Tuesday, January 30, 2001, Chandigarh, India |
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Gujarat relief CHANDIGARH, Jan 29 — The Chandigarh Administration will airlift 60 temporary shelters for the earthquake victims of Gujarat in the next three days. The design of the structures was finalised today by the UT Administrator and Punjab Governor, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd). General Jacob was informed by the suppliers that they could supply the MS hollow tubular shelters with coverings of waterproof canvas intended to provide shelters to over 1000 persons in two days. Meanwhile, two IAF planes carrying 160 passengers consisting mainly of families of the IAF personnel posted at Bhuj landed at the Chandigarh airport. One of the injured passengers was admitted to the Command Hospital. Later, they left for various locations to join their families. General Jacob asked the DPI (Colleges), Ms Madhvi Kataria, to explore the possibilties of sending various non-perishable foods like packets of roasted grams with “gur”, panjiri, biscuits and dry tinned milk, which could be airlifted to the affected areas. The employees of the administration have decided to donate one-day salary to the Red Cross Earthquake Relief Fund — Gujarat. Similalry, a cheque of Rs 3.67 lakh has been presented to the Red Cross, a day’s salary of the entire staff of the Sector 16 General Hospital. The CITCO MD, Mr S.P. Singh, handed over a cheque of Rs 5.06 lakh to General Jacob. The Chandigarh Club donated Rs 2.01 lakh and the Durga Das Foundation a draft of Rs 2 lakh. The students of GGDSD presented a cheque of Rs 1 lakh and a local liquor dealer contributed Rs 2 lakh. The Iron Merchants of Sector 29 presented a cheque of Rs 1.13 lakh. Responding to the joint letter of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to the MPs, the local MP, Mr Pawan Bansal, has contributed Rs 10 lakh from the MPs Local Area Development Scheme. Senior leaders of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee decided to dispatch the first installment of Rs 2.5 lakh by February 7. The Chandigarh Territorial Youth Congress decided to establish “Blood Brigade” to help the victims. The Youth Congress has appealed to the people interested in donating blood to contact Mr Rajesh Sharma at phone nos 694967 or 687777. The government school heads decided to contribute one day’s salary for the fund. Similarly, Independent Schools Association will present a cheque of Rs 10 lakh to General Jacob. The general house of the Association of Commercial Senior Audit Officers/Audit Officers of the Office of the Accountant General (Audit), Haryana, decided that an amount of Rs 500 would be donated by each member. Similarly, the members of the Haryana State Prosecution Attorneys Association decided to donate their one day’s salary for the quake victims. And at a meeting of the officers and employees of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department it was decided to contribute Rs 1.66 lakh for the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. An appeal to donate woollens and other clothings was also made and collection centres have
been set up at the Audit Pool Colony in Sector 42 and the Office of the Accountant General, Punjab. While the Residents Welfare Association has deposited a demand draft of Rs 14,000 with the Red Cross, the staff of the State Bank of Patiala, Sector 32, contributed Rs 3,225 to the Prime Ministers’ Relief Fund. The Shankaracharya Trust, Sector 26, has urged the people to donate clothes, blankets, non-perishable food items and medicines to the trust for onward transmission to the victims. The All-India Anti-Terrorist Front today started another collection centre in Sector 23 Markets and collected about Rs 18,000 and about 1,200 clothes. The Director-General of Health Services, Dr P.L. Jindal, has contributed one month’s salary to the Haryana Chief Minister’s Welfare Fund for the quake victims. Residents of Sector 41 handed over about 80 bags of clothes to the representatives of the Red Cross at the Karuna Sadan and resident of Buterla village about 30 bags. The local unit of the BJP has urged the residents to deposit their contributions at its office in Sector 33. At Dera Bassi, a meeting of various social and industrial associations was called by the SDM, Mr Sher Singh Sidhu. The associations promised to extend all in cash and kind. Earthquake rumours lead
