Chandigarh, October 1
Despite spending around Rs 831 crore over the past three years, “poor performance” of the UT police on the law and order front has come under the scanner of the Auditor General (AG).

Chandigarh falls among cities having one of the highest police-public ratios of 629.45 policemen per lakh against the national average of 131.45 policemen per lakh. However, the Police Department has failed to meet the expectations of residents. Chandigarh has a total area of 114 sq km and has the highest police density per 100 sq km area.

Coming down heavily on the Police Department, the AG’s report states that despite having a good strength of police personnel and a good police-public ratio, the rate of crime and fatal accidents in the city is on the higher side.

Figure this: During 2011-2013, 14,734 cases were registered in the city under various sections of the Indian Penal Code of which the Chandigarh police have failed to work out 20 per cent of the cases so far.

The crime in the city increased by 28 per cent during 2013 as compared to 2011. Chandigarh has a strength of 6,017 police personnel.

During the audit of four police stations in Sectors 11, 31, 36 and 39, it was found that 2,193 cases were reported under various sections of the IPC from 2012 to June 4, 2014, of which 43 per cent of the cases are yet to be worked out.

RK Garg, a Sector 27 resident, who collected the information under the RTI Act, said the crime in the city was increasing and the list of unsolved cases was piling up. 

Chandigarh, October 1
In a withdrawal from the earlier practice when government employees and students used to observe Gandhi Jayanti as a national holiday, all employees of the Chandigarh Administration, including teachers, and students will be seen taking the “Swachhta pledge” before carrying out a cleanliness drive in their respective premises.

The four-day-long weekend plan of the employees and the students has been disrupted as the departments and schools will remain open this Gandhi Jayanti.

According to a circular issued by the Chandigarh Administration’s Home Department to all administrative secretaries, head of departments, boards and corporations, it has been stated that October 2 will be observed as “Swachhta shapath diwas”.

The pledge is part of the Swachh Bharat campaign launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.

While schools will organise the pledge-taking ceremony on their premises, all officers and employees of the offices located in Deluxe Building and Additional Deluxe Building will take the pledge in the compound of Deluxe Building, Sector 9, at 9.45 am.

All heads of departments have been instructed to administer the pledge to all employees in their respective offices. After the pledge, the officials have been urged to voluntarily clean their office premises.

Though the pledge exercise is voluntary for schools, almost all government schools in the city will remain open for two hours from 9 am.

Educationists said as part of the cleanliness drive, students will hold an awareness rally in neighborhood areas and also clean their school premises.

OPDs to remain closed today, tomorrow

OPDs in all three government hospitals — the PGI, the GMCH-32 and the GMSH-16 — will remain closed on October 2 and 3 while emergency services will continue as usual. Officials of all three hospitals will gather to take the oath and clean their respective departments.

Holiday plan disrupted

The four-day-long weekend plan of employees and students has been disrupted as the departments and schools will remain open this Gandhi Jayanti.

Panchkula, October 1
With the last date of withdrawal of candidature ending today, the Panchkula election office released a list of 17 candidates vying for the Haryana Vidhan Sabha seat from the constituency.

While nine of them are Independents — who were disappointed over recognised parties not giving them the ticket — the other eight are contesting on party symbols.

Symbols have been allotted to the Independent candidates as well. The most prominent among them is Vinod Bagai, whose poll symbol is pressure cooker. The other Independent candidates are Ashok Gupta, Jagdeep Sharma, Rakesh Gill, Ram Swarup, Vijay Singh, Sonia Gaur, Harinder Singh and Hem Singh.

There will be a total of 897 ballot units and 597 control units in the Panchkula and Kalka constituencies. While there are 185 polling booths in Panchkula, 195 are located in Kalka.

In all, 3,52,895 voters will decide the fate of the candidates in both constituencies. Of them, 1,87,786 are male and 1,65,109 are female. As many as 9,446 voters are in the age group of 18 to 19 years are 5,970 are octogenarians.

