Chandigarh, March 12
The Central Election Committee of the Congress is still undecided on giving the ticket to sitting MP Pawan Kumar Bansal for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.

While the Congress is in a quandary over how to deal with the issue of “tainted politicians”, party workers in the city are in a dilemma whether to participate in the election campaign here or not.

A senior Congress leader in the city said a delay in announcing the candidate for the Chandigarh seat would affect the party’s poll campaign. Many leaders had distanced themselves from the election campaign due to the delay in the announcement, he said.

Party sources said despite the involvement of Bansal’s nephew in Railgate, the Central Election Committee had cleared Bansal’s name, but the candidature for Chandigarh was not announced in the first list to avoid a controversy.

On Monday, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari had complicated the party’s predicament by saying: “The Congress should not get into legalities. It should not give the ticket to those who are facing allegations of corruption.”

Tewari’s critics said he did not wish to be re-nominated from his constituency, Ludhiana, and was eyeing the Chandigarh seat due to which he was creating problems for Bansal.

Another Congress leader said Bansal’s case was different from other ‘tainted’ leaders as his name was not included by the CBI in the chargesheet. Moreover, Bansal was a CBI witness in the case. Recently, the court had also rejected a petition demanding inclusion of Bansal’s name in Railgate.

Chandigarh, March 12
In sheer violation of the model code of conduct, the municipal corporation (MC) issued transfer orders of three junior engineers (JEs) posted in the electrical wing. The Sub-Divisional Engineer (SDE) issued the transfer orders on March 11 even though the code of conduct came into force on March 5.

SDE AK Dhadwal issued the transfer orders of JEs Maninder Singh, Puneet Sharma and Harsimran Singh stating that they had been transferred with immediate effect in public interest. The orders also mentioned that the JEs would have to give information about the names and mobile numbers of the field staff posted in their area within three days.

Sources said soon after the transfer orders were issued, the matter was reported to senior MC officials, who immediately asked the SDE to cancel the orders.

AK Dhadwal said he had transferred the JEs. However, realising that the code of conduct had come into force, he cancelled the orders. “I cancelled the orders on the same day before these could come into effect,” Dhadwal claimed.

The sources said an explanation had been sought from the SDE over the JEs' transfers.

Despite repeated attempts, MC Commissioner VP Singh could not be contacted for comments.

Chandigarh, March 12
Nearly eight months after a girl’s listless body was found near the Sukhna Lake stairs, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued a notice to the Chandigarh Police and in charge of Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) on a petition filed by the victim’s father alleging police inaction.

In his petition placed before Justice MMS Bedi, Sunil Kumar of Mohali alleged that the CFSL had neither submitted its report, nor had the Sector 3 police started proper investigation. The police were, rather, waiting for the report of the forensic examination.

Going into the background of the controversy, the petitioner claimed that his daughter Anjali had gone to pay obeisance at a local gurdwara on July 29 last year around 7 pm.

When she did not return even after two hours, the family started searching for her. After the local police informed them that the last location of her mobile was at Sukhna Lake, they reached the place only to find her two-wheeler parked there. Later, her body was found near a staircase.

The Sukhna Lake police filed a daily diary report, but did not register an FIR. After conducting a postmortem the next morning, samples were sent to the CFSL. Subsequently, the mobile set of a colleague, with whom Anjali had exchanged a message, was also sent to the CFSL.

Counsel HC Arora argued on the petitioner’s behalf that the Chandigarh Police should be directed to register an FIR and conduct proper investigation. He also prayed that the CFSL should be directed to submit the forensic report immediately. 

Chandigarh, March 12
Displaying banners and flexes of political parties on houses and shops without the permission of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) can land one into trouble, now. The MC is going to penalise violators.

The District Magistrate (DM)-cum-Returning Officer (RO), Mohammed Shayin, today wrote a letter to the MC asking them to crackdown on those advertising for political parties by displaying banners and flexes on houses and shops without the MC’s permission.

As per the rule, the property owners will have to pay the fee for displaying the banners under the Chandigarh Advertisement Control Order (CACO) 1954.