to sleepless night CHANDIGARH, Jan 29 — Monday morning began with city residents receiving telephone calls from friends and relatives about another earthquake likely to strike the area in the early hours of the day. As expected, panic gripped the residents as they feared a Gujarat-type disaster here also. Braving the morning chill, people came out of their house in large numbers. Residents of Panchkula and S A S Nagar also panicked and came out of their houses. According to information available from different parts of the city and its surrounding townships, people in large numbers gathered in the open spaces at about 5 am. Nobody seemed to really know who told them about the prediction. After making enquires, Chandigarh Tribune learnt that people received phone calls early in the morning in which they were told to abandon their beds and come out in open spaces. The persons who received the calls got panicky at once. And then the domino effect took place. They dutifully alerted their neighbours too. The calls were made at around 5 am today. A resident of Sector 15 said, “The call was enough and I did not even think over its genuineness” and added, “I ran out of my house with my other family members and then I alerted my neighbours”. Inmates of multi-storeyed girls hostels Kasturba Hall and Sarojni Hall at Panjab University here rushed out of their rooms in the open grounds in front of their hostels at about 5 am. One of them said: “On the internal addressing system it was announced that an earthquake is expected in next few minutes and were advised to immediately come out of the hostel”. The security guards posted at the hostels said that they received a phone call in which they were told regarding the earthquake. It is learnt that it was only after the intervention of the respective wardens that the confusion was cleared. When contacted, officials in the local Meteorological Department denied making any such predictions. Sources in the Police Department said earthquake prediction was a hoax and was handiwork of some anti-social elements. Police warning on cash donations Asking the residents to be cautious of “thugs” cashing in on the Gujarat earthquake, the Chandigarh Police today requested them to donate money through crossed cheques. It also asked the residents to insist upon “proper receipts” if cash was to be donated. A senior police officer said the antecedents of the volunteers should also be verified before handing out the money. The “thugs”, he said, would be booked for cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code. The officer added that cross cheques should be drawn in favour of the Red Cross Earthquake Relief Fund — Gujarat. The cheque favouring the Gujarat Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (payable at Gandhinagar) can be sent to The Tribune, Sector 29-C, Chandigarh, the officer added. |
Jat Sabha donates 21,000 to CM’s Relief
Fund CHANDIGARH, Jan 29 — The 105th birth anniversary of Deenbandhu Sir Chhotu Ram was celebrated with music and melody on the premises of Jat Bhavan in Sector 27 here today. There were a number of folk song and dance performances to mark the Basant Panchmi celebrations, apart from the birth centenary celebrations of Sir Chhotu Ram. The highlight of the show was the laying of foundation stone of the Deenbandhu Shiksha and Sanskriti Sadan coming up on the Jat Bhavan premises by Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Chief Minister of Haryana. The sadan is being constructed at a cost of about Rs 3 crore. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Chautala appealed to the people to come forward to help the devastated families of Gujarat. While paying tributes to Sir Chhotu Ram, Mr Chautala said that had Sir Chhotu Ram been alive at the time of partition, he would not have allowed the division of the then Punjab. Mr Chautala also narrated events from the life of Sir Chhotu Ram. Taking the speech further to contemporary conditions, Mr Chautala said that the rural development in Haryana was now picking up. He added that new industrial units involving an investment of Rs 20,000 crore were being set up in the state. Pointing towards growing talent in Haryana, he said that 250 students of Kurukshetra Engineering College had been absorbed by various companies. Mr Chautala also released the news letter of the Jat Sabha titled Jat Lahar and a book written in Urdu titled Sir Chhotu Ram— Shakhsiyat and Mission. Mr Chautala gave away prizes to the winners of the Bhai Surender Singh Malik memorial all-India essay writing contest organised by the sabha. Neha Bansal of the Government College for Girls was given the gold medal and Rs 2,100, Bhawna Ranjan of the GGDSD
College, Sector 32, got the silver medal and Rs 1,100, while Tania Dubey of Model School, Rohtak, won the bronze medal and Rs 700. Consolation prizes and cash awards of Rs 400, Rs 300 and Rs 200, respectively, were given to Shivali Sharma, Vasudha and Mandeep Mittal. In the category of rural students, Ramesh Kumar of the BSSMSS School, Nidani, got Rs 1,100, Kusum of the GGSSS, Julana, was given Rs 900, Punam of the GGSSS, Julana, got Rs 700, while Rajesh Kumar of the BSSMSS, Nidani, bagged Rs 500 prize. Mr Chautala also honoured some
prominent sportspersons, coaches and sports officials by giving them cash prizes amounting Rs 57,500. Honoured sportspersons include Seema Antil (athletics), Praveen Kumar (boxing), Sonika Kaliravana, Naresh Kumar, Vijendra Singh, Sunita Sharma, Satish Kumar, Virender Kumar and Naveen Kumar (all wrestlers). Earlier the President of the Jat Sabha, Mr M.S. Malik, donated Rs 21,000 to the CM's Relief Fund on behalf of the sabha. The occasion was also taken to honour Sudesh Sharma, mother of Capt Atul Sharma. 1 lakh donated
