Mohali, April 8
The Chandigarh Police may have initiated steps to put pressure on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the India Premier League (IPL) authorities to recover dues by not providing special security to the teams, the Mohlai police has no such liberty.

The Mohali police has to recover a whopping Rs 10.39 crore from the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) and Rs 5.62 crore from the IPL authorities.

“We have to make fool- proof security arrangements during the IPL matches even as we never got a single penny in lieu of this since 1995,” said a Punjab Police official. “The PCA authorities say they had never asked for security,” he said.

Sources said the police had sent at least 25 reminders to the cricket authorities, but to no avail. From 1995 to 2013, several Ranji Trophy, international and IPL matches have been played at the PCA Stadium, but the PCA and the IPL authorities did not pay even a single penny. Now the bills have mounted to a whopping Rs 16 crore.

“Providing security to cricket players and VVIPs is our prime duty. It is for the senior functionaries to recover the dues,” said another police official. Government officials and politicians are a big hurdle in recovering the dues as they hold key posts in the management committees of the PCA, he added.

When contacted, SP (City) Swarndeep Singh said the police was in constant touch with the PCA authorities. “We will hold a meeting with the PCA authorities soon to settle the issue,” he said.

Joint secretary of the PCA GS Walia said the state government had constituted a committee under the chairmanship of the Punjab DGP in this regard. 

Chandigarh, April 8
Despite telling herself since childhood not to even intend to marry anyone who is not a Rajput, 18-year-old Sitara fell in love with a man of a different cast. His promises gave her the strength to talk to her patients, but they never agreed to their daughter getting married to a non-Rajput. She was left with no other option but to run away from home on March 31.

She showed courage and married 23-year-old Rashid Ali. The couple thought they will convince their families. But little did she know that they both will land up in a hospital. The couple hails from Alamgirpur village in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

After being thrashed by Sitara’s family members on Sunday night, Rashid continues to be unconscious in the hospital.

Doctors at the GMCH-32 said Rashid had a concussion in his head following stab injuries. “We are trying to dilute the clot with medicines, but he will take sometime to regain consciousness.”

Sitara sustained minor injuries while attempting to save Rashid. She spent the entire night cursing herself for taking the decision of running away from home.

“It was my fault. He could have been killed had the police not intervened on time. I told Rashid that my parents will never approve of an inter-caste marriage, but he said he would handle everything,” said Sitara, while being taken for a CT scan at the hospital on Monday morning.

Rashid’s father, who was also hurt in the attack, took Rashid to Command Hospital in Chandimandir.

“Sitara’s father had accused Rashid of kidnapping her at gunpoint. We were not aware that Rashid and Sitara had run away from home. He is a sepoy in the Rajput Regiment and is posted in Kanpur,” said Rashid’s father.

“I came to Chandigarh with Sitara’s father, her uncle and some other relatives. Sitara’s father and uncle said they want to talk to Rashid in person. I left the room and suddenly heard Rashid’s cries. As I went inside the room, I saw him bleeding,” said Rashid’s father.

Sitara and Rashid were neighbours and knew each other since the past one-and-a-half-year. They were putting up in a rented one-room accommodation in Burail, Sector 45.

The police had arrested three persons, including Sitara’s father. 

Panchkula, April 8
Residents in Panchkula are getting Aadhaar cards with discrepancies. The cards bear irrelevant information with names and particulars of residents who don’t even belong to the region. The cards also have wrong phone numbers. In some cases, the card bears two addresses. The Aadhaar cards are issued after physical verification by the officials concerned.

Davinder Mahajan, president of the Residents' Welfare Association, shows four e-Aadhaar cards bearing the address of his house in Panchkula on Monday. Tribune Photo: Nitin Mittal

Two sectors have been mentioned on an Aadhaar card like MDC, Sector 4, Panchkula, and MDC, Sector 5, Panchkula. The phone numbers mentioned on it are also wrong. Besides, cellphone numbers of six and seven-year-old children have been mentioned in the card.

