Rajiv Bhatia
Zirakpur, April 18
Increasing number of road accidents on the Zirakpur- Lalru stretch and adjoining roads in the periphery, on this side of the City Beautiful, contradict tall claims by the Mohali police about an improved situation in road mishaps. Official figures reveal 27 deaths on the Zirakpur- Lalru stretch during the past three months. There have been more than 55 accidents during the corresponding period.
The Chandigarh-Ambala national highway has become a major cause of worry for the local administration. As even after the four-laning of this highway, there has been no respite from the increasing number of accidents on this stretch. According to official records, a sum of about Rs 298 crore was spent by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) on the four-laning of this 35-km long highway.
At several points village link roads open to the highway, which are accident prone. It is here that fast-moving traffic collides with vehicles coming from the link roads. Till now the NHAI has not provided any slow carriageway along the highway.
Police sources claim that everyday at least one or two accidents occur on the roads, especially on the Zirakpur-Patiala highway where minor accidents are routine affair. In Zirakpur, 22 accidents were reported in the last three months in which 10 persons were killed, including 8 men and 2 women.
Last year, 61 accidents were reported where 26 persons died, including 20 men, five women and one child. In 2008, around 48 accidents occurred in which 27 persons were killed and 21 were injured. In 2007, the police registered 45 accident cases in which 26 persons killed and 19 were injured. In 2006, the Zirakpur police registered 89 road accidents.
In Dera Bassi police station, 10 accidents were reported in the past three months, in which six persons were killed, including five men and one woman. Last year, 53 mishaps were reported in which 35 persons lost their lives. A total of 37 accident cases were reported in 2008, in which 22 persons were killed, including 21 men and one child.
As per the information provided by the Lalru police station, in the past three months 23 accidents had occurred in which 11 persons were killed while 12 were injured. Last year, 50 accidents were reported in which 30 persons were killed, including 28 men and two women. Around 104 persons were injured in road accidents.
Accident-prone areas
Police post at entrance of Zirakpur, near sales tax barrier; takeoff point of the Zirakpur flyover; a farmhouse at Singhpura, link road to Chatt village; Bhankarpur bridge; takeoff point of Dera Bassi flyover; and Chhat village bus stand on the Zirakpur-Patiala highway
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Snatching cases at Zirakpur on the rise
Rajiv Bhatia
Zirakpur, April 11
In the wake of sudden surge observed in the snatching cases, especially amongst the women, residents of Zirakpur are perturbed over the issue from the past few weeks. More than five snatching incidents have been reported in the past two days. However, no case has been registered by the local police. The proximity of Zirakpur town with Chandigarh and Haryana makes it convenient for the snatchers to run away in the neighbouring places in no time.
A majority of snatching incidents have taken place during afternoon and late evening hours when it is difficult to identify snatchers. Snatchers grab the victims from the back and snatch their chains, earrings and other ornaments and escape from the scene within seconds. They target women who pass through deserted areas.
In a recent incident, two bikers snatched a gold chain of three tolas from Elha Devi, a resident of Hem Vihar, Phase I. According to Elha Devi, the incident occurred around 3 pm on Friday when she was standing outside her house where two youths on their red-coloured motorcycle parked their bike near her.
In no time one of the youths attacked her and snatched her gold chain. Acting swiftly, Elha Devi caught the shirt of the youth, but the accused assaulted her and managed to flee from the spot.
She said that though one of the youths was wearing a helmet, she saw the face of another youth. “I will never forget his face and will recognise him if I see him anywhere in the area,” she added.
A similar incident occurred on Friday when two youths riding a motorcycle targeted another woman, Preetam Kaur in Nagla village. Sources revealed that two incidents of snatching occurred yesterday at Preet Colony, where the motorcycle-borne youths snatched a gold chain and an earring set within one hour. Last week two youths were nabbed by the local residents near a private school at Baltana when they were trying to snatch a chain of the schoolteacher, sources added.
