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Roads bear the brunt of incessant rain
Zirakpur, September 20 The lack of proper drainage system has led to accumulation of water on pot-holed roads, making driving a nightmare for residents. With civic authorities failing to act, the residents have been left in the lurch. Consequently, residents have been forced to avoid certain roads, even if it means taking a detour to their destinations. Even the Zirakpur-Kalka highway is dotted with potholes. The area of the national highway where the flyover is being constructed is flooded with rainwater. The condition of internal roads is worse, where puddles and potholes are commonplace. As the rain god showered its fury for two days, rainwater entered houses in various areas. The Choice Road area was completely flooded with choe water turning the place into a mini lake. Two-wheeler drivers were advised not to use the road. “A few months ago the road was dug by the sewerage board, but re-carpeting of the road was pending. With rainwater accumulating, the condition of road has worsened,” says Manoj Thakur, a resident of Baltana. As a result, traffic jams are the order of the day and commuters have to wait for hours in their vehicles to cross the area. The sewerage is choked and storm water drains are overflowing. “Our safety is at risk because of the flooding on roads. Vehicles can get stuck in potholes. Yesterday, I was caught up in a jam due to potholes on Zirakpur-Patiala highway,” says Mohit, an insurance agent. Added Gagan, a resident of Parbhat: “I had to go for a job interview but could not take the risk of driving a two-wheeler on such roads.” Zirakpur municipal council executive officer R.K. Mittal admitted that the roads had been badly damaged. He assured that patchwork of roads would begin soon. “We are waiting for the rain to end, so that we can start the repair work and undertake other development works in the town,” he said.
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Flood-like situation in Banur, Rajpura
Rajpura/Banur, September 20 The entire traffic on the road had to be diverted. Commuters coming from Kharar and moving towards Patiala and Rajpura had to take a longer route. People had to go through Chandigarh or Banur villages or through Fatehgarh Sahib. In Shamdu village, house of Balbir Singh collapsed due to heavy rains. Water had been seeping in for past two days, besides incurring loss of property. Balbir’s five quintal wheat from Basma village also got damaged in the water. Besides Shamdu, the villages of Alampur, Nepran, Madanpur, Mehtabgarh, Suha, Gardinagar, Khanpur Biring, Jandoli, Pathaunia, Khemaru and nearly a dozen more villages reportedly were battling against water. In Basma and Chhajon, the villagers had installed pipe lines to draw water from Ghaggar for irrigation purposes. Due to heavy rains, level of the river rose and water entered into fields through these pipes. As the rains continued, water entered the houses causing damage to property and animals. Mukhtiar Singh from Basma village lost his four cattle due to seepage. The roof of house collapsed killing four animals. Similarly, one goat reportedly died in a similar incident in Basma. Standing paddy crop in fields was also affected due to rain. Rajpura SDM Gurtej Singh said presently the water in Ghaggar was flowing 8 feet above the normal mark. He said that since the rain had stopped, water started receding in the evening. He said the administration will look into the demand of villagers for special girdawari. He added that officials are in field and in case of any eventuality, situation will be controlled. “We are taking help of the police officials and civil administration,” he said. |
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Kalka-Shimla rail section
Kalka, September 20 The official sources of Kalka railway station revealed that all five trains plying between Kalka and Shimla had to be suspended today due to the several landslides, which took place between Shimla and Koti railway station. The labourers of the engineering department, including the IOW and the PWI department of Kalka and Chandigarh, were deployed to clear the landslide material from the rail track. H.K. Jaggi, divisional rail manager (DRM), Ambala division, also visited the spot to take a stock of the situation, said railway sources. The heavy rains had also deteriorated the roads of Kalka, Pinjore and its vicinity. The condition of National Highway 22, which passed through the towns and had been recently re-carpeted by the NHAI, had again become deplorable. The link roads of NH-22 connecting to Kamla Nagar, Housing Board, Broad Gauge Colony, and railway station had become worse from bad and posed a serious threat to commuters. |
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Crops, property damaged
Ropar, September 20 In
