Mohali, May 8
For Mohali police constable Gurnam Singh, a routine call of duty brought his world crashing down, for he would have never thought that he would see his wife and daughter crushed under a tipper.

The tragedy struck four days before the marriage of Gurnam's daughter. The family was busy making preparations for the wedding of Gurnam's two daughters, one of whom is now no more.

His younger daughter Amandeep Kaur and wife Nirmal Kaur were riding an Activa scooter when the accident took place. They were on their way to purchase clothes and other items for the wedding, which was scheduled for May 12.

The incident took place about 1 pm near the Mauli traffic lights. The victims were on their way from Sector 68 to Sohana when a tipper loaded with a mixture of bitumen and gravel hit their scooter.

SP (City) Swarndeep Singh, who reached the spot, said either the scooter or the tipper jumped the red light. The tipper overturned while swerving. But it hit the scooter and the victims were trapped under it.

Having donned the police uniform all these years, Gurnam would have never seen such a gruesome sight. Their bodies of his loved ones were crushed beyond recognition beneath the overturned tipper. Eyewitnesses said the bodies were removed with the help of shovels. The victims' body parts were also severed. Gurnam came to know that the victims were his daughter and wife when he saw the scooter.

Amandeep was a student of law at Chandigarh University in Gharuan near Kharar and was supposed to take an exam tomorrow. Despite the tragedy, Gurnam tried to remain stoic at the site, but as his colleagues and other police officials turned up, he broke down in tears.

His elder daughter, Preetkamal Kaur, was at home when the incident took place. Gurnam's family members said she fainted after hearing the tragic news and had to be rushed to a hospital.

The bodies of Amandeep and Nirmal were shifted to the Civil Hospital, Mohali. The post-mortem will be conducted tomorrow.

The police has arrested the driver of the tipper and a case has been registered against him under Section 279, 427 and 304-A of the IPC for rash and negligent driving causing death. The vehicle has also been impounded.

Panchkula, May 8
Panchkula residents today went through a harrowing time, especially during the office hours, when all routes were blocked by the police to receive Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul reached Indradhanush Auditorium in Sector 5, Panchkula, at 11.29 am amid tight security. His cavalcade had 44 cars. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other ministers also accompanied Rahul.

The entire Sector 5 was sealed. The route along the Sector 20 flyover was blocked to traffic when Rahul entered Panchkula. Long traffic jams were witnessed on the road separating Sector 2 and Sector 5.

Commuters were even asked to reverse their vehicles which lead to chaos. The traffic congestion lasted for a few minutes when Rahul arrived in the morning and later when he left in the evening.

As many as 500 policemen were deployed in and around the venue.

“I had an important meeting at my office in Chandigarh but I have been held up here due to Rahul’s visit. It has been 20 minutes and we are not being allowed to move,” said Sudesh Khosla, a resident of Sector 2, Panchkula.

Vishal Sharma, a resident of Sector 4, Panchkula, said: “My wife, who is a schoolteacher, is not well and I have to take her to a hospital. But the entire road has been blocked.”

After addressing a meeting of the party workers, Rahul left the venue at 4.11 pm. 

Chandigarh, May 8
The UT Estate Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, in a communication to the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, has stated that the Municipal Corporation has now been empowered to issue show-cause notices for building violations and initiate resumption proceedings for the properties falling under its jurisdiction.

Recently, the Chief Administrator-cum-Finance Secretary, Chandigarh Administration, VK Singh, has appointed the Secretary, Municipal Corporation, and the Additional Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, to exercise powers conferred on them under sub-section (g) of the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulation) Act, 1952.

The Communication from the Estate Officer, Mohammed Shayin, to the Municipal Commissioner follows a complaint by KC Malhotra, a resident of Rajeev Vihar, Army Welfare Housing Society (AWHO), Mani Majra.

The Estate Officer, in the communication to the MC, has stated that KC Malhotra has been approaching the MC and the Estate Office for the removal of building violations in the AWHO flats for the past three years. The violations have not been removed by any of the authorities as the competent authority to act against the violations was not clear.

“The MC has been taking notice of the building violations Since 2006 but in the case of the violation in Rajeev Vihar, the MC has shown its inability. In the last one year, the Estate Office has written to the MC to take necessary action. Moreover, the matter has been taken up by the Administrator’s grievances forum and it was not desirable to delay the matter,” the Estate Officer has stated in the letter addressed to the MC Commissioner, VP Singh.

Following repeated representations, the Additional Commissioner, in a communication to the Building Inspector, had asked him to carry out an inspection of the flats and find out whether the flats were occupied by the original allottees or not. KC Malhotra has alleged that the AWHO was transferring the flats without getting permission from the MC.

Chandigarh, May 8
In an era when the incidents of white collar crimes have witnessed a rise, students of the PEC University of Technology have developed an efficient biometric method to identify individuals by verifying their finger vein which will check crimes committed by copying fingerprints of a person.

