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Survivors from Port Blair recall nightmare
Chandigarh, January 3 Recalling the fateful day, Mr V.K. Bhatia (38), a Defence Estate Officer posted at Port Blair, recollects that he had got up early on December 26. Barely a few minutes later, his third floor apartment appeared to be swinging. But he mistook it to be a result of dizziness from ill-health till the earthquake started making utensils tumble down. “Hell broke loose, I shouted at my family to evacuate the building. And in less than three minutes we were on the road. The building tilted 45 degrees with cracks everywhere making it inaccessible”, he told Chandigarh Tribune. Ms Kamlesh Bhatia (35), who works in the Punjab Civil Secretariat, had joined her husband 10 days before the earthquake. “I had gone there because my husband was suffering from depression and I wanted to spend some time with him. With the shadow of death all around, I would curse myself for bringing my younger son Yavin (4) with me while leaving the elder son Varun (12) with relatives at Chandigarh. But then I would thank God for at least he would be safe even if something were to happen to us”. Mr Bhatia has shivers down his spine when he tries to remember how a series of earthquakes caused havoc in Port Blair and all the way to Car Nicobar. Some buildings began to lean; others developed cracks and crumbled down. Bridges were washed away; water levels in the Andaman Sea began to rise due to tsunamis that followed. “The first earthquake that hit Port Blair around 6.20 a.m. was the worst, measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale, there were several other quakes, but of a relatively milder intensity. We were scared, we did not know what to do. Alternately we thought of God and our son at Chandigarh”. He said he saw about 25 people being washed away after water hit the Marina Sport Complex. “After we came down onto the road, we saw several people jumping from the buildings to escape coming down with the buildings. Some broke their legs in the process. In one case a person even threw his child from the roof in a bid to save the child”, he recalls adding that he does not know what happened to the child. The jetty at the harbour gave way and no one was sure if the rescue ships would leave the harbour, Mr Bhatia said. “The ship did finally leave on December 27 and my wife and son were on it. It was an angry sea with lot of disturbance. For three days and three nights we along with 1,200 others were praying. All kinds of thoughts came to our minds”, he said. What made him take a decision of boarding a ship? To this he says “We thought, we have to die, so why not take a change” and this proved to be the right decision for them. He says that almost the entire Car Nicobar Island spear across 25 sq km has been washed away. It had a population of around 40,000; only half of it he feels would have survived in the 80 odd earthquakes and aftershocks of tsunami waves till yesterday. Some smaller islands like Kamrotta is still submerged making the fate of trials there uncertain. The Bhatias now appeal to all to make donations for those who have been hit by the tragedy. While the Bhatias appeal for others, Ms Bhatia has her own appeal for the government. She wants the Defence Estate Department to reconsider the transfer order of Mr Bhatia to Leh. “We have gone through a very bad time. If my husband has go to Leh on duty, it will be very telling on the family and his health since he is already suffering from depression”. She hopes that the government would consider her plea sympathetically and issue fresh orders for her husband’s transfer to Chandigarh or some place close
by.
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Providential escape for two city families
Chandigarh, January 3 But for the ordained delay, two city families would have been on the Marina Beach in Chennai on December 26 when the tsunami hit the coast of the Indian
ocean. Mr Sanjeev Garg of Sector 37, his two children and wife, were scheduled to leave for Chennai from Delhi on December 24 but their flight got delayed. They flew to Chennai the next day. His relative, Mr Rajiv
Singla, an Executive Engineer in the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB), was also accompanying the Gargs to their South India visit. The Gargs reached Chennai at 11.30 pm on December 25. Their Chennai-based host had left for Chandigarh by then. The Gargs entered their friend’s house as he had left the keys with a
neighbour. The next morning the Gargs were to leave for the Marina Beach but Mr Garg’s wife had an acute stomach ache and she had to be taken to a doctor. Mr Garg’s friend by then had come to know about destruction caused by the tsunami and he contacted the Gargs and told them not to go. After the waves had destroyed the shore, the Gargs went to see it. The families are still under shock and thank God for saving them.
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Scenes of tsunami havoc haunt Panchkula couple
Panchkula, January 3 Gaurav Kumar, 27, and his wife, Nitika, 25, say that they had been planning for their annual holiday for a long time. “We had planned this holiday for rejuvenating ourselves from our routine lifestyle. But the death and devastation that we encountered all around in Langkawi Islands is a memory we wish would fade away soon.” The couple first flew down to Thailand for a small vacation, and to Singapore on the night of December 25 — a few hours before the tsunami occurred in the Indian Ocean. “Our family members thought that we were in Thailand when the news of tsunami was flashed in India, and they were scared. We spoke to them and assured them of our safety before we started on the sea cruise from Singapore. It was only after we started our journey on the Star Cruise that we realised what harrowing sights were left behind by the tsunami,” says Nitika. The Star Cruise set sail on the evening of December 26, and as Gaurav informs, the cruise, instead of going to Patong Beach in Phuket, just sailed towards Penang in Malaysia, in Langkawi Islands and back to Singapore. “In Penang, the devastation was evident, but it was in Langkawi Islands, where we realised the extent of loss of human life and property. A part of the coastline was entirely submerged; slush was all over the place; there was stench of rotting human bodies and animals in the air, and we could see that the roads had been completely washed away. I did capture some images in my camcorder, but these were too devastating, and later I deleted most of these. Its better not to have any visual recording of such grave human tragedy,” he says, as he shows some pictures stored in his laptop. The couple also inform that while the ship was cruising between Malaysia and Thailand, they encountered a very rough sea on the night of December 27. The waves were so turbulent that the ship was swaying for most part of the night. Now back home, the couple say “ We did have some good time in Thailand, before the tsunami and before we set sail, but it is the harrowing sights in Langkawi that keep coming back to our memories,” says Nitika.
