Mayor HC Kalyan and MC officials try to pacify angry residents. Tribune photos: Pradeep Tewari

Chandigarh, March 14
Thousands of residents of Sectors 19, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30, and Bapu Dham had to suffer as the water supply to these areas was affected due to the repair of a pipeline at the Sector 26 roundabout.

The water supply to these sectors was stopped on Thursday evening and the residents had to go without water throughout the day today. The water supply was yet to be restored at the time of filing of this report and repair work was under way.

The residents were caught unawares as no information was provided to them about the repair work.

Biswas, a resident of Sector 29 A, said life was thrown out of gear as there was no water supply. “I could not take a bath before going to the office and had to purchase mineral water from the market for drinking,” he said.

Devki Devi, a resident of Sector 28, said the municipal corporation (MC) should have issued a public notice before starting the repair work. “Had the MC informed us well in advance, we could have stored water for our use,” she said.

While many residents hired water tankers, several others preferred to visit nearby sectors for water.

Anita Garg, a resident of Sector 27, said she managed to arrange water for the kitchen work yesterday. However, today the crisis worsened and they didn’t even have water for drinking. “We had to hire a water tanker to meet our water needs,” she said.

Several residents visited the houses of their friends or relatives to take bath. Some others were seen carrying water from nearby sectors.

MC Superintending Engineer, Public Health, RC Diwan said there was a leakage in the water pipe at the Sector 26 roundabout, which had to be plugged. “We thought the repair work would be over within a few hours. However, it is taking more time due to which the water supply has remained suspended,” Diwan said.

Chandigarh, March 14
While three BJP heavyweights — city party unit president Sanjay Tandon, former MP Satya Pal Jain and former Union Minister Harmohan Dhawan — are already in the race for the party ticket for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, now BJP MP from Amritsar Navjot Singh Sidhu’s name is also doing the rounds for the Chandigarh seat.

Sources close to Sidhu said he might contest from Chandigarh as the party was willing to offer him the ticket for the seat. They said Sidhu had also been given the option of contesting from Kurukshetra.

They said Sidhu would counter AAP’s Gul Panag. As they were celebrities, both parties' campaign in the city was likely to attract crowds.

Sidhu is at loggerheads with Punjab BJP and Akali Dal leaders. He had alleged that the Badals were ignoring his pleas for development projects in Amritsar and now his party wanted to field him from some other seat.

The sources confirmed that Sidhu was offered the Chandigarh and Kurukshetra seats, but nothing had been finalised as yet. They added that Sidhu was opposing the move to shift him to a new constituency, as he was confident of winning the Amritsar seat for the fourth time.

A party leader said leaders were trying to convince Sidhu to shift from the Amritsar seat and Chandigarh could be a good option for him. Dhawan, however, said there was no such development and the party have not discussed anything with them.

BJP to name nominee today
While the Congress, the AAP and the BSP have declared their candidates for the city Lok Sabha seat, the BJP is yet to do so. The party's Central Election Committee will announce the name of the nominee for the Chandigarh ticket in Delhi on Saturday.

Panchkula, March 14
The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) today ordered the resumption of plots on which 300 flats have come up in a society of the Haryana Employees Welfare Organisation in Mansa Devi Complex, Sector 5, here for not razing the illegal construction that reportedly led to an outbreak of typhoid in the area.

Following the notice, around 1,200 residents gathered in the area in the evening and urged political parties to help them deal with the situation.

During an inspection, HUDA had found that residents had constructed illegal toilets and a sewer pipe had got merged with a fresh water pipe, resulting in water contamination and the subsequent death of a girl due to typhoid.

An 11-year-old girl, Ashima Sharma, had died of typhoid while over 30 others were taken ill and diagnosed with the same disease.

Samples were collected by the Health Department which revealed that the water being supplied by HUDA was fine, but the toilets constructed illegally had led to the problem.

In her order, HUDA Estate Officer Vandana Disodia said, “Under Section 17(4) of the HUDA Act, 1977, I hereby order to resume the plots and the building constructed thereon and further forfeit 10 per cent of the consideration money of the plots and other dues payable till the date of resumption. Eviction proceedings will also be initiated against you.”

"During a survey conducted by this office, it has been found that unauthorised bathrooms have been constructed by 135 flat owners of the society. Some members of the society have covered the balconies by erecting grills and fibre sheets. Additional toilets have been constructed which are not allowed under the HUDA laws,” the order stated.

The president and secretary of the flat owners' association had urged the Estate Officer to grant them one month to raze the illegal constructions. An inspection was conducted after a month, but nothing had been done, following which the action was taken.

The society can appeal to the Chief Administrator against the resumption, but in the meantime it will have to raze the illegal constructions.

Chandigarh, March 14
Floating of tenders by the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, a few days before the model code of conduct came into force has raised eyebrows, as all the projects pertained to the wards represented by councillors belonging to the ruling Congress.

