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Monday,
September 1, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Sarsa bus mishap: 3 bodies recovered Bridge could have averted
mishap Hectic campaigning on for students’
poll Rising crime rate in Palampur worries MLA |
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Crusher of ex-minister’s son under VB probe Virbhadra promises jobs to visually challenged Monkey menace in Shimla Nine killed in mishaps Apple festival concludes Employees flay Centre's new pension scheme Father-in-law,
husband denied bail in doctor’s death case Research scholars hail decision to send VC on leave
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Sarsa bus mishap: 3 bodies recovered Saini Majra (Nalagarh), August 31 The body of a woman was found trapped in the bus. Her identity could not be confirmed. Sources here said she had sacrificed her life for saving her child. The other two dead bodies have been identified as Raju, son of Anant Ram of Nalagarh, that was recovered last night and Sohan Singh, alias Sonu. Official sources put the toll in mishap at six or seven. However, the Ropar administration has released a list of just 18 survivors. The names of four additional survivors were procured from the Nalagarh authorities. This put the total number of survivors at 22. With three dead, the total number passengers of the ill-fated bus who have been identified comes to 25. However, the driver of the bus, Mr Surjit Singh, who was admitted in the Nalagarh hospital said there were between 35 and 40 passengers in the bus. On the basis of the data available, the number missing bus passengers is being put at 10 to 15. The search operations for the missing passengers started early in the morning. The Deputy Commissioner of Ropar, Ms Seema Jain, said the helicopter provided by the Punjab Government was used for the search operations. Ten divers of the Rotary Ropar and BBMB and boats were also deputed for retrieving the bodies. However, the search operations for the bodies yielded little result. It is feared that the strong current of the water in the Sarsa may have flushed the bodies into the Sutlej. Some relatives of missing passengers were trying in vain to locate the dead bodies. Many of them gathered at the Sarsa bridge, keeping vigil on the river banks. They said some residents of villages in Nalagarh were missing. Meanwhile, questions are being raised about role of the bus driver in the mishap. The Nalagarh police has already registered a case under Sections 336 and 304 of the IPC against him. The Transport Department of Punjab has also initiated an inquiry under the Chief Engineer (Transport) to fix the responsibility for the accident. Instructions had been issued to drivers against plying buses on the route during the Monsoons, say sources. However, since the instructions were verbal, the discretion of plying the bus on the route was left to the driver. The alternative route is through Bharatgarh village of Punjab. It is about 15 km longer than the direct Ropar-Nalagarh route passing through the Sarsa. The survivors of bus tragedy include Surjit Singh, driver of the bus, Baljit Singh, conductor, Bimal Kumar, resident of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Anil Kumar of Ambala City, Vijay Kumari of Mianpur village, near Ropar, Shankar Pal of Datowal village, near Nalagarh, Vinachal Kumar of Ludhiana, Prithi Singh of Gagret district, Una, Neelam Kumari of Ghanauli, Menakshi Devi of Ghanauli, Surmukh Singh of Ghanauli, Dhian Chand of Ajit Nagar, Jalandhar, Baljit Singh of Khera village, near Kurali, Rajnish Pal of Pinjore, Balak Ram of Barotiwala village in Nalagarh, Sarabjit Kaur of Ghanauli, Parminder Singh of Moti Nagar, Ludhiana, Gurmeet Kaur of Talapur village in Chamkaur Sahib, Mann Singh of Tahliwal village in Una, Beant Singh of Kot-kapura, Om Prakash, Khem Singh of Ghanauli and Balbir Singh of
Ghanauli. |
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Bridge
could have averted
mishap Saini Majra (Nalagarh), August 31 Little has been done for the betterment of the area located on both sides of the Baddi-Ropar highway, rues Prem Chand, a resident of Saini Majra village. When a Tribune team visited the area last night to cover the mishap it realised how true was the resentment of the villagers. The last night tragedy could have been avoided had there been a bridge connecting the villages with the outside world. After an old bridge collapsed, the construction of a new bridge was going at a snail’s pace. When the Sarsa Nadi is swollen the villagers have to wait for the water level to fall before they could cross over to the other side. Points out Balak Ram, a resident of Jagat Khana village, “ Last evening as the level of water in the rivulet was rising some of the locals boarded the ill fated bus to reach the other end. It is a routine practice here as the bridge is still under construction”. Last year a labourer was washed away in the rivulet and two years ago a loaded truck overturned while negotiating the swirling waters of the rivulet. A survey of the area revealed that the condition of the highway linking Jagat Khana, Dherowal, Rajpura and Saini Majra villages was bad. The entire stretch between Baddi and the last village on the Himachal border with Punjab, was full of pot holes. As one crosses over to the other side of border in Punjab, the condition of the highway improves. It seems that development has bypassed the area, observed Venkash, a daily labourer who had joined hands with the villagers in the rescue operations. As the villagers were engaged in the rescue operations, they condemned the state government in neglecting the area. The apathy was even visible during the rescue efforts. Rather than the administration patting the villagers for their commendable role, it was the blessings of the survivors which gave some solace to the rescuers. The first one to be rescued was Neelam and her two-year-old daughter and husband, who was united with her family after spending five-hours on rooftop of the submerged bus. Every life was precious for the villagers who spared no effort in pulling out 18 passengers who were stranded on the rooftop of the bus. A sea of humanity had emerged at the site as the villagers mobilised search lights, brought tractors and ropes to rescue the passengers while the top brass of the district administration was yet to reach the site of the mishap. Notably, there was one exception of a Himachal Pradesh DSP, Dr Varinder Tomar, who along with jawans jumped into the water to rescue the passengers. He retuned only after all had been evacuated to a safer place. Prem Chand of Saini Majra village suffered bruises on his arms when he was pulling out a woman passenger Veena Devi. With the same bruised arms he along with others rescued Palak Ram and three other passengers. Ropes were used to pull the passengers out of the swirling waters.