MC Joint Commissioner Rajiv Gupta said that they had asked the enforcement staff to keep an eye on all such banners and flexes put on display on private properties. “Those found violating the CACO, will be fined as per law”, Gupta said.

Officials stated that the owner of the house or shop would be fined for displaying the posters and banners. The MC will penalise violators at the rate of Rs 100 per sq ft per day.

The banners can be found displayed by various political parties on house premises, especially in villages and colonies.

Official sources stated that a special drive would be conducted across the city to check the violations. “We are also giving a public notice in this regard after which action will be taken against those violating CACO 1954”, said the Joint Commissioner.

Model code of conduct

Displaying flags, banners, notices and writing slogans on the compound wall, building, individual land and without the permission of the owner is a violation of Clause 6 of the model code of conduct. The orders by the Returning Officer mention that the cost incurred in removing the violations will be accrued to the respective political party or candidate.

Every overseas elector, i.e., Indian citizen who is not residing in India owing to employment, education or otherwise, and has not acquired the citizenship of any other country and who is not included in the electoral roll, is entitled to have his/her name registered in the electoral roll of the constituency in which his/her place of residence in India is located as mentioned in the passport.

How to get your name enrolled at new address

n You can fill Form-6A, which may be either submitted in person directly to the registration officer of the constituency concerned or sent to the registration officer by post along with the documents mentioned in Form-6A and the guidelines. When the claim application is sent by post, it should be accompanied by photocopies of the relevant pages of the passport duly attested by the competent official of the Indian Mission in the country concerned.

You can log on to ceochandigarh.nic.in

Officialspeak

Contributed by AMIT SHARMA

Chandigarh, March 12
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) today removed political advertisements of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on the walls of public toilets in Sector 22.

The UT Election Department had sought report from the MC on the advertisements as the model code of conduct was in force in the city. The issue was also highlighted in these columns.

An MC official said they removed the advertisements from public toilets this morning. The municipal corporation had given these toilets on contract to a private firm, which had further rented out the space to the Congress for its national advertisement campaign to promote party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's image.

Meanwhile, the private firm had already submitted documents to the MC in which it was stated that under similar kind of situation during the Delhi Assembly elections in 2013, the Delhi Election Department had clearly stated that there was no ban on political party putting up their advertisements on commercially authorised sites.

Besides, the Mohali Administration had also allowed them to instal political hoardings on specified places. Their firm would abide by all the rules and regulations of the model code of conduct not only in the city but in Punjab and Haryana as well, the firm representative said. 

Chandigarh, March 12
It is not just the political parties that will be busy with the hectic schedule of election campaigns even the UT Election Department is going to start its extensive campaign to encourage voting.

City-based NGOs have been roped in by the department, which will hold “nukkad nataks”, plays, cycle rally and signature campaigns to ensure large voter turnout.

The Election Department has planned a series of activities to encourage voters in the city. Activities like poster-making competition in schools will be organised among students so that when parents come to witness the contest they can be convinced to cast their votes.

UT Joint Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Tilak Raj said that banners with slogans would also be displayed on the school buses to encourage voters.

Awareness camps at Bapu Dham and Colony Number 4 will also be held in which women will be invited and encouraged to vote. The UT Joint CEO stated that street plays focusing on exercising the right to vote would be organised at places like Sukhana Lake and the Sector-17 Plaza. The Election Department has planned to continue the campaign till the first week of April. 

Chandigarh, March 12
The BJP will announce the name of their candidate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat tomorrow.The Central Election Committee of the BJP will meet in Delhi tomorrow where they will decide on the candidate for the Chandigarh seat.

At present, there are three top contenders for the BJP ticket, state president Sanjay Tandon, former city MP and BJP national chairman of the committee on legal and election commission issues Satya Pal Jain and former Union Minister Harmohan Dhawan. All the three leaders are in Delhi with their supporters and lobbying hard for the party ticket. This time, the party is expecting to win the Chandigarh seat so all these leaders don’t want to take risk. They all are in touch with senior BJP leaders.Recently, the BJP had carried out a survey in Chandigarh to ascertain the popularity of the three leaders. 

