Chandigarh, November 3
The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation today issued closure notices to 122 guest houses being run from villages under its jurisdiction for violating building bylaws and fire safety arrangements.

The MC has given time till December 3 to the guest house owners to remove the violations failing which the guest houses will sealed after December 3.

The orders issued by MC Joint Commissioner Rajiv Gupta state, “Running guest houses without permission is not only causing a nuisance but is also a serious threat to the life and liberty of visitors, besides being a health hazard.”

“Owners should stop running guest houses from residential premises in villages falling under the jurisdiction of the MC within a period of one month from today failing which these will be sealed at their risk and cost,” the order states.

“The SDO (Buildings) should carry out an inspection after the expiry of one month to check the status of the guest houses,” the order states. Most of the guesthouses are in Kajheri, Burail, Attawa, Mani Majra, Maloya and Dadu Majra.

MC Joint Commissioner Rajiv Gupta said the guest houses had come up in violation of building bylaws. The violations were noticed during a survey, he said.

Another MC official said while multi-storeyed buildings were being constructed, the structural stability of the guest houses was questionable. The buildings constructed within the city were required to follow strict construction guidelines, but there was no check on it in the villages. Certain guest houses had basements too. The requisite infrastructure, including proper sewerage, was not available in the areas where the guest houses had come up. In case of a disaster, these guest houses would be virtual death traps, he said.

The MC has given them one month to comply with the directions failing which MC officials will seal the guest houses having violations. — Rajiv Gupta, joint commissioner, MC

Chandigarh, November 3
The Chandigarh Police seem to be lethargic when it comes to filing chargesheets in the court within the stipulated 90 days. Some police stations in the city have a long list of cases in which there has been a delay of over a year in filing chargesheets.

The snail's pace at which the Police Department is moving can be gauged from the fact that investigations into some cases are pending for the past six to eight years while the probe into two cases of cheating being conducted by the economic offences wing (EOW) is pending for over 15 years.

Information sought under the RTI Act reveals that the city police have failed to conduct speedy investigation in most of the cases. A total of 52 cases have been lying pending till September at the Sector 31 police station. The oldest case is of cheating in which an FIR was registered in January 2008. A majority of the cases are of cheating and those under the Excise Act and the NDPS Act.

The Mani Majra police station has 63 cases pending wherein the chargesheets have not been filed for over a year. Around 20 cases are pending at the Sector 11 police station for over a year while 17 cases are pending at Sector 19 police station.

Fourteen cases are pending at the Sector 26 police station where challans have not been filed for more than a year. A case of theft and cheating is pending since 2006 at the Sector 26 police station. Twelve cases are pending at the Industrial Area police station.

In Sector 36, only one case is lying pending while eight cases are pending at the Sector 17 and Sector 39 police stations for over a year. Ten cases are pending at the Sector 3 police station. The Sector 34 police station failed to provide information on the pending cases under the RTI Act.

Sukhchain Singh Gill, UT SSP, said when the accused were in police custody, it was mandatory to file the chargesheet within 90 days. “There are many cases in which CFSL reports are awaited. Besides in cases under the Excise Act and those pertaining to economic offences, at times, the investigations take a long time and the chargesheets get delayed,” the SSP said.

RK Garg, who had sought information under the RTI Act, said, “I had filed a complaint with the police against which an FIR was registered in March 2013. However, the case didn’t reach its logical end following which I filed an RTI query to know how many cases were under investigation for over a year.”

Chandigarh, November 3
Close on the heels of the decision to ban diesel-run autos in a phased manner, the UT Transport Department today announced to conduct an environmental impact study of Bharat Stage-III diesel-run autos that have been allowed to run till March 31, 2015.

The study will be conducted by the UT Environment Department over the next two months to analyse the impact of the pollution caused by the autos. Of the total 10,000 autos, around 5,500 comply with Bharat Stage-III norms. Citing studies conducted by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Pune, UT Secretary, Transport, Bhawana Garg said pollution levels of diesel autos were much more than those of LPG-run autos.

“Since old autos are adding to the pollution, and we do not want to add to the increasing respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM) in the city, the decision to allow Bharat Stage-III autos has been taken,” said Bhawana Garg.