A three-member team of students comprising Siddharth Trikha, Abhishek Sharma and Akhil Aggarwal, all from the computer science department, have developed the project which won the third prize in the open house competition recently held PEC.

Panchkula, May 8
Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Panchkula was a political affair, but officials of the administration were found missing from the respective seats at the Mini-Secretariat. The work remained affected and those who visited the offices to get their work done were seen returning disappointed.

The officials at the voters’ branch, office of the district revenue department, the DDPO, district public relations office, zila parishad office and the complaint centre were missing.

Chandigarh, May 8
Acting on a petition filed by as many as 11 women constables, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) today issued orders that the constables be sent to Madhuban for the lower school training course as desired.

The CAT today directed the UT police to send the constables to Madhuban for the lower school training course, but subject to certain conditions.

The women constables of the UT police had moved the tribunal seeking contempt proceedings against the UT Home Secretary, Anil Kumar, and IGP RP Upadhyaya, alleging discrimination against them and demanded that they be sent to Madhuban to attend the lower school training course.

The tribunal had converted this contempt application to execution application.

In the order dated July 31, a division bench of CAT had ordered that the constables be directed to be sent to Madhuban for the lower school training course. The contempt petition states that the vide order dated April 5 this year, the police department has deputed 313 constables to undergo the lower school course at Haryana Police Academy, Madhuban, but the women constables were not sent despite the Tribunal orders. There are 12 vacancies available for that purpose, the petitioners stated.

Chandigarh, May 8
A week after a girl filed a complaint of domestic violence against him in a court, advocate Arvind Thakur is in for more trouble as members of the United Welfare Association, Sector 44, have moved the Police Complaint Authority (PCA) against the advocate and his gunmen for misbehaving with former Mayor Harjinder Kaur and creating a ruckus in the area. The complaint has been filed against the SHO of the Sector 34 police station for his failure to take action against the advocate and not paying heed to the local residents' repeated complaints.

It has been alleged that advocate Arvind Thakur allegedly uses his gunmen for threatening and assaulting residents of the area who object to certain "unsocial" activities in a house.

It has been alleged that the advocate forcibly dragged the residents of house number 3002/1 outside on April 29 and beat them up and used abusive language. The PCA has issued a notice to the DSP South, Surjit Malik, to appear before it on May 29.

The police was called but no action was taken against the advocate. Arvind Thakur allegedly misbehaved, abused and threatened the former Mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation in full public view. 

Chandigarh, May 8
A PGI study has revealed the incidence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDRTB) in the Northern region is much higher than the WHO estimates. The study, which was published in the BMC infectious diseases journal in March this year, has found that the incidence of the MDRTB is 9 per cent among new patients compared to the WHO reported figures of 3 or 5 per cent. Cases of a total of 2,100 patients from across the region were studied.

The incidence was even higher in the previously treated patients (27%). Stopping the treatment in between is one of the key causes for the onset of the MDRTB, because of which the bacteria becomes resistant to available drugs, said the researchers. Of the total 2,100 TB patients, 20% were found to be HIV positive.

There was significantly higher association of the MDTRB with HIV-infected patients (27%) than those who did not have HIV infection (15%).

If a person is diagnosed with the MDRTB, he has to be treated with 10 drugs per day for at least two years. Yet, chances of a complete cure remain bleak.

Even the cost of medicines turns out to be Rs 1 lakh per patient. It is important not to stop the treatment in between.

“Fortunately in this study, we did not find extreme drug resistance (XDRTB), which is reported worldwide and its prevalence in different parts of our country is 2-8 %. If a person is diagnosed with XDRTB, mortality remains as high as 80%,” said the researchers.

The PGI now houses a molecular diagnostic lab in the department of microbiology, which is named as Line Probe Assay Lab. It can diagnose the TB in 48 hours. While the test costs Rs 1,200 in a private clinic, the PGI will offer the test free of cost.

The study was conducted by Dr Sunil Sethi from the department of medical microbiology in collaboration with Dr Dheeraj Gupta from the department of pulmonary medicine from 2006 to 2010. 

Chandigarh, May 8
Even two weeks after he was relieved, the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, has not forgotten its longest serving Director Principal (DP), Dr Raj Bahadur, it seems.

In addition to sending official communiqué with an Email ID in the name of Dr Bahadur to the media, the GMCH staff have not even updated its directory available on its website. The directory still mentions Dr Raj Bahadur as the DP.

The fact that the records have not been updated even two weeks after the institution got its new head, Dr Atul Sachdev, reflects a lackadaisical approach of the staff.

The institution has around seven IT professionals in the IT section. However, they have not yet woken up to the need of updating the records.

Dr Atul Sachdev, Head, Department of Internal-Medicine, GMCH, officially took over as its Director-Principal on April 24 and Dr Raj Bahadur was relieved the same day.

