|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Big, beautiful, green plans for city
Chandigarh, March 5 It has recommended that while improving road connectivity in the city, the focus should not be on motorists alone. The Administration should keep in mind the cyclists and pedestrians, before widening any road and starting any project. The master plan has laid stress on providing "park and ride" facilities around bus stands, bus stops and the proposed Metro stations. The master plan committee has recommended that the Administration should provide more facilities to cyclists and should improve cycle tracks in the city. The plan consists of over 14 chapters containing studies and recommendations on various services. The projections have been made by the master plan committee for an estimated population of 20 lakh, which the city is likely to have in 2031. In the transport sector, the master plan has proposed widening of major highways connecting the Chandigarh Urban Complex. For shopping centres, the master plan has proposed augmentation of the existing market infrastructure and inclusion of modern concepts of sustainable energy practices among other things. The master plan has proposed big projects, including Prayatan Bhawan in Sector 17, a state-of-the-art convention centre (Nehru Centre for Performing Arts) in Sector 34, Museum of Knowledge in the Capitol Complex in Sector 1, an integrated warehousing complex in the Industrial Area, a modernised transport nagar and housing projects in southern sectors.
Upgrade of infrastructure
The master plan committee has proposed to upgrade the infrastructure on the periphery of the city. The committee has also proposed major projects on the outskirts of the city. The projects include a transport nagar on around 45 acres at Daria village and a warehousing complex in the Industrial Area, Phase III.
Energy-efficient units in Industrial Area
The committee has proposed setting up of industrial units, which are not labour intensive, in the Industrial Area, Phase III. It has made recommendations for clean, energy-efficient, low-volume and high-value industries. It has suggested that the concept of flatted factories for small-scale industries in the area be introduced. The flatted factories will be multipurpose industrial buildings with more than one storey. The buildings, subdivided into small units, will be used for manufacturing, assembly, storage and parking
purposes.
Agriculture and natural farming
The committee has also recommended "agriculture and natural farming" with focus on the promotion of local agri bio-diversity or indigenous crops on the periphery. Other activities proposed for land use by the committee are horticulture, orchards, plant nursery, green house related to nursery, floriculture, livestock rearing/dairy farm, sericulture, fishery, poultry, piggery, bee keeping and cattle fair ground. For this, the committee has also identified a few pockets on the periphery of Chandigarh. There are five pockets of the total 15 proposed for setting up of modern amenities by the committee. The pockets identified are near Dhanas, Maloya, around Raipur Khurd and Makhan Majra, and the area between Khuda Ali Sher village and Rajindra Park.
Fire safety in markets
The committee has proposed delineation and enforcement of fire zones around shopping centres to facilitate fire engine movement, water hydrants and underground tanks. The committee has recommended strict enforcement of fire-safety norms in all commercial buildings. It has recommended keeping a check on encroachments on public land or private buildings in shopping centres.
Eco-sensitive zone around natural choes
The committee has recommended that an area of 200 m along Patiala-ki-Rao, the Sukhna choe and natural choes should be declared as eco-sensitive zones to preserve forests. Besides, 12 green corridors from south to north sectors have also been recommended. The committee has proposed strict enforcement of laws to ensure removal of encroachments and to check misuse of parks in the city.
Rehabilitation of colonies
The master plan has recommended construction of community parking spaces, diversity of designs in terms of sizes of flats and need-based changes among other proposals to improve the basic amenities provided in rehabilitation colonies.
Three inter-city bus
terminals for tricity
To meet the passengers’ needs in the future, new inter-city bus terminals will be constructed in the tricity. The master plan has proposed setting up of three new inter-city bus terminals to meet the future need. The new bus terminals are proposed to be set up at Sector 31, Chandigarh, near Tribune Chowk, Mani Majra and Sector
102, Mohali.
Cultural hub in Sector 42
The master plan has recommended that a cultural hub be developed in Sector 42 which will include the memorial to Beant Singh, the Palm Garden and the Garden of Springs.
Marriage palaces
The Administration has laid emphasis on providing better commercial infrastructure. At present, there are no marriage palaces in the city and residents are forced to look for options on the periphery of the city. To address the problem, an area near Dadu Marja will be partly developed for marriage palaces and other commercial activities. Incentives for waste minimisation
The master plan has further proposed that incentives should be provided for waste minimisation and adoption of waste-utilisation technologies to reduce industrial pollution here. The committee has recommended the promotion of alternative fuels like CNG and propane for public transport. It has suggested that the air quality monitoring network should be expanded to cover more areas in the city. At present, the air quality is being monitored at five places in Chandigarh: Sector 17, the Industrial Area-I, the PEC University of Technology, the IMTECH, Sector 39, and Kaimbwala village.