Ropar, areas of Beant Singh, Aman Nagar, Basant Nagar on Chandigarh road were flooded with water. Roads in Basant Nagar were flooded in the absence of rainwater pipe. The sewerage system was performing duel task of carrying sewer waste as well as rain water, leaving the areas inundated. Water entered into a cluster of around 50
jhuggis, known as Bangala Basti in Ropar, after the rainwater pipe was closed due to the ongoing construction of national highway. Residents of Beant Nagar and Aman Nagar met the district officials complaining of water logging. Similarly, Kharar-Banur highway was blocked for an hour at 8 am by the residents of Landran area in protest. The area residents claimed that their locality was submerged in water by several feet due to which their belongings were rotting. However, water was drained out from the locality after the police pitched in and pacified the area residents. Also some portion of a gurdwara under construction in Jakkhar village collapsed due to the rain. Construction work had been going on in this building. |
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Life in Ambala thrown out of gear
Ambala, September 20 The routine life in Nahan House, Premnagar, Shukalkund road, Court road, Nadi Mohalla, Prem Mandir road, Jain College road was almost paralysed as two-wheelers and pedestrians had a tough time making their way following the water logging. However, the water started receding after the discontinuation of rain after this noon. The situation in Sector 9 of Urban Estate was worst as all the connecting roads of the sector were plunged in two-three feet sewerage mixed water. Two cattle died near Ambika temple when they were electrocuted through an electric poll last night during the rain. No report of collapsing of any house in the city was received so far. The flow of water in Markanda and Ghaggar rivers has increased. The paddy crop was also affected due to continuous downpour in the district. According to the agriculture department the paddy in the district was cultivated in around 78,000 hectare of land this year. Out of which around 15 per cent was partially affected. An agriculture officer said if the rain continued for next two days it would adversely affect the paddy crop. Meanwhile, local MLA Venod Sharma, along with the officials of the municipal council, visited several areas of the city that were badly affected by the rain. He asked the executive officer of the municipal council to deal with this situation on priority. |
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Dividers sans indicators pose threat to life
Zirakpur, September 20 Last night at least five vehicles rammed into the divider on the Zirakpur-Panchkula stretch and damaged the vehicles while the authorities concerned turned a blind eye to the situation. Though the rate of road accidents at these “killer” spots in Zirakpur has shown a sharp increase in the past few months, the authorities have hardly taken any initiative to find out a concrete solution of the problem. Police sources said this year around 27 cases of accidents were registered till September 18. They said in case of an accident, the police came to know about it only when somebody informed them. Sometimes, the police received information almost half an hour after the accident. “The authorities have neither installed reflectors nor floodlights to make the dividers visible for the motorists from a distance. There are no identification marks in front of the dividers to warn the motorists,” said Chandan
Suri, one of the victims. Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, commuters said shortage of traffic police was another cause of accidents in the area. Furthermore, there is no check on drivers driving beyond the speed limits on the highway. Zirakpur traffic in charge Sanjeev Kumar said, “We would look into the matter and do every possible thing to control the accident rate.” He assured more patrol vehicles and deployment of more traffic police personnel on highways soon. He added that after the completion of flyover in
Zirakpur, the number of accidents was likely to reduce. |
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Patiala residents rap mayor
Patiala, September 20 Yesterday’s torrential rain in the city virtually gave the residents a sleepless night as water entered their houses in almost all localities. The sewerage system was in a bad condition and does not have the capacity to take the excess rainwater, following which dirty water enters residential premises. Amrik Singh, who has a house in the walled city and whose residence is always flooded after a slight downpour, said, “It is the duty of the MC to ensure proper drainage facilities. Mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli is simply handing out false promises of providing better drainage facilities. He has done nothing to reduce the water logging problem in the city ever since he took charge.” A senior MC official, preferring anonymity, said, “The mayor is trying to please his loyal councillors and is doing little for the residents. Despite the availability of funds with the MC, not even a single step has been taken to either decongest the sewerage system or clean the ganda nullah.” The areas particularly affected by rainwater were the low lying areas of Khalsa Mohalla, bus stand, Sheranwala Gate, Gurbax Colony, Guru Nanak Nagar, Tripuri, Anardana Chowk, Lehal Colony and practically all areas falling within the precincts of the walled city. All these areas were heavily populated and the sewerage system in these areas was virtually defunct. |