According to police sources, most of the youths involved in the incidents of chain or purse snatching are drug addicts. They adopt different types of modus operandi -- either a youth snatches the purse or a chain in lonely places, or engages the victim in a conversation and commit the crime. However, SSP, Mohali, GS Bhullar claimed there was a downfall in crime activities at Zirakpur. Recently, the local police nabbed the snatchers and other anti-social elements who were involved in various criminal activities.
Zirakpur, April 11
In the wake of sudden surge observed in the snatching cases, especially amongst the women, residents of Zirakpur are perturbed over the issue from the past few weeks. More than five snatching incidents have been reported in the past two days. However, no case has been registered by the local police. The proximity of Zirakpur town with Chandigarh and Haryana makes it convenient for the snatchers to run away in the neighbouring places in no time.
A majority of snatching incidents have taken place during afternoon and late evening hours when it is difficult to identify snatchers. Snatchers grab the victims from the back and snatch their chains, earrings and other ornaments and escape from the scene within seconds. They target women who pass through deserted areas.
In a recent incident, two bikers snatched a gold chain of three tolas from Elha Devi, a resident of Hem Vihar, Phase I. According to Elha Devi, the incident occurred around 3 pm on Friday when she was standing outside her house where two youths on their red-coloured motorcycle parked their bike near her.
In no time one of the youths attacked her and snatched her gold chain. Acting swiftly, Elha Devi caught the shirt of the youth, but the accused assaulted her and managed to flee from the spot.
She said that though one of the youths was wearing a helmet, she saw the face of another youth. “I will never forget his face and will recognise him if I see him anywhere in the area,” she added.
A similar incident occurred on Friday when two youths riding a motorcycle targeted another woman, Preetam Kaur in Nagla village. Sources revealed that two incidents of snatching occurred yesterday at Preet Colony, where the motorcycle-borne youths snatched a gold chain and an earring set within one hour. Last week two youths were nabbed by the local residents near a private school at Baltana when they were trying to snatch a chain of the schoolteacher, sources added.
According to police sources, most of the youths involved in the incidents of chain or purse snatching are drug addicts. They adopt different types of modus operandi -- either a youth snatches the purse or a chain in lonely places, or engages the victim in a conversation and commit the crime. However, SSP, Mohali, GS Bhullar claimed there was a downfall in crime activities at Zirakpur. Recently, the local police nabbed the snatchers and other anti-social elements who were involved in various criminal activities.
Illegal banners, hoardings dot Zirakpur
Rajiv Bhatia
Zirakpur, April 4
Though it enjoys the privilege of being a neighbour to the City Beautiful, Zirakpur has not much to boast of. The defacement is taking a toll and the Zirakpur Municipal Council has failed to take any action against the defacement of public property by violators who have hung banners and hoardings at various parts of the city.
The problem has acquired an alarming proportion in the
town and one can easily spot banners in every nook and corner of the area.
The main violators are politicians, communication companies, religious organisations, educational institutions, private tuitions, boutiques, beauty saloons and event organisations.
Banners are also seen even for the functions to be held in Chandigarh and Panchkula.
Zirakpur MC official said in the absence of any strict laws to check the defacement of public property, the violators were defacing the town with hoardings and posters. He said no one had taken any permission for pasting posters and banners.
He added while conducting the drives, the council had faced problem of staff crunch. However, he said the council had issued notices to violators and collected the compounding fee.
A visit to several other areas, including Dhakoli, Zirakpur-Patiala Highway, Pabhat area, Baltana and Lohgarh shows that besides banners, the electricity poles and streetlights have been defaced with the posters. Not only private buildings, even high voltage electricity towers have not been spared by advertisers and politicians.
Residents seek local administration’s help to initiate action against the violators.
Mallika Khanna, a resident of Zirakpur, said the electricity poles and intersections were covered with the banners advertised by different educational institutes, giving an untidy look to it. He said the MC should take strict action against the violators.