Commercial hub
The committee has recommended that a commercial hub be developed north of Vikas Marg, like the one on Madhya Marg. The Administration plans to develop a commercial belt north of Vikas Marg. Thousands of people living in sectors 39 to 47 will be benefited with this move.
what the committee HAS proposed
|
|
Southern sectors set to get four dispensaries
Chandigarh, March 5 These dispensaries will come up in sectors 48, 49, 50 and 52. At a meeting of the coordination committee of UT and MC officials, the Administration gave sanction to the MC to start constructing dispensaries in these sectors. UT officials have told Mayor Subhash Chawla and MC officials that Administrator Shivraj V Patil wants these dispensaries to start functioning within two years. The Mayor said they were thankful to the Administrator for handing over land to the MC for the dispensaries. Earlier, the Administration had imposed an embargo on the transfer of land to the MC since it was reluctant to impose house tax. F&CC member and councillor Mukesh Bassi said they were now expecting that the Administration would clear many more projects of the MC.
|
|
CBI gets contempt notice
Chandigarh, March 5 On February 11, the court had ordered the CBI to open the bank accounts, which had been lying sealed ever since the accused was arrested in 2010. However, the CBI failed to comply with the court orders. The CBI has been asked to file a reply by March 8. The CBI had received the court orders to open the bank accounts on February 14, but failed to do so. The case dates back to September 8, 2010, when the CBI registered a case of forgery against 11 students of PEC, who had allegedly taken admission using forged Nepalese identification cards under a college scheme meant for foreign students and NRIs. The CBI then arrested the alleged mastermind, Dr Nishikant, a chemistry doctorate holder, who ran a coaching centre, in September 2010. The CBI said the accused was adept at forging documents and made identity cards of Nepal and Bhutan and gave them to students in return for huge amounts ranging between Rs 10 and Rs 15 lakh. The second accused, Mahinder Bajaj, is a dental technician. He is Nishikant’s friend. Bajaj, a resident of Hisar, was arrested in October 2010.
|
|
Assault on policeman: No arrests, for now
Chandigarh, March 5 Even though the CCTV footage clearly shows that the head constable was thrashed, no arrests have been made so far. The FIR has been registered under sections of non-bailable offences. Senior police officials said the decision of not arresting the accused had been taken considering the protests held by advocates following the registration of a case and to maintain the law and order situation. UT IGP RP Upadhyaya today met the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana Court and discussed the entire controversy. Sources said a decision had been taken not to make any immediate arrest. The police had yesterday registered an FIR against the former Additional Advocate General of Punjab and the others. The incident occurred on February 26 when advocate Rupinder Khosla was stopped by head constable Ramesh Chand as he did not have a smart card to enter the court premises. A heated scuffle ensued following which advocates allegedly beat up the head constable hurled abuses at him. The FIR was registered a week after the incident after SP Arun Kampani submitted the inquiry report. Khosla and the other lawyers, who will be identified from the CCTV footage, have been booked on charges of assault and criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty and causing damage to public property. Protesting against the registration of an FIR against advocates and demanding quashing of the case, advocates today refrained from work at the High Court. This resulted in harassment for hundreds of litigants, who had come from far-off places. The advocates have decided to suspend work indefinitely till the FIR is not cancelled. The registration of an FIR against the advocates is snowballing into a major controversy. The advocates stayed away from work throughout the day. They have decided to hold a procession to the Punjab Raj Bhawan tomorrow. The Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association has said the strike would continue till the cancellation of the FIR. It has asked the members not to appear before courts. A decision to this effect was taken during a meeting of the general house of the Bar association. Condemning the lodging of the FIR, the advocates said they were against the introduction of the new entry system, which was “the root cause of the whole episode”. The lawyers also condemned “the atrocities of the Chandigarh Police in general and with the lawyers’ community in particular”. The failure on the part of the police to take legal action against “erring” head constable Ramesh Chand was also condemned. The lawyers were of the view that “one-sided and biased action has been taken by the police against the lawyers”. Let police arrest me, says Khosla
Alleging that the FIR against him is “totally unjust and biased”, Khosla said on Tuesday that the registration of the case came as a rude shock for him. “I am the aggrieved party and the police has booked me. I was slapped; the head constable pushed me and despite this, the police has named me as the accused. Let the police come and arrest me and I won’t even apply for bail,” he said while talking to Chandigarh
Tribune.
