The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

Relief consignment from city reaches Bhuj
22,000 blankets airlifted
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 28 — Responding to an appeal of the Punjab Governor and the UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen JFR Jacob(retd), 22,000 blankets were airlifted early this morning. The MI 26 helicopters and AN 32 aircraft carrying blankets and other relief material sent by Chandigarh people, landed at the Bhuj airport in the afternoon.

It was the first relief consignment of blankets which have reached Bhuj. The Indian Air Force has played a significant role in transporting the relief material from Chandigarh to Gujarat without any delay.

Throughout the night, General Jacob along with the Adviser to the Administrator, Ms Neeru Nanda, and the Deputy Commissioner, Mr M Ramsekhar, kept on coordinating the procurement of blankets and their packing with Air Force authorities and also with control room at Ahmedabad to ensure that the relief material reached the needy at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, General Hospital, Sector 16, the PGI and the Command Hospital, were put on alert as Chandigarh Administration offered to provide medicare the injured who opt to be airlifted for treatment.

A large number of organisations responded to the appeal of the Administrator for generous contributions to the relief fund. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Ramsekhar, held a meeting attended by over 200 representatives of NGOs, sector welfare associations, market associations and other associations, today.

Donations via crossed cheque in the name of “Red Cross-Earthquake Relief Fund (Gujarat)” can be sent to Karuna Sadan, Sector 11, Chandigarh, and such donations shall be exempted from Income Tax, a press note of the Administration said.

The ITBP ranks and officers have decided to contribute oneday salary to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, a press note quoting the Director General of the ITBP, Mr Gautam Kaul, said.

“Jan Shakti”, a social organisation, through a resolution, urged the people to stand by their brethren in the hour of crisis. The resolution urged the employees to contribute their two-days’ salary and businessmen two per cent of their monthly income.

The All-India Anti-Terrorist Front set up a camp in Sector 22 in front of the Health Centre for collection of cash, cheques and articles. An emergency meeting of the RSS was held and the citizens were urged to donate liberally for the noble cause. A meeting of the CPI appealed to the public to help the victims by sending financial assistance and materials to the affected persons. The consumers forum appealed to public to rush their contributions to its offices at the Sector 11 Karuna Sadan in a couple of days so that the relief reached the victims as early as possible.

Moreover, the Health Department of Haryana has deputed 18 doctors, including specialist doctors, on the request of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Besides, dressing material has been sent and about 100 units of blood are being sent for the Gujarat victims through the Indian Red Cross Society, Delhi.

SDM’s appeal to help quake-hit
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Jan 28 — The local administration today appealed to various non-government organisation (NGOs), residents welfare associations and other social bodies to donate liberally to help the Gujarat earthquake victims. Issuing an appeal to the residents, the Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM), Mr Jaipal Singh, said daily use items like clothing, utensils and medicines were being arranged for the victims.

He said all welfare bodies in the town were being contacted for contributing towards the cause. He said the items could be submitted at the SDM’s office in SAS Nagar (telephone no. 676503).

Meanwhile, different residents welfare associations of Sector 70 have decided to help the quake victims.

HCS officers’ gesture
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 28 — The Haryana Civil Services (HCS) officers, at an executive meeting held today, decided to donate their one-day salary towards relief of earthquake victims of Gujarat. The money will be deposited in the welfare fund of the Chief Minister, Haryana.

Meanwhile, the Shopkeepers Welfare Association, Sector 45, have collected Rs 20,000 in cash, 20 bags of clothes, 500 blankets and other materials. The same will be handed over to the Red Cross tomorrow.

Blood for victims
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 28 — Freedom India, in collaboration with a Sector 37 shop, organised a blood donation camp here today in aid of those who have been injured in the Bhuj earthquake. Students of the Punjab College of Architecture, the Sector 11 Government Girls College, the Sector 45 Dev Samaj College, besides many other persons, donated 80 units of blood at the camp.

Blankets and clothes for the victims were also collected on this occasion. Mr Ankur Kapoor of Freedom India, urged the government to declare the earthquake a national calamity.

