Chandigarh, March 17
A major fire broke out in a room on the seventh floor of the Punjab Civil Secretariat-II in Sector 9 this evening, destroying record files and damaging computers.

A call was received by the Fire Department at 4.57 pm, following which four fire tenders were sent to the spot.

Room number 702, where the fire broke out, houses important record of the Punjab Mandi Board, the Forest Department, the Agriculture Department and the Animal Husbandry Department.

Fire officials said record files lying on racks in the room were destroyed. Besides, 24 computers, printers, six photostat machines, 16 ceiling fans, tables and chairs were damaged.

Three fire tenders from Sector 17 and one from the Industrial Area, Phase I, were sent to control the fire. Firefighters reached the seventh floor of the building using a scaling ladder and controlled the fire within 30 minutes with the help of the fire tenders. Being a Sunday, nobody was present in the building. Only security guards were present at the main gate.

Roshan Sunkaria, Administrative Secretary, General Administration and Parliamentary Affairs, has been directed by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to probe the fire incident. Soon after the incident, the Administrative Secretary reached the spot to take stock of the situation.

A spokesperson for the Chief Minister’s Office said the Chief Minister had directed Sunkaria to ascertain the causes and circumstances which led to the incident and suggest remedial measures to ensure that such incidents were not repeated in the future.

Badal also asked Sunkaria to submit the inquiry report within a week. Principal Secretary to the CM SK Sandhu also visited the spot and was seen supervising the firefighting operation.

Sunkaria said the room had records of four departments. The records were destroyed in the fire. “Prima facie it appears that a short circuit may have caused the fire,” said Sunkaria.

Chandigarh, March 17
In a major relief to city residents, the Chandigarh Administration is all set to start the delivery of registration certificates (RCs) at e-Sampark centres instead of the Registration and Licensing Authority (RLA) office.

The Administration will start issuing and accepting forms for RCs at e-Sampark centres. RCs will also be delivered at these centres.

The issue was discussed at a recent meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Shayin and attended by officials of the Department of Information Technology and the RLA.

A senior official of the Administration said the decision had been taken to ease pressure on the RLA office. Driver's licences would continue to be delivered at the RLA office as the applicants had to undergo skill tests.

Chandigarh, March 17
City residents will soon have a night food street at Sector 48. This will be the second night food street in the city. The municipal corporation has allocated work for the construction of the night food street.

The decision to set up the second night food street was taken in 2009 for the convenience of residents of southern sectors. After a gap of over three years, the construction work is set to start soon.

Area councillor Davesh Moudgil today performed the bhoomi pujan for the project. He said the tender for the work had been allotted. The night food street would come up at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. There would be an open food court area and kiosks.

The food court would have an open sitting area and the drinking water facility. The project would take around six months to complete, he said.

The food street project has hit several roadblocks ever since the foundation stone was laid in December 2009. The tender had been allotted earlier. However, before construction work could start, it came to light that the site allotted for the food street was on the way of a slow carriageway that was to be constructed in the area.

Revised plans were prepared to shift the site a little further. It took several months to get an approval for the revised plans.

In the meantime, the contractor refused to start construction work, stating that the cost of material had gone up and the agency would not be able to undertake construction.

Thereafter, tenders were floated several times, but no one was willing to take up the work.

In the first night food street in Sector 14, there are still no takers for two of the four kiosks. The issue was discussed at a recent meeting of the F&CC. At the meeting, it was proposed to run the night food street round the clock, but a decision is yet to be taken.

Chandigarh, March 17
The UT police has been caught on the wrong side of law. It has failed to abide by some orders of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) and has not submitted cogent reasons/justifications for the same to the Home Department of the UT Administration.

At a recent meeting chaired by KK Sharma, Adviser to the Administrator, and attended by senior officials of the Administration and the police, it came to light that the Police Department had not been keeping the Administration in the loop while not following PCA orders in violation of the notification issued on June 23, 2006, through which the PCA was constituted.