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Tributes paid to Bhai Kanhaiya Singh
Patiala, September 20 Paramjeet Kaur Gulshan, MP, while remembering Bhai Kanhaiya Singh, said today’s youth was forgetting the principles of Sikhism and was getting detached from their roots and their parents were to be blamed for this. Parents should keep narrating the history of Sikh gurus to their kids and thus encourage them to work hard in life, she added. She also informed the students about the lifestyle of Bhai Kanhaiya Singh and his good work. She warned the youth against drug and female foeticide. While addressing the students, Karpal Singh Badungar, former president SGPC, said our first responsibility was to serve mankind. He said we must respect all religions and also help the needy. He also warned the youth against the follies of western culture. College principal, Dr Dharmender Singh, demanded the provision of bus service for girls who come from far off places. Many professors, doctors and others were present and Satpal Bansal, who had donated blood 136 times, was also honoured on the occasion. |
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De-addiction centre owner held
Kharar, September 20 Ramanjot along with others were booked on the complaint of victim’s mother Daljit Kaur, who had accused the de-addiction centre officials of torturing his son to death. The police has taken him in two-day police remand. Twenty-year-old Surinder, a resident of Phase 3BI, Mohali, was found dead under mysterious circumstances outside his house in the wee hours on August 23. The victim was a drug-addict and admitted to the drug de-addiction centre at Balongi. Surinder suddenly fell ill at the centre and its officials took him to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead. Later, the centre officials allegedly dumped the body outside his house around 3 in the morning. The body bore injury marks on the head, neck, arms and eyes.
— TNS |
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Iron merchant killed in accident
Rajpura, September 20 The victim has been identified as Mohan Lal Sood (52) who was on his way home at the ITI Chowk on scooter. The relatives of the victim said that a car hit the scooter and Sood fell on the ground. He was rushed to the civil hospital by the car owner where he succumbed to his injuries. The relatives alleged that big pot holes filled with water due to heavy rainfall led to the accident. Sood is survived by two sons and a daughter, all unmarried. A case in this connection has been registered. |
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All Over Drainage
Morinda, September 20 The incident took place at around 6.30 pm. Due to the incessant rain, the street around his house had got inundated. He tried to drain out the rainwater, but found that his neighbour, Dalbir Singh (attached with the Chief Minister's security), had blocked the drainage. Both had a verbal duel and blows were exchanged. Labh Singh died on the spot after he was allegedly hit by Dalbir. Labh Singh was with the Ravi Inder-Badal group and during the recent panchayat elections, he had joined the SAD. Dalbir's brother Jagtar Singh was also a strong contender for the post of sarpanch and had contested the elections. Labh Singh was made sarpanch following a toss by the panches. Until the filing of this report, no FIR had been registered. DSP Manminder Singh said the police was investigating the case. |
Consumer Courts
Chandigarh, September 20 The forum also asked the company to replace the defective washing machine with a new one. The forum directed the manufacturer to refund the money if it had stopped manufacturing the particular model of the machine. The petitioner, Vijay Chauhan, stated that he had purchased a fully automatic washing machine, which started giving problems after few months. Though they made several complaints to the company, the defect was not rectified. The petitioner then filed a complaint with the consumer courts. The company argued that washing machine of the petitioner had been repaired during the pendency of the case. It was further added that the petitioner had not filed an authenticated report from the expert from approved laboratories in support of his allegations.
