Col Pritam Bhullar shows an empty overhead tank at his residence in Sector 2. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

According to the MC, the waiting time for supply through tankers was around five hours due to the enormous demand. Owners of private water tankers are having a windfall in this hour of crisis.

College books 20 water tankers

The MCM DAV College management has booked 20 water tankers by paying Rs 8,000 to meet the water requirements of hostels and the college for Wednesday.

MC staff on 18-hour duty

Due to the water crisis, the staff deployed at the helpline centre is working for 16 to 18 hours a day for the past four days to meet the water needs of the residents. Seventeen drivers and cleaners, along with four telephone attendants, are on the job for providing water through tankers in the city.

MC 'not following' water supply schedule

A resident of Sector 38 complained that the authorities had misguided the residents by publishing a water supply schedule, which was "not being followed by them". According to the schedule, water was to be supplied to Sector 38 between 7 pm and 9 pm, but the supply was discontinued at 8 pm. Adding to the woes of the residents, the contact numbers of two officials given by the authorities were not reachable, while that of the third one went unanswered. A number of residents from various sectors had similar complaints.

Mohali, August 27
Racing against the time, a joint team of Chandigarh Administration, Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), Department of Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation and Welspun Company have been working round the clock to fix the problem in Kajauli water works pipeline at Gharuan village.

The GMADA superintending engineer, Pardeep Sekhri, claimed that the team has been trying hard to resume the water supply by Friday morning.

“Instead of attaching joints, we are changing the pieces of the pipes in Phase III and Phase IV in which problem occurred. The earlier pipes have been removed after completion of de-watering today. Now we have to place the pipe pieces in both the lines and have to weld those,” said Sekhri adding that new pipes have been arranged.

More than 50 workers under the supervision of senior officers of the departments are on the job round the clock. “A big crane and two JCB machines have also put in to service at the spot,” said RC Diwan, superintending engineer, Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, who was present at the spot to supervise the proceedings.

Chandigarh, August 27
The Bihar mid-day meal tragedy has taken its toll on the mid-day meal consumption in government schools in the city. Nearly 6,000 students have opted out of the mid-day meal scheme since the Bihar tragedy in which 23 innocent lives were lost on July 17.

Chandigarh already has a low mid-day consumption in government schools. In 2012-13, of the 1.04 lakh eligible students, 67,000 opted for the mid-day meal scheme.

The response to the Central Government scheme in urban government schools is poor as children with a comparatively better economic background carry the impression that the scheme is meant for poor students.

Officials said after the Bihar tragedy, parents of students studying in urban government schools had become more apprehensive about the meal scheme.

During a mid-day meal inspection conducted by UT senior official Mahavir Kaushik at Government Model High School in Mani Majra yesterday, it was found that the mid-day meal consumption had come down from nearly 450 students to 300 students.

Renu Puri, Principal of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, said the Bihar tragedy had hit the mid-day meal scheme, but the school trying its level best to convince students that the city had a very good system of preparing and serving the mid-day meal.

An official said the recent incident of dead flies found in the mid-day meal at a government school in Chandigarh had sent a wrong impression about the scheme.

The Education Department had recently dispatched a letter to all government schools, instructing the staff to eat with the students. They were also told to counsel parents.

DPI (S) Upkar Singh said, "The Bihar tragedy has temporarily impacted the mid-day meal scheme, but the situation is expected to become normal soon." A school head said nearly 200 students had withdrawn from the scheme after the Bihar tragedy, of whom 100 had again opted for it. According to her, Chandigarh has a good mid-day meal system.

In Chandigarh, four centres, the Dr Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management, Sector 42, the Chandigarh Institute of Hotel Management, Sector 42, Shivalikview Hotel, Sector 17, and the GMSSS, Sector 47, prepare and deliver the mid-day meal to all government schools.

Ajit Singh Negi, mid-day meal inspector at the Dr Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management, said their average mid-day supply had come town to 8,000-8,500 students from 10,000 last month.

Chandigarh, August 27
It's official -- the Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) elections will be held on September 4. The university announced the election date late in the evening soon after getting approval from the UT Administration.

With the announcement, the Lyngdoh recommendations have come into force till the polling is over.

Security beefed up: Police personnel check a car at Gate No. 1 on the Panjab University campus on Tuesday. Tribune Photo: S Chandan

Dean Students Welfare (DSW) Navdeep Goyal said student parties would be briefed about the election schedule tomorrow.

According to the schedule, the nominations will be filed on August 30 and the list of approved candidates will be displayed on August 31. The withdrawal will be on the same day and the final list of candidates will be displayed at 3 pm.