Till the deadline to ban diesel-run autos ends, Bharat Stage-III diesel-run autos registered from 2010 onwards would be allowed to run in the city.

After holding a meeting with the striking diesel auto operators, the Secretary, accompanied by the Director, Environment, Santosh Kumar, announced that the diesel autos would be allowed to run, subject to their operators not allowing overloading.

The Secretary said they had requested the Punjab and Haryana transport departments to cooperate with the UT on encouraging the use of LPG autos. The states had been requested to work towards an integrated transport policy and not work at cross-purposes.

Asked about diesel-run buses, the Secretary said they had already started phasing out old buses and were acquiring 270 new buses that fulfilled the latest norms on pollution. 

Chandigarh, November 3
Setting an example for others who lose hope in life, Sarita Dubey of Kanpur, who lost three limbs in an accident, showed her zeal for life through colours on the canvass with her foot. Giving a tough competition to other contestants taking part in the fourth National Abilympics under the art and craft category held in Chandigarh today, Sarita was seen making her canvass attractive by rapping it with a cloth using her foot, which plays the role of a hand for her.

Making her only limb her strength, Sarita has a dream of being among the top participants, who will get an opportunity to showcase their talent in France in 2016.

Panchkula, November 3
Ambulances procured by the former Congress government under the Referral Transport Scheme to shift women and their newborn babies back home after the delivery are being put to a strange use at the General Hospital in Sector 6 here. The special "Kilkari" ambulance, that was launched in all districts by the former CM, is now being used to transport sand and other construction material at the old building of the hospital, where renovation work is under way.

Covered with mud and stationed outside the old emergency for renovation work, the ambulance was earlier decorated with balloons and buntings during its launch on March 4. Dr Mankirat, Deputy Civil Surgeon, said the ‘Kilkari’ was off road as it had to be repaired. Asked why the ambulance was stationed there, a worker said on condition of anonymity, “It was lying unused so we are using it for transporting sand and other material.” The hospital authorities, however, denied that it was being used for this purpose.

Dera Bassi, November 3
A five-year-old girl was drowned in a water tank at Meerpur village near Mubarikpur this afternoon. The body of Aachna, daughter of Gagan, an employee with a private chemical factory, was found floating in the water tank at a corner of the courtyard of the house at about 1.30 pm.

The family had started construction work of a house and a water tank had been dug up to store water for the purpose, said a relative of the victim.

In his statement to the police, the victim's father, Gagan, said Aachna was playing in the courtyard when the mishap occurred. She was the youngest among three siblings (two sisters and a brother). The family members were busy in work and found her missing from the spot and started searching for her, said Gagan. “We were shocked to find her body floating in the water tank,” said Gagan. Station House Officer, Dera Bassi, Gurjit Singh said the victim's parents rushed Aachna to the Civil Hospital, Dera Bassi, where doctors declared her brought dead.

The body was handed over to the family after her parents moved an application before the police stating that they did not want any police proceedings, the SHO said. 

Chandigarh, November 3
For the first time the Central Government has decided to give cash prize to the winners of National Abilympics. This was announced at the inauguration of the 4th National Abilympics in Chandigarh today by Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot.

During his address, he said that the winners would get Rs 21,000 each whereas, the second and third place holders would be awarded Rs15,000 and Rs11,000 respectively. The minister further said that the Government of India would provide all possible assistance to bring differently abled persons into the main stream.

The minister said that his ministry would try to bring on board the corporate sector to help them and this would be part of their corporate social responsibility activities. He further said the Ministry would also look at the possibility of holding the International Abilympics in India in future. Stuti Kacker, Secretary, Department of Disability Affairs, expressed hope that at the next International Abilympics in France in 2016, India would come out with flying colours. She said that we would work to raise the number of participants from the present 450 to 4,000. Dr Uma Tuli, general secretary, National Abilympic Association of India, said that vocational training should be a part of education for such children, and for this, additional funds should be provided. Citing lack of funds, she sought that the Central grant for the purpose should be raised to 100 per cent which at present was 75 per cent. 

Chandigarh, November 3
To implement the orders of the UT Administration on not charging of service charges, the UT Excise And Taxation Department today directed all its officials to verify whether the orders were being complied with or not. The department received two complaints and owners of the restaurants concerned were asked to stick to the orders.

