Ludhiana-Chandigarh rail link nears completion

LUDHIANA: Nearly a decade after work began on the 110-km rail link between the industrial hub of Ludhiana and capital city Chandigarh, the project is near completion and officials are hopeful that trains would start running on the track by June. Happy with the authorities’ assurance, residents say they’re keeping their fingers crossed.

‘‘If all goes as planned, then the Chandigarh-Ludhiana railway link will become operational by June. Seeing the passenger and goods traffic on this track, the route is likely to prove very important for the railways,’’ said divisional railway manager of Ferozepur Bishwesh Chaubey.

‘‘We started work in 1999-2000 and by the end of 2006, 45-km stretch till Morinda was ready. However, many problems surfaced regarding land acquisition and other operational hiccups, delaying the project,’’ he added. The officer expressed hope that the much-hyped train service would begin soon.

The 110-km project is divided into three phases — Chandigarh-Morinda link, Morinda-Sahnewal stretch and Sahnewal-Ludhiana portion. ‘‘Work on a part of the third phase is left and we hope to finish it by May,’’ Chaubey told TOI. Applauding the move, Manasi Kashyap, a resident of Chandigarh who works in the city, said, ‘‘Though the journey to Chandigarh should only take two hours, we usually get stuck for at least one hour at Samrala itself. This delays everything due to which the bus takes nearly three hours to reach home. Train service will definitely be very popular among commuters.’’

Jagan Pratap Singh, another commuter, said, ‘‘Moreover, it will be economical. The railways must also schedule trains before and after office hours.’’ 

    Best Property exhibition for TRICITY properties organised by MyFM 94.3

    CHANDIGARH: Over 100 beautiful faces from the city of Chandigarh came together for the city finale of ‘Fem De Sohney Sohney Mukhde Of Punjab’ beauty pageant, a unique consumer & beauty initiative from Fem Care, India’s leading and number one trusted fairness bleach brand. This also marked the last semi-final audition of this mega state-wide beauty contest.

After three intense rounds, an independent panel of judges shortlisted three promising faces from Chandigarh to represent the city in the Grand Finale to be held in Chandigarh on March 6th, 2010. This completes the list of 15 mega finalists from 5 different cities from Punjab, who will vie for the coveted crown in the Grand Finale. Prior to this, city finals were held in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Patiala.

In the previous city finale held at Patiala, Ms Navneet Kaur, Ms Divya Sharma and Ms Nazma were selected to represent the city in the grand finale. Amritsar will be represented by Ms Sabeena Bumra, Ms Naseema Dar and Ms Deepika Sharma, while Ludhiana will be represented by Ms Navjyot Kaur, Ms Rubeena Pannu and Ms Jugneet Kaur. Ms Romila Sarangal, Ms Kanika Sharma and Ms Damanpreet were selected from Jalandhar earlier to participate in the grand finale.  The winner of the contest will be crowned ‘Fem De Sohne Sohne Mukhde of Punjab’ and will get a chance to appear on mainstream television.

The Chandigarh city finale was organized at Lions Club Auditorium, Chandigarh. Over 100 contestants went through various intense rounds of auditions – introduction round, the ramp walk round and a question-answer session with the judge, Renowned Punjabi Singer Jeet Jagjit. The finalists from each city will undergo a two-day rigorous grooming session with beauty experts before they vie with each other for the coveted title of ‘Fem de Sohney Sohney Mukhde of Punjab’.

"This is an innovative and one of its kind consumer initiatives in the world of beauty contests. Through this initiative, we intend to find the face that embodies the true values of Fem – fair and flawless skin. As a pioneer in the bleach category, we are now taking our association with beauty a step further with this beauty pageant in Punjab. Given the response that we have received from the state, we are now planning to extend this initiative to Maharashtra soon,” said Ms. Medha Mohan, Brand Head-Fem.

Decks cleared for Mohali international airport

New Delhi, March 3
Decks were cleared yesterday for the execution of international airport at Mohali with the signing of an agreement for the formation of a joint venture company “Chandigarh International Airport Pvt Ltd.” for undertaking the project.
The agreement was signed between the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Punjab government through the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and the Haryana government through HUDA at Ministry of Civil Aviation headquaters here. AAI chairman VP Agrawal, GMADA’s chief administrator VP Singh and HUDA chief administrator TC Gupta signed the agreement.
The project is to be developed over an area of over 300 acre of land at Jheourheri village in Mohali.
An MoU was signed between the Centre and the states on January 4 for the development of international airport, Mohali, with 51 per cent of equity share of Government of India and 24.5 per cent each of Punjab and Haryana governments.
A non-official resolution was also passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for naming the airport as Shaheed-E-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh International Airport, which was forwarded to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal took up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, an official spokesman said.