Davinder Mahajan, a resident of house number 60, Mansa Devi Complex, Panchkula, Sector 4, received four such Aadhaar cards.

“Initially, I thought the cards have been sent to my residence by mistake. But when I called up at the phone numbers given on the card, the person on the other end said I had dialled a wrong number and she was speaking from Bathinda,” said Mahajan. “This means that fake cards are being issued at wrong addresses,” he added.

AM Sahni, another resident, said: “I live in house number 153 and I received an Aadhadr card in the name of Ramesh Sharma, a resident of house number 153, Sector 4, MDC. When a dialled the number mentioned in the card, I came to know that the person lives in Pathankot.” 

Mobile: 9876373497

Chandigarh, April 8
In an embarrassment to the police, a 27-year-old undertrial in a rape case fled from the police custody when he was taken to the GMSH-16 for medical examination today.

Constable Sanjay, who was injured after the rape accused fled from the police custody, leaves for his home on a CTU bus in Chandigarh on Monday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

The accused, Deepak, who was arrested in July 2012 in a kidnapping and abduction case registered at the Sector 39 police station, fled when the prisoners were boarding a police bus at a bus stop on the Sector 10 road.

The incident took place around 1 pm when constable Sanjay and ASI Kuldeep were with the Deepak, who was lodged in the Burail jail. The constable and the ASI have been booked for negligence and have been suspended.

The police said Deepak had complained of pain in the chest in the morning. The doctor recommended an ultrasound. He was taken to the hospital in the police bus with other prisoners where he was medically examined.

The undertrial was then taken to the Sector 10 bus stop opposite the Sector 16 hospital. Deepak pushed constable Sanjay, who was holding his right arm, as he was about to board the bus and jumped a barbed wire on the opposite side. The constable tried to chase him, but he could not cross the road due to heavy traffic. He was also hit by a vehicle in the process.

Constable Sanjay also sustained minor injuries. Later, he and ASI Kuldeep were placed under suspension for negligence.

A case under Sections 223 and 224 (escape from confinement due to negligence by a public servant) of the IPC has been registered at the Sector 17 police station. A departmental probe has also been ordered.

The police also picked up a relative of the accused from Sector 15 for questioning amid protest by family members. He was let off after questioning.

Deepak was arrested on July 10 last year for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl. 

Chandigarh, April 8
The result of the interviews conducted for the selection of the Director-Principal (DP) of Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, is likely to be declared tomorrow.

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), New Delhi, had conducted the interviews on April 4 and 13 doctors from the city had appeared for it.

This was the first interview conducted ever since Dr Raj Bahadur, the incumbent DP, was selected for the post in 2007. He was given several extensions after the completion of his three-year deputation in 2010.

A total of 11 in-house doctors and two doctors from the PGIMER appeared for the interview. From GMCH, the applicants were Dr Jagdish Chander (microbilogy), Dr AK Attri (surgery), Dr Atul Sachdev (medicine), Dr Anju Huria (gyaenecology), Dr Satinder (anaesthesia), Dr Suman Kochar (radiology), Dr GP Thami (dermatology), Dr Sudhir Garg (orthopedics), Dr Arjun Dass (ENT), Dr BS Chavan (psychology), Dr AK Janmeja (pulmonary medicine). From PGIMER, Dr SK Singh (urology) and Dr Rakesh Sehgal (parasitology) appeared for the interview.

In August last year, five in-house doctors of GMCH had moved the Central Adminstrative Tribunal (CAT), challenging the elgibility criteria for selection for the post of Director-Principal. Dr Raj Bahadur is from the department of orthopaedics, PGI, and was on a five-year deputation till November 30, 2012.

Chandigarh, April 8
Due to the reduction of collection hubs from 500 to 79, there has been a delay in the delivery of speed post across the country. Rather than getting the information about the hub concerned, the clients end up seeing the delay status on the tracking system.

A senior citizen, Satish Shah, a resident of Sector 44, is running from pillar to post for the past one week to enquire about the two speed posts that his daughter sent to him from New Delhi.

He said that it was strange that when the department was keeping a track of all the hubs, then why it was taking so long for the mails to be delivered.