Prohibitory orders
District Magistrate Mohammad Shayin has imposed Section 144 within a 1-km area around the Raj Bhawan in view of the lawyers’ strike on Wednesday.
|
|
aadhaar card dumping
Chandigarh, March 5 The Chief Post Master General (CPMG), KL Khanna, stated in the inquiry the postman was found guilty of non-performance of his duties efficiently. So, action has been taken against him. He admitted the fact that the postman had problems in tracing the residential addresses printed on the Aadhaar letters. He said directions have been given to the staff to re-deposit the card if the claimant was not found at the address printed on the letter. A team of UID officials visited Kajheri village, from where the reports of the dropping an Aadhaar letter at a barber shop was received. The team located the shop. But the day being a Tuesday, the shop was closed. The officials returned without taking the barber's statement. The Unique Identification Authority of India Deputy Director-General, Keshni Anand Arora, said she had written to the Postal Department about the issue and asked them to streamline the
distribution of Aadhaar letters in the city.
Now, check Aadhaar letter status on cellphone
Now, you can check the status of your Aadhaar letter on your mobile phone. Enter your 14-digit enrolment number printed on your acknowledgement slip on your registered mobile number and send it to 51969. Even instructions have also been given to the enrolment agency (Aadhaar cards) to accept the copies of online forms from Aadhaar applicats.
|
|
A welcome halt at Mohali
Mohali, March 5 Around 50 passengers, who were going to Jalandhar, Beas and Amritsar, boarded the train, which reached the station at Phase 11 exactly at 7.01 pm. Twelve passengers had reservation while the rest bought tickets at the current booking counter. The Divisional Railway Manager, Ambala, PK Sanghi, said the passengers' enthusiasm showed that the train would be very popular in the coming days. While boarding the train from the station to Beas, a resident of Sohana, Rani, and her cousin Nisha said earlier they used to go to Beas by bus by paying Rs 170 each. "Today, we got the tickets for Rs 80 each and certainly, the journey would be much more comfortable. The halting of train here is really a boon for us," they said. The station caters to not only the local residents but also the residents of the southern sectors
of Chandigarh. Simarpreet Singh, who resides in Sector 47, Chandigarh, too, came to the station to board the train for Amritsar. "The station is nearly 3 km away from my house. Boarding the train from here is far more convenient for the residents of the southern sectors of Chandigarh. More trains should halt here. This will also help in easing the pressure on the Chandigarh railway station," said Simarpreet Singh. Earlier, hundreds of residents, led by area MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu, reached the railway station to welcome the train. "This is an achievement for the town. All the local people have been benefited with the decision of halting such an important train here," said Sidhu. Sweets were distributed among the people. The arrival timings of the train are 7.01 pm everyday. It would halt here only for
a minute.
Train timings
The arrival time of the train is 7.01 pm everyday. It will halt at Mohali only for a minute.
|
|
Finally, doctor appointed at Dhanas civil dispensary
Chandigarh, March 5 Chandigarh Tribune on Monday highlighted the inconvenience caused to the residents. Dr Daizy, who works under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), was appointed at the dispensary today. Earlier, in the absence of any doctor, patients had been given prescriptions by a pharmacist. In case of emergency, the pharmacist, with her limited knowledge, had been prescribing medicines. The situation for over 50,000 residents of the colony turned difficult when the pharmacist went on 20 days' leave, starting March 1. Most patients until now were being asked to visit other dispensaries in the area or the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16. The dispensary has sufficient infrastructure to cater to a large number of patients. There were only auxiliary nurse midwives and one counsellor for ant-natal counselling at
the dispensary.