for quake-hit CHANDIGARH, Jan 29 — The Principal, Dr A.C. Vaid, and Mr U.K. Sharma, President, Managing Committee, GGDSD College, Sector 32, donated Rs 1 lakh in favour of the Indian Red Cross Earthquake Society on behalf of the students, teaching, non-teaching staff and management of the college here today. The donation was given to the Punjab Governor cum Administrator, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd) in presence of the Advisor, the UT Administration, Ms Neeru Nanda, the Deputy Commissioner, Chandigarh, Mr M. Ramshekhar and the DPI (Colleges), UT administration, Ms Madhavi Kataria. “This is just the first instalment of the donation, collections for the next instalments are on and we will be giving away the next instalment in a day or two,” said the Principal. |
Chandigarh Falls in second highest tremor risk
category CHANDIGARH, Jan 29 — The city and its environs experienced approximately 30 noticeable earthquakes over the past 12 months, while the number of tremors which went unnoticed, except those recorded by scientific instruments, was much more. The tremors felt in Chandigarh were harmless, experts said, adding that the city could be devastated if a severe earthquake were to rock Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, which was in the high risk category. According to Dr M.A. Shamshi, head of the Geo Scientific Instruments Division at Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, data collected by the Seismological Observatory at CSIO showed that approximately 30 tremors were experienced in the city which had a magnitude of about 4 on the Richter Scale (RS). A few, he added, had a magnitude of more than 4 on the RS. Tremors having a magnitude of 2.5 or less on the RS were harmless and unnoticeable by humans, although these were very important for the seismologist. Tremors having a magnitude of 3 on the RS could be felt by some, while those having a magnitude of 4 could be felt by most persons. Tremors having a magnitude of 7 were classified as major earthquakes which could inflict serious damage, while those with magnitude of 8 and above were termed as great earthquakes, causing extensive damage near the epicentre. Dr Shamshi said Chandigarh was in the second highest category of tremor risk. The country was divided into five categories of tremor risk. Majority of tremors felt in the city were a result of seismic activity in the Hindukush mountain range and to some extent from activity in the Uttarkashi region. Kangra district of Himachal, which experienced a major earthquake in the beginning of the last century, was in the
highest risk category. Dr Shamshi said since Kangra was within 200 km of Chandigarh, a major earthquake could effect the city adversely. However, after a major earthquake, there was a lull in seismic activity in the affected region. Called seismic gap, this period was generally noticed to be 20 to 25 years. The Seismological Observatory at CSIO, functioning since February 1999, was being upgraded. The ultimate aim, according to Dr M.A. Shamshi, was to work in the direction of earthquake forecast in future so that mitigation and risk reduction could be planned and done more effectively. The observatory was being connected with the national seismic network via VSAT connectivity. Running round the clock, it was currently linked with Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehra Dun, India Meteorological Department, Delhi, and Roorkee University. Established at a cost of about Rs 30 lakh, the observatory was recently equipped with a 24-bit seismic data acquisition system. On January 26, at 8.49 am, the observatory recorded tremors with a magnitude of 7.1 on the RS and again on January 28, termors having a magnitude of 5.8 were recorded. |
84-year-old man first to
contribute CHANDIGARH, Jan 29 — An 84-year-old man, carrying a cheque of Rs 90,000, pedalled his way to The Tribune office this morning to be the first person to contribute to the Gujarat Chief Minister's Earthquake Relief Fund. The contributor was none other than Major Surat Singh Sandhu (retd), a resident of Sector 35 here. “When my wife died in October last year, my family unanimously decided to donate Rs 2 lakh to various charities in her memory. We decided to give Rs 1 lakh to Bhagat Puran Singh’s Pingalwara in Amritsar; another Rs 50,000 to an orphanage at Amritsar, besides contributing Rs 40,000 to Helpage India. “But before we could actually disburse this money, this natural calamity befell the nation. I consulted all my family members and decided to divert the money originally earmarked for the Amritsar orphanage and the Helpage to the Gujarat Chief Minister’s Fund through The Tribune. I was waiting for The Tribune to start this fund and wanted to be the first one. “Since my grandson had taken the car, I did not want to be beaten by someone else. So I took a bicycle and came to The Tribune office to deliver the
