IT Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH: Volumes can be filled with Punjabi jokes targeting the state’s rickety roadways buses. The people of the state — highly dependent on travelling by road — always find laughter and irony in the bumpy ride the buses provide. But Punjab government very rightly intends to plug this source of mirth by phasing out the old roadways buses from the Punjab roadways fleet.

Secretary (transport) DS Jaspal told TOI that the state government would renew the entire fleet of Punjab Roadways and PRTC buses soon and would liberalize the permit and transport policy to allow private players to easily introduce AC, non-AC and super luxury coaches in their fleets.

“Punjab’s roads have already seen Volvo, and soon Tata and Mercedes buses would be made part of the fleet,” Sukhbir Singh Badal, working president of ruling SAD (B) had told the audience at the recently concluded NRI Sammelan.

Songs like Aa Gayi Roadways Di Lorry, Na Koi Bua Na Koi Bari (Here comes the Punjab Roadways’ bus, without a window or a door) have often described, with a bit of exaggeration, the condition of the state’s buses.
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CHANDIGARH: The NRI is the flavour of the season. Close on the heels of Punjab government’s NRI Sammelan comes another high-profile event aimed at addressing the concerns of the Indian diaspora.

The event - Indian Diaspora: Migration and Development - is scheduled to be inaugurated by minister for overseas Indian affairs Vayalar Ravi on January 14 in the city.

Significantly, the focus would be on Punjab, which is in urgent need of a new outlook to meet the expectations of its acclaimed expatriates. In fact, the occasion would offer an opportunity to consolidate and review the proposals emerging out the two-day NRI Sammelan.

A galaxy of star speakers, including chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Vijender Jain, are expected to elaborate on various problems being faced by the diaspora. He would be inaugurating a session aimed at discussing issues like illegal migration, NRI marriages, forced marriages, proxy marriages, custody of children and senior citizens.
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Chandigarh: The Dera Sacha Sauda chief, Gurmeet Ram Raheem Singh has moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking stay on the proceedings pending against him in the trial court in the attire row case. The petition will come up for hearing later this week.

A case was registered against the Dera chief following a complaint lodged by a Bathinda resident, who accused Ram Raheem Singh of hurting religious sentiments of the Sikhs by wearing the the attire of the 10th Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. The High Court had earlier granted interim bail to the Dera chief on the condition that he would have to join the investigation on the dates specified by the High Court.

It may be recalled that the Dera chief has already approached the High Court seeking quashing of the FIR registered against him calling it completely illegal and unconstitutional. The Dera chief has already been granted interim bail till February 12.

Souce: ENS

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notices to the State of Haryana; Collector, Sonepat; Commissioner, Revenue, Rohtak; Financial Commissioner, Revenue, Uttar Pradesh over a petition filed by 50 residents of Uttar Pradesh.

The residents sought directions for the parties concerned to prepare revenue records and carry out necessary proceedings of consolidation of holdings and conduct demarcation in respect of land previously falling under the revenue estate of village and Police Station, Palli, Baghat (UP).

The land is in possession of fifty persons who have been shown as owners as reflected in Jamabandis. The dispute arose after the land was transferred from Uttar Pradesh to Haryana due to change in Yamuna river’s course, as per ‘Dikhshit Award 1974’ and the states - Haryana and UP- entered the name of each resident as owner with reference to the original revenue record of Palli village, and Baghat district. The residents also sought directions for the revenue record to be updated, for Khasra Girdwaries and Jamabandies regarding the land to be prepared after due demarcation of the holdings of the petitioners.

In 1974, in view of the change of course of the Yamuna river, which formed the state boundary between Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, there has been a dispute pertaining to the demarcation of state boundary and consequent settlement of land holdings falling on each side of Yamuna.
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Panchkula: The Panchkula police department is all set to shift its Chandimandir Police Station to a new building, which has been built near Nada Sahib Gurudwara.

Apart from having improved barracks, separate computer room and a public complaint window, the new building boasts of having a modern interrogation cell that is fitted with one-way mirror for maintaining transparency during investigation.

“This would probably be the most modern police station at Panchkula,” said ASP Maneesh Chaudhary, adding that the present building, which houses the police station is 100 years old, due to which it fails to cater to the various basic requirements.

“It was for this that the new building was got constructed by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA),” he added.

He said that the other two police stations in Sector-5 and Sector-20 of the city are also well equipped, but this one would be better than all.
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Chandigarh: Notwithstanding the Haryana Police claim that the crime rate in the state had not gone up, figures show that the number of murders which took place in the year 2007 was more as compared to 2006. The number of criminal cases and acts of violence went up in Gurgaon, Mewat, Faridabad and Sonepat in the national capital region (NCR).

The number of murders in the state went up from 803 in 2006 to 822 in the year 2007. Ranjeev Dalal, Director General of Police, Haryana claimed that 82 per cent of these cases had been cracked. According to police records, maximum number of murders, 87, took place in Faridabad district. As many as 81 murders had taken place in the NCR district in 2006.

Gurgaon, also in the NCR, was placed second with 83 murders. It had a high of 89 murders in the year 2006. As many as 64 murder cases occurred in Sonepat district compared to 68 in the previous year. Bhiwani district followed with 59 murders. In 2006 it had registered 43 murders.

Other districts with more murders were Jhajjar - 52, Karnal - 50 and Ambala - 37. The least number of murder took place in Panchkula - 16, followed by Rewari - 18 and Hisar - 23. Interestingly Hisar had a high of 55 murders in the year 2006. Rewari too showed an improvement with 18 murders in 2007 compared to 31 in the previous year.
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Chandigarh: Three people died in various accidents over the last 24 hours in and around Chandigarh.

Kashmiri Lal, 45, was hit by an unidentified vehicle near the IT Park, Manimajra crossing last night. A security guard with a private security agency, Lal was deployed at the IT park. He was returning home on his bicycle when an unidentified vehicle dragged him along for 15-20 feet. A PCR vehicle rushed Lal to hospital where he was declared brought dead. Lal is survived by his wife and two children.

two people were killed in a head-on collision between a scooter and a truck on National Highway 73 (Panchkula-Ramgarh road). The deceased have been identified as Malkit Singh, a resident of Nada village, who was riding the scooter and Pramod, who was driving the truck. They were rushed to hospital where both of them succumbed to their injuries. “The accident occurred late last night when Malkit Singh was on his way from Ramgarh to Nada while Pramod Chaudhary, was coming from Panchkula. While the scooterist fell on the side, the truck driver lost control and the truck fell into a gorge,” said an officer.

Source: ENS