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Gram Panchayat polls today
Chandigarh, December 14 In Kishangarh, there is direct contest between two women candidates for the seat of sarpanch. While these elections are generally not contested on party symbols, but both candidates are supported by the Congress and the SAD-BJP combine, respectively. Candidate Man Kaur is the wife of Bhajan Singh Maru, a former chairman of the zila parishad. She has the support of the BJP-SAD combine. Another candidate, Gurvinder Kaur, is the wife of Davinder Lubana, a Congress leader. SAD councillor Malkiat Singh said that they were seeking votes from the residents of Kishangarh for Man Kaur because her family had done a lot of development work in the village. Davinder Lubana said that they were doing their best and were hopeful that they would win in the elections. Besides, Kishangarh, there is a tough fight for the post of sarpanch in Daria village as eight candidates are contesting against one another. There are 61 candidates in the fray for the 13 posts of panches in Daria.
Harish Chander Sharma, who is contesting for the post of sarpanch, from Daria village, said that as the campaigning had ended they were approaching the voters personally. Thirteen villages of the UT Administration fall under 12-gram panchayats. There are 12 posts of sarpanch and 132 of panch. Out of which one sarpanch and 28 panches have already been elected unopposed. For the remaining seats, a total of 299 candidates (44 for the sarpanch and 255 for panch) are in the fray. Cops on high alert In the wake of the Gram Panchayat elections to be held in different villages of Chandigarh, SSP Sukchain Singh Gill held a meeting on Saturday with the DSPs, SHOs and police post in-charges. Officials stated that nine DSPs, 19 Inspectors, 929 other police personnel, two reserves of the CRPF and QRTs (Commandos) had been deployed for the election to meet out any contingency. All PCR vehicles have been directed to remain on high alert at their respective duty point and keep a close watch on suspicious activities.
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50 polling booths set up
Polling parties have also reached their respective booths. The police have stepped up the security. Around 950 policemen will be on duty on Sunday. The UT Election Commission OSD, Tarsem Lal, said for the first time they had set up a polling booth in Makhan Majra village. Rakesh Mehta, State Election Commissioner, UT Chandigarh, also visited many villages and reviewed the arrangements today. The elections will be held in village panchayats of Behlana, Rairpur Khurd, Rairpur Kalan, Makhan Majra, Daria, Mauli Jagran, Kishangarh, Kaimbwala, Khuda Ali Sher, Khuda Jassu, Khuda Lahora, Sarangpur and Dhanas.
Panchayat poll
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Two sets of rules for industrial plots
Rajmeet Singh Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 14 In a survey carried out by the UT Estate Office on the directive of the UT Finance Department it was found that of the total 82 identified converted sites, at least 39 are yet to submit the revised building plans and demolish the old structures. A senior UT official said the survey report, including misuse, had been forwarded to the Administration for necessary action. Another 40 sites converted under the conversion policy have not been included in the survey as their case is pending before the court. Attributing the non-construction on the converted plots to the dual policy adopted by the UT, entrepreneurs said it was the result of two different agencies - the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) and the UT Estate Office - being made the nodal agency from time to time before the conversion policy was scrapped in 2008. While the sites converted when the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) was the nodal agency had no time bar to start the construction work, whereas the sites converted when the Estate Office was the nodal agency had to submit that they would start the construction within three years of being issued the conversion letter or pay an extension fee. Most of the sites that are lying unconverted on the ground are those approved by the CHB. Chander Verma, Chairman of the Converted Plot Owners Association, said they had been repeatedly requesting the UT officials to adopt uniform sets of rules while giving permission for conversion. He lamented that they had been demanding that no extension fee should be levied as the plot owners had paid hefty amount as conversion fees. “Contrary to the promise that the money earned from the conversion would be spent on the infrastructure there, the Administration has failed to fulfil the promise”, he added.
Unresolved issues
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Prime Minister to visit Mullanpur on Dec 30
Mohali, December 14 Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu said the PM would be coming to Mullanpur on January 13. GMADA had allotted 50 acres in Medicity for the project. The possession of the land had been handed over to the Union Department of Atomic Energy. A boundary wall has been constructed at the site. The spadework for the cancer hospital is being done in Mumbai. The Union Cabinet had earlier given an approval to the project.It is learnt that most of the funding for the project is being done by the Central Government. A sum of Rs 350 crore had been released by the government for the project.
