Four-laning of Zirakpur-Patiala road to begin soon

Rajiv Bhatia
Zirakpur, December 12
Work on four laning of the Zirakpur-Patiala highway is expected to commence shortly with the public works department asking the Zirakpur municipal council to submit an estimate of the cost of clearing the expressway. The PWD had earlier written to the MC to remove the streetlights on the highway which were under the latter’s jurisdiction.

According to MC officials, the PWD had sought the estimate of clearing a three kilometre stretch under the civic body’s jurisdiction before work on four-laning of the 55 km long highway could commence.

The department has been told to remove all streetlights and asked to prepare the estimate. The MC officials also stated that the MC had already issued notices to shopkeepers on the highway to remove encroachments.

Zirakpur executive officer SK Sharma said after receiving the PWD’s letter the department concerned had been asked to prepare the cost estimate which would be forwarded to the PWD soon.

When contacted, SDE Pawan Nagpal said the work on the four-laning of the highway would start soon. “Tenders for the project will be invited at the beginning of the new year. A private company will be given the contract to construct the expressway on a BOT (build-operate-transfer) basis”, he added.

Nagpal said the PWD had asked all municipal councils that were under the jurisdiction of Zirakpur to submit the cost estimate on clearing the expressway. He said after getting the estimate, payment would be made to them according to their estimates and after that the department would not face any difficulty during the work to widen the highway.

“The Zirakpur-Bhadurgarh stretch of the highway will be four-laned while the stretch from Bhadurgarh to the Patiala bus stand would be six-laned. The expressway will be completed by March 2012”, Nagpal added.

This stretch is known for being accident prone and plagued by incessant traffic jams. According to the police, more than six accidents are reported in a month on an average, with most mishaps occurring at night. Mean while, work on four-laning of the Zirakpur-Kalka highway is in progress and is expected be completed soon.

Supper Club

Supper Club launched...

The catering standards in the tri-city are likely to be enhanced with the launch - today - of Supper Club, an outdoor concept catering company that is part of the Nagpal Frozen Food Group. The moving force behind Supper Club, Mr. Sahil Nagpal, is a graduate of the prestigious Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology & Applied Nutrition, Mumbai. He has worked under some of the leading chefs of the country including Chef Vernon Coelho and Chef Hemant Oberoi. In an added plus, Mr. Nagpal has also undergone training at the Institute of Meat Processing, Hyderabad for handling meat and worked with nutritionist Dr N. Kondaiah.

According to Mr. Nagpal, “Our objective is very clear. We want to give our clientele a unique experience in luxury dining outside the restaurant doors. Most guests get fed up with attending back to back functions as they seem alike in terms of menu, concept and presentation. We are looking at carving a niche for ourselves by introducing a number of specialized services like Silver Service, Gueridon Service, Kiosk Service, Platter Service etc.”

Talking about the importance of hygiene, Mr. Nagpal said, “Our focus will be on maintaining the highest standards of hygiene not only in the guest areas but also the kitchen. We have set a number of processes and standards in place to ensure that raw as well as cooked food is kept in a sterile environment in the kitchen area. Our chefs and support staff will be required to maintain the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene,” he added.

Supper Club will cater to Corporate Gatherings, Kitty Parties, Exhibitions, Weddings and Functions where there are 50 to 1000 guests. The company will look to innovate new concepts and re-innovate the basics so that the guests savour the ambience created by the food and service. The guests would be offered the best suited menus for their functions, carefully selected by a team of Chefs of Supper Club.

No lessons learnt

Trucks continue to take U-turn

Rajiv Bhatia

Zirakpur, December 4
It seems the Mohali police and the local administration have not learnt any lesson from the yesterday’s tragic incident in which two persons were burnt alive when the Honda City car they were travelling in hit the oil tank of a multi-axle trailer taking a U-turn through an illegal turning on the Chandigarh-Ambala National Highway.

The authorities concerned failed to take any measure to close the illegal median at entry point of Zirakpur near the sales tax barrier.

A visit to the spot revealed that trucks were crossing the median putting at risk their as well as commuters lives in danger. Traffic cops at the spot were mere spectators as they failed to take action against the errant truck drivers. A number of trucks parked on the roadside at the sales tax barrier also cause traffic congestion.

In the absence of any blinker, indicators and streetlights, minor accidents are a routine affair on the stretch.