The Police Department has been directed to have a relook at all previous cases where the recommendations of the PCA have been declined/not implemented and has been asked to submit detailed justification for not following the orders to the Chandigarh Administration.

According to the PCA notification, its recommendations are ordinarily binding except for reasons to be recorded in writing in case the Administration decides to disagree with the findings of the authority. Senior UT police officials were told at the meeting that a decision to disagree with the findings of the PCA could not be finalised at the level of the Police Department. "Each case in which the recommendations are not to be implemented is required to be referred with justification to the Chandigarh Administration, which will take a final decision on it," the police was told by the Adviser. A copy of the minutes of the meeting are with Chandigarh Tribune.

Panchkula, March 17
In a twist to the sensational Jyoti murder case, a report of the Forensic State Laboratory (FSL), Madhuban, has stated that the hair samples of Ram Kumar Chaudhary, MLA from the Doon constituency in Himachal Pradesh, do not match with those found on Jyoti's sweater at the time of her murder. The police is now zeroing in on other evidence against the MLA.

Chaudhary's hair samples and those of the other accused in the case were sent to the FSL a few days after their arrest. The reports of the hair samples of the other accused are awaited. The police was treating the hair samples as key evidence in the case.

The possibility of accused Paramjit's hair samples matching with those found on the victim's sweater has gone up as he was allegedly sitting on the rear seat with Jyoti and Chaudhary at the time of the incident.

“We have received a report from the FSL, which clearly mentions that Chaudhary's hair samples do not match with those found on the victim's sweater. We are waiting for the reports of the other accused,” said a police official on condition of anonymity.

Investigation revealed that Chaudhary and Paramjit were sitting on the rear seat with Jyoti while the other accused, Gurmeet and Dharampal, were sitting on the front seat. After a scuffle, Jyoti reportedly slapped Chaudhary. She was then strangled by the accused and in the process hair strands of one of the accused got stuck in her sweater.

"This is not the end. We have other important evidence like the MLA's handwriting which has matched with the one on Jyoti's abortion papers and the transactions made in Jyoti’s bank account," said the police official.

Chaudhary has reportedly stated that the girl was forcing him to continue relations with her following which he had to kill her with the help of his aides. The girl had undergone an abortion at a nursing home in Sector 20, Chandigarh. Chaudhary had reportedly mentioned his name as Ramesh Kumar on the abortion papers.

Chaudhary is currently lodged at the Central Jail in Ambala with the other four accused: his nephews Gurmeet and Dharampal, Paramjeet and truck driver Tilak Raj. Sim card dealer Ashish recently got bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Chaudhary has been accused of killing 24-year-old Jyoti, who belonged to Hoshiarpur. Her body was found near Sector 21 in Panchkula.

Chandigarh, March 17
Although the police has decided not to initiate any action against the girl student of the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), who under the influence of alcohol slapped two women constables on Saturday during the annual cultural literary fest "Goonj".

The UIET has forwarded the case to a discipline committee of the department which would be recommending action against the girl student.

Renu Vig, Director, UIET, said the discipline committee would be meeting on Monday to discuss the case. Stern disciplinary action would be taken against the student.

The parents of the student hailing from Jaipur could not be contacted on Sunday by the Panjab University authorities. Dean Student Welfare (DSW) AS Ahluwalia said, "Another five-member committee will also be formed to inquire about the issue for recommending any action regarding the student's hostel stay on campus."

"The student will be asked to appear before the committee and her statements will also be recorded," said Ahluwalia. 

Chandigarh, March 17
While the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) authorities have been swift in banning the transfer of plots or giving non-objection certificate (NOC) without seeking the physical verification report on the status of building violations, they have failed to implement hundreds of demolition orders pending against dwelling units in rehabilitation colonies and CHB flats.

On the other hand, the UT Estate Office has stepped up its drive against misuse and building violations by serving hundreds of notices for non-compoundable violations. The Estate Office has even started sealing premises or carrying demolition drives against the violations.

At the same time, the CHB is mum on the execution of the demolition orders pending against thousands of building violations.