Talking about his bitter experience about the delivery of the speed posts he said that he had received first speed post after five days and second after a fortnight which were supposed to be delivered within a day as per the norms of the department. This is not the story of Satish Shah only but thousands of other clients are also sailing in the same boat and are feeling harassed at the hands of the Postal Department.

The Chief Post Master General (CPMG), KL Khanna, stated that the department was in the process of resolving the issue and was working to streamline the services for its clients.

Records of the department revealed that on an average 10 to 15 complaints regarding the delay in delivery of the speed post or registered post were being received by the Postal Department.

Sources said for the past six months, the staff of the Postal Department had been guiding their clients to opt for some other services other than the services of the Postal Department to send their important documents. 

Chandigarh, March 8
As the UT’s top brass is still “dabbling” over the new excise policy (2013-2014), around 30 per cent quota of liquor has not been lifted under the existing excise policy leaving the excise officials worried.

With less than a month left for the current excise policy to end, the delay in the recovery of excise duty due to the quota which has not been lifted could mean loss for the UT as the stakeholders are skeptical about the UT’s new excise policy.

While the UT’s senior officials are tight-lipped about the new policy, sources said that the file for approval was pending with the UT’s top brass and it was likely to tow Punjab’s excise policy rather than making it competitive visa-vis Haryana’s new excise policy.

“It is in the interest of the politically-controlled liquor lobby of Punjab that the UT’s policy matches with it as it would bring greater advantage to stakeholders across the border rather then benefiting the city traders. The lobby of Punjab wants to bridge the gap between the liquor prices in UT and the neighbouring area of Mohali (Punjab)”, said Satpal, former president of the Liquor Contractors Association.

The Excise Department is already reeling under projected loss of over Rs 75 crore due to closure of around 27 vends following an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

“Similar vends along the roadside will continue to run in Mohali and Panchkula and will result in further losses to the UT”, said the sources.

Not denying that liquor and beer prices are set to rise in the city, officials said the liquor quota of the Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) and country liquor could be brought down. The existing quota is two crore proof litre (PL) for IMFL and 27 lakh proof litre (PL) for country liquor. 

Chandigarh, April 8
After increasing the road tax on non-commercial vehicles, the Chandigarh Administration is contemplating on increasing the road tax on commercial vehicles as well.

Before finalising slabs for the different categories of vehicles, the UT Transport Department has sent the case to Centre for its consideration. While asking states to come up with a uniform road tax structures, the Centre had asked the UT to first enforce the road tax on non-commercial vehicles. The issue was also discussed during a video conference with officials of the Union Road and Surface Transport Ministry, said a senior UT official.

In the non-commercial category, the tax is charged according to the weight of the vehicle.

For a passenger vehicle with up to 30 seats the tax is Rs 3,000 per annum, for a vehicle with more than 30 seats, it is Rs 4,200 per annum, and for three-wheelers it is Rs 320 per annum.

The ministry had stated that the road tax for non-commercial vehicles should at least be six per cent, while in the case of commercial vehicles the tax was still being worked out due to complexity of the tax structure.

Secretary, State Transport Authority (STA), said it was a complex issue and would take time. The uniformity between different states had to be worked out, he said.

Old slabs still find mention on UT website

Though the administration showed eagerness in issuing the notification regarding the increased road tax from April 1, the official website of the administration still shows the old road tax slabs. According to the website, the one-time road tax structure for the non-commercial two-wheelers is still 3 per cent (up to Rs 1 lakh) and 4 per cent (above Rs 1 lakh), and for four-wheelers it is 2 per cent (up to Rs 6 lakh), 3 per cent (Rs 6 lakh to Rs 20 lakh) and 4 per cent (above Rs 20 lakh).

Mohali, April 8
Issuance of a show-cause notice to the Mohali Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) by the State Information Commissioner (SIC) has landed a constable in trouble as he was put under suspension for lapses on his part that led to the incident,

The constable, Lal Mohammad, has been suspended for giving wrong and incomplete information to SP (H) Darshan Singh Mann, who was ordered to appear personally before the commission on March 5. Charging the constable of dereliction of duty, a departmental inquiry has also been initiated against Lal Mohammad.