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Donations pour in for tsunami victims
Chandigarh/Panchkula, January 3 While they went from department to department asking for donations from the students, the afternoon saw them descend at the Student’s Centre to inspire students to contribute whatever they could. The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) also went all over the campus to urge students, teachers and staff to donate funds to help build up lives in the tsunami-hit coastal regions of the south. Activists of the Students Organisation of Panjab University, too, were on the same mission all day. The Shri Ram Dharmarth Trust, Morinda, Chandigarh, has decided that the trust will adopt the 11 male children between the age group of 6-10 year from tsunami victims. The trust will approach a NGO and the governments concerned for adopting such orphans. The trust has already donated Rs 21, 000 towards the Tsunami Relief Fund. A meeting of the executive committee of the Sewa Bharti, Sector 29, was held today. It was decided to collect Rs 5 lakh for tsunami victims. It was also decided to adopt orphan children of this tragedy and for this Sewa Bharti will approach the appropriate authority. Members of the LIC Class I (Retired) Officers Association today decided to contribute one day’s pension towards the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for tsunami victims. A two-minute silence was also observed for the peace of the departed souls. Meanwhile, the Senior Citizens’ Federation (North Zone) has appealed to its members and general public to donate generously for the victims through the fund. The management of the Chandigarh Club, led by its President Mr Mukesh Bassi, handed over drafts of Rs. 5.97 lakh to the Punjab Governor, Gen S.F. Rodrigues (retd) as the club’s for contribution towards the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. The contribution of the members of the club is Rs 5 lakh. The executive members have contributed Rs 25,000 and another Rs 21,000 has been donated by Mr Surinder Pal Juneja, a member of the club. Meanwhile responding to the call of Gen Rodrigues, donations have been pouring in from the philanthropists of Chandigarh to help the tsunami affected people. Jaspal Bhatti, a noted satirist, also presented a cheque of Rs 50,000 to the Governor for this noble cause. In Panchkula, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) contributed Rs 2.6 crore to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund as aid for tsunami victims. Mr Y. Gopala Rao, CMD, presented the cheque to the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Saturday, an official release said here today. Of the amount donated by BEL, Rs 60 lakh was collected as contribution of one day salary by BEL employees, while Rs 2 crore is the corporate contribution. The Godrej Foundation has also decided to contribute Rs 50 lakh to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. An official press release said that the employees of the Godrej Group will also donate a day’s salary in order to raise a matching contribution with the company. National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) has also decided to contribute Rs 75 lakh to the PM’s Relief Fund for the tsunami victims. This donation will also include a one day salary donated by almost 4900 employees of the NFL. Pledge: Employees of Punjab Accountant-General (Audit) and Accountant-General (A and F) observed a two-minute silence as a mark of respect to the victims who died in the calamity, according to a press note. Mr Arijit Ganguly and Mr Nand Lal, both Accountant-Generals, along with employees, pledged to contribute one day’s salary for the relief fund. Mohali: Students and management of Siraj International School, Landran, donated clothes and eatables for tsunami victims. The donations collected by the students from the villagers were released by the MLA, Kharar, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, at a ceremony organised in the school. A two-minute silence was observed to mourn for the tsunami victims.
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Lawyers collect over Rs 2 lakh
for PM's Relief Fund
Chandigarh, January 3 At a meeting convened by the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, some lawyers immediately gave cheques for amounts ranging from Rs 10,000-Rs 51,000. Senior Advocates R.S. Cheema, Mr Manmohan Lal Sarin and Mr G.K. Chatrath donated Rs 51,000 each for the relief operations. Advocate Ashok Singla also donated Rs 51,000. Among others who donated for the cause are Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association President Anmol Rattan Sidhu (Rs 25,000), advocates S.S. Salar (Rs 11,000), Mr P.S. Hundal (Rs 11,000) and Association Secretary Munish Jolly (Rs 11,000). Chandigarh Mayor Anu Chatrath, who is also a practicing advocate, also announced that she would donate her one-month's salary and allowances to the relief. High Court Chief Justice Mr Justice B.K. Roy and all other Judges were also present at the meeting. Mr Jolly said that the bar association would try to collect as much money as possible to help the government carry out relief measures and rehabilitate the survivors. He said that during the Kargil war the association had collected Rs 28 lakh for families of the soldiers killed, this time, the effort would be to surpass that amount. The money collected from lawyers would be given to the High Court authorities for handing over to the Union Government.