Recently, the authorities had made a physical verification report by the field staff mandatory while allowing any transfer case or issuing NOC, resulting in a huge pendency of cases.

The officials cite a shortage of staff as the reason for the pending demolition orders. Chander Singh, a resident of Sector 47, who has been seeking information about the violations under the RTI Act, said more than 400 cases of encroachment on government land and 1,000 cases of building violations in Sector 47 alone had not been taken up.

“I have knocked at every door to get demolition orders of house number 3257 implemented. There are several similar cases pending in the CHB. They should take a call on the matter”, said  Chander Singh.

Sources reveal that the CHB had recently formed 72 teams to survey the nature of violations. But, the survey report has remained inconclusive.

Chandigarh, March 17
The Group Housing Cooperative Societies submitted a representation to Union Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal to highlight the fact that development of internal infrastructure in the group housing societies situated in the area from sector 48 to 51, for which the Chandigarh Housing Board had collected several hundred crores of rupees, had in fact been approved in 1994.

Notably, during this year, land allotment letters under the 1991 scheme were issued to the eligible societies wherein discriminatory clauses were inserted by the housing board.

Information obtained by the council under the RTI Act-2005, has revealed that “proposal for internal development within the chunk by the Engineering Department has been approved. The Chandigarh Housing Board will deposit the funds at the rate of Rs 210 per sq yd for this purpose with the Chandigarh Administration.” This approval is contained in a letter from the then Finance Secretary to the Chairman of the Chandigarh Housing Board.

Chairman of the society Satish Sharma apprised the minister that in the backdrop of the arbitrary and discriminatory clause inserted in the allotment letters issued to the group housing societies, the societies had themselves built internal infrastructure at a heavy cost, which was passed on their members.

Sharma stated that the internal infrastructure raised by the societies now was in a shambles and the paucity of funds was forcing the managing committees to abandon redevelopment plans. The situation is likely to further deteriorate in the times to come.

Mohali, March 17
As many as 150 members of the Sky Rock City Welfare Society, Mohali, staged a dharna in front of the residence of Navjeet Singh, president of the society, at Sector 69, this morning.

“We are protesting against the autocratic activities of the president following which we all are suffering,” said one of the members of the committee. Anup Kumar, another member of the committee, said the president has enrolled about 2,500 members in the society whereas the number of plots available is just 234 in Sector 111 and 112.”

He said the GMADA has already cancelled the license of the society in October last year following which the members had formed a seven-member Sky Rock City Members’ Hit Bachao Committee to fight for their rights.

“Now, we have decided to stage a protest in front of the society’s office in Sector 70 on March 23 after that we will decide our next plan of action,” said GS Khaira, one of the members of the committee. 

Mohali, March 17
Waking up to the needs of visually impaired and special children, the Mohali District Administration is going to set up a high-end laboratory for them at Government School, Phase 11, here.

For the purpose, the administration would use a part of District Innovative Fund (DIF), which it got from the Centre recently.

Giving details, Mohali Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam said out of Rs 45 lakh, the total DIF, Rs 16 lakh would be spent on the project under which special gadgets and equipment would be purchased to set up the special laboratory.

“Special exercise equipment will also be purchased for the children. Apart from that, special software, special sensory toys for blind and deaf and dumb children will also be purchased for the laboratory,” said Roojam.

He said the laboratory would cater to all blind, deaf and dumb and special children of the district.

“In fact, this is our first step towards this direction. We are planning to go further to do something for these children”, said Roojam.

He said special schedule would be made for all such children of the district so that they could take advantage of the laboratory.

Out of the rest DIF fund, the district administration has planned to purchase 30 fogging machines for those villages, which have a large number of poultry farms.

“We have identified the villages where the problem of flies and mosquitoes is grave. These villages will be given their own fogging machines to check the hazard,” said Roojam.

The remaining part of the fund would be used to purchase a generator set for the Mohali Civil Hospital at Phase 6 and an ambulance for Regional Spine Centre, Sector 70, here.