UT Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner RC Bhalla said strict enforcement of the orders was being ensured. After receiving the orders, the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Chandigarh, has already informed its members not to charge service charge till they legally examine the orders.

Arvinder Singh, president, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Chandigarh, said today’s meeting could not be held. “For the time being, the association members will follow the orders,” he said.

According to rules of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, service charge cannot be levied on food served on the table. Throwing norms to the winds, restaurants have been fleecing consumers by levying 5 per cent to 10 per cent as service charge on the food bill. Following the directions, the Administration had declared the practice illegal in 2006. However, with no check in place, several restaurants continued to indulge in the malpractice.

Chandigarh, November 3
A 22-year-old local youth was saved by the Chandigarh Police after he accidently fell into the Sukhna Lake, on Monday morning.

The victim was sitting on the plank, near the bank of the lake, and suddenly slipped in the deep water. Eyewitnesses said some onlookers raised the alarm and in no time the police rushed to rescue him. He was pulled out immediately and was rushed to the hospital where he was given first aid.

No case has been registered but the police are not denying that the youth might have tried to commit suicide. During interrogation, it was found that the youth was under depression due to his prolonged illness. At the time of incident also he was under the influence of the drug following which he allegedly lost balance and slipped into the lake. — TNS

Chandigarh, November 3
The three-day ordeal of commuters due to the strike by diesel-run auto operators ended today with auto operators calling off their strike following assurance by the Mohali MLA, Balbir Singh Sidhu, who had taken up their issue with the UT Administrator.

The MLA said the Administrator had assured to look into the matter and come out with a comprehensive policy on the issue. A meeting of the officials concerned will be called tomorrow to discuss the issue.

Earlier, the auto operators gathered in Phase VIII, Dasehra Ground and disbursed after assurance by the MLA.

For the last three days, hundreds of commuters, destined to travel between different destinations of Chandigarh and neighbouring towns of Mohali, Panchkula and Zirakpur, faced inconvenience when the operators of diesel-run autos went on strike to protest against the UT’s move to ban entry of diesel-run autos in the city.

Meanwhile, another association of auto operators has announced to hold a rally along with their families in the Sector 25 Rally Ground.

The UT Secretary Transport, Bhawana Garg, said they had already written to the DGP of Punjab and Haryana seeking their intervention in checking the auto operators who resorted to damaging CTU buses.

Chandigarh, November 3
The 48-year old businessman, Samir Jain, who was robbed of Rs 1.10 crore had collected the money from 32 city-based jewelers to purchase gold from Delhi.

Crime branch sleuths have been quizzed six employees of Jain who are employed at his showroom in Sector 23 and also questioned the business partner of Jain.

Police sources said that Jain recently had an altercation with his partner. “Jain was not a frequent visitor to Delhi, however, since he had an altercation with his partner he started visiting Delhi on his own” the police sources added.

Sources said that the call details of several people known to Jain was also being scrutinised.

Jain was robbed at the rear side of ISBT-17 when he was going to board a bus to Delhi on October 31. Later, the police seized a blood stained bamboo stick and damaged I-phone of Jain. The investigation is being conducted by the crime branch of the Chandigarh Police.

Chandigarh, November 3
Just about four days before the release of Bollywood flick “The Shaukeens”, NGO Arrive Safe Society today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court for banning two songs from the movie. 

Mohali , November 3
In order to benefit more people, steps are being taken to open unified service delivery centres in the district. Each centre will cover an area having a radius of 5 km. Prominent places for these have been identified.

Stating this today, Deputy Commissioner Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu said the centres would provide more than 200 different services, which would be beneficial to the public.

He said there were six Suvidha Centres in the district. These were located at the district administrative complex, SAS Nagar; the Municipal Bhawan, Sector 68; the Tehsil Complex, Kharar; the tehsil complex, Dera Bassi; the sub-tehsil, Zirakpur; and the sub-tehsil, Majri.

Around 60,979 applications had been received at the Suvidha Centres so far. Out of these, timely services had been provided in 58,080 cases. However, 1,793 applications were found incomplete. In the case of the remaining 1,060 applications, efforts were being made to provide timely service.