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Hectic campaigning on for students’
poll Shimla, August 31 Members of the
SFI, the ABVP and the NSUI, the three main students’ bodies, are making all-out efforts to woo the students, particularly the new entrants. The main contest on the university campus is between the
SFI, which made a clean sweep of all four seats last year, and the ABVP. The university had remained a bastion of the SFI all along but the ABVP managed to break its hegemony twice in 1991 and 2001. The SFI has fielded Brijendra Mehra for the post of president, Ranjit Chauhan for vice-president, Jai Lal for general secretary and Rina Chandel for joint secretary. The ABVP panel has Rohit Kumar for president, Nitin Vyas for vice-president, Sanjiv Deshta for general secretary and Babu Ram for joint secretary. The NSUI has fielded Sushant Kapret for the post of president, Mamta Chandel for vice-president, Varun Chandel for general secretary and Pratap Negi for joint secretary. DHARAMSALA: Students belonging to various unions are campaigning hard to ensure the victory of their candidates. The ABVP, which had fared poorly last year , got a shot in the arm when its candidates were returned unopposed in Evening College. In the University Regional Centre here, the NSUI has joined hands with the ACS to ensure the defeat of the ABVP panel, but in Government Degree College, the contest is going to be triangular as ACS and NSUI failed to reach compromise. This gives the NSUI-ACS combine an edge over the ABVP in the Regional Centre. The situation in nearly 18 colleges, most of them privately managed, is still not clear. Some class representatives have been returned unopposed. Barring a few colleges, there will be direct contests between NSUI and ABVP nominees. While the steep hike in bus fare for students, shortage of special buses and hike in fee are some issues being raised by the ABVP, the NSUI is trying to cash in on the steps initiated at its behest for the betterment of students in the state. HAMIRPUR: The district is in the grip of election fever, thanks to hectic campaigning by the students for the SCA elections in all five colleges of the district to be held on September 2. Leaders and activists of all three major students’ bodies — ABVP, SFI and NSUI — have fanned out in the field to garner support for their respective candidates and panels. Top leaders of all these three organisations had meetings with their local leaders on Saturday night to finalise their election strategy. Former state Chief Minister, and senior BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal also met leaders of the ABVP at his Samirpur residence on Saturday night. Leaders of the CPM and the CPI also interacted with SFI leaders on Sunday and asked them to work hard for the victory of their respective candidates. Congress leaders of the district provided financial support to some student leaders. Roads, walls and even trees have been covered with slogans of various students’ organisations. While students are busy in their election campaign, the district administration has initiated steps for maintaining law and order around the colleges during the election process. Mr Abhishek Trivedi, SP, Hamirpur said he was confident that the elections would be held in a fair and peaceful manner. Reports reaching here from all the five colleges of the district say that a keen contest is likely for all seats. However, much will depend upon the outcome of the voters due to the rainy season. NURPUR: There is a direct contest between the ABVP and the NSUI in the SCA election in Arya Government College here. The ABVP has fielded Ashish Mahajan as its presidential candidate, while
Rajdeep, Nasib Rana and Mamta have been fielded for the posts of vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary, respectively. The NSUI has fielded Amit Singh for the post of president, whereas Mukhtiar Singh, Pyar Singh and Mridulla Sharma have been fielded for the posts of vice-president, general secretary and joint secretary, respectively. The students came to the college along with their political supporters and nominees of respective panels. The nominations were filed amidst raising of slogans by supporters of the ABVP and the
NSUI. |
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Rising crime rate in Palampur worries MLA Palampur, August 31 Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Thakur said the situation had gone from bad to worse and the common man was feeling insecure even inside his house. He said in many parts of the subdivision residents had stop venturing one after the sun set. The BJP leader said there had been sharp increase in the cases of murder, rape, theft in the region and in most of the cases the police had failed to trace the culprit. The killing of a local contractor, Mr Mehar Singh Rana, was a slur on the local police. In another case Mr Surinder Rana was attacked by the liquor mafia, and received head injuries. He said in the past six months over two dozen cases of theft had been reported to the police but it could not solve even a single case. He said three cars and eight two wheelers were stolen from the town and the matter was reported to the police but it had not been able to trace any vehicle. He said he had raised