The DSW said the students would have to reach their departments before 9.45 am on the polling day. However, those who got late due to traffic or some other genuine reason would be allowed to report at the department by 10.15 am. "No entry would be allowed without the PU identity card," the DSW said.

All entry gates on the PU campus in Sector 14 and the south campus in Sector 25 would be open on the election day to ensure that students did not get stuck in traffic jams. Hostel wardens would have to ensure that the students did not get late at the entry gates due to traffic.

Code of conduct

• No student organisation will paste printed material on the campus
• Only campus students will participate in electioneering and outsiders will not be allowed
• Heavy vehicles such as trucks, buses and tractors will not be allowed during the elections
• No loudspeakers will be used during the election campaign and no procession with jeeps or cars will be taken out
• Student organisations may only utilise hand-made posters
• All candidates shall be jointly responsible for ensuring cleaning up of the polling area within 48 hours of the conclusion of polling.

Lyngdoh panel recommendations

• A candidate contesting the elections must be a regular student
• The candidate should have a minimum of 75 per cent attendance
• The candidate should not have any compartment or a gap year in academics
• The candidate should not have any criminal record
• The maximum expenditure per candidate shall be Rs 5,000
• In case of any excessive expenditure, the election of the candidate will be nullified

Bailable warrants against 6 student leaders

SDM (Central) Tanvi Garg on Tuesday issued bailable warrants against six student leaders who failed to appear before her to furnish surety bonds. The leaders are Manoj Lubana (NSUI), Sunny Mehta (NSUI), Anil Ghangas (INSO), Somvir Singh (INSO), Sumit Pal (ABVP) and Bhagwana Ram (HSA). A list of 40 suspected trouble makers was prepared by the Chandigarh Police, of whom 34 furnished surety bonds. 

Mohali, August 27
With residents' ordeal to get water for their daily needs showing little sign of abatement today, the district administration here is making efforts to increase the number of water tankers to provide relief to the residents. Following a major snag at the Kajauli waterworks , the Sector 57 waterworks here is lying dry for the past six days. This has led to a severe water crisis in Phases IX, X , XI, Sectors 70 , 71, Matour and Shahi Majra villages and the industrial phases I to V.

Former municipal councillor Sukhminder Singh Barnala said no tanker had supplied water since yesterday afternoon to the residents of house numbers 1301 to 1420 in Phase XI . He said he had to take the residents to the Phase X underground reservoir where department officials were available. Heated arguments took place between the residents and the officials over the crisis.

Barnala alleged that some persons plying tankers, hired by the department, were selling water in some other areas and failed to reach their destination. Karam Singh Dhanoa, president of the Residents' Social Welfare Society, Sector 70, said a tanker had come to their area yesterday and another one was sent only today. Only 25 houses were able to get water from the tanker. He had received complaints that people were paying tanker operators to get the underground tanks at their houses filled.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu held a meeting with the officials of various departments today. Civic bodies in the district have been told to arrange water tankers for Mohali. As many as 100 tankers would be pressed into service , he added.

Sidhu said a control room has been set up at the underground reservoir in Phase X . SDO Gurparkash Singh has been made the nodal officer in this regard. He can be contacted on 9872519223 . SDO Jagjit Singh ( 9878081613) and JE Charanjit Singh ( 9779080352) will also be on duty at the control room. The residents can contact them between 6 am and 10 pm .

Those parts of the town, which are facing the crisis, has been divided into 12 sectors.

Civil Surgeon Rajiv Bhalla said chlorine tablets were being distributed in the affected areas as a preventive measure. Executive engineer of the Water Supply Department RP Gupta said 20 to 25 per cent of water from the Phase VI waterworks would be diverted to the crisis areas. He denied that water was being sold by the drivers of tankers hired by the department.

Mohali, August 27
MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu today wrote to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal seeking the immediate proper supply of drinking water to Mohali so that residents did not suffer.

Sidhu said in his letter that if such a long time was required for repair, then before the repair work some alternative arrangements should have been made for proper water supply. He sought action against the persons responsible for this bad state of affairs. — OC

Mohali, August 27
The authorities seem the least concerned about the maintenance of the Kajauli Water Works pipeline. Portions of Phase III and Phase IV pipes was found exposed in the middle of a ‘kutcha’ path at Sukhopura village on the Morinda-Fatehgarh Sahib highway here.

The path is used by heavy vehicles, including loaded tractor-trailers, claimed the residents of the village.