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No flight after 1 pm today
Chandigarh, December 14 Tomorrow, being the third Sunday of the month, there will no flight after 1 pm. Jet Airways has maximum four flights tomorrow: Chandigarh-Delhi-Bengaluru at 8.10 am; Chandigarh-Delhi at 12.10 pm; Chandigarh-Mumbai at 12.40 pm and Chandigarh-Delhi at 12.45 pm. Besides SpiceJet has two flights: Chanidgarh to
Delhi at 8.35 am and Chandigarh to Mumbai at 12.40 pm. Air India, IndiGo and GoAir have one flight each before 1 pm
tomorrow.
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Year ender 2013 Aneesha Sareen Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, December 14 Edu kidnapping case
Five-year-old Harmeini, alias Edu, was kidnapped from a Sector 22-based hotel by her father’s friend who demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore from her parents. She was traced by the police six days after the incident from a village near Jind, Haryana. The police had arrested a woman, Chinar, with the girl and the prime accused, Jagpal Beniwal, was arrested after seven months. He had kidnapped the girl as Edu’s father owed him money, the police said.
Income Tax
officer arrested
The CBI arrested Income Tax officer Rakesh Kumar Jain for taking a bribe of Rs 50,000 from a real estate agent in February. Later, the police also made his mother as an accused as the money was recovered from her.
Advocates strike
turned ugly
On March 6, the UT police resorted to water cannons on agitating lawyers of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, who were protesting against the registration of a case against advocates for allegedly manhandling a head constable. The lawyers, who were then on an indefinite strike, broke two police barricades as they took out a procession to meet the Governor. The police used water cannons when some of the advocates broke the barricades and gained entry into a prohibited area near Haryana Raj Bhawan.
Brawl at Golf Club
Legendary athlete Milkha Singh, a Punjab Congress MLA and a former Army officer were booked by the police in connection with a brawl between two groups at the Chandigarh Golf Club. Later, the FIR was quashed after parties moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
MLA’s case
Fifteen Punjab Congress MLAs were booked on a charge of assaulting a public servant during an alleged police raid on legislature party office while nine of them were suspended for the rest of the budget session for unparliamentary behaviour by the Assembly Speaker. The case was registered in May this year.
Pinki kidnapping
and murder case
Eleven-year-old Pinki was raped and murdered in the forest area near Sector 52. The UT police had received a complaint on November 27 and her body was found on December 1. The police is still clueless. In this case too, the UT police invited criticism and the SHO of the Sector 39 police station as well the Palsora police post in charge were transferred for shoddy investigations.
Cases and allegations within the department
Inspector booked: On April 28 this year, former crime branch in charge Amanjot Singh was booked in an extortion case. He was accused of threatening a city resident to pay Rs 3 lakh. It was alleged in the complaint filed by Harish, a businessman and resident of Sector 18, that the inspector came to his shop in Sector 20 and had taken away Rs 3 lakh kept in a box by threatening and abusing him to return the money.
SI accused of running ‘money lending racket’
Another UT police SI Harinder Sekhon remained in news after a Panchkula resident Vikram moved the High Court and accused Harinder Sekhon of running a 'money lending racket'. Singh, a resident of Panchkula, told the court that the couple was giving him threat calls, the reason being people who were 'lent' crores of rupees allegedly belonging to Sekhon, through Vikram, failed to return the same due 'to a slump in the market'. Vikram alleged that holding him responsible for the 'losses', Sekhon and his wife were threatening to implicate him in false cases. An internal inquiry was also marked by the UT IGP which is pending. Vikram, later, went missing under mysterious
circumstances.
Looking Ahead
Accident on the road dividing Sectors 17 and 18
Three persons, including a driver and two college students from Vaishali in Ghaziabad, were killed while two others suffered injuries when a Tavera SUV collided with an Audi Q7 car on the road separating Sectors 17 and 18 on July 23. The UT police were at the receiving end, with strictures passed against the police by the Punjab and Haryana High Court for shoddy investigations in the case. The police had first registered a case against the dead taxi driver resulting in a hue and cry.
A UT police inspector, Sucha Singh, was stabbed to death on the night of June 8 by a fugitive UT police constable who was then rounded up along with his female accomplice.