these issues in the state Assembly but government had not initiated any action. He urged the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh to look into the matter and punish the guilty. The BJP leaders alleged that there was large scale evasion of revenue in the state. He said most of the sale deeds were being registered on under-valued stamp papers in connivance with the revenue authorities causing huge loss to the state exchequer. The sale of tea garden at Gopalpur had become a big scam, where all rules and regulations were thrown to the wind and permission was granted to sell the tea garden over night. He told mediapersons that the previous BJP government had already rejected the permission for the sale of tea garden in this case thrice which was neither in the interest of the tea industry nor the state government. He alleged in this case the sale deed was registered at the rate of Rs 10,000 per kanal, whereas no land in Palampur was available for less than Rs 1 lakh per kanal. He asked the Chief Minister to order a high level probe into the scam. |
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Crusher
of ex-minister’s son under VB probe Mandi, August 31 The latest in the series of investigations is the stone crusher of his son Rajat Thakur. This is alleged to have been installed by flouting rules and regulations. The government is likely to order its closure for want of valid permission. According to Pollution Control Board officials, the crusher is functioning without permit for the past one year. The conditions for the issue of the permit have also not been fulfilled. One of the conditions was to obtain no-objection certificate from the adjoining panchayats. It is also an irritant for an adjoining government school. A large number of panchayats of the Sandhol area, including Dhanala, Gavaila, Datwar, Sohar and Sandhol, had been protesting against the noise pollution caused by the crusher and its adverse fallout on people, particularly schoolchildren. |
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Virbhadra
promises jobs to visually challenged Shimla, August 31 This assurance was given by the Chief Minister, Mr Virbhadra Singh, to a deputation of visually challenged persons which called on him regarding their demands, here yesterday. The Chief Minister said the government was committed to safeguarding the interests of the physically challenged and facilitate them with suitable modes of livelihood. He said such persons needed special attention. He said the government would soon convene a meeting of departmental officers concerned to sort out demands of the blind and provide them suitable relief. |
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Monkey menace in Shimla Shimla, August 31 As many as five troops comprising 80 monkeys are located between Jakhoo temple and Baba Balak Nath temple on mount Jakhoo, the highest peak of the city. Similarly, the Kalibari temple, Fingask and Telegraph Office area also has a high concentration monkeys with six troops having a strength of 95. There are five troops, comprising 75 monkeys, between Baba Balak Nath temple and Holly Lodge, private residence of the Mr Virbhadra Singh, Chief Minister, who has to cope with the monkey menace like other residents. In all, two or more troops were located in 16 places, including Tara Hall-Lower Kaithu (3), Lakkar Bazar-IGMC Hospital (4) and Sanjauli (4). The headcount has also been undertaken along the Shimla-Kalka National Highway on which the monkeys have become a big nuisance for motorists. The total number of troops was found to be 20 with a strength of 857, comprising 292 males, 353 females and 165 infants. The maximum number of 11 troops is located between the Jabli rail crossing and Parwanoo, whereas Solan and Kandaghat have three each and Dharampur two. In Rampur, another heavily monkey-infested region, five troops with a strength of 403 has been located. The size of the all troops is very large. The troop in Rampur Bazar is the biggest with 98 monkeys, followed by Khaner (90), Jhakri (80), Neogli (85) and Pipli (50). Having adapted to the “human environment” rather well, the monkeys raid houses and shops in search of food with unusual daring. The intelligent primates occupy vantage points to snatch eatables from passersby, particularly women and children. Even the most alert fell prey to their guerrilla tactics. Environmentalists prefer to call them “ecological dislocates” who have been forced out of their natural habitats due to increasing human activity. The habit of the people to feed them with bread, biscuits and other eatables has only compounded the problem. The simians have indeed become addicted to fast food and they no longer search for their natural food in the wild. The Wildlife authorities have also circulated a questionnaire to understand the problems being faced by the people and to seek their suggestion to solve them. In the past, efforts to translocate the urban troops in forest areas had not yielded the desired result. In fact, they even spoilt the wild monkeys who joined them in raiding the human settlement for easy food. The option of
sterilisation of animals is an expensive affair. While, a beginning has been made to solve the problem in a systematic manner, a solution may still be a far cry.