Admn losing money bid by bid
VIPs evading payments of instalments
By Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 28 — The Chandigarh Administration has to recover Rs 30 crore from many persons who own commercial or residential property in the city. The list of defaulters includes names of politicians, bureaucrats, big businessmen and their family members.

According to the Estate Office figures, these persons are evading the payment of instalments that run into lakhs of rupees in each case. In some cases, the money has not been paid for five years. All these cases are of plots that have been procured through bids at annual auctions of the Estate Office. The landlords continue to collect hefty rents from their tenants.

Some officials of the Estate Office help these defaulters escape the penalty. The stakes in commercial property are so high that a delay of a few months, partial waiver of interest or a postponement of hearing means a leverage of a few lakh rupees for the defaulter. The recovery cases drag on for years.

Sources say that there is no consolidated list of defaulters that includes their present addresses, that can be used as a ready reckoner for taking action against them. During the hearing of many cases, only lawyers are present and the VIPs operate from their homes.

As the cases drag on, landlords continue to pay the interest on the balance sum, but hold on to instalments of lakhs of rupees. Even when these are recovered, the instalments are not according to the terms and conditions. Landlords keep on collecting rents from tenants, by paying only 25 per cent of the amount of the bid themselves.

Persons bid for plots at astronomical sums to jack up the market rate artificially and make huge profits by selling off some other property by citing price of property at a recent auction. After a few months, the bidder “surrenders” the plot and gets out of the deal with the Estate Office by forfeiting a small sum. As a result, the auction that should help fill the coffers of the Administration, brings a windfall for such bidders. There is no bar how many times a person can bid and there is no system to find out if a bidder has “surrendered” a plot before.

The rules that permit their civil arrest are never evoked, for reasons best known to authorities. In this financial year, there were some civil arrests of defaulters, but powerful among those were spared again.

Defaulters find one loophole or the other in the rules to avoid the payment of dues. Others file applications after about six months of the bid, claiming that the site is underdeveloped. A genuine bidder will never wait for six months to file a protest.

Bid, build and forget

A person bids for a commercial plot. If the bid money is Rs 1 crore, rules say that the bidder has to pay 25 per cent of this amount at the auction. The rest of the sum will have to be paid in three annual instalments of Rs 25 lakh each.

Bidders don’t pay these instalments or delay the payment. The building gets ready within a year and landlords earns about Rs 1.5 lakh per month from the rent. There have been cases where bidders have finished the construction of their buildings, but have filed a protest in the Estate Office that the site is not fit for any construction activity.

Neighbourhood watch scheme begins
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Jan 28 — The Chandigarh police launched its neighbourhood watch scheme in Sector 38 (west) here today. The scheme, that will later be expanded to the other parts of the city, is aimed at checking the increase in thefts.

The scheme covers 252 independent HIG units of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) and seeks to promote a spirit of camaraderie among residents through social, cultural and sport events. The focus of the scheme, however, remains improvement in public safety through a better community-police interface.

Mr Parag Jain, Senior Superintendent of Police, said, “The resident welfare associations will be the basic units of the scheme, the affairs of which will be managed by an executive committee comprising seven coordinators. The presidents, vice-presidents and general secretaries of the associations will be ex-officio coordinators of the scheme. On the police side, Division Officer and beat officer concerned will be the coordinators. The area councillor and a woman resident will be the other coordinators.”

Mr Jain said, “The coordinators will meet at least twice a month and the SHO concerned will attend at least one of the meetings. Residents will be able to keep a check on the entry of vendors and salesmen who visit their locality. Residents welfare associations will provide such vendors and salesmen with identity cards. The executive committee will also act as a panchayat for solving disputes within the locality. Residents should also install electronic gadgets to ensure a better security for their homes.”

The scheme will be good for senior citizens and women who are living alone. The Police Department has suggested that neighbours of those senior citizens who live alone should install a call bell in their houses and provide its switch in the house of these senior citizens.

At the inauguration of the scheme, Mr B.S. Bassi, Inspector General of Police, said he hoped the scheme would improve the public security in the city. The IGP said he had consulted the Chief Architect of Chandigarh on the possibility of erecting iron gates in localities here.