Later, the accused constable, Basant, and his wife Sarita were arrested. They have been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the court following a speedy trial this year.
Highlights
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Prioritise NRI complaints: IGP
Mohali, December 14 The IGP said the Punjab Government had established an independent NRI police wing for the speedy and transparent disposal of NRI complaints. She told the officers that all complaints should be dealt with on merit without any discrimination and there should be zero tolerance of corruption in the department. Deo said an IGP rank officer had been deputed for the speedy disposal of under-investigation NRI complaints. The Punjab Police had received complaints from 30 countries. Most of the complaints were from Canada, the US, the UK and Australia. Deo stated that this year 3,200 complaints regarding the NRI issues had been received, out of which 60 per cent were related to property disputes, 30 per cent to matrimonial disputes and 10 per cent to other types of disputes. She said 65 per cent complaints had been disposed of. She added that a total of 270 FIRs had been registered, out of which 160 had been registered at the NRI police stations. The IGP issued instructions to the heads of the NRI police stations that all FIRs should be registered after an inquiry and evidence should be put on record. She said 11 NRI police stations had been connected with the head office of the NRI police wing. The IGP appealed to the NRIs to register complaints online. They can also check the status of the complaints online.
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New SSP visits police stations
Chandigarh, December 14 "Residents want that their complaints should be addressed at the earliest," the SSP said. The Chandigarh police had launched the scheme earlier this year to bring transparency and accountability in the working of the police. Every second Saturday, public grievances are heard at the police stations. The residents can visit the police stations to know the status of their case. Around 96 persons have visited the police stations so far.
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Inquiry marked against SI
Chandigarh, December 14 “The PCR received a call at 2.45 am that a drunk girl was creating ruckus in the middle of the road separating Sectors 8 and 9. She was returning from a party. Following the call, SI Ramesh Kumar, along with the woman constable, reached the spot and took the victim to the Sector 3 police station," said DSP (Central) Ashish Kapoor. The police stated that the girl fell unconscious on reaching the police station following which the officers informed her parents who reached there in the morning. “The SI should have taken the girl straightway to the hospital, however, he took her to the police station, following which an inquiry has been marked against him," the DSP stated.
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Candlelight march in support of Capt James
Chandigarh, December 14 About 80 officers and their family members assembled at the lake and carried out a silent march to draw public attention to the plight of Capt James’ family. Capt James along with two others have been under arrest in Togo in Africa since July for allegedly helping pirates loot the MT Ocean Centurion, a merchant ship registered in the Marshall Islands. He lost his 11-month old son, Vivian, who died of septicaemia at Delhi on December 2. His family members as well as the Indian Government have appealed to the Togo Government to release Capt James on humanitarian grounds, but to no avail so far. His wife Aditi had also met the Prime Minister to seek his assistance. Merchant Navy officers said the judge concerned in Togo had completed hearings in the case and the matter was now with the public prosecutor. They added that similar candlelight marches were being held in other cities to sensitise the public to the case. — TNS
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AN-12 officers hold reunion
Chandigarh, December 14 About 70 officers and members of their families attended the get-together that was marked with bonhomie and nostalgia. The officers included pilots as well as navigators and technical officers. Among the senior-most officers present were Air Commodore HM Singh and Group Captain NP Singh. All those who had served on the AN-12s are now retired. The Soviet Union-built four-engined turboprops were inducted into the IAF in 1961 when it raised No 44 Squadron at Chandigarh. These aircraft were deployed for airlifting army reinforcements to Ladakh during the 1962 Sino-Indian conflict. Later, another unit, No 25 Squadron was also raised on the AN-12s at Chandigarh. The AN-12s were also used as bombers during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. The aircraft, which flew regularly to the northern sector on air maintenance missions in support of the Army, were retired in June 1993.
— TNS
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Oscar Theatre Fest: Play on Shaheed Udham Singh staged
Panchkula, December 14 The play was presented in such a way that
it brought out the contrast in present scenario of the society and the scenario at the time of freedom struggle. The play starts in the present day where a statue of Shaheed Udham Singh is built. The play is symbolic to the sacrifices made for
its freedom by our revolutionaries. Rajvir Chauhan, Dharmendra Singh, Bhawsheel Singh Sahni, Parvesh Sethi, Rahul Chowdhary, Amrinder Virk and Maninder Singh Bhatti were among the main cast of the play.