Chandigarh, March 17
The third and final day of “Vyom 2013”, the technical fest of the PEC University of Technology, went off well. The day started with events like patent wars, “noesis - the general quiz”, explorative design, “ecelectica - the paper presentation”, fictional confluence and robot wars.

The highlights of the technical events were aqua jets and the much-awaited aero show - “seagulls”. Vyom witnessed rockets and airplanes, which worked on hydropower reaching at the height of 200m.

It also had various workshops related to animation, android, and RC helicopters.

Fun events like gamofreak (ludo, snakes and ladders, unblock the mazes) and crime scene investigations were also held today.

Cash prizes were awarded to the first three winners in each game.

The evening was marked with the performance of a standup comedian, Rivaldo.

The three days of “Vyom 2013” proved to be a fun-filled experience for the students who attended the fest, not only from Chandigarh but also from other cities.

A team from Chitkara University, Baddi, won the first prize in the event Tech-Mahotsav, a competition to display new innovations. The team comprised of Aviral Kumra, Siddharth Rawat, Vipul Thakur and Sammie Sood.

Panchkula, March 17
It is life or death every minute in our show, says a cyclist couple, who grew up in the circus, got married here and has been together for the past 33 years.

For Sheela (39) and Subash (40), they are happy in their own small ‘circus world’ and feel that life outside is pretty easy if they compare it with the world of circus. While Sheela hails from Kolkata, Subash is a native of Chennai. The couple performs gymnastics and different stunts on the cycle.

“I was seven when I started working for the circus. I got training here and the circus became my home. We all friends in the circus used to dine out together. Sheela became one of my best friends,” said Subash.

Sheela was nine when she joined the circus. “We developed a different kind of bonding and an association of so many long years has made us enter into a relationship.”

The couple, whose child is putting up in Kolkata, doesn’t want him to join a circus. “Actually, every minute in the show is a matter of survival or death. Any minute anything can happen. So, we will never want our child to enter this profession,” said Sheela, adding the poor financial condition of her family forced her into the circus world.

After working for 30 long years, they feel that the life outside circus is much easier. “It is very easy to cope with your daily problems but it is very difficult to stay within this small world and play with your life,” said Subash.

Both of them said injuries had become a part of their lives now. “We have suffered fractures about eight or 10 times but as it is said 'the show must go on’, we keep up with that spirit,” said Sheela.

Five friends from Tanzania, South Africa, together entered the world of circus to establish their own identity. In Chandigarh for the first time, they entertain everyone with their daring fire dance and bamboo acrobatics.

“Earlier, we used to show simple acrobatic acts at African hotels. We had performed such acts for five years and side by side learnt fire dance and other acts. Later, we felt that our work was not being recognised,” said Franky.

Franky, whose four brothers worked in a circus in Tanzania, said: “My brothers have their own business and it was only me who wanted to join this profession. So, we all friends looked for a job online and finally got a chance to join the Indian circus,” added Franky.

The group is pretty happy working in the Indian circus. They prepare special delicacies for the members of the circus. “We cook non-vegetarian dishes ourselves and even serve the delicacies to our circus friends. It’s exciting to be part of this circus,” said Franky.

“I know the fire dance act is quite a challenging task but we actually love to do it. It feels great when people cheer us and our work gets recognition,” said another friend. 

For 30-year-old Pappu, his profession of being a clown was not chosen by him but by destiny. A few years ago, certain children made fun of him by throwing stones at him and calling him a dwarf. Today, he make children laugh by performing funny acts.

Pappu, who hails from Bhagalpura village in Bihar and is 2.5-foot tall, is part of the Great Bombay Circus squad. His father is a farmer and his siblings study in a local college there. He was 24 when he took up the profession of a clown.

“I could not concentrate on studies because everyday was a day of sorrow for me. I used to cry every time because children used to laugh and throw stones at me,” said Pappu. He added: “It was very difficult to study when you are being stared at and made fun of every minute.”

Seeing that he has nothing in life apart from people laughing at him, Pappu decided to make children laugh.