A senior Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) official admitted that it was a serious threat to the pipeline, which is the lifeline of around 14 lakh population of Chandigarh and Mohali.

“All the four pipes, Phase I, Phase II, Phase III and Phase IV, have been laid underground but at certain points, these are exposed. This is certainly not good for it,” said the official.

Apart from that, The Tribune team found major leakages at two or three points during a random survey of the pipeline.

The Department of Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation and the Chandigarh Administration are responsible for the maintenance of the pipelines.

“The recent problem in the pipeline, due to which Chandigarh and Mohali have been witnessing a severe water crisis for the past one week, has occurred due to a leakage in the pipeline. I failed to understand why the officials concerned are not bothered to check leakages at other points to avoid any such problem in the near future,” said the official.

Mohali Deputy Commissioner Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu said after fixing the problem in the pipeline at Gharuan village, he would ask the officials concerned to check the entire pipeline.

“I was also told by the certain officials about leakages at different points. At the moment, the entire staff of the departments concerned have been deputed to fix the problem at Gharuan,” said Sidhu.

Panchkula, August 27
While there is a water crisis in Chandigarh and Mohali, Panchkula is comparatively better placed. While the current demand in the city is 46.5 cusecs, the water supply is 48 cusecs. Besides, the supply from the Kaushalaya dam has also started reaching the township. With the dam completely filled with water, about half of the desired water (9 cusecs) has reached Panchkula. "Panchkula is having 182 tube wells presently. By the next year, we will get water from the Kajauli waterworks . The pipelines from the Kajauli waterworks are being laid in Sector 1," said Preet Mohan, Executive engineer of the public health wing of the HUDA.

Chandigarh, August 27
The ongoing special drive to impound stray cattle has brought with it a number of difficulties for the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation. Apart from facing resistance from villagers, the MC is finding it difficult to dispose of the milk collected from the impounded cattle!

After the death of three persons, the MC had launched a special drive to impound cattle.

During the past five days, the MC has impounded around 400 head of cattle from various parts of the city. The cattle, including cows and buffaloes, have been kept in a cattle pond in the Industrial Area, Phase I, and at gaushalas in Sector 45 and Maloya.

On an average, the MC is collecting around 70 litres of milk daily from the cattle. The MC is supplying this milk to The Institute for Blind in Sector 26 and Kusht Ashram in Sector 31.

A senior MC official said initially they had given 65 litres of milk to The Institute for Blind on August 26. Today, they gave 35 litres of milk to the institute. Besides, the MC today gave around 35 litres of milk to Kusht Ashram in Sector 31.

MC Joint Commissioner Rajiv Gupta said they were distributing the milk free of cost. They had deployed 10 people, who were part of the cattle-catching team and were experts in milking cattle. They spent four hours daily milking these cattle, he said.

Dr MS Kamboj, slaughterhouse superintendent, said there were around 50 calves in the cattle pond which also drank milk from these cattle. Collection of milk from these cattle was also important for health reasons. In case milk was not collected from the cattle, it could cause pain to the cattle, he said.

KR Sood, secretary-cum-principal of The Institute for Blind, Sector 26, said the milk received from the MC was used for the students.

Chandigarh, August 27
While the Municipal Corporation powers are limited to issuing public notices in newspapers, a councillor on his own held a "munadi" (public announcement by beating a dhol) in Mani Majra to inform the local residents about the special cattle-catching drive of the MC.

As villagers had alleged that the MC carried out the drive without giving any prior information to them, independent councillor Gucharan Dass Kala ordered a "munadi" in his ward. The residents were told to shift their cattle or do whatever they deemed fit.

Kala said he consulted MC Commissioner Vivek Partap Singh and only after his assurance, he carried out the "munadi" today.

“As we are public representatives, it is our duty to inform the public in advance before taking action against them. I have done my duty,” Kala said.

Mohali, August 27
After a long time, the Director of Local Government has finally asked the Commissioner of the Mohali Municipal Corporation to begin delimitation of wards for elections. A letter to this effect was received by the corporation this evening. A team of officials, set up by the election wing of the directorate, also visited the office of the civic body today. The team met the Joint Commissioner of the corporation, Dilraj Singh.

Sources further said that a nine-member team had been set up at the level of the directorate to take care of the delimitation work . The Commissioner has also been asked to depute some officials of the civic body to assist the team in the work related to the corporation elections. The Commissioner had been asked to complete the entire delimitation process by mid-October.

