On the wish list

‘I wish all problems of citizens get resolved’

I wish Chandigarh always gets peace, beauty and nature in abundance. I wish all problems of the citizens get resolved and the people have a fulfilling life. I hope I can serve them to the best of my ability, and make my city, my hometown proud. (Kirron Kher is Member of Parliament)

‘Less cars & more cycles in 2019’

My vision for Chandigarh is less cars and more cycles, more people walking in the open spaces. May unnatural and dead cement houses give way to natural and alive earth buildings that allow fresh air to come in and maintain warmth in winter nights and cool temperatures in hot, summer nights. I see my city surrounded by large allotments of government land which are leased to residents where kitchen gardens are grown. People come together on holidays and weekends, to grow food, harvest crops, engage children and adults alike in the magic of seeding and sprouting. Neighbourhoods meet regularly over bonfires, sharing food, warmth and stories. I hope people get in touch with the body wisdom and its self-healing capacity and turn inwards to trace lost connections. (Moonstar Doad runs Parshada, a community space for educating people on natural healing and natural living)

‘Protect & preserve whatever remains of the periphery’

Having lived in Chandigarh since January 1, 1955, and having nurtured it to adulthood, my wish list for the City Beautiful is short but full of hope and expectations. If immediate action is not taken, our city will also choke to death, like the national capital. Corbusier was a visionary, and did not want the periphery of Chandigarh (a belt of 10 miles all around) to have any unplanned development. Unfortunately, the absolute opposite has happened. The haphazard construction in Naya Gaon, Kansal, etc.( Slumdog Millionaire could have been shot here), on one side and the humongous, unplanned monstrosities in Zirakpur, leading to traffic jams, and pollution, on the other, have become parasites of Chandigarh.

Air, noise and water pollution know no boundaries. Originating in one place, it can have devastating impact in another. We need to protect Chandigarh, and to do so, we need to protect and preserve whatever remains of the periphery from deteriorating. This is my first wish. Remember, to preserve a planned city, which has been a huge success, is not easy. But if we do not do it, it will be destroyed in no time at all.

There is also a threat to Chandigarh from within. The conversion of houses into apartments and then selling them floor-wise, leading to densification of population and resultant stress on the infrastructure of our city. My second wish is to stop this immediately. How can a city planned for five lakh people (that was the target population) take the load of 15 lakh people? The city and its infrastructure are bound to collapse.

The BBC has termed Chandigarh the ‘Most Liveable City’ which it is — well-planned, clean environment and organised traffic. But chinks have appeared in most of these areas and if we have to retain the tag given by BBC, my two wishes have to come true quickly, to enable me to continue to proclaim, ‘I will not leave Chandigarh for the world’. (Manmohan Lal Sarin is a Senior Advocate at the Punjab and Haryana High Court and has previously held the posts of Advocate General in both Punjab and Haryana states. He is also president of Alliance Francaise Le Corbusier de Chandigarh since 1990)

‘Better quality placements for students’

To promote inclusive growth and all-round development of students, Panjab University has set a vision towards augmenting and strengthening Society-Academia-Industry (SAI) relationship and for overall recognition of innovation and invention.

Under the research, innovation and deliverables, I am striving to stimulate the faculty to submit proposals for funding to agencies, industry and ministries of government. Already 40 industry-ready products are available and many prototypes exist. For their showcase, a ‘Deliverable Gallery’ will be set up and the space is already earmarked. We will carry out market assessment of the products for the market potential.

There is a plan of consolidation of centres involved in entrepreneurial and incubation activities under one roof so that anyone from the industry can avail of these facilities. In 2019, PU, through its recently DST sanctioned Technology Enabling Centre, will highlight technologies being developed in different laboratories and focus on application and futuristic research.

The vision is to strengthen the recently set-up Institution Innovation Council (IIC) to meet the much-needed requirement of the industry and to foster design and innovation culture among students and faculty so that innovative ideas can be transformed into products. Better and quality placements and internships for students through industry partnership and entrepreneurship and attracting international students for contribution to overall world economy is also my endeavour. (Prof Raj Kumar is V-C, Panjab University)

‘More land to give PGI breathing space, affordable health care for poor patients’

We are all excited and enthusiastic to usher in 2019 and this is also the time to sit back and gather our thoughts ahead of the New Year. We will continue efforts towards improving the patient experience and decongestion of outpatient departments of PGI by ensuring increase in online registration, electronic display. We are also working on electronic medical records to ensure rapid patient flow and secure encrypted data storage. We aim to recruit additional highly qualified faculty members to ensure that our doctor-patient ratio is optimum, and our staff is capable of handling the ever-increasing workload. Soon, we aim to make the highly ambitious project — a new 250-bedded hospital — functional that would house several departments such as radiotherapy, hepatology, ENT and endocrinology. Our efforts to get 50 acres of land at Sarangpur continue, which will provide breathing space to PGI for next 25 years. Our wish list cannot be complete without aiming for affordable health care for our poor patients, which we have partly achieved by negotiating and fixing costs of implants and stents in PGI. We will continue to work on this goal to ensure delivery of state-of-the-art, affordable health care services to our patients. (Professor Jagat Ram is director, PGIMER)

‘Four community policing projects my priority’

Four projects in the category of community policing are on my wish list for 2019. First: a skill development project for 480 adults. Second: a project of How to Improve Quality of Life for 300 slum dwellers between the age group of 12 and 18 years with the association of Society for Promotion Of Youth and Masses (SPYM). Third: E-beat books, in which 165 computer tablets will be given to in-charge of 165 police beats. Fourth: Expending the self-defence courses for girls and women under SWAYAM at all levels.
I am happy to share that the Central government has cleared a skill development project for 480 children of Chandigarh recently and we will start it in the first month of 2019. Under the skill development project, 480 children whose parents are engaged in criminal activities will be trained in professional courses, including beauty parlour therapists, general duty assistants in hospitals, retail store assistants, food and beverage assistants. Not only training, we will also provide placements to them in appropriate places. For the project to teach 300 slum dwellers, ‘How to improve quality of life’, I have selected Bapu Dham Colony, Sector 26, Dhanas and Phase-2, Ramdarbar in Industrial Area. These 300 adults — boys and girls — will be motivated to improve their quality of life by staying away from drugs, criminal activities and living in clean, hygienic surroundings. The e-beat books will not only help the police department, but will also facilitate the general public. I wish to take self-defence courses for girls and women to every house this year. (Nilambari Vijay Jagdale is SSP, Chandigarh)

‘Join the struggle against exploitation & discrimination’

I wish all of us join the struggle against exploitation and discrimination in our society. I wish we realise neither 2019 nor 2019 elections are going to bring any progress in our lives. People have been fighting and striving hard every single day to live and realise their dreams, rather than waiting for those wishes to be granted by someone else. Apparently, the world is NOT a wish-granting factory (John Green).
(Kanupriya is Panjab University Student Council president)