Chandigarh, March 12
It is not just the political parties that will be under the close watch of the ÚT Election Department, but political news published and telecast in different sections of the media will also be under scanner to check if the news are not paid.

A committee has been formed that will review the stories on a daily basis.

UT Joint Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Tilak Raj stated that several parameters have been defined to establish whether the news was paid or not. “The committee will be submitting the reports everyday along with their observations”, he stated.

Officials stated that political parties would also be asked not to promote paid news.

The city unit of the BJP has accomplished the task of collecting material for the ‘Statue of Unity’ to be constructed in Gujarat in the memory of Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The mission was assigned to ‘Loh Sangrah Sahyog’ committee which carried out the job of collecting pieces of iron from tools used by farmers as well as soil from various places. The committee held the closing ceremony at the party office in Kamlam at Sector 33 of the campaign which was kicked-off in January this year.

Congress padyatra

Mohali, March 12
Shopkeepers of various markets held meetings to discuss the paid parking facility here, following which the Municipal Corporation authorities said the decision to introduce the facility would be implemented only after looking into the problems of those affected.

The Market Welfare Associations and the Beopar Mandal of Mohali, reportedly, held separate meetings to discuss the issue.

The Beopar Mandal held a meeting at Phase X. Chairman of the Mohali District Planning Committee Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia was invited for the meet. Members of the mandal asked the chairman to give an assurance that the paid parking facility would not be introduced even after the Lok Sabha elections.

Another meeting of members of various shopkeepers’ associations was held in Phase III-B2. President of the Market Association of the area JP Singh said paid parking was highly opposed during the meeting. Members said business was already not flourishing much in Mohali and paid parking would further decrease the number of customers. He said members have decided to boycott the Beopar Mandal, which had earlier given its consent to the introduction of paid parking in a meeting with the Municipal Commissioner.

He further said an eleven-member committee was set up during the meeting to form a new Mohali-level shopkeepers’ body to safeguard their interests.

The paid parking facility was introduced yesterday for the first time in five markets of the town. The step was highly opposed by shopkeepers.

Uma Shankar Gupta, Commissioner of the corporation, said the paid parking facility would be introduced in the town after reviewing the matter and looking into the genuine problems of shopkeepers. For the time being, it has been put on hold, said the MC Commissioner.

Chandigarh, March 12
City-based Ex-servicemen’s association has written to the Chief Justice of India against the administrative and judicial shortcomings of the Chandigarh Bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT).

The association alleged that the AFT unnecessarily forces underprivileged and disabled soldiers to approach the High Court for relief. They said the relief can easily be attained from the AFT itself.

The association is seeking intervention on the part of the Chief Justice so that corrective measures could be undertaken at the earliest. The association said restoring the jurisdiction to the High Court would help ex-servicemen get justice and a quick redressal to their grievances.

The association alleged that even the Ministry of Defence is not following the orders of the tribunal. All this has made the present system a ‘cruel joke’ on military personnel and pensioners, said members of the association.

According to the complaint, copies have also been sent to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and Defence Minister AK Antony but, in vain.

Stating that the bench was trying to change law based on personal perception rather than judicial pronouncements, the complaint further adds that decisions in favour of ex-servicemen are usually not followed and new contradictory decisions are given.

The association also alleged that a new system has emerged where pension matters are being dismissed on grounds of limitation, which is in direct conflict with the law laid down on the subject. Further, restricting arrears of pension to six months, as directed by the Chandigarh Bench in several cases, is also against the law and also a practice commonly followed by other benches, alleged the complainants.

Chandigarh, March 12
Crisis due to medicine shortage continues at the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, and civic dispensaries forcing hundreds of patients to purchase all those medicines from chemist shops that are to be provided free of cost by the UT Health Department.

Of the total 100, stocks of only 10 medicines are currently available.

The shortage continues for over 25 days now. A visit to the GMSH-16 today revealed that patients coming to buy medicines for headache, pain in abdomen, blood pressure control as well as life-saving drugs, including injections, were being directed towards chemist shops on the hospital campus.