"The records need to be updated with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC). The process sometimes takes long since we need to wait for a response from the NIC," said an official of the hospital.

Dr Raj Bahadur had joined the GMCH in December, 2007. He had come on deputation from the PGI in 2007. He is the longest serving DP of the institution as he had been given several extensions after he completed his three-year deputation in November 2010. 

Panchkula, May 8
Despite elaborate arrangements made for the lunch during Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s visit to Indradhanush Auditorium here, he opted for a simple diet of dal, vegetable and chapatti.

After having cold coffee on the ground floor, Rahul proceeded for lunch on the first floor. He reportedly ate mixed vegetable, Dal Makhani, some paneer and chappatis in the main course. Later on, he savoured jalebis and kheer too. The organisers, reportedly, had been instructed in advance by Rahul Gandhi’s office to keep the whole affair a simple one.

Mohali, may 8
To meet the huge expenditure on the Metro rail project, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has set aside Rs 140 crore this fiscal.

Whenever asked for, the authority would make its contribution to the total expenditure, said GMADA Chief Administrator AK Sinha.

“We are ready to make our contribution anytime. In this financial year, we have already earmarked Rs 140 crore for the project. The arrangement of funds for the project poses no problem to us,” said Sinha, while talking to the Chandigarh Tribune.

Sinha said the area development authority would use its land stocks for the purpose.

“In the near future, several sites will go under the hammer. With this we will earn a handsome income this year to meet such expenditures,” said Sinha.

The total amount to be paid by GMADA to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is Rs 1,090 crore. In the Mohali district area, the total length of Metro line will be 7.97 km, for which GMADA would provide DMRC with around 30 acres of land.

Within Mohali town, the Metro line would cover around two kilometre distance from YPS Chowk to Sector 69-70. Four Metro stations will come up under the first phase of the project.

The first station will be constructed near YPS Chowk, while the second station will come up near Phases VII-VIII traffic light points. The third Metro station will be constructed near the next traffic point, touching Phases VII and VIII, and Sectors 69 and 70, and the last station will come up near Gurdwara Singh Shaheedan in Sohana.

Mullanpur has been earmarked for the setting up of the control room and marshalling yard. “At Mullanpur, there will be the Transport Terminal (within Eco City), where a control station will be set up. Apart from these three Metro stations — TT, near Air Force station and Mullanpur village — will come up in the Mullanpur area in the first phase,” said Sinha.

From Mullanpur, the Metro will enter Chandigarh via Sarangpur village. In Mullanpur and Mohali, an elevated track will be constructed, while in Chandigarh the Metro line will run underground.

Mohali, May 8
Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) auctioned a 4.6 acre plot at Sector 70, meant for a housing society, for Rs 98.31 crore.

Terming it a good sign, the Mohali Property Consultants Association chairman said the successful auction had given the realtors some hope after the slump witnessed in the property business in the recent times.

GMADA Chief Administrator AK Sinha said the authorities were hoping to fetch over Rs 100 crore from the auction. He, however, said he was satisfied by the development. Sinha said more sites would be auctioned in the town very soon.

Earlier, four companies participated in the auction.

Mohali, May 8
The plan to expand the water supply system in the town to bring much-needed relief to residents remains on hold as funds have not been provided yet by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA).

In order to minimise the water shortage during summers, the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation had sought Rs 2.5 crore from GMADA to improve the functional efficiency of the Sector 57 water works.

Executive engineer of the water supply wing RP Gupta said over two months had passed since the request was made to GMADA to make available the required funds. An assurance in this regard had been given, but the request was still “under process”, he said.

The 5 million gallons per day (mgd) water works was set up in Sector 57 by GMADA, but at present its functional capacity is reported to be not more than 3.5 mgd to 4 mgd. This has hit the water supply to the town. Around Rs 2.5 crore are needed to augment the water works. Various kinds of works will be executed in parts, depending on the available funds, Gupta said.

To improve the capacity of pipes of the 5 mgd water treatment plant and other infrastructure involved, Rs 29 lakh are required. A bypass facility is also needed to reduce water turbidity, which will be created at a cost of Rs 21 lakh. Spare sets of machinery--motors and pumps--will be purchased at a cost of Rs 33.50 lakh. A sum of Rs 44 lakh is required to separate the suction pipe of the water works. Air valves also need to be replaced at a cost of Rs 29 lakh.

The Municipal Corporation, too, had failed to provide Rs 64 lakh for replacing an underground pipeline from the Phase X reservoir to Phase IX. Heavy water leakage had been going on in this damaged pipeline, measuring nearly 1.5 km, adversely affecting the supply of water to the area.

Gupta said the civic body, however, arranged funds to sink a new tubewell in Sector 48-C and to change the filter media at both the water works in the town.