Campaigning gains momentum

With the list of candidates finalised and the returning officer allotting election symbols, the campaigning has gained momentum.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today campaigned for local Congress candidate DK Bansal. In a public meeting held at Aggarwal Bhawan, sector 16, he said 600 acres of land had been set aside in Panchkula for setting up a university. Also, the government hospital in Sector 6 would be upgraded to the level of the PGI, he said.

Interestingly, a function held by the Indian National Lok Dal at the same venue recently saw supporters turning up in much larger numbers.

INLD Leader Umesh Sood, meanwhile, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party along with hundreds of his supporters. Umesh Sood, a former chairman of the local zila parishad, had joined the INLD after leaving the Congress in 2008.

In a gathering at Barwala, BJP candidate Gian Chand Gupta said atrocities against women had gone up during the Congress regime. He said the BJP would make the constituency safer for women. 

Prominent candidates

INLD Kulbhushan Goyal

BJP Gian Chand Gupta

Cong DK Bansal

HJC Ravinder Rawal

HLP Shakti Singh

CPI Mam Chand Basia

Will campaign for Gill

Ram Kumar Chaudhary, a Congress MLA from Himachal Pradesh, said he will be campaigning for Manvir Kaur Gill, the party candidate from Kalka constituency, during the Haryana Assembly poll.

Chandigarh, October 1
Over 1,000 young volunteers, who have donated blood more than 15 times, pledged to motivate their parents for the noble cause as well. The volunteers, mostly members of Rotaract Club, formed a human chain along the Madhya Marg to mark National Voluntary Blood Donation Day.

“All of us have pledged to reach out to our parents and motivate them to donate blood. We will also be meeting our relatives and explaining to them the benefits of donating blood. Our objective is that each family in the tricity donates at least two units of blood every year,” said Shreya, a volunteer.

Another volunteer, Hansal Chhabra, said: “Over 60 per cent of us have already donated blood over 10 times. Most of us mark our special occasions such as birthdays by donating blood.”

Karan Abrol, a volunteer, said his website (www.bloodhelp.net) had built a database of blood donors and helped save many lives.

“In the past two months, we have helped over 180 patients,” he said.

Festive twist to noble cause

Chandigarh Adventures Treks and Sports, as a part of their social endeavor with CAN & WILL Foundation, celebrated the day.

Keeping up with the festive spirit, the organisers made the donors wear costumes of their preferred characters from the Ramayana before donating blood. A total of 141 volunteers donated blood during the two-day camp held at the Rotary Blood Bank Society Resource Centre in Sector 37.

Mohali, October 1
Many residents, who have rented out their buildings in Mohali, are reluctant to pay property tax because of higher rates, frustrating the Municipal Corporation’s bid to mop up the targeted amount.

The total amount collected till the last date was estimated Rs 12.29 crore against the target of Rs 25 crore. Despite repeated extensions for the payment of property tax without penalty over the last year, the civic body has failed to collect even 50 per cent of the targeted amount.

The latest extended period for tax deposit for the fiscal year 2013-14 ended on September 30.

Among the residential, industrial and commercial sectors, the collection figure was the lowest in the case of the commercial properties. Nearly 80 per cent of the buildings in this category have been rented out.

Sources said commercial units numbering 4,989 out of which only 1,373 had paid up the property tax till September 28, a low percentage of 27.52. The civic body had mopped up Rs 3,85,63,724 from the commercial sector till September 28.

In the residential category, too, tax payers have shown reluctance to deposit the tax. Out of 45,160 units within the municipal limits, tax was received from only 19,516 units (43.32 per cent). The collections from this sector till September 28 amounted to Rs 3,27,13,890.

Similarly, the owners of 735 industrial units out of 1,274 had paid the tax till September 28 (57.59 per cent). A sum of Rs 3,59,95,068 was collected from the industrial category.