“Earlier also, I came for consultation 15 days ago. Medicines were not available at the store then also. Now again, I have to walk to the chemist shop and spend money on the medicines,” said Shiela Devi, a 76-year-old heart patient who visited the OPD today.

The ordeal was similar for 18-year-old Suraj who visited the surgical OPD for pain in abdomen and 75-year-old Surfi Lal who complained of severe headache.

The stock of the life-saving drugs, which are to be provided to patients in emergency within the first 24 hours of admission, have also been exhausted, forcing patients to rush to the chemist shops on the campus for every small dose.

Poor patients are the worst affected due to the shortage. Shortage of basic medicines for BP, cold and enteric fever has been ailing patients visiting the civic dispensaries as well.

“We place bulk orders every year with an estimated footfall of patients recorded in the preceding year. We have already exhausted the stock purchased for the current financial year due to higher footfall this year. Purchasing consumes time since a lot of scrutiny is to be done to ensure that substandard medicines are not included in the stock,” said Dr Vandana Gupta, Medical Superintendent, GMSH-16.

“For emergency patients, we have made purchases at local levels,” she added.

Mohali, March 12
The District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu, said the Lok Sabha elections would be conducted fearlessly.

A special meeting was conducted with GS Sandhu, SSP, to discuss about the necessary security arrangements and other provisions for the poll today. During the meeting, the DC said a strict action would be taken against any candidate or supporters found guilty of garnering votes via unfair means such as bribes and intimidation. The DEO said handling and travelling with huge money and without proper documents is not allowed. A bearer must keep the necessary documents safely with him. About 6,07,799 voters would cast their votes on the election day. As many as 685 polling booths would be set up to facilitate peaceful voting in the district, said the DEO. — OC

Mohali, March 12
Residents of Chilla village held a protest against the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority for building a school under high tension wires in the area.

The Congress MP, Ravneet Singh Bittu, and MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu also joined the protesters. They urged the authorities to shift the site for the government primary school in the interest of students.

Kuldeep Singh, sarpanch of the village, said a site measuring five kanals was earmarked for the school. It was later acquired by the GMADA. The authority had promised to allot an alternative site for the school. But now, the school building was being constructed in half-a-kanal area.

Villagers had brought the matter to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner and GMADA authorities.

Chandigarh, March 12
A day after a motorcyclist was injured by a speeding Indica car with a blue beacon on the Madhya Marg, the UT police is yet to make headway in the case. Inspector Anokh Singh, SHO, Sector 26 police station, said they are trying to ascertain the number of the car. 

Mohali, March 12
On the occasion of World Kidney Day, 15 kidney donors, mostly women, were felicitated by the Health and Family Welfare and Social Security Minister, Punjab, Surjit Kumar Jyani, at Max Super Specialty Hospital (MSSH).

Jyani praised the donors and commended them for donating their kidneys to those in need.

Laishram Shanti Devi, a 40-year-old housewife from Manipur, donated her kidney to her 19-year-old son. “Donating kidney to my son was the most wonderful experience ever. It felt like giving birth again,” said Devi.

A 47-year-old man, Kamaljit Singh from Jalandhar, also donated his kidney to save his 16-year-old son. Kamaljit said he is glad that he got the opportunity to save someone who is so close to him. “My son is my life. I am glad I could save him,” said the father,

Veena Sharma (53) donated her kidney to her husband. “It is a wonderful feeling to know that my husband has got a fresh lease of life because of me. I feel really fortunate and blessed,” said Sharma.

Chandigarh, March 12
A meeting of the Lalru Industries Association was held today. Members of the association honoured John Victor, member, Railway Board, Railway Ministry.

A Container Freight Station (CFS) and rail linked Inland Container Depot (ICD) was also commissioned on the occasion.

The facility could not be, however, made fully operational due to inadequate availability of rail rake. Victor assured the members that the railways would increase availability of rail rake.

Chandigarh, March 12
City-based theatre society Citi staged "Compromise", an adaptation of a Marathi play, on the first day of the two-day theatre festival that began at Punjab Kala Bhawan here today.

The play, directed by Ashish Sharma, revolved around a writer who refuses to listen to his soul and compromises with his principles at every stage of his life.