Earlier, Mr Kewal Krishan Adiwal, local municipal councillor, assured his support to the local police in implementing this scheme. Ms Kamla Sharma, a former city Mayor, also addressed the gathering at the inauguration of the scheme and urged the police to introduce this scheme in her area as well.

Deadline under public notice ends today
PUDA without action plan on encroachments
From Kulwinder Sangha

SAS NAGAR, Jan 28 — The PUDA authorities have still not drawn up any action plan to tackle the problem of extensive encroachments by plot and house-owners here even as the deadline fixed by them under a public notice ends on Monday.

Two public notices, issued on January 14 and 25, have been by and large ignored by the encroachers. The notices were put out in connection with a civil writ petition filed by Mr S.R. Chaudhri, a resident of Phase IV here, against PUDA in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

As the case continues, with the next date of hearing fixed for April 23, the Senior Law Officer of PUDA in a letter dated December 12, 2000, to the local PUDA office said the judges concerned of the high court wanted PUDA to initiate action on encroachments by the owners of corner plots or houses which were a traffic hazard and also in cases where roads had been encroached upon proving to be a bottleneck for smooth traffic. He also stated that the judges had remarked that PUDA was duty bound to remove all encroachments and should initiate action as per the law.

In the latest directions, issued on January 17, Mr Justice R.S. Mongia and Mr Justice K.C. Gupta said: “Let the respondents take action in accordance with law where the alleged encroachments are also traffic hazards.”

So far, local PUDA officials here are in a fix as no department orders from the higher authorities in connection with the encroachments had been received till January 25. Explaining the difficulties faced by them, they say there is confusion about how to proceed with the gigantic task ahead with resistance expected from encroachers, whose number is estimated to run into thousands all over the town.

Interestingly, PUDA had carried out a survey of encroachments in Phase IV last year and found that around 72 per cent of the residents of that area had indulged in encroachments of one type or the other. PUDA officials say that probably the average percentage for the entire town may well be around 70.

The officials say they feel helpless whenever any anti-encroachment drive is launched as residents put “political pressure”, apart from that of local municipal councillors, on them to call it off. Besides, according to them, the enforcement wing here is under-staffed with only three junior engineers in it at present (an SDO and a JE are under suspension). These officials have to take the help of daily wage workers and also get a bulldozer on hire to undertake an anti-encroachment drive.

Residents say in the absence of effective measures by PUDA over the years to discourage all types of encroachments, plot and house-owners have been going ahead and doing what suited them. It is estimated that in most cases of new houses coming up in the town, the owners are not building the front boundary wall and extending their lawns right up to the road touching their plots. Residents wonder how PUDA has been issuing completion certificates in such cases.

Under PUDA’s policy on the maintenance of road berms in urban estates, which was announced in October, 1999, it was decided to permit the use of road berms by individual plot owners for landscaping subject to certain conditions. Among the salient points of the policy are: 1. Road berms shall be permitted to be used for planting grass only, and no hedge, railing, wall, flowers, plants or trees shall be allowed there; 2. maintenance of road berms on v 2, v 3 and v 4 roads shall not be allowed; 3. no portion of the road berms shall be allowed to be maintained by plot owners within a distance of 6 ft from the metalled width of the road for roads up to 45 ft width or within a distance of 8 ft from the metalled portion of the road above 45 ft width or the portion where footpaths have been made; 4. Boundary walls of the plot shall have to be constructed; 5. the area permitted to be maintained shall be kept in good sanitary condition; 6. the area to be maintained shall be open at all times to inspection by PUDA; 7. The owner shall have no right or title or interest on the land allowed to be maintained; and 8. The owner shall not create any hindrance or damage to the services laid underneath the maintained area.

PUDA officials say the entire policy is being reviewed, keeping in mind the rules prevalent in Chandigarh and Panchkula. A meeting of officials has already been held in this connection.

CHANDIGARH CALLING

IT seems that Nek Chand and his Rock Garden will never cease to amaze. Just imagine, the conferring of the status of an “international cultural heritage of mankind” by UNESCO on his masterpiece in rock. It is perceived as the largest monument ever made by a single individual as well as one of the most unique folk art environments in the world. Such a decision will put the City Beautiful firmly on the tourist map of the world.