Property tax rates for rented accommodation were higher and most owners of such properties were less than keen to pay up. In the case of the commercial and industrial sectors, the owners are supposed to pay 10 per cent of the rent amount as tax. The rents for showrooms usually vary from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh a year and the owner is supposed to pay Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.50 lakh annually as tax. However, in the case of self-occupied showrooms, property tax is much lower at about Rs 25,000.

Similarly, in the case of a 10-marla house the owner is expected to pay Rs 1,700 as property tax annually. If he lets out two floors of his house and receives a rent income of about Rs 30,000 per month, the tax shoots up to around Rs 10,800 yearly. In the case of property rented out in the residential sector, the owner has to pay 3 per cent of the rent amount as property tax. 

Mohali, October 1
High drama was witnessed at the office of Director Public Instructions (DPI), Phase 8, when hundreds of teachers ‘gheraoed’ the office and blocked the lobby, this afternoon.

About 1,500 teachers, who were recruited by the state government in 2009 on regular basis, are yet to get their appointment letters.

“In absence of appointment letters, we are forced to continue as contractual staff,” alleged the teachers. The blockade from the premises was lifted after assurance from the DPI that their letters would be issued very soon. 

Mohali, October 1
Staging protest against killing of two workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the activists of local unit of the party staged a dharna in front of the office of Mohali Deputy Commissioner, today.

The protestors were led by Himmat Singh Shergill, who had contested Lok Sabha elections on the party ticket. While raising anti-government and anti-Punjab Police slogans, the AAP activists demanded high-level probe or CBI inquiry into the incident and stern action against the culprits.

Shergill said the Akali-BJP combine government has failed to maintain law and order in the state. “The ruling government has no right to continue, it should be dismissed immediately,” said Shergill.

Chandigarh, October 1
To mark the celebrations of International Day of Older Persons, HelpAge India Chandigarh organised a walkathon today.

More than 500 schoolchildren and 150 senior citizens walked together to show the importance of intergenerational bonding. The walk was flagged off by

Kirron Kher, Member of Parliament, Chandigarh.

The walk started from the old age home Sector 15, Chandigarh, up to the Rose Garden. The schoolchildren with their grandparents, senior citizens from the Bapu Dham colony, Daddu Majra, members of senior citizen associations, volunteers from Panjab University, social work and the Public Health Department also participated.

A recent study by HelpAge India brought out the startling fact that the highest abuser of the elderly in India was their own kin. The study also stated that half of the elderly reported facing abuse because of lack of emotional support.

Dr (Brig) ML Kataria honoured

Members of the Senior Citizens Welfare Association, Mani Majra, attend a function at Gurukul Global School, Chandigarh. A tribune photograph

International Day for Older Persons was observed today with solemnity and enthusiasm. Prof. Kaptan Singh Solanki, Governor of Haryana, was the chief guest and Kirron Kher, Member of Parliament, the guest of honour on the occasion.

Dr Brig. ML Kataria (93), continues to serve society was specially honoured on the occasion. In his acceptance speech he thanked the association and announced Rs 50,000 donation to it.

Solanki, released the association’s souvenir and a book titled “Pearls of Thoughts”, authored by Principal SS Prince, a member of the association.

Twenty senior citizens, under five different categories, and 15 service providers for socio-medical camps were honoured. Kirrron Kher, Member of Parliament, who was the guest of honour, released the directory of the association.

The chief guest, addressing the senior citizens, appreciated the efforts made by the Chandigarh Senior Citizens’ Association (CSCA) in providing the much needed services not only to senior citizens but also to other challenged sections of society by way of medical and other facilities such as counselling and guidance.

The association urged Kirron Kher to involve the association in setting up physiotherapy centres in the civil dispensaries as most of these were not put to optimum use.

A special highlight of the event was the cultural programme presented by the North Zone cultural centre, Patiala including Sufi Kalam by Balbir Sufi and bhangra and dandia.

Chandigarh, October 1
The Chandigarh Administration has proposed the setting up of a de-addiction-cum-rehabilitation centre in Sector 32. Information to this effect was provided to the Punjab and Haryana High Court during the hearing of a six-year-old case on drug de-addiction in this part of the region.