|
|
Mohali MC proposes budget of Rs 7,469 lakh
Mohali, March 5 Last year’s balance that has been carried forward in the budget proposals is Rs 315.57 lakh. The proposed expenditure of the corporation during the next financial year stands at Rs 7,343.80 lakh. A sum of Rs 1,500 lakh has been proposed as income from the property tax, which is being levied for the first time in Mohali. The civic body proposes to earn a revenue of Rs 4,500 lakh from VAT against Rs 3,350 proposed in the last year’s budget. However, the income to be earned from octroi levied on power has been increased only marginally from Rs 500 lakh to Rs 550 lakh in the next year’s proposed budget. The proposed income from advertisements has been doubled by the corporation in the new budget, fixing it at Rs 400 lakh. Last year, the proposed income stood at Rs 200 lakh, but the civic body expects to earn a revenue of Rs 350 lakh by March 31 in the current financial year. A 10 per cent hike in the earnings from the water supply and sewerage charges has been proposed by the corporation in the new budget, fixing it at Rs 120 lakh, against last year’s proposal of Rs 110 lakh. A proposal for hiking the water charges has been sent to the government for approval and the corporation hopes to earn 10 per cent more if the rates are revised. The civic body proposes to spend more than 73 per cent of the proposed budget on development works in the town with Rs 5,464 lakh. A sum of Rs 1,000 lakh has been proposed to be spent on the construction and repair of footpaths, Rs 350 lakh on the payment of streetlight power bills, Rs 750 lakh on the payment of power bills for tubewells and Rs 150 lakh on the maintenance of the water supply and sewerage systems.The proposed administrative expenditure in the new budget stands at Rs 1589.81 lakh, which is 21.28 per cent of the proposed income. A sum of Rs 650 lakh has been proposed for solid waste management. This will include the amount to be spent on sanitation work and the cleaning of road berms and kerb channels.
|
|
First police-public meeting ends abruptly in P’kula
Panchkula, March 5 The meeting which was held at a community centre in Sector 10, Panchkula, saw people from 37 resident welfare associations of the city. Deswal had taken the initiative to involve public and begin community policing. Deswal who stepped in at 11.52 am was given 15 minutes to talk. Deswal said that everyone would be given two minutes to ask their questions. The ruckus started when SK Nayar, a resident, took too long while speaking about the problems of Panchkula on the stage. Two residents from the audience stood up and began shouting at him to come down. But when Nayar did not get down, a resident from Sector 17 got up and began yelling out his problem. The CP tried to calm him down but he began arguing. Then Deswal said that “Bachkana kaam na karaen”(don’t behave like children) and this led to further chaos. He then soon called off the meeting. When contacted Deswal, said, “Residents started fighting among themselves and the meeting had to be called off. But there will be interaction between the public and the police as we are there for them.” Deswal assured the residents that he was there for them and even directed all the SHOs to hold a meeting. This meeting was an initiative by the CP to increase community policing. After listening to some of the queries, Deswal advised the officials and members of the associations to install CCTV Cameras inside as well as outside their shops and work places. He further said that police could not be omni-present, but efforts would be made to maintain better law and order. He told the people that in Ambala and Panchkula a new programme called “Safe Street Programme” had been started. The Police Commissioner directed all police officers present at the meeting to visit their sectors and conduct meeting with the public every 10 days. Officer tests quick-reaction time of two PCRs
CP Rajbir Deswal directed DCP Ashwin Shenvi to call two PCRs on the spot to check their reaction time. Deswal was elated when one PCR reached in three minutes while the other reached in
five
|
|
khushpreet case
Chandigarh, March 5 In the orders dated February 18, 2013, the Home Secretary has stated that the punishment awarded to the trio, Inspector Udaypal Singh, Inspector Narinder Singh and Sub-Inspector Balraj Singh, is not commensurate with the guilt alleged to have been committed in handling the case. The Union Territory Home Secretary asked the IGP to conduct, if required, an independent enquiry by another officer affording full opportunity to the policemen to project their stand. Five-year-old Khushpreet was kidnapped on December 21, 2010, and his body was found in Mohali after 15 days. A magisterial inquiry was conducted to look into police negligence and in the report. The inquiry officer pointed out lapses on the part of erring policemen and held them guilty of the charge. Inspector Udaypal Singh, who was the then SHO of the Sector 34 police station, was given punishment of forfeiture of four years' service for increments while Inspector Narinder Singh, the then in charge of the Burail police post, and Sub-inspector Balraj Singh were punished with the forfeiture of two years' service. Thereafter, they appealed before the court of the Home Secretary against the decision.
|
|
Mohali admn to crack down on illegal PG accommodation
Mohali, March 5 Stating this at a meeting of senior officials of various departments held here today, Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam said that all PG accommodations, which had come up in violation of the rules would be closed down. He emphasised that law and order would be maintained in the town. He said all owners of PG accommodations must give details of the occupants to the police. Navjot Kaur Estate Officer, GMADA, said the owners of 460 PG accommodations had been issued notices. Hearings had been held in 100 cases and illegal set ups were closed down, she added. The DC wanted that the hearings must be expedited in order to initiate action against those who flouted norms.
|
|
City Water supply hit
Chandigarh, March 5 The department concerned took around four hours to repair the line, which resulted in low-pressure water supply to many parts of the city. The official said water supply would be affected on Wednesday as well.
|
|
MC notice to JW Marriott
Chandigarh, March 5 A senior official of the MC said they had earlier also issued a notice to the hotel but now they had issued the final notice to the hotel management. Besides, the MC is also going to issue notices to 40 property tax defaulters, who have not paid their dues. The MC has prepared a list of 40 such defaulters.