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Farmers taking to organic farming in a big way
Chandigarh, January 3 Talking to
TNS, Dr P.S. Prasad, CEO of International Panaacea Limited (IPL), New Delhi, said organic foods had become the catchword in global food parleys and the consumers were now having increased awareness of food produced without using chemical fertilisers and pesticides, which are decidedly health hazards both for humans as well as animals. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana with their progressive bent of mind are striving hard to bring about second Green Revolution by further increasing the yield of the most popular and staple food crop, wheat. But they have come to realise that any increase in the dose of chemical fertiliser may not result in a proportionate increase in the yield and that the higher doses of chemical fertilisers may result in unhealthy soil. Hence, many of them are now promoting the use of biofertilisers and
biopesticides, which mark the onset of the organic farming system in the state.
Mr Prasad pointed out that there exists a big gap between the demand and supply of biofertilisers in the country. The estimated demand of different biofertilisers in 2002-03 has been reported to be 12.082 lakh tonnes as against the production capacity of only 2,610 lakh
tonnes, thus creating a gap of 12.05 lakh tonnes. But government and the private sector were jointly making efforts to promote the use of biofertilisers and biopesticides in agriculture for sustainable economic development, he added.. He said the liquid biofertilisers being produced by their company would help in increasing the productivity and quality of the products without adversely affecting water, soil and environment. Besides this, highly effective biopesticides capable of controlling diseases of most of the crops will also come to the rescue of the farmers. Hence, the use of the same is being encouraged by the state governments, directorates of agriculture and marketing federations. Meanwhile, the demand for organic food is also in an upward swing. The size of US Organic food market has crossed US $ 8 billion and of Germany and Japan, each US $ 2.5 billion (2000). These are the countries where the use of chemical pesticides had been alarmingly high in the past and the trend was still continuing. To cash on this boom, farmers’ bodies such as Infarm (Indian farmers’ movement) have also taken up the task of popularising organic farming as the future mode of cultivation. Organic products are considered at a premium and fetch better price compared to the conventional ones. Highlighting the benefits of this kind of farming, Mr Prasad said it would help increase efficiency and sustainability of production, with special relevance to small holders in marginal areas where excessive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides over long periods has led to depletion of soil fertility and to high debts because of increase in input costs. It would also help increase product value, especially in areas where farmers had established organic markets within the country or abroad.
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Cong leader, doctor commit suicide
Chandigarh, January 3 While Congress leader Suresh Kumar allegedly hanged himself to death because of chronic diabetes, a child specialist, Dr Jasminder Singh, posted at the Employees State Insurance (ESI) hospital in Ram
Darbar, died allegedly after injecting something in to his veins. Suresh Kumar has left a suicide note. Dr Jasminder was seen unconscious in his Maruti Zen car by another doctor Sapna Mishra around 9 am at the ESI hospital. She knocked at the door of Dr Jasminder’s car but getting no response. She called other doctors, who broke the windowpanes of the car. His mobile had a missed call from his parents last night. Dr Jasminder Singh had left home for duty last evening. An empty vial and a syringe were found in his car. The police said a blank paper and a pen ready for writing were recovered from the car. The police suspected that the doctor took an injection first and then thought of writing something. He was unmarried and his parents said they did not know why he committed suicide. A 40-year-old diabetic patient could not bear the trauma and suffering caused by high blood sugar and ended his life by hanging himself from a ceiling hook at his house in Daddu Majra Colony today. Suresh Kumar, who was the president of the Daddu Majra Market Association and Congress Leader, was found hanging from the hook by his brother. The police said a suicide note was found from his pocket. The note stated that he was ending his life due to prolonged illness and nobody was responsible for his death. Suresh Kumar went to his shop in the morning. His wife later joined him at the shop. Before leaving the shop he told his wife that he was going home to take medicine, the police quoted his wife as saying. Suresh was alone at home at that time as his three children were away to school. He went to the kitchen and hanged himself with the ceiling hook, said the police. He was noticed
hanging by his younger brother Naresh. His sister-in-law, wife of Suresh, told him that his brother had gone home. Naresh reached home and found the house locked. He knocked at the door but there was no response. After waiting for a while he forced opened the door and found his brother hanging in the kitchen. The police took the body to the General Hospital, Sector 16, and kept it at the mortuary. His family members requested the police not to conduct postmortem and after getting permission the police handed over the body to them. Kanshi Ram (45), a resident of phase II Ram Darbar who was working as a gardener in Shanti Kunj in Sector 16, died after falling from stairs.
He was living alone and his family was living in Chennai. He was found lying near the stairs bleeding profusely from his nose and ears. There was an injury mark on his forehead. SHO Kewal Krishan said it seemed to be an accident, however, the police was awaiting the postmortem report. The police had called a team of experts to find out whether the man was murdered at not.
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Worker dies in pipe blast
Chandigarh, January 3 Prem Kumar, Jabbar and Kushwah rushed to the blockage point when they detected that the pipe had developed some technical problem in an oxygen gas pipeline. As soon as Prem Kumar touched the point where he thought the problem was, the oxygen pipe went off and a receiver of the gas blew. The receiver hit Prem Kumar on head, smashing his skull. A case under Section 304 has been registered in the Industrial Area Police Station and a team of forensic experts is examining if the management of factory could be booked. The police found out that there were not enough fire extinguishers and safety measures were not adequate. A technical committee was also formed to find out what had gone wrong. The industrial accident follows the Chandigarh Police carrying out a massive search recently in the factory to find out explosives in the factory. Earlier also, the factory had seen an industrial accident in which one person had lost his limbs.