Significantly, the letter is expected to kick off a controversy as it did not mention anything about the increase in the limits of the corporation area as the erstwhile Municipal Council had been upgraded to the level of the corporation. The then council had 31 wards under its jurisdiction. As the limits of the civic body have not been increased, the same area will now have 50 wards because of the upgradation to the status of a corporation. Proposals relating to the expansion of the corporation limits had been lying pending with the government for a long time.

Former municipal councillor Kuljit Singh Bedi said the government had done injustice to the residents by not increasing the corporation limits. Bedi said Sectors 66 to 69 were fully developed while Sectors 76 to 80 were in a semi-developed state.

"These areas could have been included under the jurisdiction of the MC. Even 22 villages has been left out," he added.

Chandigarh, August 27
Suvir Dewan, son of former Punjab and High Court Chief Justice Shanti Sarup Dewan and his wife Romilla, today refused to vacate their Sector 11 house here.

As the matter came up for resumed hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Bench wanted to know whether Suvir was willing to shift to Panchkula or settle the issue after taking a one-third share.

Refusing to vacate the house, Suvir blamed his family and sisters for creating differences between him and his father. He read out an affidavit filed by him earlier in the court and insisted he wanted to remain in the Sector 11 house where he had resided since his childhood. Suvir said he would live on the first floor with his wife and daughter.

Suvir sought four weeks’ time to settle the dispute between him and his father. The Bench, however, refused his request. Chief Justice Dewan’s counsel Puneet Bali argued that at his age, it was not be possible for the retired Chief Justice to approach a civil court and get himself entangled in a litigation over his share in the house.

Seeking protection from his son, the Dewan couple sought directions to the UT Administration and other respondents to ensure that their son moved out of their Sector 11 house to his own residence in Panchkula.

Alleging that “their son has been ill-treating them in their own house,” the retired Chief Justice and his wife had contended that “a perusal of Section 22 (2) of the 2007 Act would indicate and show that the state government shall prescribe a comprehensive action plan for protecting the life and property of senior citizens.

“The petitioners with full humility state that no action plan has been notified under Section 22 (2) of the 2007 Act by the official respondents.”

Chandigarh, August 27
Now finding the OPD day and room number of a preferred doctor at the PGI is just a click away for patients. The institute has come up with the facility of “finding a doctor” on its website.

The facility will save the efforts of ringing up at the reception and waiting for operator’s response for knowing the OPD days of consultants. The authorities are now aspiring to introduce online appointment facility in the next phase.

Under the computerisation process, patients would be given unique identification registration numbers that would enable them to get online appointment.

“Patients, especially the referred cases from other cities, used to face a lot of difficulty in knowing about the availability of doctors on specific days. They would ring up at different numbers to confirm about it. But now they can check it online,” said official spokesperson for the PGIMER Manju Wadwalkar.

Chandigarh, August 27
The car of a Sector 48 resident was damaged after an uprooted tree fell on it in a parking lot of Sector 34 due to a storm that hit the city this afternoon.

Nitika Malhotra, owner of the car, said the roof and the windshield of the car were damaged as the portion of a tree fell on it.

Meanwhile, another tree was uprooted near house No. 1415 in Sector 34 C.

On August 15, a 45-year-old woman had suffered critical injuries after a dead tree fell on her head. The victim, Amarjeet Kaur (45), a resident of Sector 22-D, had received 16 stitches on her right hand and 28 stitches on her head. — TNS

Chandigarh, August 27
Play "Gagan Damama Bajeyo" by a city-based Wowsome Drama Company evoked several emotions about India's freedom struggle

Bhagat Singh is looked upon as an icon by the youth of India but sadly is not acknowledged as a martyr by the government of India. "Inquilab" that Bhagat Singh wanted to bring about during freedom struggle did not solely aim at independence rather the aim was to eradicate exploitation of common man, an Indian, the majority that makes India through the hands of fellow men. Is this the country of Bhagat Singh's dreams? Did our forefathers wish for such Independence? Had Inquilab ever arrived? All these questions were raised in this play that saw fine performance by the local actors. Honey Singh played Bhagat SINGH's role, Varun as Rajguru and Parveer as Sukhdev. Other cast included Amitoj Grewal, Sparsh Khetarpal, Parabhdeep Bangar, Kiran Chawla, Arvind Bains and Naveen Arya.

Director of the play was Mohneesh Kalyan. The play was written by actor-writer Piyush Mishra.

Chandigarh, August 27
Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) is all set to hand over possession of one-room tenements to 8,448 "jhuggi" dwellers under the small flat scheme in Dhanas but has failed to vacate the tenements that have been illegally rented out by the allottees.

