In brief

Woman dies of swine flu in Ropar
Ropar:A woman died of swine flu in a local hospital today. Bulwanti Devi (50) of Nuhon Colony,Ropar,was admitted to the Parmar hospital Ropar on Friday night with complaints of breathlessness and pneumonia. Sample of her throat swab was sent for examination at PGI Chandigarh yesterday,the report of which was received today,which revealed that she was suffering from swine flu. She died in the hospital this evening. Bulwanti is the third victim of the virus from Ropar district. A few days ago,two women from Bheora village and Purkhali had succumbed to the disease.

Traders demand tax exemption
Ambala:Haryana Vayapar Mandal president Bajrang Dass Garg has demanded that the use of ST form should be simplified because it creates problems for traders in the state. Garg was addressing a traders’ convention at the Panchayat Bhawan in Ambala City today. He justified the demand of traders that they should also be given compensation in times of calamities as was paid to the farmers on damage to their crops. He urged the Centre for exemption from income tax to small traders as was given to industrial units in Himachal Pradesh and Uttranchal so that small-scale industrial units could compete with others outside the state.

Traffic jam in Zirakpur
Zirakpur:A massive traffic jam was reported on Chandigarh-Ambala National Highway at Zirakpur on Sunday evening,with hundreds of vehicles stuck on the 3-km stretch from Chandigarh barrier to Zirakpur flyover between 5 pm to 5.45 pm,blocking the traffic towards Chandigarh for about an hour. The jam was caused by barricades put on the Chandigarh barrier restricting the multiple-vehicle entry. Pankaj Sharma,a Chandigarh resident,said,“Our Sunday outing turned to be a mess as we were stuck in the jam for about an hour.” Another commuter said the traffic police should try to ease out the vehicular congestion by facilitating multiple-vehicle entry instead of restricting it to one vehicle.

Award life term to Rathore
It is really shocking that the molester of 13-year-old Ruchika has been let off the hook on bail by the CBI court by awarding him just six months jail term after 19 years fight for justice. The culprit,a former DGP of Haryana SPS Rathore,is unrepentant and was seen smiling while coming out of the court on the day the judgement was delivered.

It is a case of “too little,too late” category and Rathore should have been sent to jail till his death. Six months term for the crime he committed is a cruel joke on the judiciary,in fact a mockery of the judicial system of our country. Had the culprit been an ordinary man he would have been given much harsher punishment quite long ago. Surely,the powerful and the mighty are let off with mild or symbolic punishment by our judiciary.

Our judicial system seems to be corrupt and needs to be revamped. The government should give a serious thought and take measures to clean the judiciary.

R K Kapoor
Chandigarh
Announce award for Prakash family
There is a huge resentment and anger against six-month imprisonment granted to former Haryana DGP in Ruchika molestation case. Fighting against odds,it was not easy for Anand Prakash and his family who took up the case. They deserve the highest recognition from the Indian government. But the government will not announce the award. Instead,we should nominate the Parkash family as Person of the Year. All of us should have stood besides them during all these years. Let us now support them to boost such crusaders as otherwise this case like the Arushi murder case and Nithari killings will become the part of history.

R K Garg
Chandigarh
Nominated councillors cannot vote for mayor
Ahead of the Chandigarh mayor elections slated for January 2010,the nine nominated councillors,as always,hold the key to the selection of the new incumbent.

Under Section 2 (a)(i) of Article 243 R of our Constitution,a provision exists for appointment of persons having special knowledge or experience in municipal administration as nominated members in every municipality,but it prohibits the voting rights of such members. The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh is governed by the Punjab Municipal Corporation (Extension to Chandigarh) Act,1994,with effect from July 24,1994. Though the parent Punjab Municipal Corporation Act has no provision for voting rights of nominated councillors,the same has been incorporated into the above-mentioned 1994 extension to the Chandigarh Act for the reasons best known to our law makers.

Also,there is no such provision in any other state’s statute governing municipal corporations anywhere in the country. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi does not have voting rights for nominated councillors. Permitting nominated councillors to vote is against the Constitution.

Hemant Kumar
Ambala City
Publish brochure in Punjabi
The Tourism department of UP government is to be lauded for bringing a brochure on the places of tourist interest on Sikh shrines in UP in Punjabi. The Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee has also released a brochure on Sikhism in Spanish,Russian and Italian languages. On the other hand,Chandigarh Tourism has not released any brochure even in Hindi or in Punjabi. The Administrator is requested to give directions to the Secretary Tourism,Chandigarh Administration for bringing out brochures on the importance of the city and on Rock Garden in Hindi and Punjabi and foreign languages to facilitate tourists.

Narinder Singh
Chandigarh

Probe land auction
This refers to a report “Land auction raises bar,residents feel the pinch” in CNL,Dec 19. The UT Administration conducted an auction of residential & commercial property,raising doubts over the credibility of the entire exercise. The global economy is still in recession and the Indian financial position is also critical. Middle-class families have lost chance to purchase a plot or flat in the city.

The media has highlighted that few property dealers make a pool and contribute money for purchasing auction plots at high rate. The CBI and Income Tax department should check the records of these bidders. The Administration should also inquire the reasons of increase in property rates.

KARAN
Chandigarh