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SI nabbed while accepting bribe
Chandigarh, January 3 Sources in the CBI said the Sub-Inspector was demanding Rs 5,000 from the trucker whose vehicle was involved in the accident that took the life of a 22-year-old defence personnel last night. The driver of the truck had been arrested. The owner of the truck approached the CBI saying that the Sub-Inspector was demanding money from him. The CBI got the owner of the truck to talk to Om Prakash on telephone and taped the conversation in which Om Prakash was demanding Rs 5000. After verifying the demand, the CBI constituted a team. Apparently fearing a CBI trap, Om Prakash told the man to give the money to a Constable but the owner of the truck, under the instructions of the CBI, refused to give the money to the Constable and insisted that the SI only collected the bribe money. On this Om Prakash came out of the police station to receive the money. As soon as he took the money, the CBI team caught him. However, this time the CBI avoided trapping the SI inside the Industrial Area Police Station as it had done in the Sector 31 Police Station where they had arrested an SI in the police station. Earlier, the CBI had arrested one ASI and a Constable under Sector 39 Police Station. This time the CBI insisted on giving bribe to the one who demanded it as in Sector 39 Police Station case, a police personnel was arrested for accepting bribe meant to be given to the ASI. The ASI had fled and was later arrested when he tried to influence the CBI through his contacts. The CBI team asked the ASI to record his statement in person to clarify his position. When the ASI went to the CBI headquarters, he was arrested.
Chandigarh, January 3 The Kishangarh village, located just north of the Golf Club, is close to the upcoming IT Park. Land in the village has been acquired for the expansion of the IT Park, for planned development and for the sustaining the ecology of the Sukhna watershed. It is for the first time in a couple of decades that the Chandigarh Administration decided to exempt residential areas from acquisition. Normally all areas of a village are acquired.
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While waiting for the signal on the busy traffic light points on city roads one occasionally come across tiny tots donning freak dresses. Some of them holding the tastefully-decorated images of certain deities, may attract your immediate attention. These poor children have invented a new way of begging. They can be seen roaming arround freely on the roads unfazed by the presence of a traffic cop manning the point. They cause unavoidable traffic hold ups. These children should set the Chandigharh Administration pondering over the menace of begging in public. (See pic) In bad taste
Though the new year celebrations in the city were on a low key this year, several young and not so young in ‘high spirits’ could be seen zooming on the roads. The drunken revelry unleashed on the city roads, however, spoiled the evening for many. Sentinel encountered one such sozzled ‘cop’ in Sector 35. Our man, accompanied by his lady love, staggered out of his car to pick up flowers from a florist’s shop. He hurled a couple of abuses at the boy manning the shop, picked up some flowers and walked away without paying and also got into an uncalled for argument with occupants of a car parked there. His rude behaviour and blatant misuse of his position left a bad taste in the mouth of the shop owner as well as the family in the car.
Tribute to tsunami-hit
The ongoing national grife over the tsunami tragedy showed that the city had matured. Major clubs and hotels cancelled New Year Eve celebrations. The mood was somber in the city. The social clubs were the first to act and cancelled their special shows. The Chandigarh Club, the hotbed of politiciking between warring groups, took the decision to cancel the much awaited Harbhajan Mann nite. The Golf Club, the Chandigarh Golf Range, DSOI, Press Club, PCA Club, house all joined in as managements showed maturity. CITCO’s leading hotels — Mountview and Shivalikview — which normally set the tone for parties did not host any party this time.
Aid for victims
The tsunami tragedy in Asia shook the conscience of the city. Financial aid for the victims pouring from all major industrial houses in the region. However, it soon became a game of one upmanship, as the donation which began from Rs 1 lakh, soon turned into several crores. The day after the tragedy saw some industrial and trading saw some industrial and trading houses giving donations amounting to Rs 1 lakh each, which by the week-end had turned into Rs 1 crore to Rs 2 crore.
Courting controversy
The outgoing Mayor, Ms Kamlesh, seems to be having a hotline to controversy. Before leaving office, she kicked up another controversy by declaring that the imposition of property tax was one of her “achievements”. Given Congress’ aversion to the imposition of new taxes, the outgoing Mayor’s statement drew flak from Congress leaders. It was left to the new Mayor, Ms Anu Chatrath, to clarify that property tax had been “imposed” on the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh(MCC) by the Chandigarh Administration. She even went to the extent of saying that the tax could be withdrawn if the financial position of the civic body improved in the months to come. It is high time the party briefed the top functionaries about its polcies the press conferences.
School timings
Hundreds of school students studying government schools in the cityare facing difficulty in commuting to their respective schools due to severe cold and fog in the morning. Many school students commute up to 20 kms in local buses daily from nearl by towns like Lalru, Dera Bassi, Kharar. At present timings of government schools in city are from 8 am to 2 pm. While in Punjab the school timings had been changed in November from 8 am to 9 am and in the afternoon from 2 pm to 3 pm, but UT Education Department seemed little concerned over these children’s plight. One of the parents said the department can Change the timings of schools in January keeping in mind the children’s plight.