He said 80 per cent of the water supply system machinery in the town was around 30 years old and had been repaired to make the system run properly. The normal life of such machinery is about 15 years. Only 20 per cent of it had been replaced using funds provided for the maintenance work, he said. 

Chandigarh, May 8
Two documentaries eulogising the contribution of Sikhs to the Canadian society in the early 20th century will be screened here.

“Canadian Soldier Sikhs: A little story in a big war” will be shown on May 9 and “Lumber Lions” will be screened on May 13.

The film shows are being organised by the Consulate-General of Canada in Chandigarh. Both the films are by David R Gray who specialises in the early Sikh immigration from India to Canada.

David R Gray is credited for having directed and produced among other films “Lumber Lions” (2012), “Canadian Soldier Sikhs” (2011), and “Searching for the Sikhs of Tod Inlet” (2009). Besides he also directed “Arctic Shadows: The Arctic Journeys of Dr RM Anderson” (2010), “Beyond the Gardens’ Wall” (2010) and “Dis-Immigration” (2012).

“Canadian Soldier Sikhs” is about 10 Sikh men who volunteered to join the Canadian Army in World War I. The film not only follows the men through their enlistment process and training but also their journey to France on a troopship. It features the struggles these Sikh soldiers faced and the battles they fought.

The film focuses on one soldier, who after being injured in the war, was sent back to Canada on a hospital ship. It ends with the story of the soldiers’ return to civilian life. The director ties up the loose ends by tracing the soldiers’ descendants and visiting the grave sites of two of the Canadian Sikh soldiers in Europe.

The second film “Lumber Lions” traces the involvement of the Sikhs in the British Columbia lumber industry. Singh means lion in Punjabi, hence the title of the film is “Lumber Lions”.

Film maker David R Gray is a biologist, historian, writer, photographer, researcher and curator whose love of the Arctic has led him to study birds and mammals in Canada’s High Arctic since 1968. He focused on the behavior of arctic hares, arctic wolves and red-throated loons.

More than 130 of David’s photographs have been published in books, magazines and on the internet. He was the scientific advisor for five TV films on Arctic wildlife and his movie and video footage of Arctic wildlife has been used in films and museum exhibitions.

David has written three books, produced two virtual museums of Canada exhibitions (“Ukaliq: The Arctic Hare” in 2005 and “Northern People: Northern Knowledge” in 2003), and curated a major exhibition, “Expedition Arctic: 1913-1918”, for the Canadian Museum of Civilisation.

A research scientist with the Canadian Museum of Nature for 21 years, until 1994, David is now an independent researcher and a Research Associate at both the Canadian Museum of Civilisation and the Canadian Museum of Nature. He was elected as a Fellow of the Arctic Institute of North America in 1991.

Chandigarh, May 8
Students of Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Sector 26, who are in a fix following the disaffiliation notice issued to the college by Panjab University, today showed their resentment by boycotting the classes. The students have given a week’s deadline to fulfil the conditions imposed by the Inspection Committee.

The students, who had also staged a protest outside the PU Administrative Block during the Syndicate meeting held on May 2, held a meeting with the college principal and the management on May 7 regarding the issue. However, the deliberations failed to satisfy the students.

The PU Syndicate had decided to send a notice of disaffiliation to the college for not appointing 100 per cent faculty and non-compliance of other conditions imposed by the Inspection Committee. The committee in its report had also stated that since there was an inadequate staff and the OPD attendance was thin, the college should elaborate its OPD and regular posts of the faculty members in the OPD, irrespective of their area of specialisation as all of them had basic qualification in homoeopathy.

The students said they would be holding the protest by boycotting the classes till May 13.

“The college authorities have been informed about the protest, which will continue further if the college fails to meet the conditions imposed by the inspection team constituted by the Central Council of Homoeopathy and PU till May 13,” the students said.

College principal KK Dhiman said the college had assured the students that the vacant posts would be filled at the earliest. The vacant posts had already been advertised in April and the selection process would begin soon.

Chandigarh, May 8
In a bid to encourage students to fill the teacher feedback form, Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) members have decided to visit all departments to distribute the forms among the students.

Although the PU authorities have already uploaded the feedback form on its official website, the student council wants that students should avail the benefit.

Panjab University Campus Student Council president Satinder Singh said they would be visiting the departments and the hostels to distribute the feedback forms among the students. “It was almost after four-years of consistent efforts the students have got the right to give feedback about their teachers and we want that they should exercise this right,” the PUCSC president said.

He said: “Many students are not aware of the feedback forms available on the PU website, following which we are going to apprise them of the availability of the forms”.

Council members said they would demand from the university that it should also make the feedback forms available at the office of all departments.

This is for the first time that the students would be giving the feedback on their teachers. A student with minimum 75 per cent attendance will have the opportunity to give the feedback on various defined parameters at the end of the semester.