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Not a cattle walk, 109 caught on Day 2
Chandigarh, August 24 The first team was led by Joint Commissioner Rajiv Gupta which caught 82 animals from Mauli Jagran, Mani Majra and Bapu Dham Colony.
MC Joint Commissioner Rajiv Gupta said: “A total of 14 vehicles, 140 MC workers and 100 policemen were part of the cattle catching teams. Gupta said despite resistance from locals in some areas, the teams of the MC managed to accomplish the tedious task.
MC’s jurisdiction MC Joint Commissioner Rajiv Gupta said: “During the drive at Mauli Jagran, a cattle owner said the team had no right to carry out the drive as the area was in Panchkula. But the MC team continued with its drive after verification from locals.” Veterinarians on the job A team of veterinarians from the Animal Husbandry Department was deployed at the cattle pound in Industrial Area, Phase I. Dr Sarabdeep Singh said that 21 animals had received minor injuries during the drive. Lack of space The city has two cattle sheds and a cattle pound. The cattle shed in Sector 45 can accommodate 350 animals and the one in Maloya has the capacity of sheltering 400 animals. The lone cattle pound in Industrial Area can accommodate 150 cattle. As the number of impounded animals are on the rise, the MC has decided to converted the store of the B&R department in Industrial Area into cattle pond. The MC will also shift impounded animals to a gaushala at Barsana in Uttar
Pradesh.
Owners hide cattle in forest During the drive in Mauli Jagran, cattle owners hid their cattle in the forest area to save them from the eyes of the MC staff. But MC staff courageously entered the forest area and caught the animals. Cattle owners had tied the animals on the boundary wire dividing Chandigarh and Panchkula. Employee fractures
his arm
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MC helpless as bulls sit pretty
Chandigarh, August 24
Reason: Bulls occupy more space and are aggressive in nature. In a Delhi-based gaushala, bulls sent by the Chandigarh MC had broken walls of the cattle shed. @@A senior official of the MC said that recently they had shifted cows and bulls to Delhi in 5:1 ratio. But now the gaushala authorities have complained that bulls sent by Chandigarh MC were violent.
MC to pay more to gaushalas The Chandigarh MC is also planning to increase the money paid to gaushals. At present, the MC pays ~2,000 as the one-time charge, but keeping stray cattle, especially bulls, is an expensive affair. The agenda to increase the amount will be tabled in the coming F&CC meeting. What next? The MC will start shifting stray cattle, including bulls, to a gaushala in Barsana. “Transportation of bulls from Chandigarh to other states is also difficult,” said an official.
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Grains of truth at anganwadi: Insects crawl out of wheat
Panchkula, August 24 Expressing helplessness, the school authorities said that despite three reminders to the office of the District Education Officer (DEO), insect-infested wheat grains were being supplied for the children. Sources said that after a child fell ill after consuming chapattis prepared from insect-infested wheat last month, the school authorities stopped serving food to the children. “What can we do? We have been supplied wheat which has already been eaten up by insects. How can we give it to the children,” said the teacher. She added: “We have been getting discarded wheat grains. We have reported the matter to the officials concerned a number of times, but to no avail.” Panchkula Deputy Commissioner SS Phulia could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Recently, a committee was constituted by the DC following a Tribune report, but it had failed to check the quality of food grains being supplied to anganwadis. Basic facilities missing In the absence of toilets in the anganwadi, teachers and children are forced to answer the nature’s call in the open. Besides, the anganwadi has not electricity connections. The walls of classrooms are also damp. Authorities fail to act Chief Judicial Magistrate Jaibir Hooda found fungus-infested food grains at three government schools in Panchkula. The mid-day meal was being cooked in toilets at government primary school, Sector 19, Panchkula. Anil Sharma, the headmaster of the Government High School, Sector 19, tried to downplay the incident. Water to prepare mid-day meal was drawn from a toilet and utensils were also washed using the same water at Government Primary School, Mansa Devi Complex, Sector 4. Action against guilty officials A senior official of the Haryana Government ordered his staff to send a wireless message to the Panchkula Deputy Commissioner after he was informed about the quality of the food grains. “Action will be taken against the officials responsible for the lapse.”