The suggestion for declaring it as a cultural heritage of mankind has come from Prof Anton Rajer, Folk Art Conservator, University of Wisconsin, USA, after visiting Rock Garden about a year ago. The nomination process, he points out, is a complicated one, but the entire city of Chandigarh should have the designation. It is a project in which Panjab University, Chandigarh, should also be involved.

A Nek Chand Foundation has been set up in London by his admirers and those concerned about the preservation and protection of the monument. Prof Rajer’s visit to Chandigarh was organised by the foundation. The suggestion for declaring Rock Garden as an international cultural heritage of mankind has been made by Prof Rajer in his report to the foundation.

The Nek Chand Foundation will also organise a special trip to Chandigarh to participate in the celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the public opening of the Rock Garden to be organised by the Chandigarh Administration in March. As many as 14 folk art specialists and lovers of the Rock Garden from different parts of the world are among those expected to attend the celebrations.

Arriving in Chandigarh, reminisces Prof Rajer, “I received a foreshadowing of the magic that was to come. There in the train station, standing sentry to greet the surprised visitor, were a strategically position group of larger than life Nek Chand figures. What magic! I thought to myself. There could not have been a better way of saying that you have arrived in a special place. Unlike Delhi, where the weary traveller suffers culture shock, the sky over Chandigarh was bright blue and clear, and there was a refreshing coolness in the air. Chandigarh, City Beautiful.

“I proceeded by autorickshaw to the city centre, hardly able to contain my desire to check in, drop my bags at the local hotel, and proceed to the Rock Garden to pay my respects to Nek Chand. I tried my best to look, listen and learn about Nek Chand and the Rock Garden. Even though the size and scale of the garden make it difficult to capture the magic of the site in a mere report, it truly deserves the title of eighth wonder of the world”.

Quake warning

If you believe in astrology, more earthquakes are likely soon as there is a major celestial change in the sky. As per classic texts of vedic astrology, whenever the solar or lunar eclipses occur and major planets either turn retrograde or acquire direct motion in the orbit, there shall be natural calamity on the earth in the shape of tremors, floods, fire, storms, cyclones etc within 40 days before and after such combinations of planets, explains Mr Madan Gupta Spatu, a local astrologer.

A lunar eclipse appeared on January 9. An earthquake rocked Kerala and Tamil Nadu on January 7, two days prior to the event. Central America faced the damage due to a severe earthquake on January 14. Since then 31 earthquakes have rocked the earth.

On January 25, two big planets Jupiter and Saturn, attained direct motion while Venus changed its sign from Aquarius to Pisces and Mercury from Capricorn to Aquarius. India was the sufferer. The impact of the changes of planets and stars on January 25 is likely to bring more earthquakes this week. One took place on January 28 morning.

Again, there shall be similar changes in the orbit on June 16 and September 27 when Jupiter will separate itself from the clutches of Saturn on June 16 and Saturn will once again retrograde on September 27. Further lunar eclipse on July 5 makes the period between June 15 and July 17 more earthquake prone. That again will be a critical period as per astrology.

Preventive steps in North-East, Uttaranchal and central parts of the country in the above period, should be taken, says the astrologers. Of course, scientists have their own ways to predict earthquakes.

Pack of lies

Think twice before you buy those boxes of tissues as you wait at traffic lights in the city. These boxes, which are available for a so-called economy price, might not be so economical after all. One smart alec on one such red light sold 10 boxes to a university teacher saying that each box contains 180 tissues. He reduced the price further as the number of boxes to be bought increased.

The buyer went home, opened a box and counted every tissue, only to find that there were only 136. Now he is carrying all the 10 boxes all the time in the car waiting to catch the boy.

Farewell lunch

The cash starved Municipal Corporation recently incurred an expenditure of Rs 32,250 on hosting a farewell lunch to the former Adviser, Mrs Vineeta Rai. The same has been approved by the Finance and Contract Committee and referred to the House for final approval.