As per the allotment’s terms and conditions, the dwelling units cannot be sub letted. As per the survey carried by the CHB officials, there are around 60 such flats that have been found to be rented out. Though the survey teams have recommended cancellation of the dwelling units, the illegal occupants are still in possession of the flats. Sources reveal that the tenements are rented out for Rs 3,000 per month. — TNS

Chandigarh, August 27
Outsiders were caught hiding in cupboards of hostel rooms at the PU during a raid conducted by the Chandigarh Police at 4.30 am today. Attendants of patients admitted to the PGI were also caught staying in the hostels. Around 34 outsiders were rounded up by the police, who were later released after verification.

The Police was surprised to find outsiders hiding in cupboards at boys' hostel No. IV during the raid. The police was asked to check cupboards to check for weapons.

An outsider caught during the raid at hostel No. I turned out to be an attendant of a patient. He showed medical reports and other documents to substantiate his claims.

Gurmukh Singh, SHO of the Sector 11 police station, expressed surprise at outsiders hiding in cupboards.

Boys' hostel Nos. I, II, IV and V were checked during the raid. The police did not find weapons there.

Chandigarh, August 27
Rooms with inter-locks have turned into safe haven for outsiders at Panjab University hostels. This was witnessed during police raids conducted during wee hours today when the police force had to return empty-handed after a majority of the rooms having inter-locks could not be checked.

The police personnel who were conducting the raids had a tough time checking the rooms that had inter-locks installed. The police force had to leave after repeatedly knocking the doors.

Sources said the rooms accommodating the outsiders had inter-locks installed to dupe the hostel authorities and the police during surprise checks. “Nobody can make out as whether there is anyone inside the rooms or not as it is not possible to climb the balconies of the rooms from the back,” said a source.

Gurmukh Singh, Station House Officer, Sector 11 police station, said: “With the inter-locks, the police cannot establish whether there is anyone inside the room or not, following which most of the times the outsiders manage to give the police the slip. The university should find out a solution so that the raids can be conducted smoothly. The students who are not in the hostel should inform the hostel authorities.”

The police team conducting raids at different hostels gave the similar feedback.

PU officials also held a meeting over the issue. However, they decided that the students can’t be stopped from installing inter-locks on the doors as they are safer.

Yograj Angrish, PU Senate member, and Warden, boys hostel No. VII, said: “This problem is faced during election days only. We can’t stop students from installing inter-locks as the students have laptops and other valuable stuff in the rooms.”

Chandigarh, August 27
Ahead of the student elections, the Student Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU) got a major setback after the party chairman announced his unconditional support to the NSUI. To encourage NSUI supporters, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who became MLA from Gidderbaha after defeating PPP chief Manpreet Singh Badal, also visited the university for the announcement.

SOPU chairman Rimpy Brar in the presence of NSUI national president Rohit Chaudhary and MLA made the announcement at the PU’s Student Centre. The SOPU leader showed his strength along with his supporters.

Rimpy Brar said he had left the SOPU, but he had not joined the NSUI. “I have given unconditional support to the NSUI,” he said.

Terming it a major setback for the SOPU, NSUI leader Brinder Dhillon said the ideologies and leadership of the NSUI forced the SOPU chairman to give his support to their party.

SOPU leader Vikramjit Singh Medukhera said the party would not suffer any major loss due to the party chairman’s support to the NSUI. “It’s about voters, not the leaders. We have full trust on our voters, who will only vote for SOPU despite a change in the leadership,” Vikramjit said.

The NSUI also announced a coordination committee for the upcoming elections in which the NSUI office-bearers from Punjab and Haryana will be assisting the NSUI in the elections.

Chandigarh, August 27
Students of the Government College of Arts, Sector 10, today staged a protest in the college against a college teacher for allegedly harassing them.

The students demanded that the teacher of the Sculpture Department should be suspended.

The agitating students also held a meeting with the college principal to raise their grievances.

One of the students said they would hold another protest on Thursday if the college authorities fail to meet their demand.

Mohali, August 27
To sensitise children and their parents on the social issues of “Save the Girl Child” and gender ratio, a seminar was held by The Millennium School here today.

This initiative was taken by the school in collaboration with “Nanhi Chhaan” to spread social awareness and promote gender equality among children and parents.

A declamation competition was held among the students who spoke on various issues related to gender sensitisation.

Dr Gursharan Singh, District Health Officer of Mohali, was invited as the chief guest for the occasion.

The programme ended with a prize distribution ceremony and a speech by the chief guest.