As the case came up for resumed hearing before Justice Rajive Bhalla of the High Court, counsel for the UT Administration also told the Court that the proposed de-addiction-cum-rehabilitation centre would be a 40-bedded institute. He added it was not feasible to set up another centre in the periphery of the city, in light of the proposal.

Taking on record the assertion, Justice Bhalla directed the Secretary, Home, to update the Bench on the status of the proposal. He has been directed to “file an affidavit whether the proposal has been cleared and if not, the reasons thereof”.

The development is significant as the menace of drug has been on a rise in Chandigarh. Data indicates a five-fold increase in police seizures of drugs from 2009 to 2011. In 2009, just about 38 prohibited injections and 50 capsules were recovered. The seizures also included 50 grams of heroine, 83.64 kg of cannabis, and 75.9 gram of smack and 4.545 gram of opium.

The figures more than doubled in 2010. The data suggest 100 capsules and 15 bottles of “Schedule H” drugs, just over 51 kg of cannabis, 532 gm of smack and 1.25 kg of opium were recovered. In 2011, 190 injections and 3,864 capsules, 66.375 kg of cannabis, 68.027gram of smack and 5.990 kg of opium were seized.

As of now, de-addiction programmes and clinics currently function in the PGI, the Government Medical College Hospital in Sector 32 and the Sector 16 multi-speciality hospital.

Available information suggests the Drug De-Addiction Detoxification and Treatment Centre of Sector 16 Government Multi Specialty Hospital runs an awareness and detection camps in dispensaries in the sectors and in the rural areas of the city. The Department of Psychiatry at GMCH-32 also provides comprehensive programme, including drug de-addiction OPD.

Chandigarh, October 1
The Chandigarh Beopar Mandal (CBM) in association with ICICI Bank, NAC, Mani Majra, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), today organised a ‘coin-cum-currency exchange mela’ at Mani Majra.

In today’s programme, new currency notes and coins worth Rs 65 lakh were distributed among traders.

Satya Narayan, DGM, RBI, after inaugurating the coin mela said another coin mela would be organised within 10 days in Sector 17.

Charanjiv Singh, president, CBM, also appealed to the traders to make use of the facility. Diwakar Sahoonja, chief patron of the CBM, said the Centre must expedite the introduction of plastic currency so that currency notes did not get mutilated during circulation.

Chandigarh, October 1
Surjit Singh Kohli was elected as president for the year 2014-15 in the general body meeting of Gurdwara Sahib, Patshahi Dasveen, Sector 8C, held here today.

Besides, Kohli, other office-bearers were also elected for the year 2014-15. These include Bhag Singh, Ajaib Singh, Paramjit Singh, Ravinder Singh, SS Sibia and Dr Daljit Singh.

Chandigarh, October 1
Prime Time Research Media Private Limited recently awarded the Best Cardiologist of Punjab honour to Dr RK Jaswal, director cardiology, Fortis Hospital, Mohali.

The ceremony– Global Healthcare Excellence Awards 2014– was organised to felicitate nation’s leading doctors, surgeons, clinics, hospitals, scholars, researchers, individuals and organisations that have displayed exemplary excellence as healthcare service providers across the country. 

Chandigarh, October 1
Members of the Traders’ Association, Sector 17, Chandigarh, assembled near Hotel Taj, to organise a cleanliness campaign here today.

The campaign was launched under the leadership of Kamaljit Singh Panchhi.

This was done to show support to the ‘Swach Bharat Abiyaan’ on the move of Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India.

During the drive, Kamaljit Singh Panchhi informed all the traders about the points discussed in a meeting with Commissioner, Joint Commissioner and Chief Engineer of Municipal Corporation regarding the cleanliness campaign.

Chandigarh, September
A highly decomposed body of a 45-year-old man was found under mysterious circumstances at a house in Sector 44 (A) today. The police said, the deceased had been identified as Baljeet Singh who was staying as a tenant on the top floor of the building.