According to sources, Lal Mohammad did not tell the senior officer that he was asked to appear personally before the commission, and took his signature on the communication sent by the SIC claiming that it was meant for getting the next date of hearing.

Mohali, April 8
The Mohali police DSP (headquarters), Harbans Singh Riar, has recommended disciplinary action against an assistant sub-inspector and a constable for their carelessness in letting a rape accused roam free with his wife just before a court hearing in the case.

ASI Mulkraj and Constable Satnam Singh, who were accompanying the accused, Amit Godhke, to the Mohali district courts in connection with a hearing on his remand, had allowed him to roam free with his wife outside the courts complex yesterday afternoon.

Following a report titled ‘Rape accused has a field day’ in these columns on April 7, Mohali SSP GS Bhullar marked an inquiry to DSP Riar.

DSP Riar today submitted his report to the SSP in which he charged the policemen concerned of ‘carelessness’ and dereliction of their duty and recommended disciplinary action against the duo.

According to rules, persons accused of heinous crimes have to be lodged in the ‘bakshikhana’ (lockup room on the courts complex) before court proceedings start.

A case had been registered against New Delhi-based Gadhoke at the Phase-XI police station on March 11. The victim is a resident of Sector 67 here.

Chandigarh, April 8
A mental health institute will soon come up at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32. A rough cost estimate amounting to Rs 30,15,79,000 has been approved for the construction of the institute by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

While taking up a PIL relating to the burning of 25 mentally ill persons in one of the dargahs in Erawadi (Tamilnadu), the Supreme Court had directed all the states to set up mental health institutes for the care of chronic mentally ill persons.

Chandigarh Mental Health Authority had constituted a committee to formulate guidelines for setting up the institute and this proposal was approved in February, 2003.

Mohali, April 8
The National Green Tribunal, Delhi, while prohibiting the use of diesel generator sets which are violating the prescribed norms of air and noise pollution in markets here, has directed the constitution of a committee to inspect these commercial areas and submit a report in this regard to the tribunal.

The Principal Bench of the tribunal directed the District Magistrate, the State Pollution Control Board and the SAS Nagar Development Authority to ensure that there was complete compliance with the order on prohibition of the use of diesel generator sets.

The tribunal said the committee to be set up would consist of a senior engineer from the development authority, the environment engineer from the pollution control board, a scientist from the Punjab laboratory and a representative of the Central Pollution Control Board.

This joint committee would inspect all markets in Mohali and submit a report to the tribunal on how many shops were using diesel generator sets which were causing air and noise pollution. The committee would also report on the year of manufacture, make and model of generator sets being used by shopkeepers and other commercial establishment including banks and offices.

The tribunal further directed that the joint inspection team would take ambient samples of air and measure the noise pollution. The committee would also suggest such spots in each market where diesel generator sets could be placed to curb pollution and the manner in which the expenditure would be borne by various parties. 

Chandigarh, April 8
In an unprecedented drama at PU today, over 50 agitated members of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) crossed the gates of Vice-Chancellor's office and barged in his office gallery to protest against non-compliance of their demands.

Even as their aggressive move led to minor altercation between students and local security staff, the matter came to rest after the intervention of the police officials.

The NSUI members said that the purpose behind their move was to make their voice heard more forcefully since the Vice-Chancellor was not paying any heed to their previous memorandum about self-finance courses and the difference between fee structures. "Secondly, the memorandum regarding Phd was also biting the dust and mere formalities are being carried out," said NSUI members.

"The protest by various student parties is merely reduced as a photo opportunity these days, following which the authorities have stopped taking them seriously. We have taken this path because we want the authorities to take a serious note of our demands," said NSUI leader Brinder Dhillion.

He said after the protest the authorities has assured us that they would initiate proceedings regarding the fee structure. They also assured that there would be no fee hike for the existing structure. A copy of minutes of the pre-senate meeting between the president and Vice- Chancellor was also given.