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Tips for health professionals
Chandigarh, December 14 The event addressed the need of reporting adverse events due to blood transfusion. The programme began with an introductory speech by Dr Surinder Singh, director, National Institute of Biologicals, and former Drug Controller General of India. Prof Neelam Marwaha, head of the department of transfusion medicine, threw light on the concept of haemovigilance and its aims. Around 110 healthcare professionals attended the event. — TNS
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Only a portion of road recarpeted
Chandigarh, December 14 Ramji Manchanda, president of the Sector 19-C Market Association, said yesterday the Mayor had visited the area and directed the officials to restart the work, but the MC staff and contractor recarpeted only 10-15 per cent of the road. When asked about the repair of the remaining portion of the road, the officials said the work had been completed. Area councillor Mukesh Bassi said the recarpeting was eyewash. "If the MC will not repair the parking lot, we will meet the UT Adviser," he said. Following complaints, Bassi had submitted a complaint to the UT Adviser-cum-Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) and had demanded a vigilance inquiry into the matter.
Roads repaired
After the issue pertaining to the use of substandard construction material was published in these columns, the MC recarpeted roads in Khuda Lahora. Area councillor Saurabh Joshi reviewed the work on
Saturday.
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FEEDBACK I am shocked to read the news about the decision of MC Chandigarh to allow unlicensed/untrained rickshaw-pullers to ply on roads without any restraint. Does the learned MP Mr Bansal and his supporters realise how they are putting the lives of residents, who would either be using these rickshaws or driving some other vehicles on city roads, to unwarranted danger? We are already facing the problem of rising road accidents in the City Beautiful and one of the reasons for this is non-observance of traffic rules by rickshaw-pullers. By officially allowing people to start driving rickshaws on roads without any permission, Mr Bansal and Congress may be eyeing some votes, but who will take the responsibility for causing hurt to innocent citizens? The reason for this announcement is even more shocking. The failure of administration to check unlicensed rickshaw-pullers is resolved by allowing anyone to drive it! The failure to curb “kundi connections” (theft of electricity) is already making law abiding people pay more for electricity. Going by this logic, tomorrow if chain snatchings increase, our leaders will legalise it! We have had enough of these self-centred politicians wreaking havoc on this city. This is the time for people to show them the door during the coming elections. Let us have responsible people as our representatives. RAJINDER SINGH, via email Welcome decision of PU
The decision to introduce a whole new concept of running the all-girls night shuttle bus service, between the girls’ hostels at Panjab University and the AC Joshi Library, is a welcome step. The university authorities deserve a round of applause for acceding to the long-pennding demand of the girls on the campus. Equally important on the part of the authorities concerned is to give a
concrete shape to the proposal, to connect the science departments, including biochemistry, biophysics, microbiology and biotechnology and others, which are located in Sector 25, to the campus so that day scholars there are not deprived of the opportunity. RAMESH K DHIMAN,
Chandigarh
Readers can send their feedback at letters.ct@gmail.com
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Students display skills at annual exhibition
Mohali, December 14 There was an enthralling solo performance on synthesizer by a western hobby group followed by a melodious rendition of an inspiring song “I have a Dream.” Both performances caught the attention of the audience. The theatre hobby group children delivered a hard-hitting performance titled “Koi Baat Nahi.” The play successfully drove home the message that at times, parents unwittingly pass on unsavoury attributes to children when they exhibit unwarranted behaviour in their presence. The girls in the Indian folk dance hobby group presented a mesmerising performance on Sant Tulsidas’s bhajan, “Thumak Chalet Ram Chandra” and a foot tapping performance of ‘luddi’, a form of Punjabi folk dance. Students showcased beautiful handicraft items. The theme of the display was ‘Recycle Reuse’ with used bottles, discarded CD’s transformed into an array of useful and exquisite things like lantern, handbags, vases, slippers and decoration pieces. Children of the painting hobby group put forth a fascinating display of their work. Designs made on aprons with fabric paints, handkerchiefs with laces stitched on them, block printed shopping bags, and tie and dye items were exhibited. The junior chefs of the kids’ snacks hobby group prepared mouth-watering salads, dips, sandwiches, drinks and a variety of desserts.