The powerful script did justice in bringing up issues such as impotency and sycophantism in a manner that held the interest of the contemporary audience.

The plot of the play that primarily focused on the conversation between the protagonist and his soul earned a thunderous applause.

The 45-minute production was beautifully performed by the actors and gave the theatre aficionados a glimpse of the new genre of abstract theatre.

Gaurav Sharma, who designed the set, said: "The play gave me an opportunity to experiment with darker shades of colours, lines and textures, as it involved many elements."

Chandigarh, March 12
An intensive anti-encroachment campaign carried out by the enforcement wing of the municipal corporation (MC) in Sector 22 has given a relief to visitors coming to the market.

The presence of the enforcement wing in the market throughout the day has left encroachers with no other option but to leave the market and go. The area between Shastri Market and the main market of the sector that used to be encroached upon by vendors selling grocery items, bags, clothes, etc.

The enforcement staff was present in the market from 11 am to 9 pm. Inspector (enforcement) Sunil Dutt said that the MC had adopted zero tolerance level. “Over 200 challans have been issued to the violators in the last few days” he added. Rinita Singh, a visitor at Sector 22 market said that the anti-encroachment drive had made it possible to walk easily in and around the market. — TNS

Chandigarh, March 12
Putting to rest rumours of the Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) getting merged with other parties, senior party members today announced its core working team.

Advocate Bikramjeet Singh, speaking on behalf of party founder Dayal Partap Singh Randhawa and other senior leaders, said SOPU had come into existence for the welfare of students and would continue to do so.

Amninder Singh Mann of the Department of Laws has been appointed as the SOPU president.

Popinder Dhaliwal, Rupinder Sharma and Rajbir Singh have been named members of the core working committee.

Talking to mediapersons, Amninder Singh Mann said he would work for the rights of the students rights and “bring a cultural change in the political environment” of the university.

He appealed to the students of the university to support non-political student organisations.

Chandigarh, March 12
A seminar on “Indian culture and gender issues” today began at the ICSSR Complex, Panjab University. Sixty college and schoolteachers from Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and the city are attending the programme. 

Twenty-six research papers will be presented during the two-day seminar. The seminar being organised by the Department of Lifelong Learning and Extension aims at sensitising the teachers on gender issues.

In his inaugural address, Professor Ronki Ram said all the teachers faced many challenges on the issues of gender sensitisation and the seminar would help them in meeting these challenges.

Dr NK Goel, head of community medicine at Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, in his keynote address, said that spiritual and cultural knowledge would help in empowering the society and sensitising the youth on gender issues.

Chandigarh, March 12
The Students Organisation of India (SOI) today submitted a memorandum to the Panjab University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Arun Kumar Grover, against the “unfair” internal assessment of students by various departments.

The SOI representatives told the VC that a few departments were not assessing the students as per their capability, affecting their annual results. They urged him to instruct all the departments to be careful and fair while giving marks.

Prof Grover assured the students that he would look into the matter.

Chandigarh, March 12
The Sikh community is the richest across the globe in terms of its glorious past and traditional legacy. Dr Jaspal Singh, Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala, stated this while addressing a gathering during the annual function of the Sikh Educational Society at the Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26.

The event was organised in memory of former Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Gurcharan Singh Tohra.

Dr Jaspal Singh exhorted the gathering to preserve the rich legacy of great gurus, saints and seers.

While delivering the Panth Rattan Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra Memorial Lecture, Dr Balwant Singh Dhillon, director, Sri Guru Granth Sahib Research Center, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, talked in detail about the major challenges in preserving the unique identity of Sikhs, both religiously and socially, across the world.

Chandigarh, March 12
A meeting of the state executive committee of Government Teachers' Union (GTU) was held at Masjid Ground, Sector 20, here today.

Union president Vinod Sharma said that the committee members accused some principals on deputation of harassing teachers.

He said a seven-member delegation of the union would meet the Director, Public Instructions (Schools), to discuss the problems being faced by teachers because of the "dictatorial attitude" of some school heads. Various other issues were also discussed during the meeting, he said.