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Applicants face a harrowing time
Chandigarh, August 24 Other applicants too who reached the venue ahead of the scheduled time had a similar tale to tell Adding to their woes, applicants were made to wait for another half-an-hour to reach the counter after the issuance of
the token. Some applicants had another problem waiting for them at the counter. “The officials who were deployed for the verification of documents rejected my files without mentioning which documents were missing. When I asked them about it, the official said they add those details to their database and were not required to mention in on the file,” said a woman who had come to get a passport made for her 10-year-old daughter. “We came to the passport mela thinking that the authorities might have set up additional counters to clear the rush, but
surprisingly no additional staff was deployed here,” said an applicant from Chandigarh. Regional Passport Officer Rakesh Agrawal said it was difficult for the department to maintain a waiting room. He said the department had banned the entry of any other person along with the candidate to avoid agents. Aggarwal said space for 17 counters had been
earmarked on the premises keeping in view the future demands. Records of the department revealed that today there were only seven counters entertaining the applicants, while earlier there used to be 10. The Regional Passport Office had organised the passport mela to receive the forms as there are three holidays during the weekdays in August. Records of the department revealed that of the 864 applicants who had taken an appointment today, 780 turned up. Of these, 629 were able to get their passports made, while 135 failed to produce the required documents. They were asked to
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400 telephone lines affected
Mohali, August 24 According to sources, the civic body had hired a contractor to lay sewage pipelines in the area.
“During the digging by a JCB machine, some telephone cables were snapped. This resulted in the disconnection of several telephone and broadband connections in the area,” said a BSNL employee. Local resident Raj Kumar said his work was being affected as it was largely dependent on the internet. The officials concerned said the service would be resumed in a day or two.
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3 of family acquitted after 28 yrs of trial
Chandigarh, August 24 While Hardev Singh (80), his wife Rajinder Kaur, and their 53-year-old son Harpreet were acquitted by CBI Special Judge Vimal Kumar today, the fourth accused, younger brother of Harpreet, who was 13-year-old at the time of incident, was still facing trial in a juvenile court. Harpreet Singh said it was traumatic for the family to live with the blot of murder for the past 28 years. “However, we had faith in the judiciary and it was further strengthened today. It is another matter that it took us 28 years, one month and 16 days, to prove our innocence,” he said. Harpreet said, “The incident has ruined our lives. My father, who is an ex serviceman, and I had to remain in police custody before getting bail. We had to sell our shop in Sector 34 in 1993. A year later, to start a new business, we had to sell our 10-marla house in Sector 34. I was preparing to go abroad and the plan had to be dropped. My marriage was delayed and for solemnising the marriage ceremony I requested the court for an exemption as the same day was fixed for hearing in the court.” The case dates back to July 8, 1985, when Allah Singh, a resident of Patiala, got a phone call informing him that his son, Inderjeet Singh, had died. Inderjeet's body was found hanging in a rented accommodation in Sector 34. Inderjit was studying and working in Chandigarh. The UT police had dismissed it as a case of suicide. Four days after the incident on July 12, Allah Singh, wrote a letter to the Union Home Ministry alleging that his son was murdered and demanded an inquiry into the case. The case was handed over to the CIA Department and CIA Inspector Devender Thakur termed it as a case of suicide. Allah Singh then pleaded to the Inspector General of Police that the case be handed over to another police officer other than the concerned police station of Sector 34. The inquiry was handed over to then inspector Sita Ram of the Sector 39 police station. Sita Ram in his report said that it was a case of murder, following which landlord Hardev Singh, his wife Rajinder Kaur and their two sons, including the one who was a minor were booked by the police. Allah Singh accused them of his son’s murder alleging that they had an ongoing dispute over vacating the house. After the accused got bail, Allah Singh moved the Supreme Court, which shifted the case to the CBI, which in its report concluded that it was a case of suicide. Thereafter, Allah moved the Chandigarh District Court and an order was passed to reinvestigate the case. Following which, Allah examined 15 witnesses in the court a prima facie case was made out.
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Another jolt for Doon MLA
Panchkula, August 24 Chaudhary had moved an application in the court wherein it was mentioned that he had already spent six months in jail so he might be granted bail, now. But the court rejected the same. He had also requested the court to allow him to attend the monsoon session, which was also rejected. It was in the last hearing of the case that four out of seven witnesses had turned hostile on the first day of the trial in the Jyoti murder case. Charges on all the accused were framed in the murder case recently. Chaudhary, the main accused, has been charged with seven sections that is 302(murder), 201(destruction of evidence) 420(cheating), 467(Fabrication of documents), 471(Using a forged document as genuine), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and SC/ST act. Doon MLA and four others have been accused of killing Jyoti, who hailed from Hoshiarpur. The victim was found murdered on a road in Sector 21, Panchkula. The chargesheet by the Panchkula police stated that since Jyoti was coming in the way of Chaudhary’s political career and wanted him to continue the alleged affair, he eliminated her with the help of aides. First Jyoti was strangulated and then a truck was run over to show that it was an accident. Later, the accused even destroyed the evidence.
