Vox Populi

A K Sharma,CHANDIGARH

Effective patrolling need of the hour

Chandigarh has witnessed a sharp increase in the crime rate over the past few years. Although touted as one of the safest cities in the country,murder,kidnapping,robbery,snatching and thefts are on the rise here. One of the main reasons for this trend is changing lifestyles,including the disintegration of joint families. With more and more senior citizens living alone,miscreants view them as easy targets. Women also feel vulnerable while venturing out of their homes. An added advantage which the miscreants have is that they are out of the city’s limit within a few minutes of committing the crime. As a result,murders and robberies are committed in Chandigarh even during broad daylight. The need of the hour is to keep anti-social elements at bay by increasing the security cover. The Chandigarh Police should take people-friendly steps that will act as a deterrent for the miscreants. To ensure safety of the residents,more police posts should be set up in the city. Continuous and effective patrolling are measures that will make the residents feel safe and secure. Special check-points should be installed during late hours across the city along with increased night vigil. The police should also adopt modern investigation techniques to solve cases in a speedy manner and improve conviction rate. A dip in the crime graph is possible only when the police focus on detection of crime and prompt action.

Ragini Gulati,CHANDIGARH

Society should perform its duties

My heart goes out to the family of Maj Navneet Vats ( with reference to an article in Chandigarh Newsline dated September 17). It is a sad day when the nation stops caring about a fallen hero’s family. No doubt the army gives all the officers emoluments and gratuity to the wife,but to neglect the parents and differently-abled brother in this manner is sheer cruelty. In the light of such cases,I think the Army must rethink its policies. Till such time they do so,we should not shirk our duties as a society and must reach out to the hapless mother and brother – the privilege would be ours – as a community. We must remember always that her son died protecting us. It would be the least we could do to honour and respect his sacrifice.

Dr Anuradha Khanna,PANCHKULA

Direct recruitment should be done,not SR

While the viva-voce for successful candidates of HCS (Executive Branch) and other Allied services Main Exams,2011 is to commence from September 24,only recently the Haryana government has notified 20 vacancies in HCS (EB) to be filled in by way of special recruitment (SR) from suitable Group “B” and “C” categories of officers/officials of the state government along with kick-starting the process for filling nine posts of HCS (EB) by way of nomination from three different registers,meant for three categories viz DROs/Tehsildars,Group C employees and DDPOs/BDPOs. One wonders what prompted the state to resort to SR when regular direct recruitment process in still in motion. If more HCS officers were needed,the state should have increased the vacancies as the interviews are yet to begin. The sudden spurt in recruitment to HCS by such indirect means when the incumbent government is on its last leg in office indeed disseminates worrying signals among common citizens. The short-listed names among above categories are to be hand-picked by department/higher authorities concerned and referred to HPSC so as to formally recommend their names,thus,ensuring their induction into the elite HCS. Pertinent to mention that during the previous regime,serious question marks were raised in such kind of nominations/elevations as rules and regulations were allegedly bended and amended to favour those persons in service who were the kith and kin of those considered close to then ruling elite. Without commenting more,there is a urgent need to stem the rot. Why shouldn’t the appointment to HCS be made only by two methods – direct and promotion? In the latter provision,notified category of state employees with prescribed years of satisfactory service be allowed to appear in open limited departmental examination to compete against promotional posts. Even UPSC conducts such type of departmental exams. The prevalent concept of recommendation/nomination itself gives rise to apprehension of pick-and-choose policy/arbitrary exercise of power by the ruling dispensation. Moreover,the suggested methodology would give a chance to every eligible government employee to prepare and compete for induction into HCS. There is urgent need to change the popular mindset regarding entry into HCS,which has,of late earned the dubious distinction of a service which can better be described as- (H)igher-up’s (C)hoice (S)ervice.

Hemant Kumar,AMBALA CITY

Housing scheme: CBI should check malpractice

This refers to the news report on the Prime Minister’s visit to Chandigarh on September 14 (Chandigarh Newsline,September 15) where he handed over keys of one-room flats to the residents of colonies at Dhanas. It is very strange and shameful that migrant labourers from UP,Bihar and other places who illegally settle in the city colonies are given built-up houses/flats in the name of making the city “slum free”. On the other hand,sons of the soil living in Chandigarh for the last 40 to 50 years and who aspire for a home here,do not get such facility at all. Moreover,as seen in the past,such accommodation granted to migrants in Mauli Jagran were misused by the beneficiaries. A maximum number of those allotted such houses had sold the same to property dealers or other persons at a premium and again shifted to colonies for getting the flats again. This cycle continues even now. Even the political parties know such corrupt and illegal deeds of the migrant labourers,but they keep quiet and instead fight for their “rights” again for the sole purpose of the dirty vote-bank politics. The CBI should be asked to probe this illegal practice and punish all those found guilty since the inception of this scheme in Chandigarh.