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Nine killed in mishaps Dharamsala, August 31 Three persons died at Nagabari on the Pathankot-Manali national highway when a Palampur bound oil tanker (HP-37-9627) collide with a three-wheeler. The tanker overturned due to the impact and a scooter came under it. The scooter driver and the pillion rider were crushed to death. The three-wheeler driver was Raju of Sarai Mohalla, Pathankot, while the scooter riders were Bodh Raj (33) and Kulwant (35) of Nangal Bhoor village near
Damtal. The tanker driver, Narinder Kumar, has been arrested and a case under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered against him. In another accident near Jaunta on the Pathankot-Manali national highway, a truck (HR-29-D-2677) overturned as its front wheel came out. The driver, Sharif Mohammed, of
Gangoh, Saharanpur, died on the spot. Six persons were injured when a private bus overturned while giving pass to a Jeep near Bandian village under Baijnath subdivision. The injured were taken to a nearby hospital. Nurpur:
A diesel tanker (HP37-9627) hit an autorickshaw at Raja Ka Bagh, near here, last evening killing its driver, Raju, on the spot. The speeding tanker, which had lost its balance at the same moment, overturned and hit a scooter killing its two riders who were identified as Bodh Raj and Kulbinder of Nagal Bhoor near Pathankot. The local police, which immediately reached the spot, had a tough time clearing the traffic blockade. Mr Sat Mahajan, local MLA and Rural Development Minister, too visited the spot and inspected the rescue operation. In another mishap at
Jonta, Sharif Mohammad, a truck driver who hailed from Gangoh in Saharnpur district, died on the spot when his vehicle overturned. |
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Apple festival concludes Shimla, August 31 Presiding over the concluding function, Ms Asha Kumari, Education Minister, said the apple industry was a major agro-economic player and source of employment. She said this apple festival associated with tourism was bound to be a major attraction for tourists in the coming years. This would help the state promote tourism at the local level. She congratulated the association for successfully organising the festival. Mr Ashok Thakur, Principal Secretary, Tourism, said the state was gradually becoming a better tourist destination. He urged hotel associations of the state to hold more such events. Ms Asha Kumari gave away the Apple King trophy to Mr Upinder Rawat of Jubbal and the Apple Queen trophy to Mr Chanchal Pal Chauhan of Kotkhai, besides distributing other prizes among participants of different events of the apple exhibition. The overall trophy for cultural activities was bagged by Auckland House School. |
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Employees
flay Centre's new pension scheme Shimla, August 31 Mr K.L. Gautam, general secretary of the committee, said the decision had created two classes of workers and the new scheme would reduce the wages of new entrants. He demanded immediate withdrawal of the new scheme and expressed apprehension that more decisions to curtail the terminal benefits like gratuity and leave encashment might be in the offing. He said that the committee would observe fast on September 3 and 4 to highlight its demands for setting up the 6th Pay Commission, merging 50 per cent dearness allowance with basic salary, filling posts, lifting ceiling on bonus and restoration of 12 per cent interest on provident fund. |
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Father-in-law,
husband denied bail in Kulu, August 31 Some ante-mortem injuries had been found on the body, as per the post-mortem examination report. Mr P.D. Goel, Sessions Judge, said: Since the chemical report in the case is awaited and since the petitioner is getting the best possible treatment under the observation and care of senior doctors of IGMC, Shimla the plea on medical grounds is devoid of merit.” An ayurvedic doctor, Monika Sood, who worked in a government institute, had consumed poison on July 29, after which a case under Sections 304-B, 306 and 498-A of the IPC had been made out against her father-in-law, B.D. Sood, and husband, Vineet. Her death had caused a huge public outcry. |
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Research
scholars hail decision to send VC on leave Shimla, August 31 Mr Randhir Ranta, president of the association, said his organisation had been demanding resignation of Dr Sharma and hoping that the Governor, Mr V.S. Kokje, would take appropriate action on the recommendation of the council to either remove Dr Sharma from post or ask him to proceed on long leave of absence. |
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Computer
snag hits work at post office Mandi, August 31 When contacted Post Master Gurnam Singh said engineers had been called to remove the snag in the system. |
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2 women beat up man Mandi, August 31 |
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Rain continues to lash Himachal
Shimla, August 31
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1 dies in landslide
Shimla, August 31
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Saini Majra (Nalagarh), August 31