Chandigarh International Airport To Be Up Soon

People going abroad from Punjab and Haryana need not catch flights from Delhi, as Chandigarh airport will be upgraded to an international airport. The first flight for Dubai will take off during end of July. Sunil Dutt, director of Chandigarh airport, said that they have got confirmation from Fly Dubai. They have got permission from the union civil aviation ministry to fly a daily direct flight to Dubai from Chandigarh. The ticket will be priced at Rs 3500-3600 as an introductory offer. The price would be increased in due course of time as the rates cannot stay at Rs 3500. Fly Dubai is a low-cost carrier of Emirates Airlines. Chandigarh International Airport will replace the old domestic Chandigarh airport as the region's second international airport after the Raja Sansi International Airport in Amritsar. The new airport is likely to give a big boost to the region's economy and facilitate travel for a large number of non-resident Indians (NRIs), who currently use New Delhi's Indira Gandhi international airport. It would largely serve the international passengers from the states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The international airport is being extended on 306 acres of land in Jheorehri village, near Mohali, and its construction work is going on for the last many months. Gagan Malik, construction in-charge of the new building of Chandigarh International Airport said that the airport would be air-conditioned with escalators and facilities for people with disabilities. The building can accommodate only 100 passengers at present. But the new building can accommodate up to 400 passengers.

Chandigarh International Airport - AAI approves Rs 500 cr

Chandigarh, Feburary 16
The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has approved an investment of Rs 500 crore for establishment of an airfield and a civil aviation terminal for the Chandigarh International airport project.
According to sources, a decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the AAI board held at Delhi and that this would pave the way for start of work on the boundary wall as well as airfield and civil aviation terminal on land in Mohali, which has been acquired for the international airport.
Sources from the capital said the AAI board was in a position to take this decision as it had been designated as a ‘mini ratna’, which gave it the authority to take decisions on investments up to Rs 500 crore. Otherwise, decisions involving financial implications beyond Rs 50 crore have to be referred to the Union cabinet.
The sources said the AAI would now approach the Election Commission to clear the proposal to form a joint venture company comprising the AAI, Punjab and Haryana to steer the project. The AAI is keen to start work on construction of the boundary wall of the project as well as other works, which can be done only after handing over of the land to the JV Company.
The sources said the AAI board, which met recently, also approved the formation of a JV Company to steer the project. The company is likely to be formed after a formal follow up of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which the AAI has a 51 per cent stake in the project and the Punjab and Haryana government a 24.5 per cent stake each. Earlier, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GAMADA) had acquired the land for the project at a cost of Rs 460 crore, half of which had been borne by Haryana.
According to the MoU signed by the three partners in the project in the beginning of last year, Punjab and Haryana have to provide land for the project and all superstructures have to taken up by the AAI. Price Waterhouse, which had earlier been appointed as consultants for the project, has submitted its recommendations on the authorised equity capital for the JV Company.

Master plan for Zirakpur, New development for zirakpur

Zriakpur, FEBUARY 26
The Punjab government has finally come out with the final master plan for Zirakpur and Dera Bassi towns. Prepared under the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 2006, the land use would be freezed in the local planning areas of the two important towns, located along the Chandigarh-Delhi National Highway 22.
Keeping in mind the potential of the area once the international airport becomes functional, Singapore-based consultants of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) have proposed an aerotropolis or an airport city near the national highway.
It has also been proposed that while providing an integrated multi-modal transport hub, the corridor along national highway would be developed as a major passenger and cargo hub.
Another area being taken was along the Zirakpur-Patiala highway. The demand is mostly from NRIs from Punjab who would prefer Mohali compared to Delhi, as the road travelling time would be reduced.
Though the government had initiated work on the master plans in 2007, the planning of the local planning area of the two peripheral towns has now been finalised. Before notifying the master plans, objections of the general pubic are being sought by the Town and Country Planning Department.
“After Mohali and Mullanpur, the two peripheral towns would also get legal master plans that would be governed by the provisions of the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act,” said a GMADA official.
It could, however, not be ascertained whether existing structures that do no confirm to the earmarked planning would be relocated or not. Already a number of haphazard structures have come in the Zirakpur MC limits and the town planning (TP) scheme of the local government has been a centre of controversy, with the Town and Planning Department objecting to the TP scheme.