. Scrap and waste were removed from the site. The site was levelled after the drive. A raid was conducted to check the unauthorised sale of meat, fish and poultry. The raid continued for around five hours. Three kiosks were also removed. Two meat sellers were challaned under the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (Regulation for the sale of meat, fish and poultry) Amendment By-laws-2010. MC's bid to free city of garbage
Tightening its noose around those dumping garbage in the open,
the Municipal Corporation forwarded 129 challans to the court of the CJM for violations under public health and sanitation
by-laws. An MC official said earlier violators used to take these challans non-seriously, but now as the court would issue notice to them, they would stop dumping garbage in the open. "No official or councillor will be authorised to reduce the amount of fine," he added. The civic body has already delegated challaning powers to all chief
sanitary inspectors, sanitary inspectors, sub-divisional engineers and
junior engineers. Two days ago, the MC had carried out a sanitation drive in Sector 22
at night. During the drive, 26 challans were issued.
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UT IG set to crack all nuts
Chandigarh, February 14 The IG was accompanied by UT SSP Naunihal Singh. The IG was taken aback when a girl student asked him why a "special treatment" was being meted out to the juvenile accused in the infamous Delhi gang rape case. Another girl asked him why a girl's character was judged by her attire? To which, the IG replied that it was the mindset of society which needed to be changed and they should not care about such judgements. A girl said recently the Mumbai Commissioner had stated that the girls must slap eve-teasers. She asked what if she was stopped by a group of boys, to which the UT police top brass replied that girls must ensure their safety for which they needed to judge the situation first. "If it is a public place, it is better to raise the alarm and seek help from the passersby. Click his photo or note down his vehicle number, if the situation is otherwise," he said. He emphasised that sharing the problem with teachers and parents was the first step to curb such incidents. He also advised the teachers to monitor behavioural changes in students on a regular basis and report to their seniors or police officers if found something unusual. Another girl expressed fear of harassment at the police station. He said efforts were being made to improve the environment at the police stations. "We have already issued directions to all SHOs to meet a complainant within 24 hours of the registration of a complaint," he said. He asked the students to share their problems with their parents. He said the girls could dial 100 or mail him at igp_chd@nic.in for filing a complaint. "Their identity will be kept secret," he said. The officer said the police would not tolerate any "nonsense". He appealed to girls to report incidents of sexual harassment. He explained to the girl students that by not reporting incidents of sexual harassment, they were encouraging those committing the crime.
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Notice issued to UT Administration
Chandigarh, February 14 The petitioner, Dr Jagdish Chander, from the GMCH, has challenged the extension of Dr Raj Bahadur’s tenure as the Director-Principal on grounds that “the latter had exceeded the maximum period of deputation from his parent institution and was given eight extensions without the consensus of the competent authorities.” “The Chandigarh bench of CAT has scheduled arguments on the interim application for disallowing further extension of Dr Raj Bahadur’s tenure on February 19. Dr Bahadur has also exceeded the age limit for retirement,” said advocate Rajvinder Singh Bains. Dr Raj Bahadur had joined the GMCH in 2008. His three-year deputation period ended in January 2011.
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Eight special counters set up for downloading e-Aadhaar letters
Chandigarh, February 14 The e-Sampark centres where this facility will be available are at Sectors 10, 15, 17, 21, 40, 43, Industrial Area Phase-I and Manimajra. The city residents will be charged a nominal fee of Rs 2 for the printout of each copy of e-Aadhaar letter. The residents can check the status of their e-Aadhaar cards at these centres rather than visiting the e-Aadhaar office. After the Centre made e-Aadhaar mandatory for various facilities being provided, the residents were running from post to pillar to know about the status of their Aadhaar cards. Earlier, the administration was not providing the facility to download e-Aadhaar letters in case of delay or know their status. As a result of this, the residents had to rush to the region’s Unique Identification Data (UID) office for getting the information. The UID authorities have asked the UT Administration to open special outlets at e-Sampark centers for providing this facility. The plan
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Valentine’s Day celebrated at GCG-42
Chandigarh, February 14 The students then joined the ‘One Billion Rising’ against physical, sexual and psychological violence against women and girls .
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7 doctors shifted to civil dispensaries
Chandigarh, February 14 Twenty one civil dispensaries had been reeling under the shortage of doctors . There were only 16 doctors to attend on patients at these dispensaries. The ratio of doctors to patients here is 250 patients per doctor compared to the norm of 40 patients per doctor. The doctors had been working on a rotational basis. —TNS
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Family says no to treatment
Mohali, February 14 The family members were admitted to a hospital in Mohali for treatment of depression as they had reportedly confined themselves in their house for the past several years. Sources said the family created a ruckus at the hospital during midnight and insisted to go home. Following this, the doctor on duty allowed them to go. The Mohali Deputy Commissioner today deputed a naib tehsildar to get the family members admitted to the hospital again. An ambulance was also sent to their residence. The police was called at their residence. The family members, however, refused to come out of the house. Dildar Singh’s brother, who also lives in Mohali, too reached there. He informed that he was not in touch with the family for some time. The naib tehsildar inquired about the family from some of the neighbours who said they would hardly see them except Dildar Singh. “I have not seen Dildar’s wife or children. I met him (Dildar) twice or thrice but I realised that he did not make sense,” said HS Kang, a neighbour. The naib tehsildar left after recording the statements of some of the neighbours saying they would take legal measures so that their treatment could be initiated. The condition of Dildar’s daughter is said to be very critical. Station House Officer (SHO) Atul Soni said the police could only intervene if got proper orders from the authorities. “The house is stinking badly as they (the family members) defecate and urinate in rooms,” the SHO said.
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Partabpura school bags 4th state-level quiz
Mohali, February 14 Students who were part of the team were Jasvir Singh, Harpreet Singh and Dharmender. There was a tie for the second and the third slots. Teams from Government High School, Sahni (Kapurthala district), comprising Jasmeen Kaur, Lovepreet Kaur and Simranjeet Kaur and Government High School, Moranwali (Faridkot district), comprising Harjinder Singh, Amandeep Kaur and Surajpal Kaur won the second position. — OC
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