IT Chandigarh

Chandigarh: The Chandigarh police today carried out a security drill to fine-tune the arrangements for a two-day visit of Vice-President Mohammad Ansari to the city. He is scheduled to arrive here tomorrow afternoon.

A senior police official told the TNS that elaborate security arrangements had been made for the visit.

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A cavalcade moves as part of a security drill on the eve of Vice-President Mohammad Ansari’s two-day visit to Chandigarh, on Thursday. Tribune photo by Vinay Malik

A cavalcade was moved from the airport along the Vice-President’s proposed route as a dress rehearsal.

One-way traffic will be allowed along the VIP route and arrangements have been made in such a way that minimum inconvenience is caused to general public.

The police said the Vice-President will proceed to the Punjab Raj Bhawan from the airport and thereafter go to the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development, Sector 19, to deliver a lecture.
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Chandigarh: An assistant professor at Punjab Engineering College goes to attend a conference in Delhi. He claims travelling allowance and dearness allowance worth thousands of rupees, certifying that he went to Delhi in his car and stayed there for two days. PEC pays for his trip, but it doesn’t end there.

The professor did not know that he was being trailed on the day he claimed to have left for Delhi. He was found to have parked his car at the Chandigarh railway station, to board a train (in all likelihood). He returned a day later and drove home in his car to the PEC campus.

The sleuth on his trail took pictures of the car parked at the station parking. He managed a copy of the parking slip retained by the attendants bearing the professor’s car number.

He also contacted the National Highway Authority of India’s toll plaza on the Chandigarh-Delhi highway which certified that no car bearing the number had crossed the highway barrier that day.

It emerged that the professor not only claimed the petrol charges for his car but also claimed DA for his stay in Delhi for two days (12.3.2007 to 14.3.2007) when he actually came back the following day. Records of the PEC entry gate showing the time of his car entering the campus have also been obtained.
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CHANDIGARH: Punjab BJP scored a second successive victory over its coalition partner when it literally forced chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to retract his decision of not appointing chairmen of various boards and corporations.

The seven-member SAD-BJP coordination committee, which met here on Wednesday, decided to refer the gamut of issues pertaining to boards and corporations including review of their functioning, winding up of loss-making PSUs and appointment of chairmen to a sub-committee comprising Cooperation minister Kanwaljit Singh and minister industries Manoranjan Kalia.

Interestingly, in-charge of BJP’s Punjab affairs Balbir Punj and co in-charge Kiran Ghai attended the meeting though both are not members. However, BJP MP Navjot Sidhu failed to turn up - he was said to be busy with Gujarat election campaign. The next meeting of the committee has been fixed for December 10.

Briefing mediapersons informally after the meeting, Punj said the sub-committee under the guidance of CM would decide on contentious issues and a decision would be taken at the earliest, and chairmen, wherever required, would be appointed in all probability during the current year. Ironically, Badal had earlier stated that the cash-strapped state can’t afford to have political appointees in boards and corporation.

Apparently, he mellowed down when the BJP argued that those already appointed to these coveted posts - most of whom are Akali nominees, too should be given marching orders as an austerity measure.
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Chandigarh: Chandigarh residents are being haunted by the stray animal menace. While stray cattle in many parts of the city have caused many problems to commuters on city roads, the citizens are also being forced to deal with monkeys invading their homes, in some cases even snatching food away from the helpless victim. The primates have also known to attack people. The authorities concerned have failed to take steps to provide any relief, even as the city is witnessing a massive surge in the number of animal bite cases.

Nearly 6,260 animal-bite cases have been reported to the civil dispensary and an anti-rabies clinic at Sector 19 last year. 238 cases of monkey bites have also been registered. This year nearly 169 monkey bite cases have been reported till October alone.

According to the health officials, the actual figure of animal bite cases would be much larger as many bite victims are treated at private clinics and hospitals. These cases are not recorded by the government officials.

Earlier, the monkey menace was primarily confined to the PGI, Panjab University and Punjab Engineering College areas, however now residents of sectors 7,8, 9, 11, 19, 22 and 35 are also facing the problem. Angered by the lackadaisical attitude of the MC and the UT administration, some residents of Sector 15 had even filed a PIL in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The monkey menace is also terrorising Sector 22 residents. Recently, the residents had complained to the Area Councillor, Pradeep Chhabra about the issue. “The monkeys enter houses, steal food and in some cases, even damage household articles and plants,” said Chhabra.
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