cheque,” said Major Sandhu, who retired way back in 1969. “My eldest son, Amarjit Singh, is a engineer and is in the USA, and one of his sons is in the US Air Force, while his daughter is a teacher there. My second son, Lieutenant Sukhjit Singh, had been a naval pilot on Vikrant and met with an accident, while my third son is a senior manager in Punjab and Sind Bank, while the fourth one took premature retirement from the Army as a Lieutenant-Colonel,” Major Sandhu said. One of his sisters was married to Mr Gurdial Singh, a former Inspector-General of Police, whose son is a General in the Army. “Our idea of sending the money to the orphanage and old age home at Amritsar was to help both orphans and old people in distress. Now we realised that after the quake, lots of orphans and old people, to, would be needing help and assistance. So we decided to send our meagre contribution to the Chief Minister’s Earthquake Relief Fund,” Major Sandhu said. “My grand father was a Subedar in the Army and he was given land in
Sargodha. In 1901 we shifted from our village, Kathian, to Sargodha, but returned to Kathian after the Partition. Our long association with Amritsar in general and Khalsa College (earlier School) is from the days of my grandfather, who did his matriculation from this institution. All my brothers, myself, and our children have studied from the same institution,” he said while justifying sending donations to Amritsar-based institutions. |
Police rejects Admn proposal CHANDIGARH, Jan 29 — Contrary to the Chandigarh Administration’s belief, the closure of the road leading to the railway station from the Madhya Marg will not ensure “free flow of traffic between the city and Panchkula”, opines the Chandigarh police, and maintains that it will result in further traffic congestion, even accidents. Though senior officers in the Chandigarh police are tight-lipped about the implications of the proposal, sources in the Police Department insist the alternative route to the station, through the crowded Industrial Area Phase I, is “not good enough”. The road is bumpy and the lighting is poor, sources claim. Besides this, the patch, packed with trucks and buses, has been reduced to street of cobbled stones over the years. Sources add “security problems” would be encountered by the police during VIP moment as the “road is narrow and congested”. The ongoing widening process, they assert, may not help as the number of cars, two wheelers, buses, trucks, autorickshaws, even horse carts, would go up manifold once the other road is closed. The chaos, they assert, would be worse during the peak hours. An officer, on the condition of anonymity, adds that taking a “U-turn” after going all the way to the traffic lights at the Housing Board Chowk in Panchkula, will further result in chaos and accidents. The Chandigarh Administration, had earlier decided to close down the existing main access turning right from Chandigarh—Panchkula road from the railway station traffic lights. The decision was reportedly taken to ease the traffic bottlenecks at the railway station lights and also to ensure free flow of traffic between the much clogged Chandigarh- Panchkula road. |
Cops attach Punwire
MD’s farmhouse SAS NAGAR, Jan 29 — In the Punwire cheating case, the local police has, through the Judicial Magistrate, Kharar, attached a farmhouse owned by the managing director of Punwire, Mr Gurpal Singh, at Dera Bassi. Nine officials of Punwire wanted in several cases of cheating have been arrested by the police. The Station House Officer, Mr RS Sohal, said to arrest the executive director of the company, police teams were conducting raids at different places in Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. He said the Industries Department had held meeting with the Mr BK Srivastva, who had been appointed liquidator by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, to provide records of
Punwire. |
Environmental scientists’ body CHANDIGARH, Jan 29 — The election of the office-bearers and the Executive Committee of the Society of Environmental Scientists, a national body registered in Delhi, were held recently. The following have been declared elected for the next three year term from January, 2001: Office-bearers: President: Prof. J.S. Yadav. (K.U., Kurukshetra); Vice-president-I: Prof. R.K. Kohli. (P.U., Chandigarh); Vice-president-II Prof. S. Kumar (Vice-Chancellor, K.U., Nainital); Secretary: Dr. Mani Ram. (Ambala); Jt. Secretary: Dr. (Ms) D.R. Batish. (P.U., Chandigarh); Programme Secretary: Prof. A.K. Bhatnagar. (D.U., Delhi); Treasurer: Dr. (Ms.) P.Tewari. (P.U., Chandigarh). Executive Committee: Dr. K.S. Arya, Chandigarh; Prof. P.D. Sharma, Delhi; Prof. S. Sawhney, Delhi; Dr. H.S. Rose, Patiala; Dr. Rohtash Gupta, Kurukshetra; Dr. S.K. Gakhar, Rohtak; Prof. G.D. Sharma, Shillong. |
Akademi honour for Tribune
staffer CHANDIGARH, Jan 29 — The Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi has decided to publish journalist Ashwini Bhatnagar’s debut manuscript, Shadow’s Word. The book will be launched nationwide in February. The Akademi Chairman, Maj-Gen Himmat Singh Gill, said the book had been selected because of its “intensity, authenticity and fresh style of writing”. Mr Bhatnagar is an Assistant Editor on The Tribune. Maj-Gen Gill said the Akademi had decided to adopt a proactive role in promotion of original writing in English and Indian languages. He said Ashwini Bhatnagar’s book contained vivid descriptions that made the reader think and an exposition of ideas that fired the imagination. He said, though Mr Bhatnagar was a journalist by profession, he was, by compulsion, a creator of intricate imagery of everyday life. “His muse finds expression in deeply felt narratives that are either anecdotes, incidents or states of mind. He has used his photographic memory and creative imagination to graphically paint word-pictures that remain in memory for a long time,” he said. |