— TNS
|
EWS QUOTA
Chandigarh, March 5 Since the minority schools in Chandigarh are not covered under the Right to Education Act, the education department specifically asked these schools to submit the status of their 15 per cent seats which they were supposed to reserve for the EWS students in lieu of the land allotted to them on concession. While four out of 13 schools furnished their status, the rest of the nine schools however, replied that they were not obliged to adhere to the provision of 15 per cent EWS reservation under concession land allotment scheme since their land was allotted before 1996. Hardening its stand, officials of the education department clarified that all the schools whether allotted land before or after 1996 were obliged to fill their 15 per cent seats from the EWS quota as mentioned in the allotment letter. “If these minority schools fail to abide by the provisions of the concession land allotment despite our repeated attempts in near future, the education department might send their cases to the UT Estate Office for the resumption proceeding of their land,” said a senior official. Advertisement soon for vacant RTE seats The officials said that it has begun the procedure to compile the whole data and on its basis they would soon issue the advertisement to invite the deserving candidates for these seats.
|
||
|
PU stalls 100-bedded hospital plan on campus
Chandigarh, March 5 The plan to have a multi-purpose auditorium has also been put on hold. While taking the decision during the Syndicate meeting held today, the house deferred the provision of grant made for both the projects in the budget of next financial year. The foundation stone of the hospital was laid in 2008 and the first floor of the building is partially ready. The hospital would have also provided medical facilities to the residents of Chandigarh and those of the periphery areas. As per the planning the 100-bedded hospital was supposed to have OPDs in general medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, radio diagnosis, pediatrics and physiotherapy. The revised estimated budget was approved by the house with a rider on the provision of the 100-bedded hospital and the university auditorium in Sector 25. The house emphasised that the project of 100-bedded hospital needs a serious re-look. A senior faculty in the PU’s Dr HS Judge Institute of Dental Sciences stated that the university should go ahead with the project as already crores of rupees have been spent on the project. KK Dhiman a Senate member and also principal Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Sector 26, said scarping the project would affect the PU’s plan to start Post-Graduation (PG) course in Dental Science. It was approved that the university will appoint a committee of legal experts in order to suggest the ways and means to minimize the legal expenses and initiate administrative reforms. Other decisions
|
||
|
Teachers not computer savvy, says Education Department
Chandigarh, March 5 Sources in the department said that most of the draft question papers, submitted to the department by the teachers, were hand written loose documents. “Many of these teachers lacked the basic ability to work on the computers. Further the school heads did not get the draft question papers typed and sent the same to the department" said an official. A teacher, who set one of class XI question papers for this year, accepted that the hand written question papers were prone to more mistakes and required several round of proof-reading before final printing. But this precautionary process was not followed properly, especially in year’s English and Punjabi question papers of class XI and class IX. “The overall system can be improved if the paper-setters are directed to submit a clean and error free, typed, draft question papers instead of loose handwritten documents", said a senior official. Experts believe that the education department needs several core amendments. “Paper-setter should be given ample time, so as the examination panel, to complete the whole exercise of preparing all the question-papers at least a week before the beginning of the exams", said Panchkula educationist S Kumar. Talking to Dr B S Ghuman, Professor of the Department of Public Administration and former Dean of Faculty of Arts, he said that teachers needed professional training, since setting the paper was a difficult job. “Education department must start some orientation programme for the potential paper setters and guide them with do’s and don’t of the paper-setting. We need system that maintains secrecy but at the same time ensure error free working at every stage", he said.
|
||
|
Workshop on e-waste management held
DEEKSHA ( Diffused Environmental Education Keep Society Humbly Aware) conducted a workshop on “E-Waste Management” in association with Nokia at Tribune Model School, Sector 29. Students collected E-waste material for recycling to make the Tribune Model School an E-waste conscious school. Students bring laurels
Students of Manav Mangal School, Sector 11, Panchkula, put up brilliant performance in International Informatics Olympiad-2012 organised by Computer Literacy Foundation, New Delhi. Three students of the school have secured first positions in Haryana in different age groups. Three other students bagged second positions in Haryana.
— TNS
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