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Accident victim’s kin move court
Chandigarh, August 24 In the application filed under Section 156 (3) of the CrPC, their counsel Pankaj Chandgothia demanded that a case under Sections 289 and 304 of the Indian Penal Code should be registered against the police, cattle owner, Mayor, Commissioner, Joint Commissioner and Additional Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation. Avinash was the sole breadwinner of the family. He was on his was home when his two-wheeler rammed into a stray animal at the Sectors 46 and 49 lights at 10.45 pm on August 16. He was rushed to the GMCH-32 in a PCR vehicle and succumbed to his injuries on August 20. Avinash's father Narinder Kumar lodged a police complaint against Mayor Subhash Chawla, MC Commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh, area councillor Harphool Kalyan and the others under Section 304-A (causing death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. The police, however, lodged a daily dairy report (DDR) only. Avinash’s father had stated that the Mayor and the MC were responsible for his son’s death. The councillors were only interested in playing the blame game, but they did not have time to solve the problems of the city residents. “Had they been serious about the stray cattle menace, my son would have not died. Avinash lost his life due to negligence on the part of the civic body officials,” he alleged.
Third death in five months
It was the third death in the city in the past five months. All these accidents had taken place in the southern sectors at night and the victims were on two-wheelers.
April 6: 33-year-old Harpreet Singh Sodhi Thirty-three-year-old Harpreet Singh Sodhi, a resident of Sector 45-C, was killed on April 6, when the motorcycle he was riding on hit a stray animal on the road separating Sectors 49 and 46. He is survived by his wife, two children and old mother. He was the sole breadwinner of the family. August 20: 26-year-old Avinash Kumar Twenty-six-year-old Avinash Kumar, who was on his way home on a two-wheeler, rammed into stray cattle on August 16 at 10.45 pm near Sector 45. He died at the GMCH-32 on August 20. August
22: 42-year-old Atma Ram Ram, a resident of Sector 46-A, who was working as a mess cook in 229-transit camp APO at Hallo Majra, rammed his scooter into a stray animal near the Sectors 31/32/46/47 roundabout on the night of August 17. He was returning home when the accident occurred. He succumbed to his injuries on August 22.He was also the lone breadwinner of the family.
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Cleanliness given a miss at PGI hostels
Chandigarh, August 24 Sources said while the doctors were under immense work pressure, the PGI administration never bothered to appoint cleaning staff. The health team had raised the issue last year also. Two PGI doctors had tested positive for dengue last year, as per records available with the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP).
This year, so far, only one case has been reported from the city. A 62-year-old man from Sector 15 tested positive for dengue two weeks ago. More than 350 cases of dengue were reported in city hospitals last year, breaking records of the previous five years.
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Water crisis: No respite in sight
Chandigarh, August 24 Industrialist Chander Verma said the situation had only worsened. The officials should do something to tide over the problem. Poonam Chauhan, a resident of Sector 23, said there was no water supply after 7 am in the area. Ditto was the situation in evening when the water pressure was low. "MC officials do not have an answer to our questions and nobody knows when the fault will be rectified," she said. An MC official said they had repaired the Phase III pipeline while the other was yet to be fixed. The Chandigarh Administration had got the work completed.
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In a ‘snatching’ case, police registers DDR for ‘misplaced’ purse
Chandigarh, August 24 On August 19, victim Indira Devi and her husband, who hail from Himachal Pradesh, were on their way from ISBT Sector 43 to Sector 20 on a cycle-rickshaw, when at 10.30 pm, a motorcycle-borne youth snatched her purse near the Sector 34 petrol pump and fled away. The victim had cash, mobile phones, ATM cards and gold earrings in her purse apart from important documents. Lokender Kumar, victim’s son, who is a Sector 20 resident, stated that his parents on reaching home told him about the incident and they called the police control room (PCR). “The police from the Sector 34 police station came to Sector 20 and took our complaint”, he stated. Lokender further stated that after repeated visits to the police station he got a copy of the DDR mentioning that the police had received a complaint in which a purse had been misplaced. “I was made to visit the police station five times just to get a copy of the DDR, which surprisingly didn’t had any mention of “snatching” in it, he stated. Investigating Officer (IO) ASI Gurnam Singh said that they were verifying the case as the victims were on their way from Sector 43 bus stand to Sector 20, however, he claimed that the snatching took place near the the Sector 34 petrol pump, which was not the direct way to reach Sector 20. The ASI after being asked as to why the DDR of purse getting misplaced was lodged, he stated, “Send the complainant to the police station and we will lodge a complaint as they want”. The complainant claimed that they would approach the senior police officials to initiate an inquiry against the police officials concerned.