"Though authorities have assured us that in future the memorandums will not be taken as a mere paper, we as NSUI workers will not hesitate to cross our limits for the interests of students," said NSUI members.

Chandigarh, April 8
The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has directed the UT Education Department to furnish the revised proposal regarding the creation of 3,472 posts of different cadres in the education department.

Sources in the department said that the MHRD, through an official letter sent to the department, raised as many as 14 objections to the proposal submitted by the department in March, and asked it to submit another proposal after incorporating the required fresh details.

Among the new objections, the ministry has asked the department to submit the details of the already sanctioned and vacant posts along with the date of vacancy. The mode of retirement for the posts proposed to be created has also been asked, besides the timeframe within which the proposed posts would be filled and the school-wise break-up of the financial implications.

The ministry has also asked for the list of schools that have been upgraded from the secondary to higher secondary as well as of schools in which new subjects and streams have been introduced.

The figure of enrolment of students for each school in the past three years has also been sought, besides the composition of the Department Promotion Committee (DPC) wherever it is needed.

A senior official said the department had already initiated the process of drafting a revised proposal on the basis of instructions issued by the ministry. It would be submitted to the MHRD for their further perusal soon, he said.

Among the 3,472 posts proposed by the education department, nearly 2,200 posts are for the teaching faculty and the rest for the non-teaching staff.

Several teacher organisations in the city are demanding a prompt action on the part of the department. Arvind Rana of the SSA Teachers’ Welfare Association said the education department must expedite the process of submitting the revised proposal and get a timely sanction since the deadline to meet the norms of the RTE Act had already expired.

Creation of 3,472 posts
Objections raised

* Mode of retirement for the proposed posts

* Time-frame for the filling of the proposed posts

* School-wise break-up of the financial implications

* Figures of enrolment of students for each school for the past three years

* Composition of Department Promotion Committee wherever required 

Chandigarh, April 8
School bags should be made lighter by modifying the time-table, proper space should be created inside school buses for keeping bags, lockers should be provided since heavy schoolbags have been leading to the problem of backache in children, said experts at PGIMER, while sensitising parents and school teachers at a workshop.

Marking the World Health Day, the PGIMER experts shared findings of a study conducted on 75 children aged between 11 and 15. Of these, 12 were found to be suffering problem of backache. Students were prescribed an average of 22-31 notebooks for different classes (range: 16- 41). Average weights of school bags were 7kg (Class-VIII), 5.5kg (Class-IX) and 6kg (Class-X). —TNS

Chandigarh, April 8
As many as 187 Trained Graduate Teachers (TGTs) were finally promoted as lecturers after the gap of 22 years. An approval in this regard came today after UT Education Secretary VK Singh gave his final approval to the promotion cases, put up by the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) of the Education Department.

As per the information, nearly 140 teachers have been promoted from the master/mistress category, and the rest are promoted from the language master/mistress category.

"Every single case was properly scrutinised before the final approval," said DPI (s) Upkar Singh adding that the list of promoted teachers would be released in a day or two.

It was in early 90's that the TGT cadre teachers were given the promotion. Several pending litigations had delayed the matter. This time, however, the department decided to go ahead with the promotions, subject to court's decision, to give relief to teachers whose promotions were held up for over two decades now.

"It is a major victory for the entire teaching community," said Vinod Sharma, president of the Government Teachers Union. He said that several TGTs had retired waiting to get promotion but it would not happen to others now.

President of UT Cadre Education Employees Union Swarn Singh Kamboj said the move would bring major relief to the shortage of lecturers in the government schools.

"All our members have welcome the final decision of the department and appreciated their efforts to finish the entire process," he said.

A TGT cadre teacher said that promotion though would not bring much of financial relief but would definitely boost our morale.

"We were waiting for this moment for over two decades now. I am relieved that I will not retire on a post to which I joined," said another teacher.

Officials of the Education Department said that after TGTs, the department would soon begin the process to promote the Junior Basic Teachers to the post of TGTs.