Chandigarh, November 3
Shiv Manas Mandir, Industrial Area, Phase II, here, elected its new office-bearers. Deepak Sharma was elected as chairman, Suman Shankar Tiwari president, Sanjeev Sagar general secretary and Harsh Abrol senior vice-president.

The tenure of the new team will be for three years.

Panchkula, November 3
As part of the Clean India mission, “condemned” vehicles were removed from the premises of the General Hospital, Sector 6, here today.

“Certain vehicles were lying on the premises for years. To keep the surroundings clean, we have shifted them to a vacant spot,” said Civil Surgeon Dr VK Bansal, Bansal.

The vehicles were towed away today, creating more space for parking of other vehicles on the hospital premises.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has also initiated week-long Clean Haryana mission on November 1.

Chandigarh, November 3
Guljit Singh Chadha’s appointment as the Panjab University (PU) Registrar today came under the Punjab and Haryana High Court scanner with the filing of a petition for quashing his selection on the grounds of being absolutely illegal, arbitrary, discriminatory and without jurisdiction.

Taking up the petition filed by Dr Tankeshwar Kumar through senior counsel Chetan Mittal, Justice Mahesh Grover issued notice of motion for December 19. The notice was accepted by Amar Vivek on the university’s behalf.

As the case came up for hearing, the PU counsel, instead of producing the minutes of the Senate meeting, stated that he had a three-and-a-half hours recording of the meeting in a compact disc.

In his petition, Dr Kumar added that the selection was made without ascertaining Chadha’s experience and qualifications; and was in violation of the principles of natural justice and Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

Elaborating, the petitioner contended that Chadha did not possess the requisite 15 years experience, including eight years as a Deputy Registrar of a university, or an equivalent post as specified in the advertisement.

Kumar also claimed: “None of the posts held by him in his earlier service have been equated with the post of Deputy Registrar of a university by any competent authority”.

The petitioner added that the interviews for the post were held on July 14 and 15. He also participated in the interview conducted by the Vice-Chancellor (VC) and seven others. He came to know that 18 others persons were also interviewed for the post, along with him. He was also confident of getting selected due to his “qualifications, experience and sincere work throughout his career”. But to his “utter shock and surprise”, the selection committee recommended Chadha’s name for the post. The Syndicate also recommended his appointment and forwarded it for acceptance to the Senate.

“One of the Syndicate member specifically questioned whether the comparative merit had been made. The VC replied in negative. It clearly shows that Chadha’s name has been recommended without making a comparison of all the candidates…,” he contended.

The petitioner also told the court that most of the Senators underscored that he was not having requisite experience. In an attempt to substantiate his contentions, a copy of The Tribune report dated September 29 was annexed.

The petitioner also added that the advertisement specifically mentioned that “The Registrar should have wide ranging experience in all aspects of university management”. A perusal of his form clearly showed that such experience was not even claimed.

Chandigarh, November 3
After much drama and confusion, Government High School (Smart School), Sector 53, which took a unique initiative of extending its Swacchta Abhiyan to the Sector 42 lake, has finally got the approval from the Education Department to carry out the mission.

The school authorities said they had planned to launch the project on October 31 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. However, it was delayed.

The school authorities had planned to adopt the lake for a year and ensure its cleanliness.

The authorities said around 200 students of classes VIII and IX, along with teachers, would clean the lake’s premises.

Education Secretary Sarvjit Singh said, “As long as the studies of students do not suffer, the department would have no problems with the school extending its services and taking up initiatives that benefit the environment.”

Director Public Instruction (S) Kamlesh Kumar said, “The school’s project getting rejected was not brought to my notice. However, the department would not stop any such initiative.”

Chandigarh, November 3
Several competitions marked the concluding day of the PECFest 2014 here today.

The day began with an air of technicality with ‘Producir’, followed by ‘stand-up comedy’. Later, the finals of crosswords, the conventional debate and quizzes saw mental skills being put to test. The fest also witnessed students showcasing their musical skill in the solo instrumental music competition and exhibiting their writing skill at an on-the-spot story-writing competition.

In the end came star nite, the most-awaited event, wherein a renowned playback singer Benny Dayal’s performance took the fest to its zenith. UT SSP Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill was the chief guest at the event.

Chandigarh, November 3
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) today decided to take up the pending issue of enhancement of salaries of contractual vocational lecturers with the Education Department.