Mockery of fashion
Fashion shows became frequent and sometimes too funny last year. Held at the drop of a hat. Some of these did not even conform to certain basic standards. Be it the launch of a product or opening of a showroom, these shows became a platform to attract the glamour-hungry. At one such ‘show’, two or three casually dressed ‘models’ pranced on the shop floor to launch a new product. Some of these so called shows were in a bad taste. Lack of proper in groundwork and theme content, made many such shows a mockery of fashion.
Year-end blues
The long winter break and finshing the stock of the year-end holidays by the doctors and staff members in the Post Graduate Institute (PGI) here led to the additional burden on the serving staff in the hospital, leaving many fuming over the excessive load. The chemotherapy ward at the hospital was no different last week. The ward had a single nurse attending to the patients in the male and female wards for an entire day. The nurse too was distracted by the repeated calls from the department’s OPD to assist the doctors there. ``Most of the staff on leave which is making the matters real tough for us to attend to the patients admitted here,’’ remarked a nurse on duty in the ward. Back to back shifts and continuous duties added to the burden of the staff on duty. ``We don’t say no to our duties but attending continuously to so many patients becomes extremely tiring at times,’’ remarked another nurse on duty.
Mayor’s “aides”
The election of the Mayor brought a number of Congressmen out of hibernation as celebrations began at the Municipal Corporation office. Congress councillor Anu Chatrath’s convincing mandate against SAD-candidate Harjinder Kaur was reason enough for those present to celebrate. While the usual faces of the Congress party were around when the results came in, there were party workers armed with flowers, garlands and sweets to honour the newly elected Mayor. Besides these two categories, there was a third category of local Congress leaders who are almost never seen and only sometimes heard of. Interestingly, these were the ones who were most active and hovered around Ms Chatrath. All the time, their entire focus was to try and catch the shutterbugs focussed on the Mayor in an attempt to be noticed and identified as her confidantes. — Sentinel
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EO violates HC order on red light
Zirakpur, January 3 The EO, Mr Girish Verma, whose job is otherwise to implement the guidelines, has been flouting the court directions with impunity since his posting at the nagar panchayat. The Punjab police on September 13, 2004 had directed all government officers - except Additional Secretaries and Principal Secretaries - to remove red lights from atop their vehicles. The security wing of the Punjab police had also decided not to issue permission for fixing beacon lights atop government vehicles till a notification issued by the Punjab Government was either amended or issued afresh. The Punjab Government has not reissued any notification in this regard after it came under criticism as it had “left out” certain categories of high-ranking police officers, besides senior bureaucrats. Sources in the civic body revealed that Mr Verma had been using the red light atop his official Ambassador car (PB-11J-0444) with black films on the windowpanes without obtaining any permission from the authorities concerned. When contacted, Mr S.K. Sharma, Inspector-General of Police, Jalandhar range, who is responsible for giving permission for the use of red lights in the Punjab police, made it clear that any government official using a red light atop his vehicle must get permission in writing. He added that the use of red light without the mandatory permission was illegal. He said he would check if any executive officer of a civic body was entitled to use a red light atop his vehicle. Mr Sharma further said he would also check if the EO was entitled to use the red light being a part of the enforcement wing of the civic body. The executive officer, however, claimed that he could use the red light as he headed the enforcement wing. Mr G. Vajralingam, Director, Department of Local Government of Punjab, could not be contacted.
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Website on traffic rules launched
Chandigarh, January 3 The site offers information about the traffic police apart from facilities to make the online payment of challans. The CD offers all rules related to the traffic police. The site will also facilitate online driving test. Introducing the site and the CD, IG Rajesh Kumar said the traffic police was working on a three-pronged strategy — education, enforcement and engineering — to make movement safe. The site will also have details about habitual offenders, whose licences have been suspended. General Rodrigues called for the community participation, the sharing of perception and involvement of the people in the process of formulation and implementation of the policies to make Chandigarh a role model for the rest of the country. The Chandigarh police also organised a blood donation camp and an on-the-spot painting competition in which children from various schools participated. General Rodrigues said a concept paper for making the city cleaner and more beautiful and to provide a healthy living to the people was already in the process of finalisation. Mr Harman Sidhu developed the CD on road safety rules after he was incapacitated by a road accident. He said besides producing CDs and films, special talks, workshops, exhibitions and training sessions were organised periodically to educate the public on the subject. He further said the police had taken steps to modernise the enforcement work. Three state-of-the-art interceptor vehicles, equipped with speed radar, alcosensor, video-recorder and public address systems, had been inducted last year. Efforts were being made to replace motor cycles with environment friendly electric cars for patrolling duty, he added. Efforts had also been made to bring the habitual traffic offenders to book by getting their driving licences suspended, said the IGP. Mr Krishan Mohan, Home Secretary, and other senior civil and police officers were present on the occasion.
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Procession to mark Guru’s birth anniversary
Chandigarh, January 3 The students of Harkishan Public School, Sector 40, Mata Sahib Kaur School, Swara, Guru Asar Trust, Phase-7, Mohali, along with the other student of the school participated in it.