The Municipal Corporation floated tenders for the extension and renovation of community centres at Sectors 18 and 19 and construction of a civil dispensary at Sector 50.

Tenders of all these projects were floated in the week before March 5 when the model code of conduct came into force.

In this regard, Ravinder Kumar, a city resident, has filed a complaint with the UT Election Department.

The complaint reads, "By floating the tenders, the ruling party, the Congress, is trying to convey to the voters that they are working for their welfare. We are suspicious about the party's intentions as the tenders have been floated at the end of the financial year. I request you to look into the matter and instruct the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, to postpone the tenders, which will directly benefit the specific area councillor. The tenders can be floated after the elections are over so that there is no unfair advantage to the sitting councillor."

Chandigarh, March 14
The Congress' decision to give the ticket for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat to former minister and sitting MP Pawan Kumar Bansal is a slap on the face of city residents, stated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate Gul Panag.

Interacting with mediapersons on Thursday evening, Bollywood actor and social activist Gul Panag said the Congress believed that corruption was a non-issue and the city residents would elect whosoever the party allotted the ticket. "The Congress had the right of selecting its candidate but the right to elect the city's representative in Lok Sabha rests with local voters," Panag said.

Meanwhile, Gul Panag kicked off her election campaign in style this morning by running and walking with visitors to Sukhna Lake.

In the afternoon, she met party workers at the AAP office in Sector 21 here and listened to their suggestions. While speaking to AAP volunteers, she emphasised on adhering to the model code of conduct. All AAP volunteers assured their full support to her. She also visited the places of worship seeking blessings of the Almighty for her electoral success.

Chandigarh, March 14
Those willing to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha election from the Chandigarh constituency can file their nominations from March 15 to 22, except for a public holiday. The last date for withdrawal of nomination papers is March 26.

Each candidate will be required to open a separate bank account in his/her name and all the transactions pertaining to election expenditure will have to be made through this bank account. All candidates will have to maintain a day-to-day account of the poll expenditure in a register issued by the Returning Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner.

Election Department officials stated that the maximum limit of poll expenditure was Rs 54 lakh.

The nomination papers will be taken up for scrutiny in the office of the Returning Officer on March 24.

The election symbols will be allotted on March 26.

The officials said only five persons, including the candidate, were allowed in the office of the Returning Officer for filing of nomination papers. Further, only three vehicles would be allowed with a candidate in the radius of 100 metres from the office of the Returning Officer, as it relates to poll expenditure of the candidate.

March 15 is the last date for submitting the Form 6 for inclusion of names in the electoral list. However, the corrections and changes in the forms can be made till March 22.

Chandigarh, March 14
The District Magistrate-cum-Returning Officer (RO) Mohhamed Shayin today issued a show-cause notice to a Panjab University (PU) professor for not accepting the order for election duty and misbehaving with the person who visited him to deliver the order.

Sources said the notice was issued to Prof Prince Sharma of the Microbiology Department, PU, for misbehaving with the messenger.

The professor was assigned the work of sector officer but he refused to accept the orders.

Mohali, March 14
In a boost to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and particularly its candidate for the Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, senior ‘Taksali’ leader Mann Singh Sohana today quit the Congress to join the SAD.

Prof Chandumajra and senior Akali leader Balwant Singh Ramoowalia welcomed Sohana and his supporters, including Supash Kumar Babbar, Achchra Singh, Arwinder Sharma Mauli, Jagdish Singh Lakhnaur, Ashwani Kumar and others, at a brief function held here.

However, Baldev Singh Kumbhra, another Congress leader who was also expected to join the SAD today, did not turn up at the venue.

Kumbra told TNS that he had never announced that he was joining the Akali Dal along with Sohana. “I would make my stand in this regard clear on March 16 at Padiala village. I am with Rajbir Singh Padiala and would follow him,” said Kumbhra.

Notably, Padiala, who had joined Congress in 2009, has already announced that he would return to the SAD fold during a function to be held in Padiala village on March 16.

Earlier, welcoming Sohana in the party fold, Prof Chandumajra and Ramoowalia termed his homecoming as an indication about the Congress’ collapse in the area. “Sohana has a large following in the area. The party, particularly our MP candidate, would be benefited a lot with Sohana joining the Akali Dal at this juncture,” said Ramoowalia.

Prof Chandumajra hoped that the voter base of the SAD increased with Sohana joining the party.

Mohali, March 14
Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gursharan Singh Sandhu issued a show-cause notice to two head constables and two constables for delayed response during a surprise check by the senior officers, here today.

Giving details, SSP Sandhu said four policemen, including two constables and two head constables, deputed as Police Control Room (PCR) parties have been issued a show-cause notice to see the efficiency and their responding time to emergency calls. “These erred officials were late by 10 to 15 minutes in reaching at their respective spots, from where the phone calls were made by the senior police officers. I have asked for an explanation for not reaching within the set responding time, which is 3 to 4 minutes,” said SSP Sandhu.