The JAC members demanded immediate enhancement of salary of part-time vocational lecturers working in UT schools. They also demanded that the status of these lecturers should be changed to full-time lecturers.

Further, they demanded that the Education Department should do away with conducting interviews of vocational lecturers every year and should allow them to continue with their services without any break.

Chandigarh, November 3
After nearly seven months of delay, the Education Department has finally inviting applications to fill 489 posts of junior basic teachers (JBTs) and 103 posts of nursery teachers (NTT) on regular basis.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had sanctioned 1,130 posts of educationists for the UT in March, before the academic session commenced. The department had been sitting on the file for nearly seven months.

The candidates can submit their applications only online, from November 3 to 25 with a non-refundable fee of Rs 500. The fee is Rs 250 in case of SC candidates. The candidates are required to log in on the website http://recruitment-portal.in to submit the application.

The list of candidates will be displayed on the website within a week after the receipt of online applications.

Officials informed that two objective type tests of 100 marks each will be conducted. The candidates would be selected on the basis of total marks obtained in the two tests. Qualifying marks for each test would be 40 per cent in case of SC category candidates and 45 per cent for other candidates. No interview would be conducted.

It is learnt that the posts of TGT teachers would be advertised soon. DPI (S) Kamlesh Kumar said, “The department would be carrying out promotions of nearly 100 JBT teachers within this week.”

Chandigarh, November 3
St John’s High School observed vigilance awareness week by conducting various activities like slogan-writing competition, debate and lecture on the topic.

The activities were conducted under the theme, “Combating corruption – Technology as an enabler”.

The slogan-writing competition was organised on the topic, “Root out corruption before it roots in you”.

A debate was also organised on the topic, “e-Governance – a way to smooth governance”.

Alka Sarin, an advocate, conducted a seminar on “How e-judiciary has helped in making court proceedings more transparent”. Students were made aware of the e-judiciary system and how it runs and assists legal proceedings. — TNS

Chandigarh, November 3
There is something to cheer for the guest faculty, including JBTs, TGTs and lectures, teaching in government schools. Their remuneration has been hiked by the UT Education Department.

The JBTs, who were getting Rs 160 per period earlier, will now be paid Rs 180 per period. The JBT teachers can be paid the maximum of Rs 31,000 per month and the maximum lectures they can take is 169.

The remunerations of masters and mistress have been enhanced from Rs 180 to Rs 225. They can take up to 156 lectures a month and earn the maximum of Rs 35,100.

Lectures would now be paid Rs 300 per lecture from the earlier Rs 200. They can take up to 130 lectures and earn the maximum of Rs 38,600 per month.

The hike would be brought into effect from October 20.

Chandigarh, November 3
Students of Saupin’s School, Sector 32, brought laurels to the school as their movie, ‘Bolti Tasveerein’, which highlights the power of women, was adjudged the best movie at Harmony 2014 organised by The Global Education and Leadership Foundation, Gurgaon.

The school authorities said the students bagged the title under the category ‘Reel to real’, the motion picture. Around 70 schools from across the country and 15 from overseas participated in the two-day event at Gurgaon.

Principal Surita Sharma congratulate the students, Pranav Thakur, Naman Kalra and Seerat Saini and their mentor Aditi Kohli, for the achievement.

Chandigarh, November 3
The 19th founder’s week celebrations at Vivek High School, Sector 38 B, Chandigarh, today saw a musical adaptation of ‘James and the Giant Peach’ by Roald Dahl being staged.

Around 112 students of Class III performed with an arresting dramatisation set against an eye-catching backdrop. A message on community building, treating others with dignity rather than considering them as problems, valuing them as equals rather than inferiors, gathering courage and carving out own path in life sent out by Roald Dahl, the literary genius, was beautifully portrayed by the students.

The story revolved around James, the main protagonist of the play, who escapes from the custody of his two wicked aunts and finds his way from England to USA, ‘The land of hope and dreams’, in a Giant Peach with the help of huge garden creatures.

This heady mixture of humour and plot earned thunderous applause from the audience.

Speaking at the event, Principal PK Singh said, “We have always tried to instill in students the right attitude with an excellent blend of traditional and progressive curriculum and emphasised on essential elements such as life skill education, personal skills and practical life experiences.”