Chandigarh, January 3 Brigadier Jaspal has brought out this album in two volumes on the occasion of tercentenary of the martyrdom of Sahibzadas. The first volume is dedicated to the younger two Sahibzadas who were bricked alive and the second volume focuses on the elder two Sahibzadas who attained martyrdom on the battlefield. These cassettes can also be accessed on the Internet on the websites www.sikhvideos.org, www.baisakhi.org and
www.srigurugranthsahib.org. |
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Rodrigues lays stone of Sec 43 ISBT
Chandigarh, January 3 The UT Administrator, Gen. S.F. Rodrigues (retd), today laid the foundation stone of the project. Before performing the foundation stone laying ceremony, General Rodrigues inspected the model and drawings of the proposed bus stand. He observed that this public utility project should be passenger friendly. He suggested that adequate medical facilities for commuters should be provided at the ISBT. The Chief Architect and Chief Engineer in their briefing about the project informed the Administrator that the second ISBT in Sector 43 has been planned in an area of approximately 21.00 acres. The first phase of ISBT had been constructed as an unloading platform at a cost of Rs 1.05 crore in the year 1999-2000 to immediately decrease congestion in ISBT, Sector 17. As many as 287 vehicles have started plying from Sector 43 since April, 2000 to different destinations in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir between 5 am to 8 pm. With the construction of the second phase of the ISBT likely to be completed by December, 2006, operation of additional 1,100 vehicles would be shifted to Sector 43 which will ensure further ease load on ISBT Sector 17. This will also facilitate the commuters from southern sectors. In order to further decrease the congestion of vehicles in Chandigarh, a workshop of 100 vehicles for minor repairs/night parking is also proposed to be set up in ISBT, Sector 43 at a cost of Rs 1.98 crore. It will decrease congestion and pollution in the city thus saving the idle kilometres run by the 100 vehicles for going to the workshop in Industrial Area, Phase-I and in west of Sector 25. It will thus save diesel worth Rs 50 lakh annum. General Rodrigues was of the opinion that optimal use of the basement should be made by making provision for a shopping arcade or other resource generation scheme and asked for some amusement facilities for children in the parking area. He also wanted the City Bus Service to be integrated with the complex, to facilitate passenger movement. He also asked the officers to provide basic amenities for healthy living to the labour entrusted with the construction of the project. He instructed the officers to ensure that no encroachment is permitted in the area subsequently.
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Let down by police, old man approaches High Court
Mohali, January 3 In a written complaint to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mr Pritam Singh has demanded that the inquiry into his case be entrusted to the CBI since the local police had not arrested even a single accused in the case. Mr Pritam Singh had alleged that Karamjit Singh, another resident of the village, sold over five qilas of his land using fictitious power of attorneys. Mr Pritam Singh, who can barely see and hear due to old age, said Karamjit Singh allegedly took his thumb impressions on a large number of documents on the pretext of filing some papers with PUDA and got the power of attorneys made using these. Karamjit Singh along with his uncle Sher Singh, village lamberbar, allegedly used the power of attorneys to sell parts of Mr Pritam Singh’s land. “We came to know about this and on December 9 morning brought the matter to the notice of the Naib Tehsildar, Mr Sucha Singh. He told us to go to the Patwari to get the power of attorneys cancelled. While we went to meet the patwari, the Naib Tehsildar registered another sale deed of our land,” related Mr Pritam Singh. The police had booked the notary public and another lawyer along with Sucha Singh, Karamjit Singh and Sher Singh in the case. “The police has not arrested any of the accused in the case and is protecting the accused intentionally. The accused and the local police are pressurising the applicant and threatening to kill him so that the complaint is withdrawn,” states the complaint demanding the inquiry be handed over to the CBI.
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Tragedy averted as van catches fire
Chandigarh, January 3 However, when the van was started by the mechanic a spark came out of the engine and the vehicle caught fire. Panic gripped the market where several other vans were also being repaired, eyewitnesses said. Mr Vishal Sharma, an eyewitness, informed that he was the first to inform the Fire Brigade, which reached the spot within minutes. It took over five minutes for the firemen to put out the blaze. However, by that time, the van was damaged badly, Mr Sharma said.
However, there was no damage to other vehicles, Mr Sharma added.
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Survey of roads to ease traffic flow
Mohali, January 3 According to a statement issued by the SP, the survey will be undertaken to ascertain the points on Mohali roads which were accident prone and the measures to be taken at the level of the council to ease the traffic at those points. Mr Agarwal said the Police Department would also be writing to the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) to widen certain roads which have become death traps. “One such road is the one that divides Sectors 71 and 70 with Phase 3B2 and Phase VII. The maximum number of accidents take place on this road. Other than these, there are certain points on the Industrial Area roads, where heavy vehicles cause fatal accidents,” he said. Awareness camps will be organised by the police in schools, truck unions, tempo unions, rickshaw stands etc. Traffic police will also undertake a special challan drive during this week. “Mohali residents should get into the habit of wearing helmets when riding two wheelers and wearing seat belts, driving within speed limits,” he said. An announcement facility will also be started at the PCL Chowk, the Amb Sahib light point, and PCA light points. Other then these, an on-the-spot-pollution check camp and insurance camp will also be held at the Amb Sahib chowk.