30-year-old woman commits suicide CHANDIGARH, Jan 29 — In less a year after her marriage, Tikkapreet, an Army colonel’s daughter allegedly having strained relations with her husband, today committed suicide by consuming poison. Two other women were hospitalised with poisoning. Elsewhere in the city, a rehriwala was admitted to the Sector 32 hospital with injuries after being hit by a car. The theft of a car stereo and two batteries of a scooter and a motorcycle were also reported. Two residents were subsequently arrested for stealing the battery. Two cases under the defacement Act were also registered during the past 24 hours. According to sources in the police department, Tikkapreet was admitted to a private hospital in Sector 34 after she consumed sulphos tablets in the morning today. Sources added that 30-year-old Tikkapreet had talked to her husband the previous night. A senior police officer said the victim was not on good terms with her husband and was staying with her father for the past two-and-a-half months. Her marriage to a Ludhiana-based manager with a private firm had taken place on February 28 last year, the officer added. Efforts to contact the family of the deceased proved futile as, according to the relatives at home, the father had gone to the hospital and the mother was abroad. Confirming the information about the suicide, the DSP, Mr. S.C. Sagar, when contacted, said a case of abetment to suicide had been registered under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code. Manju of Sector 44 was, meanwhile, admitted to the Sector 16 General Hospital late on Sunday evening. The mother of two, she had consumed poison, sources said. Pritam Singh of Mauli Jagran was admitted to the Sector 32 hospital after his rehri was hit by a Maruti car in Sector 20. Following the accident, a case of rash and negligent driving under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC has been registered. In his complaint, Shiv Kumar of Sector 37 alleged that a stereo was stolen from his car parked outside his house. The theft of batteries were reported by Harshvardhan of Sector 44 and Sachin Gautam of Sector 41. Rajinder Kumar and Ravinder Kumar were subsequently arrested and the battery was reportedly recovered from them. Three held for flesh
trade SAS NAGAR, Jan 29 — The local police has arrested two girls for being involved in flesh trade. A person, Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Bhora Colony in Ludhiana, has also been arrested for running flesh trade. According to the police, the pimp, Rajesh Kumar ( 34) used to charge between Rs 3000 and Rs 5000 from the clients and then send the girls along with them. One of the arrested women hails from Ambedkar Colony, Sector 55, Chandigarh, and other is from Vardhman Colony, Ludhiana. A trap was laid by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, SAS Nagar, near the Bassi cinema in Phase 2. A decoy customer was used to shrike a deal with the pimp. Two mobile phones and a Santro car were recovered from the suspects. |
Residents take
to night vigil SAKETRI, Jan 29 — The rising instances of crime in the area have brought the residents out of their houses and into the streets, literally. Having taken upon themselves the task of checking the crime graph, they have taken to keeping night vigil in the colony and the adjoining village. “We have come to realise that self help is the best help. Though the police is available and doing its job, our nights became miserable after the incidents and we decided to take the job of keeping vigil in our own hands,’’ says Mr Prem Prasad, vice-president of the Manav Colony. The residents, in groups of five, have started
thikri pheras in the colony while six villagers move in the village area, armed with lathis, from 9 pm to 5 am, according to the plan worked out by the president of the colony in consultation with the village sarpanch. One of the victims of the dacoity, Mr Sadanand, says, “We are shaken up by the incidents in the past but sleep more peacefully with the satisfaction that our own men are at the helm of affairs and know they will not betray us.’’ In the past also, the villagers and residents of the colony had joined hands to keep vigil but the move fizzled out after employment of nightwatchmen. “This also did not check crime in the area since the nightwatchman would identify a spot and doze off instead of being on the move as the spate of crime grew unabated,’’ recalled Ms Pushpa, residing in the village with her son. Also, the residents held meetings with the police in this regard. “Ever since the two incidents, police patrolling has increased and police personnel have been deployed at the bridge and the turnings, areas most prone to crime. However, it does not meet the requirement of round-the-clock vigil and we have chipped in our bit as well by augment the skeleton staff at the police post,’’ a resident informed. |
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