A sum of Rs 5,000 was spent on the flowers alone. This includes Rs 2400 for flower decorations, Rs 1100 for bouquets and Rs 1250 for a flower basket. It is pertinent to mention that the horticulture wing of the MC is engaged in the cultivation of flowers and could have supplied the same.

According to figures available, 70 people, including senior officials of the Administration and the police, had lunch and cost per person has been worked out to Rs 170. This means a total of Rs 12000.

Besides this, Rs 6000 was spent on the memento presented to the Adviser. While the cost of the tent was Rs 5,000, sound and mike arrangements cost Rs 1500 and photographs Rs 2000. Even the BJP councillors, who had earlier boycotted the tea hosted by the Mayor on New Year, were present for the lunch.

Mohali looks up

There is something for Mohalites to cheer up. The oft repeated remark “Mohali is a poor cousin of Chandigarh” may become redundant if one goes by the increased commercial, leisure and entertainment activity in the town thanks to the Punjab Government’s incentives to the Information Technology (IT) industry.

The upcoming health care facilities and the increasing employment opportunities in the IT related sector have changed the overcall socio-economic scenario.

Old Yadavindrians

It was a nice and sunny afternoon when “old boys” of Yadavindra Public School got together to honour four eminent Yadavindrians. YPS traces its origins to Aitchison College, Lahore, from which came about YPS, Patiala, after Partition. The school has a branch in Mohali, too, which came much later.

Top cardiac surgeon, Dr Virdhi; former Principal H.N. Kashyap, a former Chairman of Indian Public Schools Board who was principal of YPS Patiala as well as the founder Principal of YPS, Mohali; leading orthopaedic surgeon Dr Mandeep Dhillon of the PGI and Mr Pawan Bansal, MP, were honoured at the function held at Chandigarh Club, organised by the Old Boys’ Association.

It was a day of much bonhomie, as greying “old boys” greeted each other and recalled years gone by. Also present were a number of “old girls,” including Dr Dhillon’s wife Rima and his sister Hardeep.

For a number of Yadavindrians, the day became even more memorable as they became surprise guests at the wedding of the son of their former teacher, Mr Daljit Singh, who had left the school in the seventies. It was an interesting sight to see students, all of whom were much older than the groom, reverentially touch the feet of their former math teacher and simultaneously give their best wishes and blessings to the couple.

Family affair

Remember in these very columns, we had told you about ways and means of making money. That how you can quote less price, get the contract and then conveniently keep charging as much as your little greedy heart desires. And if, because of this little discrepancy (of course, you think otherwise), your activities somehow get noticed and the precious contract is cancelled then do not panic. Next time, your mother will get it for you. As it reportedly happened in a premier health institution of the city when after a contractor lost his contract, when it was retendered, his mother was magically awarded the same. So while mummy continues to sit at home, you can continue with your old practices.

Good copy

Mediapersons have to be extra alert while covering the functions where Lt-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd) is also present. For they never know what he might say and when. In journalistic jargon the UT Administrator, with his good sense of humour, always makes good copy. So, last Thursday, while praising the newly built hostel complex for doctors, nurses and students at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32 on its inauguration the Governor told the young boys and girls that with such excellent facilities he would be most happy to live with them. “But I am sure you will not allow me to,” he quipped.

Clean and green

The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, has selected 20 governmental organisations (GOs) and non governmental organisations (NGOs) as against 21 last year, under the National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC) during the financial year 2000-2001. The theme of this year’s NEAC is “Keep our Environment clean and green”.

Fourteen Army units under the Western Command will receive financial assistance to carry out environmental awareness cum action programmes under this scheme.

The ministry has also chosen 82 GOs and NGOs this year as against 59 in 1999-2000 in 17 districts of Haryana under this campaign. The highest number of organisations selected are from Rohtak district (11), followed by Karnal (9), Kurukshetra and Bhiwani (7 each), Faridabad and Yamunanagar (6 each), Ambala, Sonepat and Kaithal (5 each), Panchkula, Hisar and Jind (4 each), Gurgaon (3), Panipat and Mohindergarh (2 each), Rewari and Sirsa have the lowest number (1 each). These organisations have been asked to complete their work before March 31.