“The entire town has been defaced with banners of politicians,” said Ram Niwas, a resident of Pabhat.
A sales executive of telecommunication on condition of anonymity said there was no need of permission from any official at Zirakpur to paste posters or any other promotional materials.
Zirakpur MC president Narinder Kumar Sharma claimed that the banners and posters would be removed by tomorrow. He said MC had plans to give the contract to private contractor for advertisement in the town. The tender for the contractor would be called shortly, he added.
Filing of IT returns Zirakpur residents demand transit office
Rajiv Bhatia
Zirakpur, April 3
Keeping in view the difficulties involved in filing of income tax return, the residents here demanded to the authorities concerned to open transit office at Zirakpur so that tax payees can deposit their returns.
Earlier the income tax payees used to deposit their returns at Rajpura and it was shifted to Mohali last year.
At present, in Zirakpur there are over 36 developers and more than 100 property consultants with thousands of salaried persons besides hundreds of traders.
Residents say there is an urgent need of an income tax return office so that everyone can file their returns without any delay.
SC Dhall, a senior banker, said the number of income tax payees had been rising every day at Zirakpur and it was very difficult for them to deposit their returns at Mohali, which was very far away. He said the authorities concerned should think about this public issue. “We are facing inconvenience during the filing of income tax return file as the brokers are charging hefty amounts to file the return,” said Jagtar Singh, a property consultant.
Zirakpur, April 3
Keeping in view the difficulties involved in filing of income tax return, the residents here demanded to the authorities concerned to open transit office at Zirakpur so that tax payees can deposit their returns.
Earlier the income tax payees used to deposit their returns at Rajpura and it was shifted to Mohali last year.
At present, in Zirakpur there are over 36 developers and more than 100 property consultants with thousands of salaried persons besides hundreds of traders.
Residents say there is an urgent need of an income tax return office so that everyone can file their returns without any delay.
SC Dhall, a senior banker, said the number of income tax payees had been rising every day at Zirakpur and it was very difficult for them to deposit their returns at Mohali, which was very far away. He said the authorities concerned should think about this public issue. “We are facing inconvenience during the filing of income tax return file as the brokers are charging hefty amounts to file the return,” said Jagtar Singh, a property consultant.
Travelling distances to spread ideology, make money
Rajiv Bhatia
Zirakpur, March 18
He is not happy with the response to the articles he sells here but his passion for communist ideology drives him to serve the party at Joyti Basu Nagar in Zirakpur.
A Basha (67) of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, has set up a stall to sell key chains, posters, badges carrying pictures of communist leaders besides other things.
The 13th All-India Conference of India Trade Unions (CITU) started on March 17 and is scheduled to go on till March 21.
Besides him, vendors from Kerala, Delhi and various towns of Punjab have set up stalls to sell articles promoting the communist ideology.
They are offering handmade accessories like T-shirt, photos, caps, key chains, badges, emblems, stickers, posters carrying their photographs of communist veterans like Harkishan Singh Surjeet and Jyoti Basu.
Besides handmade accessories, book stalls selling translated versions of books written by Lenin and Marx at reasonable prices are a big draw at the conference.
Their aim is to highlight the activities of communist leaders like Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx, Che Guevara.
Basha, who has been serving the party in his unique way since early 1960s, said: “I am not doing this business to earn money. My passion for the party has always prompted me to set up a stall in the conference held anywhere in the country.”
He said his family members also helped him in the business. It is his second to visit to Punjab but has not been rejoiced by the response here.
“In Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, these accessories are in great demand and youngsters prefer photos of Guevara and Lenin on accessories”, he added.
Another vendor said before selling the accessories to customers, they explained them the history behind the communist struggle.
Pritam Singh (59) who had come from Barnala said: “I started a book shop, ‘Lenin Kitab Ghar’, at Barnala when I was younger. I have more than 500 different books on Lenin and Marx in Punjabi and they are gradually becoming famous among the local youth.”