R K Kapoor,CHANDIGARH

Local residents suffer during VIP visits

It is not for the first time that the locals witnessed unprecedented traffic chaos on the eve of the recent visit of the Prime Minister,when a large number of government vehicles,little knowing the conservation of petrol/diesel or daily austerity preaching,were deployed on city roads. Even on earlier occasions,authorities virtually close most of the city roads during VVIPs visits,blocking traffic for hours. The President,the Prime Minister and others move in caravans of scores of cars carrying ministers,dignitaries,police and security agents. By adopting such actions,these dignitaries often play with the lives of the people,when even ambulances carrying serious patients are not allowed to move,resulting in deaths on many occasions. This time the main gate of PGI was closed forcibly. Same is true of passengers going to airports who miss flights. School children are among the worst affected by traffic snarls as they arrive home late causing worry to the parents. Security forces are supposed to comply with the orders of their bosses. There is a greater need for VVIPs to change protocol and security rules. They should not expect ministers and others to receive or see them off at airports. They should curtail the frequency of their visits to various cities. In big cities they should use helicopters to avoid causing inconvenience to the people. I remember one example of former US president Bill Clinton,who used to roam in the markets without any security. Our politicians must emulate such examples.

S K Khosla,CHANDIGARH

Mayor should move to curb wasteful expenses

The mayor of the municipal corporation should initiate steps to curb wasteful spending as per recent Finance Ministry instructions. The mayor should put a freeze on fresh appointments,put study tours and conferences in 5-star hotels on hold and barring officials from executive-class air travel,in a bid to check fiscal deficit from going out of control. As part of austerity drives,the mayor should ask all councillors to cut down on study tours and official delegations and a total ban on creation of non-planned posts. He should set an example by reducing wastage of public money on Agenda and Minutes hard copies,as same can be given in CDs as all councillors are provided with laptops and internet connection from the municipal corporation. It is also found that air-conditioners,lights of the corridors and committee room are on when officers are not in their rooms.

Sachin Sharma,CHANDIGARH

Common man should behave responsibly

Public protests these days have come to mean blocking the highways and sitting on the railway tracks. People from villages block highways for hours if there is no light or water supply in their area. We have found public protests as a convenient method of making our demands (genuine or political) heard by the authorities. We burn public property and disrupt public life on any pretext,when ever we are angry,on any issue. And the vested interests join us in fanning the trouble and destruction. The miscreants hold the public to ransom,and getaway taking advantage of the mob-mentality. Why don’t we burn our own houses as a mark of protest? Because we do not consider the government property as our own. We treat the national property as free for all. “Loot it as much as you can”,is our skewed thinking. We hardly realise our own responsibility and love to insist on our rights. The answer lies in banning protests at public places,as also disruption of essential services. Let the protests be only in specific areas,as it has been done in Delhi,and few other cities. It is strictly followed in China,and that is why that country is disciplined and highly progressive. That can happen only if politicians respect the law and cooperate. Playing politics through protests must be stopped. Peaceful protests in the given areas is a part of a healthy democracy. Lets streamline the business of protests so that the ordinary man does not suffer and the nation is not taken to ransom every now and then.

Colonel R D Singh (retd),AMBALA CANTT

Protest areas should be specified

The agitations and protests should be restricted to areas outside the city or the earmarked place in Sector 25 as most of the time the protests go out of hand and there is always a possibility of damage to property and harm to people. Holding a protest at busy points like Matka Chowk is totally mindless and is like inviting a disaster with huge inconvenience to the commuters. The administration should take a strong stand against holding the protest anywhere else in the city. The police should take the protests seriously and the worst out of it. To tackle the situation,they must have riot squad officers on stand-by. It doesn’t take much to turn an angry group of people into a herd of animals. Militarisation strategy should be contemplated to counter the threat of civil disorder. This can be done by using armoured vehicles,body scanners and better surveillance equipment. The police officers need to be alert and vigilant. It also advised that police vehicles,or carriers,should be parked “out of harm’s way” and also harming the protesters’ vehicles should not be done as it provokes themto turn violent.

Dr Shruti K Chawla,CHANDIGARH