“I was so filled with humiliation that my father then suggested me that the only option is to become a clown. It feels good when I make children happy. At the circus, their laughter is actually not an insult but an expression of happiness,” said Pappu.

Pappu also does flying acts and tries his best not to show his sadness hidden behind the ‘funny looks’.

I have my own world where I command respect. I stay happy with my circus friends, said Pappu.

Showing a bit of shyness, Pappu said two years ago, he even got married. “I got married two years ago and my wife loves me a lot. But, I never want her to be a part of the circus world because it is very difficult to hide your problems and show others you are a happy person,” signed off Pappu.

Chandigarh, March 17
To procure 49 low-floor buses, the CTU has finally invited a short-term notice. The buses would be acquired at a cost of around Rs 25 crore.

Officials in the CTU said the applicants had been asked to apply online by March 21 so that the process of finalising the tenders could be started before March 31.

The tenders have been invited for chassis or fully built low-floor buses. This time the tenders have been invited for 400 mm low floor according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Urban Transport. Sources said the period of annual maintenance had also been reduced to three years.

Another riding factor for early purchase of the buses was the budget of Rs 45 crore of 98 buses was going to lapse if the funds were not utilized by March 31. 

Chandigarh, March 17
To encourage individuals, NGOs and corporates working for the disabled, the Cheshire Homes Chandigarh organised an award function to honour such crusaders for their contribution towards the noble cause. The Tribune was the media sponsor of the event.

This was the first award distribution ceremony held in association with the Social Welfare Department of the Chandigarh Administration. Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union Minister for Railways, was the chief guest.

The awards were given away in five different categories. The award for the disabled person for excellence in chosen field was given to RC Sethi, while the award for individuals who contributed to the cause of the disabled was given to Puja. The award for working for the employment of the disabled was presented to the National Association for the Blind; among the corporate the award went to Umeed, and the Lifetime Achievement Award for service to the disabled was given to Dr ML Kataria.

AS Kahlon, chairman emeritus of Cheshire Homes, requested the Railway Minister to extend the concessions given to the disabled on all trains, which presently is restricted to a few trains.

The Minister said he would have to check whether the government could provide concessions to the disabled on all trains. Bansal said during the Budget, he mentioned about equipping railway stations with wheelchairs for the disabled. “Initially, big railway stations will be equipped with wheelchairs and some of them will also have the facility of lifts and escalators,” he said. The function saw cultural performances by differently abled children from the Institution for Blind, Sector 26, Regional Institute for Mentally Handicapped, Sector 31, Vatika School for Deaf and Dumb, Sector 19, and Prayaas School for Special Children, Sector 38.

Distribution of aids and appliances for the orthopedically disabled persons, which was sponsored by the Rotary Club of Chandigarh Midtown, was also made.

Gurdip S. Deep, chairman, Cheshire Homes Chandigarh, said: “It is an honour to have been associated with such a noble cause”.

Chandigarh, March 17
The annual cultural literary fest of UIET, “Goonj”, concluded with finales of various events conducted today.

“Aandolika” the singing competition and the street painting contest showcased the hidden talent of participants. During the debate, participants spoke on the motion “Is the intervention of the United Nations Security Council in matters of countries justified?”

The poster-making contest brought out the talent of the students. It was themed on the echoes of Indian spirit.

The IPL auction saw the students bidding for their own IPL teams. The fest concluded with a rock night where star performers “The Local Train”, a renowned band, made students sway to their rhythms. — TNS

Chandigarh, March 17
Arthritis is a problem associated with ageing. Instead of going in for nutritious diet and regular walk, people start depending on excessive painkillers, which are very harmful especially for kidneys and abdomen.

This was stated today by Dr Harsimran Singh, Joint Replacement Specialist, Fortis Hospital , Mohali, while speaking at a free medical camp that was organised today at Modern Housing Complex Manimajra community center by the Residents Welfare Association and the Lions Club of Panchkula.

Besides the OPD, the camp also provided free bone density and obesity detection test. As many as 200 persons attended the camp. — TNS