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Department brings clarity to selections
Chandigarh, August 24 DEO Ram Kumar Sharma said, “The updated criteria has detailed explanation on how teachers and principals will be awarded every single mark on the basis their performance.” For instance, result improvement column has a maximum of 20 marks. Under the new criteria, it has been fixed that two marks will be given to a teacher for every 1 per cent increase in their passing percentage above 90 per cent as compare to the last year. Further, the norms are fixed for increase in passing parentage in 80 to 90 per cent and 70 to 80 per cent slab. Quoting another example, Sharma said under the commendation column that carried a maximum of 10 marks, a teacher would get four marks if the commendation certificate was issued by the Chandigarh Administration or the NCERT. “In case it is issued by the DPI (s), a teacher will get three marks," Sharma said. “Similarly there are comprehensive norms being framed for every column, aiming at bringing objectivity and transparency in the overall selection process,"he said. As per the information, there are 13 basic columns/particulars under which the overall performance of teachers and principals will be scrutinised. It includes the length of the service, ACRs, result quantitative, result Improvement, results qualitative, additional qualification, professional growth, social/community service, experimental innovation, publication, work in rural area, commendation certificates and in charge of club and societies. Each column has a maximum weightage attached to it and detailed norms. Another change is that there is no weightage for the length of the service, which was a norm till last year. For teachers teaching up to Class X, their academic performance will be evaluated on the grading system as students are now awarded CGPA. The last date for applying for the state award is already over. Over 35 teachers have applied for the awards this year. A teacher said, “The biggest benefit of the new system is that teachers can themselves calculate the marks being awarded to them on the basis of their performance. They can easily confront the selection panel in case of anything wrong. This was not possible till the last year."
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PU to adopt revised criteria for selection of assistant professors
Chandigarh, August 24 These decisions were taken at the PU Syndicate meeting, which was presided over by PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Arun K Grover here today. The meeting continued for more than seven hours and discussed all the 28 issue on agenda. PU has also decided to defer the decision regarding the implementation of new fee structure for hostels. The Syndicate has also approved many decisions taken at the meeting of the PU Board of Finance. It approved to enhance the monthly scholarship for the MA-I and MA-II students at the Department of Indian Theatre. The monthly scholarship has been increased from from Rs 500 to Rs. 2,000 The house also approved the monthly stipend on account of rotatory internship to the students, who have passed BDS (IV year course) from Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000. The Syndicate has approved the Board of Finance's decision to extend the benefit of maternity leave (with pay) to the women contractual employees at Panjab University.
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NSUI releases video to woo students
Chandigarh, August 24 NSUI leader Jeevanjot Singh said it was all about making an impact on the voters’ mind. “As the video will reach the students, they will come to know about the party and its leaders,” he said. The party is also coming up with three more musical videos. NSUI leader Brinder Dhillon said the songs that will play in the background would project the ideology of the party and also brief the students on its agenda for the upcoming elections. “In this era of information technology, when everyone has mobile phones, videos can be shared easily using various applications and social networking sites,” said Dhillon. In the recent years, campaigning on the PU campus has seen various new trends. Parties including Panjab University Students’ Union (PUSU) and Students’ Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) have come up with party songs to attract the voters in the recent years. Videos and songs have also been uploaded on the pages made by the parties on the social networking sites.