However, the police did not give the names of the officials in question.

“Around six different points were set for the purpose today where senior police officers of SP and DSP level were deputed to check the responding timing of the PCR officials. Except these four PCR motorcycle parties, the response of rest PCR officials were satisfactory,” said SSP Sandhu.

“Serving a show-cause notice to these officials is a warninf for the staff. Next time strict action would be taken in case of dereliction of duty,” said SSP Sandhu adding that such surprise checks would be made a routine thing in future.

Chandigarh, March 14
Chandigarh continued to top the chart in consumer literacy in the country, both in the terms of number of cases filed per 1,000 persons and the rate of disposal of cases.

As per the records available with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, out of every 1,000 residents of Chandigarh, 57 persons filed cases before the district consumer court here.

Nearly 62,000 consumers moved the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum since the inception of consumer courts in early 1990s. In a stark contrast, the number of persons filing cases per 1,000 residents is barely nine in Haryana and six in Punjab.

Even the National Capital Delhi, was found way behind Chandigarh with only 16 persons out of 1,000 approaching the consumer court for redressal of their grievances.

President of the Chandigarh Consumer Courts Bar Association Pankaj Chandgothia did an analysis and found that the city topped the rate of disposal of cases at the district level for the third consecutive year. The rate of disposal of cases in 2013 in Chandigarh was as high as 97.65 per cent against the national average of 92.19.

In 2013, 3,514 cases were filed while 3,485 came up before the consumer forum at Chandigarh in 2012 as against only 2,261 in 2011. Nearly 490 cases have already been filed in the first two months this year.

“High literacy and legal awareness are the key factors contributing to the consumer-conscious status of the city,” said Chandgothia.

The grievances before the consumer courts relate to a variety of issues, including banking, medical, telephone, insurance, housing, electricity, airlines and railways.

Panchkula, March 14
A 40-year-old mentally unstable man gave a tough time to two policemen in Panchkula, who came to his house in Sector 21 here to rescue his mother whom he had tied.

The man, identified as Sameer, locked the policemen in his house and fled on their bike. After exhausting the fuel in the bike, he forcibly stopped a woman commuter and fled with her Activa scooter.

The police laid various nakas to nab him but he is still at large.

Inspector Malkeet Singh, the SHO of Sector 5 police station, said, "The man is under depression and mentally unfit. He locked our two officials in his house but they managed to come out."

He added, "Sameer's mother has told us that he isn't well. When her repeated requests to open the lock proved futile, she informed the police control room."

The police said the accused was hiding nearby and when the two police officials from the Sector 21 police post reached there, he locked them in another room before fleeing on their bike. When the bike ran out of fuel near Sector 2, he stopped a woman, Archana, who was on Activa scooter, and escaped on her vehicle. Archana claimed that her purse carrying cash was in the scooter's dickey.

Chandigarh, March 14
A day after the death of a patient, who underwent a surgery at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32 here, the family has alleged medical negligence.

Sunita Rani underwent a surgery for removal of gall bladder on February 20. In the complaint to the Director of the hospital today, her family alleged that after the surgery, she developed complications and was shifted to a private hospital where she was declared dead after efforts for revival failed on Thursday.

While no inquiry has been marked, GMCH Director Dr Atul Sachdev, who was out of city, said, "I will look into the complaint on return." — TNS

Chandigarh, March 14
Students of Panjab University celebrated Holi with a riot of colour on the campus here today.

In view of the weekend prior to Holi, Panjab University students celebrated the festival of colours in advance.

While some students chose to play with dry colours, some could be seen spraying coloured water on their friends.

As part of the revellery, students also smashed eggs on each other.

Cars with blaring music zipped past on the campus, adding to the revellery.

Girl with coloured faces also participated with zeal as they played trumpets.

The celebrations continued till late evening on the Panjab University campus.

Meanwhile, Holi will be celebrated across the Tricity on March 17, which is a gazetted holiday.

Chandigarh, March 14
“Insect societies organise themselves in a systematic society, much like the human society. We need to study them the same way as anthropologists study humans,” said Prof Raghavendra Gadagkar, president, Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi, and chairman of the Centre for Contemporary Studies, IISc, Bangalore, at Panjab University today.

Prof Gadagkar was deliberating upon the issue ‘War and peace: Conflict and cooperation in an insect society’ at the Dr SSB University Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology (UICET) auditorium, PU.

Prof Gadagkar said, “We need to study wasps, insects and other species to know how they behave and tackle their problems.”

He also discussed various caste differentiations of the drone honey bee, queen and worker.

PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Arun Kumar Grover presided over the colloquium. Earlier, Prof Gadagkar visited the PU Rose Garden, Botanical Garden and Anthropology Museum.