Library lure

In the era of satellite television books still hold relevance in the life of city residents. Becoming a member of British Library is a rage with the residents. A few days back when the British Library opened its membership there was a huge rush.

Even the elite class and the well known people of the city could be seen in the long queque for the membership of the library. The membership has become a must for the residents of the city and the ones who are member are proud of the fact that they are the select ones.

— Sentinel

Stress on organic farming
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 28 — Organic farming can become a major source of foreign exchange for India, as in this age of ever-increasing health consciousness, the answer lies in foods grown the organic way, said Mr Hari Jaisingh, Editor, The Tribune.

Mr Hari Jaisingh inaugurated a three-day workshop on organic farming, organised by the Ministry of Rural Development in collaboration with the Environment Society of Chandigarh at Technical Teachers Training Institute, Sector 26, here today.

More than 30 volunteers of NGOs from all over the country are participating in the workshop which aims at training the volunteers about the benefits of organic farming and imparting the knowledge gained to farmers in the field. The workshop also aims to stop the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides in agriculture.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Arun Sood of the Department of Rural Development, Government of India, stressed the need to promote indigenous seeds in farming. He quoted examples of use of indigenous seeds of ginger to get rid of ginger cancer in farms of Solan and Sirmour.

Mr S.K. Sharma of the Environment Society of Chandigarh, narrated his experience in Tanzania, Africa, where minimum amounts of chemical fertilizers are used in tea and coffee plantations. He also stressed that for exports it was now mandatory to have farm products free from chemical fertilisers. He quoted the example of Japan which insisted on not just organic food grain but also organic cotton.

Cyclist dies in accident
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Jan 28 — An unidentified man reportedly died after being hit by an ‘‘unknown vehicle’’, near Shiv Mandir on the outer road of Colony No. 5, here yesterday. The body is presently lying in the General Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32.

According to the police sources, the accident occured at around 9.30 a.m. and the victim was on bicycle. A senior police official when contacted said the victim was taken to the GMCH, where he was declared “brought dead”.

The deceased, according to police sources, appears to belong from Garhwal region and was clad in a maroon sweater over a check shirt. He was wearing a brown coloured trousers and a black jacket. No identity card or documents, which could establish his identity, were found from the pocket of the deceased.

A case under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the Indian Penal Code has been registered in the Police Station, Sector 34.

Tempers flare at temple body meeting
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Jan 28 — Police was called in to diffuse the rising tension and flaring tempers at the general body meeting of the Pracheen Shiv Mandir, Sector 9, here today, where elections to the management committee of the temple were scheduled to be held.

Things reached a flashpoint when the members of the present committee headed by Mr Kewal Garg, a resident of Chandigarh, disallowed entry to Mr Sarvesh Kaushal, President, Residents Welfare Association, and Mr Mukesh Malhotra to participate in the meeting on the grounds that they were not members of the general body.

Meanwhile, residents of Sector 9 alleged that as many as 500 “outsiders” were inside the premises.

Alleging that the group was “misutilising” funds which came in as offering totalling to nearly Rs 20 lakh and patronising political parties, they said that the inclusion of Mr Randhir Malik, an office-bearer of the youth wing of the Indian National Lok Dal, was a pointer in the direction.

However, the Garg-group contended that the present committee had done a lot to build up the temple and the present members should be retained. On the basis of this, the group announced a five-member committee comprising Mr Kewal Garg, Mr V.K. Uppal, Mr Pawan Singla, Mr Randhir Malik and Mr A.M. Sahni.

Also, it was decided that another four-member committee would be constituted to select the other four members of the nine-member panel of the management committee which was turned down.

The two DSPs, Mr Jag Parvesh Dahiya and Mr Om Prakash, tried to bring the “warring” factions to resolve the matter amicably but to no avail. Later, the Superintendent of Police, Dr C.S. Rao, came in and asked the members to disperse.

He said that the members expressed their desire for police intervention in resolving the matter amicably and February 5 had been fixed to meet the two parties when a decision to election of the members would be taken.

During the mounting tension, three persons, creating most trouble, were rounded up by the police and let off when the crowd was dispersed by the police.