Left Word Books from Delhi and Punjab Book Store from Chandigarh are also showcasing books on communist leaders.
A bookseller said people had been coming from far-off places to the conference to give orders for the supply of books.
Summer is back, so are power cuts
Rajiv Bhatia
Zirakpur, March 21
With the onset of summer, residents of Zirakpur and surrounding areas have started facing power cuts ranging from 4 to 6 hours a day. With tubewells becoming non-operational due to power cuts, water supply to the area has been badly affected.
Sources in the MC said, “Of the 31 tubewells, only 10 have generators and the remaining ones run on electricity.”
Residents of various housing apartments, colonies and villages within the municipal limits have demanded that the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) should give prior information about the power cuts, so that they get time to arrange some alternative source of energy.
Sumita, a resident of Dhakoli, said power cuts of at least six hours were being imposed everyday.
“I find it difficult to help my son (for board exams) in his preparation for the annual examination,” she added.
It’s a harrowing time for shopkeepers too. Madan Mohan, a shopkeeper in Zirakpur, said, “With frequent outages, it has become difficult to run the business.”
Rajan Khurana, a resident of Baltana, said, “We are used to such power cuts in June and July, but cuts at this time of the year make no logic.”
“Why necessary steps are not being taken to ease the ongoing power crisis?” he asked.
Residents said they had asked the MC officials to install generators, but their repeated pleas were turned down.
With the surging power demand, the load on transformers had also increased, said a PSEB official.
“We are imposing power cuts as per the instructions of the controller,” he added.
Zirakpur, March 21
With the onset of summer, residents of Zirakpur and surrounding areas have started facing power cuts ranging from 4 to 6 hours a day. With tubewells becoming non-operational due to power cuts, water supply to the area has been badly affected.
Sources in the MC said, “Of the 31 tubewells, only 10 have generators and the remaining ones run on electricity.”
Residents of various housing apartments, colonies and villages within the municipal limits have demanded that the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) should give prior information about the power cuts, so that they get time to arrange some alternative source of energy.
Sumita, a resident of Dhakoli, said power cuts of at least six hours were being imposed everyday.
“I find it difficult to help my son (for board exams) in his preparation for the annual examination,” she added.
It’s a harrowing time for shopkeepers too. Madan Mohan, a shopkeeper in Zirakpur, said, “With frequent outages, it has become difficult to run the business.”
Rajan Khurana, a resident of Baltana, said, “We are used to such power cuts in June and July, but cuts at this time of the year make no logic.”
“Why necessary steps are not being taken to ease the ongoing power crisis?” he asked.
Residents said they had asked the MC officials to install generators, but their repeated pleas were turned down.
With the surging power demand, the load on transformers had also increased, said a PSEB official.
“We are imposing power cuts as per the instructions of the controller,” he added.
Killer stretch: Authorities fail to act
Rajiv Bhatia
Zirakpur, March 25
At least 14 passengers, who were travelling in a mini-bus, sustained injuries on the killer stretch between Zirakpur and Lalru today. The bus collided with a multi-axle trailer near Dhillon factory light point.
The mishap has once again brought to the fore the failure the authorities concerned to make this stretch safer even as the number of road accidents here is increasing every day.
Even after more than one year of the four-lane of the Chandigarh-Ambala highway, no improvement has been seen in terms of rising number of accidents on this stretch.
According to police sources, more than 12 road mishaps have been reported in Zirakpur police station till March 20. Around 54 accidents occurred in Zirakpur last year in which 22 persons were killed, including 16 men, five women and one child. More than 70 persons were injured. In 2008, 36 accidents were reported out of which 21 persons died.
Sanjay Khurana, a resident of Panchkula says, “It is for the local administration to make the highway safer for the commuters.”
The residents have demanded that the administration should take steps in order to prevent mishaps in the accident prone areas.
They have also urged the local administration to check violations by truck and mini-bus drivers who drive the vehicles recklessly on the highway.
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