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Robbery bid accused costs Mohali police dear
Mohali, January 3 Rajwinder whose lower jaw was severely fractured when the bullet hit him is said to be in a stable condition and would be undergoing a jaw restructuring surgery tomorrow. For the Mohali police, however, finances for the complicated surgery are fast becoming a problem. “Rajwinder is in our custody and we are paying for his treatment. But I wonder if any one of the human rights organisations would like to pitch in since they are always so concerned about the welfare of the accused,” said the SP, Mohali, Mr Rakesh Agarwal. Meanwhile, the police had found an abandoned scooter near Indian Overseas Bank where the robber had planned to loot a trunk containing Rs 36 lakh. The police believes that the scooter belongs to the robber which he had intended to use it to escape. “Rajwinder cannot speak but is giving us pieces of information by using sign language and writing. That day he had identified himself correctly. But he says the scooter is not his and he went to the bank alone. We are still trying to ascertain if this information is correct. A team had gone to Khanna to find out more about Rajwinder’s background but nothing new has been found.” Rajwinder Singh had been an employee of the PTL some years ago. “He was expelled from the company and has been involved in various criminal activities since then. He is a resident of Doraha Mandi near Khanna and many cases are registered against him there. He was also reportedly involved in a murder case here earlier but the matter had ended in a compromise,” added Mr
Agarwal.
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Venu
Gopal takes over as
AOC, 12 Wing
Chandigarh, January 3 An IL-76 pilot, Air Cmde Gopal has commanded 44 Squadron. He has also commanded Air Force Station at Salur in Tamil Nadu as well as the Air Force Station, Agra. He has also served as chief instructor at the Air Force Academy, Yelahankha. He will now have the distinction of commanding two of the country's most important transport bases. Prior to being posted as the AOC in Chandigarh, He was undergoing a course at the National Defence College. A ceremonial parade was organised at the Air Force Station here on January 1 when he took over the reigns of 12 Wing from Air Cmde Tilloo.
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CITU demands withdrawal of pension ordinance
Chandigarh, January 3 Terming the ordinance as “blatant violation” of the commitment given in the common minimum programme, Mr Balwant Singh, president of CITU, alleged that the present government had preferred to carry forward the decision of the previous NDA government without consulting the affected parties. The state committee called upon its units to stage protest demonstrations from January 15 to 21.
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463 recruits inducted into ITBP
Chandigarh, January 3 Director-General ITBP, Mr K.J. Singh, reviewed the parade, commanded by constable Sant Kumar, and took the salute. He also gave away prizes to trainees who excelled in various fields. Speaking on the occasion, he urged the newly passed-out “Himveers” to maintain the high traditions of the force to put in their best while executing any task assigned to them. He also highlighted the role of the force and various tasks being undertaken by them to protect national security interests. Those who won prizes in various fields were Krishna Nand (drill), Telesfor Pandu (physical training), Jai Prakash (weapons) and Sant Singh (overall best). A dog show was also organised on the occasion, where a dog presented a bouquet to the chief guest.
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Are ex-servicemen children of a lesser god?
LITTLE did ex-servicemen know before becoming members of the Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) that the propaganda made in praise of this scheme was not all that true. No doubt, it is a good health scheme. But unfortunately, its smooth functioning is being hampered by some of the tight-fisted controllers of the scheme. The ECHS members are disgusted to know that there are only 429 drugs authorised for them. And they can be given only those drugs, which are in the list of Price Vocabulary Medical Stores (PVMS) or Not Included the Vocabulary (NIV) list. When the serving soldiers are authorised more than 2,000 drugs, why should this restriction be imposed on the ex-servicemen? Are they children of a lesser god? When an ECHS memebr is admitted in an empanelled hospital, he is given all the drugs that the specialist/superspecialist prescribes for him. The patient gets a sudden shock when, on discharge from the hospital, he is told by the polyclinic concerned that the drugs recommended by the hospital for him are not in the authorised list. When the government has not laid any such restriction on the number and type of drugs, why should the Director, General Armed Forces Medical Services, (DGAFMS) impose such restrictions on his own to put memebrs to inconvenience? Incidentally, the Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir, is extending all help to the Polyclinic, Chandigarh. World War II veterans
The BBC is making a series of news features to be aired during the commemoration of the 60th aanniversary of the end of the World War II next year. No doubt, it is laudable idea. But had this occurred to the former BBC correspondent, Mark Tully, before the 50th anniversary of the war, more veterans of that era would have been around to contribute to this effort. Today, most of them have faded away. Chandigarh has recently lost a famous para-trooper, Brig Sucha Singh, who had won a Military Cross in Burma in World War II. Not only that, he had also won a Vir Chakra in 1947 Indo-Pak war. Another Military Cross winner in Chandigarh is Brig (Dr) H.S. Bains, who is over 86 years of age and still plays golf. He commanded the Command Hospital (Western Command) more than three decades ago. Mr Mark Tully has written to the veterans: “It is widely recognised that their (war veterans’) courage and sacrifice has not been sufficiently acknowledged in Britain”. In our country though, they have been totally neglected. So much so that they do not get any pension. They are not even entitled to treatment in military hospitals as per the rules. It is, however, a different matter that the hospitals do not deny them the treatment on humanitarian grounds. What to talk of this, those among them who won gallantry awards druing the British regime, are not exempted from paying Income Tax.