Forensic experts outside the house in Sector 44 in Chandigarh on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu

DSP (South) Urvija Goel, said that foul smell began emanating from the house did the the neighbours inform the police. “The doors of the house were open when the police team reached the spot”, the DSP said.

The DSP further added that the body seemed to be around two weeks old.

A police official said that the deceased was staying alone for the last one month. “A woman used to stay with him and wanted to marry him, however, since he was an alcoholic, the woman left him”, the DSP said.

Sources stated that a large number of liquor bottles was found from the room where the body was lying.

The deceased was a native of Amritsar.

The police said that no injury marks were found on the body of the deceased. The DSP said that the cause of death would only be ascertained once the autopsy was conducted.

The police have begun probing the case. 

LIC has been celebrating the month of October every year as a Social Security month. The event was inaugurated by Subash Chander, Senior Divisional Manager, LIC, Chandigarh Division, at Jeevan Prakash Building, Sector 17, today. At present a major scheme sponsored by Government of India and administered by LIC for the benefit of weaker sections is Aam Admi Bima Yojana.

Mahindra launches new Scorpio

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, today unveiled the new generation Scorpio in Chandigarh. It is priced at Rs 8.38 lakh (ex-showroom Chandigarh, for S2 variant). The new generation Scorpio is powered by the mHawk engine (120 PS power and 280 NM torque). Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division and International Operations (AFS), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “Over a decade ago when we first unveiled the Scorpio, it was an emotional and defining moment for all of us.”

ChandigarhOnline.in launches city guide

ChandigarhOnline.in, one of the premium portals under the flagship of IndiaOnline.in, launched its first ever city guide section as a treat for everyone—residents and tourists alike. The portal has been designed keeping in mind the basic needs of the residents of Chandigarh and the tourists visiting the city for finding information like important official numbers numbers, list of restaurants, best places to visit, shopping, cab services, banks and gyms. — TNS

Chandigarh, October 1
To sustain Panjab University’s ranking at the international level is a big challenge for the authorities. This was stated by Col GS Chadha while interacting with mediapersons after joining as the Registrar of Panjab University here on Wednesday.

The 54-year-old Registrar, who is a retired Army personnel, said the best practice of the Indian Army is to streamline work and he would implement the same by changing the work culture in the university, if required.

An introductory session was also organised with the Senators and staff in which the members shared their views on improving the system.

Col Chadha said, “The management technique which I learned in the Army will help me improve the system and motivate the staff to give their 100 per cent in the development of the university.”

While recalling his posting at Chandimandir as a captain, Col Chadha said, “I always wanted to return to this city but I was not aware that I would get a chance to become the Registrar of Panjab University and thereby serve the city.”

Commenting on the controversy which arose after his appointment as an outsider in the university, he said, “A fair chance should be given to every one who deserves it.” 

Chandigarh, October 1
Panjab University has once again retained its position as the number one university in India as per the Times Higher Education rankings of the top 400 universities in the world. In 2013, the PU had slipped in the 226-500 range in the ranking chart.

PU Vice Chancellor Prof Arun Kumar Grover said, “It is a matter of satisfaction that the PU has been recognised again at the global level for the second year in a row.”

“PU and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have been ranked at the same place, which an honour to PU because IISc is a world acknowledged research institute of the country,” he added.

Lauding the students and teachers for the feat, Prof Grover said, “PU has the potential to further improve. Our target is the Peking University, Beijing.”

PU Registrar GS Chadha said, “It is a matter of great pride for the university. Our efforts should be to sustain it and improve the system more.”

PUTA president Rajat Sandhir said, “This shows that consistent efforts are made by the faculty and students to maintain this achievement.”

“After getting a top ranking for two consecutive years, the Centre should also look towards the needs of the university in terms of funds as many major projects are hanging fire,” he added.

basis of ranking

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings (or THE World University Rankings) are annual world university rankings published by the British magazine Times Higher Education