SSP, Mohali, GPS Bhullar said they had already written to the Mohali DC and the Excise and Taxation Department to provide parking facility for trucks to take the U-turn. The entry point too needs to be widened. “Since most of the trucks don’t have permits to enter Chandigarh, they need space to take the U-turn,” he added.

Dera Bassi DSP JS Khaira said the issue of illegal thoroughfare near the sales tax barrier had repeatedly been taken up with the authorities concerned. He said he had already written to the Mohali SSP for removing the sale tax barrier.

Ring of life

The talented youngsters at the Guljar Wrestling Akhara train hard to realise their dreams



Rajiv Bhatia

Zirakpur, December 5
For Lovepreet, day begins early. Winters or summers, this 12-year-old promising wrestler leaves his bed for the training session as early as 4 am at the Gulzar Wrestling Akhara here. His aim is to secure a medal in Olympic Games and to accomplish his dream he has to stay away from his family, which is in Karnal.

However, Love is not the only one following this stiff schedule as there are many other budding wrestlers who are practicing hard, supporting a hope of winning a medal in their eyes.

Guljar Wrestling Akhara, a government-adopted one was started in 2005, at Zirakpur in Punjab, after the name of late Gulzar Singh Sandhu, a noted wrestler.

Around 40 young wrestlers from different states like Himachal, Haryana and Punjab get training under the vigil eyes of SAI coach RS Kundu.

Kundu, who did his advance training from Budapest (Hungary), said, “Earlier the wrestling centre was set up at Shivalik Public School in phase VI, by the SAI but after some time it could not be continued. Due to this many talented wrestlers came on road side.”

He added “Then this wrestling centre was started in Dara Studio at Mohali by late Gulzar Singh Sandhu, its president. The young wrestlers brought many laurels for the Akhara under his training.”

Considering the achievements of this akhara, Government of India adopted it under NSTC Day Boarding Scheme in 2003. They provided facilities like multi-gym of 12 stations, a set of mats and stipend for 20 wrestlers, which is Rs 1,000 per month per wrestler, were provided by the SAI.

“Unfortunately in 2005, Gulzar Singh Sandhu died. He represented the country in national and international competitions. After his death, the authorities of Dara Studio had not given us further permission to run coaching centre,” stated Kundu.

“I sold my house and bought a piece of land where I started the akhara,” said Kundu.

Kundu said many international wrestlers like Nitin Rathee; world junior bronze medalist in 2008; Rajender Singh, Karmbir Singh, Shamsher Singh, Rakesh, Om Vir, Krishan Kumar were started their career with the akhara which has won 30 medals in various competitions like Asian/Commonwealth Games, Asian/Commonwealth championships, SAF Games, World Junior/Sub Junior Championship, Asian Junior/Sub Junior Championship and Grand Prix International Championships.

He said providing a good diet to wrestlers is a major problem. The young wrestlers need only good diet and for that they are requesting Punjab government for some help.

Kundu said for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, Hardeep Singh an inmate here is reserve member in the camp. Hardeep has won medals in junior and national competitions.

The young wrestlers are getting free accommodation and free training at the centre. They are also pursuing their studies at various schools and colleges.

Vinod Pandey, a 19-year-old young wrestler said winning a gold medal in Olympic Games is his main aim. He said, “We have started morning practice session from 5 am to 7 pm and evening session in which wrestlers bout from 3 pm to 7 pm”.

“If we get a proper diet we will definitely bring laurels for Punjab and India,” added another wrestler Shiv Narayan.

Noise pollution: A headache for Zirakpur residents

Rajiv Bhatia

Zirakpur, December 3
Loud music blaring out of various marriage palaces till late night is troublesome for the residents of Zirakpur. Besides creating noise, the marriage palaces also pose a traffic hazard along the national highway.

The residents of the area are complaining that they hardly get any sleep in night as loud music at marriage palaces causes noise pollution. They stated the Supreme Court had banned the loud music after 10 pm but the local administration has failed to check this violation. Around 25 marriage palaces are located on the highway and in the residential areas of the town. Noise pollution is causing disturbance to school going students and also affecting senior citizens and ailing people.

Sakshi Sharma, a student of Class 10th said loud music disturbs her study in the night.

Another resident of Zirkapur said the local police asked for a written complaint against marriage palaces if approached regarding the violation. Puneet Goyal, SDM, Dera Bassi, said, “We would shortly call a meeting of marriage palace and hotel owners to discuss public problems.”