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Fearing false cases, student bodies refrain from naming candidates
As September 4, the tentative election date, is approaching, the parties have started an aggressive campaigning in all the departments at the university. However, the voters don't know about the candidates. SOPU leader Rashpal Singh said they would announce the name of the candidate after the election date was announced. "We don't want to give rival parties any chance to implicate our candidate in a false case. We will announce the presidential candidate few days before the polling," SOPU leader said. Echoing similar views, PUSU leader Yadwinder Singh said they were also playing safe as any false case against their potential candidate could spell trouble for the organisation. "No party wants to end-up searching for a new candidate near elections," he said. As per the Lyngdoh committee recommendations, a candidate booked by police in any criminal case cannot contest the student elections. NSUI leader Brinder Dhillon also cited false criminal cases as the reason for keeping presidential candidate's identity secret. We will soon announce our candidate as we feel that students should know the presidential candidate and his profile," he added.
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SOPU holds protest over hostel timings
Chandigarh, August 24 Apart from the stretched entry timings, the girls residing in hostels also demanded that they should be allowed to stay in other hostels, which is restricted to only three times a month. SOPU leader Rashpal Singh said,"We have also demanded that the university should come up with a multi-level parking on PU campus to accommodate the increasing number of vehicles," SOPU leader said. Yograj Angrish, senate member and the warden of boys' hostel no. 5, arrived at the scene to pacify the students. However, SOPU leader Robin Brar entered into an altercation with the senate member.
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PU adopts policy against sexual harassment
Chandigarh, August 24 With the implantation of the policy, a permanent mechanism for the prevention and redress of sexual harassment cases and other acts of gender-based violence at PU and its affiliated and constituent colleges/institutions has been evolved. The policy has been framed to uphold the commitment of PU to provide an environment free from gender-based discrimination, to bring awareness about sexual harassment in its various forms and to generate public opinion against sexual harassment. The PU Committee Against Sexual harassment (PUCASH) will cover all the departments, centres, institutes, schools and offices located on the Campus. A regional centre committee against sexual harassment (RCCASH) will be formed at every regional centre of the university. A college committee against sexual harassment (CCASH) will be constituted in every affiliated and constituent college/institution of PU. The committees will have nine members of which at least half would be women.
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from schools
The police organised a paper-reading competition on the topic "Pedestrian Safety - A Youngster's View" at St Stephen's School, Sector 45, on Saturday. The students from several city schools participated in the event. The competition was held to instill a respect for pedestrians among them. As many as 42 students from private and government schools had registered to participate in the competition. It was encouraging to see that more than 30 additional students came up to compete. Banner-making competition St John's High School, Sector 26, organised an inter-school banner making and photography competition. Earlier, the school had organised a banner-making competition and the talent displayed in the competition had amazed all. The banners made by the participants were displayed in schools across the country and were sent to Geneva as part of the "9 is Mine" campaign. This year the competition was a medium to reveal the talent of the young generation. Art and craft exhibition The creativity was at its best when the students of Sacred Heart Schoo, Sector 26, put up a gleaming art and craft exhibition to showcase their artistic skills. The display was appreciated and lauded by one and all and was a great success. Interactive session An outstanding personality Manjeet Kochar, international golf coach, came to Ryan International School, Chandigarh, to encourage the children to participate in a junior golf programme. The program is designed to assure affordable and accessible golf training to tricity children. It was an interactive session conducted to promote the game. He interacted with the sports achievers of the school and educated them about the various golf techniques and informed that golf sticks were also known as clubs or iron. He discussed about the various swings in golf. Janmashtami celebrated Janmashtami celebrations began with a lot of enthusiasm and gaiety at BTS, Chandigarh. The open stage of the school was decorated with significant phases and acts from the Lord Krishna's life. A special assembly was conducted by the students of Class II in honour the of lord Krishna. The students highlighted the importance of the day. Science Week The Prayas Sarvhit, the science club of Sharda Sarvhitkari Model Senior Scondary School, Secor 40 D, celebrated the Science Week. The proceedings started with a slogan- writing competition based on the global warming and pollution. Then a paper-reading contest was held in the morning assembly. Shruti of Class X stood first in the contest. A science quiz was also held. A face painting competition was also held. Declamation contest St Teresa Convent School, Sector 25, Panchkula, held various activities on the school premises today. An inter-house declamation competition was held on the topic of "Traditional Sports of India". The students presented their views on the traditional sports such as kho-kho, hop-scotch and many more, which are fast disappearing these days.
—TNS
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Officials at the PGI said the doctors should clean the coolers as the hospital administration did not own these. "These coolers are used by the doctors and the administration has no role to play. Since these coolers belong to the doctors, it is their responsibility to keep them clean," said PGIMER's spokesperson Manju Wadwalkar.
Chandigarh, August 24