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St Kabir students shine at creativity Olympiad
Chandigarh, December 14 Chetanya Mittal topped the all-India Class-VII competition while Shreyas Chandgothia secured the second rank among students of Class VIII. They will receive cash prizes of Rs 25,000 and Rs 15,000, respectively. Chirag K Singhal of Class VI stood 13th, Shresht Jain of Class VIII stood 10th and Tejas Nagpal of Class X secured the 12th rank in their respective competitions. They will receive cash prizes of Rs 1,500 each. Over 10,000 students of Classes VI to XI, selected from about 200 schools from all over the country, participated in the contest. The Olympiad was designed to assess a child's creative abilities.
— TNS
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Cultural items mark DPS annual day
Chandigarh, December 14 Other guests included vice-chairman of the DPS Society and chairman of DPS, Chandigarh, Admiral MM Chopra and MPs Ambika Soni and Pawan Kumar Bansal. Today, students hosted ‘Udhran’ symbolising the evolution of life on Earth. A dance drama portraying the victory of good over evil was staged. It was conceptualised and choreographed by Tanusree Shankar, a Sangeet Natak Academy Award winner, and her team of assistants. Principal Reema Dewan lauded the efforts of the students in making the event memorable.
— TNS
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Play marks annual function
Chandigarh, December 14 An English play 'Sleeping Beauty' and a Hindi skit from the Ramayana were well-received by the audience. School principal Neena Atray read out the annual report.
— TNS
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Exuberance-2013
Chandigarh: Students of Kids ‘R’ Kids School, Sector 42, presented the school's annual cultural programme 'Exuberance-2013' with great zeal and fervour. The event witnessed a colourful array of performances. The programme commenced with a welcome dance for parents. The students enthralled the audience with skits, plays and dances. Children grooved to various forms of dances that they had learned during the course of the year like salsa, hip-hop and western fusion. Annual function Ashiana Public School, Sector 46, organised its 25th annual function at Moti Ram Arya School, Sector 27, Chandigarh. The theme for the function conveyed the message that every child is born with different qualities, which needed to be identified, cultivated and provided with the right platform and environment to bloom. The function was a colourful blend of various forms of dance and drama. The celebrations proceeded with power-packed dance performances, Song & rhyme day
Tiny tots of Euro Kids, Sector 37, celebrated their annual song and rhyme day. The school wore a festive look while children drew everyone's attention because of their fancy attires. The function began with a prayer song followed by school director Mona Verma addressing the gathering. The kids swayed to nursery rhymes and danced to foot-tapping numbers. Mesmerising performances left the audience applauding. Energy conservation
Students of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 46, celebrated the National Energy Conservation Day on the school premises on Saturday. Members of the Sohanjana Eco Club took part in a painting competition organised on the occasion with the theme 'Conserve Energy For Future'. The paintings were vivid depicting the thoughts and concerns of the students toward energy conservation. City tour
Mohali: Students of classes pre-nursery to V of Gian Jyoti Global School, Phase 2, visited the City Beautiful on a hop on and hop off double-decker bus for three consecutive days. Accompanied by their teachers, they visited Rock Garden, Rose Garden, Art Museum and Sukhna Lake. They had a lot of fun. The tiny tots were too excited about their ride on a double-decker bus. They munched down their eatables on the way. Inter-house competitions
Students of St Xavier's High School, Mohali, participated in the inter-house mono acting and skit competition. Members of all the houses performed to their best. Presenting thought-provoking skits on various social issues like female infanticide, dowry system and domestic violence forced the audience to interpret the behaviour of the Indian society in general and their sensitivity toward these sensitive issues. Parody staged
The Seven Ages, a famous monologue from “As you like it” by Shakespeare, was presented in the form of a parody by students of St Solider's School, Mohali. The narrative depicted contradiction of Shakespeare’s lines by a group of street players showing how stages of life have changed over the years. The variations were incorporated in order to make the monologue concur with the present scenario. Unlike Shakespeare’s poetry, the parody started with the pre-natal stage portraying how would-be parents start planning everything for the future of their yet-to-be-born child.
— TNS
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Chandigarh, December 14
Sucha Singh's murder