UN observers
For the first time, two Indian women officers, Captain Anuja Yadav and Captain Navneet Khangura, have been selected as UN observers. Military observes are appointed for monitoring various UN tasks. In addition, they also act as ambassadors of their countries. At present, 2,358 Indian personnel are posted at the UN missions in the world. Of which, 59 are military observers. Captain Anuja Yadav is from the Corps of Engineers. She was commissioned from the Officers Training Academy (OTA), Chennai in 1998. She was the first woman officer to have served with 9 Engineer Regiment. While serving with the Chief Engineer, Lucknow Zone, in 2003, she was awarded the Chief of the Army Staff’s Commendation Card for her distinguished service. She has also served as an instructor at the College of Military Engineering, Pune. Captain Naveneet Khangura was commissioned into the Corps of Signals from the OTA, Chennai, in 2000. She has served at Ahmedabad and Patiala in various fields of telecommunications and information technology. These women officers have done the country proud. They have also proved that in certain branches of the Army, they not only can give a tough competition to men but can also excel them. — Pritam Bhullar
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Fog delays arrival of trains
Chandigarh, January 3 The Jan Shatabdi arrived at the right time. On the other hand, the Paschim-Express, which runs between Mumbai and Kalka, was five-and-a-half hours behind schedule. Similarly, the Jodhpur-Kalka Express was behind schedule by two-and-a-half-hours. The Lucknow-Chandigarh Express was delayed by over two hours. A Railway statement said the Ambala-Allahabad Unchahar Express had been cancelled due to fog and other operational reasons. Meanwhile, the city reported a maximum temperature of 19.2°C as against yesterday’s 20.4°C. However, Ambala reported a temperature of a maximum of 17.8 and a minimum of 8.3°C.
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Markfed staff stage dharna
Chandigarh, January 3 While addressing the rally, the union leaders criticised the Punjab Government and the Markfed management for their indifference towards their demands. The joint action committee has further decided that a large number of employees at the head office and in the field would stage a dharna if their demand with regard of payment of bonus/exgratia was not accepted at the earliest. They alleged that unnecessary liquidation of Markfed funds was bound to affect the financial position of the board. Meanwhile, the employees have decided to donate one day’s salary towards the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for the tsunami victims.
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Two killed in accidents
Chandigarh, January 3 In a separate incident, Harnam Singh (42), a resident of Sector 22 and an employee of the Life Insurance Company, was killed, when an allegedly speeding Maruti car hit the autorickshaw head on, near Cheema petrol pump on the Sector 51-52 dividing road, last night. He was travelling in the autorickshaw with his wife and two minor children, who suffered injuries. The police said the accident occurred at around 9:30 pm, when a Maruti car (HR-01-C-3040) driven by Jagdev Singh. The driver was drunk when the accident occurred. There were five persons, including the driver in the autorickshaw. The autorickshaw was coming from Mohali, while the car was coming from Chandigarh. Jagdev Singh, the car driver was travelling alone, said the police officer investigating the case. All injured were rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32. The doctors declared Harnam Singh brought dead. The wife of the deceased was still unconscious, while his children were stated to be out of danger. The condition of the auto rickshaw driver was critical, said the police. The police today handed over the body of Harnam Singh to his family members after conducting the post-mortem examination. A case of negligent driving under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A has been registered against the car driver. The police later released him on bail.
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Two die in road accidents
Mohali, January 3 The truck driver fled with the vehicle. The police has booked a case against the unknown driver. In another incident, a young engineer working in Punjab Communications Limited here died this morning after his motorcycle slipped. The victim R.R. Pillai, was killed near his house in Phase IV.
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One crushed to death
Lalru, January 3 According to eyewitnesses, the car (DL-8CD-4464) first knocked down the cyclist and subsequently hit two pedestrians, Gurmeet Kaur and Gurmail Kaur, of Ambala. The body of the victim has been sent to the Civil Hospital, Rajpura. The injured were taken to the Civil Hospital, Ambala. The police has not registered any case as yet. Body found According to Mr Mohan Ram, in charge of the railway police post, Lalru, a passerby noticed the body and informed the police. The youth was run over by a train early in the morning. He was taking a short-cut through the railway track when the accident occurred. He hailed from Bathinda. After sending the body to the Civil Hospital, Rajpura, for post-mortem examination, the police has started investigating the matter. The police said the possibility of a suicide could not be ruled out.
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3 held for drinking at public place
Panchkula, January 3 Mohali
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2 truckers hurt in clash
Dera Bassi, January 3 The two have been admitted to the PGI in Chandigarh with injuries on their heads, faces and shoulders. According to the police, a group of truckers allegedly attacked the duo with sharp-edged weapons at the truck union’s office. The police has booked Gurcharan Singh, Kulwinder Singh, Rinku and some other members of the truck union for attacking Charan Singh and Joginder Singh. A case under Sections 323, 324, 341, 506, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against them at Dera Bassi police station. The police has not made any arrest in this regard. Meanwhile, Mr Kuljeet Randhawa, a former president of the union and members of the Zila Parishad, has criticised the attack. He also criticised the registration of a case against the suspects.
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