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Man held for running institute under fake affiliation
Chandigarh, September 20 The case has been registered under Section 420 of the IPC at Sector-39 police station and he has been sent on police remand for
two days. The institute is having 17 students, and running the business on the name of regular MBA course. But according to the students, the course is not affiliated under UGC rules. The institute cannot issue any certificate. The institute started its first batch on August 4 charging Rs 3,20,000 from the students for the degree of two years. The students protested outside the institute on Thursday night, and demanded their fee back. But the authorities simply rejected their demand. “When we inquired from the UGC, they replied us that institute was fake. Then we demanded our money back, but they refused. After that, we filed a complaint to the police. They are playing with our future,” said Harjot Singh, a student. Even the institute is running a branch in Delhi also, but there, the fee has been returned back to the
students. “The students filed a complaint to us. After the investigation, we found the matter genuine and arrested the coordinator of the institute. He is still on police remand,” said Rajesh Shukla, SHO, Sector-39 police station.
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Gangrape: Boy detained, but no arrest
yet
Panchkula, September 20 Though the police preferred to remain tightlipped due to the involvement of minors in the crime, it is learnt that the detained youth was driving the car which was used to take the victim to Chandigarh. The girl has identified the accused. The complainant, a17-year-old resident of Sector 15, was allegedly raped and tortured by five persons, including a girl, on Tuesday. In a statement to the police, she had said the accused girl was her former senior in school. The victim was taken to a village in Punjab, where she was reportedly raped and tortured. The detained youth is a resident of Sector 12 here and is a student of a school in Sector 8 of Chandigarh. The police was able to trace him by the car number the victim mentioned in her statement. Sources said the girl spotted the boy during an identification parade. The accused boys are classmates. The other accused is a resident of Sector 12-A in Panchkula. Meanwhile, the statement of the victim was recorded before a judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC here today. The SP, Sandip Khirwar, refused to comment, saying that the investigation was on the right track and he would not be able to say anything before it was through.
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Rs 22,000, jewellery stolen
Chandigarh, September 20 A case under Section 380 of IPC has been registered at the police station-3. Also, Joginder Kumar, a resident of Mani Majra, reported to the police that one mangal sutra, three gold rings and one pair of gold tops were stolen from his residence at 4.40 pm on September 19. A case under Section 380 of the IPC has been registered at the Mani Majra police station.
Theft cases
The local police registered a case of theft after Parminder Singh, a resident of Kishangarh, alleged that his stereo, woofers, 50 CDs, remote and speakers were stolen from his car (CH 03Q 0154) from Mani Majra yesterday. A case under Section 380 of the IPC has been registered at the Mani Majra police station. Also, Amarnath Walia, a resident of Sector 16, lodged a complaint with the police alleging that his scooter shields were stolen from his house on the intervening night of September 18 19. A case under Section 379 of IPC has been registered at police
station-17.
Bike stolen
Anil Sikka, a resident of Sector 43, filed a complaint with the police that his Yamaha motor cycle (CH 03C 3115) was stolen from the parking of Sector 26 on September 17. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered at the police station-26.
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Youth committed suicide: Police
Mohali, September 20 The police has not been able to establish the ownership of the pistol used in the crime. The father of the victim has also denied owning the gun. Since the entire family is away to Jalalabad to perform the last rites of the victim the police has not been able to question the family members. On the basis of call details, the police was zeroing in on a girl. Meanwhile, the police has clarified that the boy was not a student of Chitkara Institute as reported yesterday.
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JP Atray Meet
Mohali, September 20 All cricketers of under-16 category were seen quite thrilled to have Ganguly amongst them. Ganguly, too, took keen interest in sharing his experiences with them besides giving them valuable tips to improve their game during his interaction session with them. Ganguly is in the city to participate in the ongoing JP Atray Memorial Cricket Tournament. “This tournament is one of the topmost tournaments of the country and playing in it will be beneficial for me from the point of view of my fitness as well as practise before the forthcoming Indo-Aussie tour.” Though Ganguly was reluctant to talk on the Indian cricket, he is hopeful of his selection in the team. “I was part of the team during the Sri Lanka tour, so where from do the question of my comeback arises,” said Ganguly, who is leading the LIC team in the tournament. Ganguly, who could not have enough practise at Kolkata due to rainy conditions, has to face the similar conditions here. Looking at the skies, he said, “Hopefully, rain will stop and I will be able to get some knock in the middle of the field tomorrow.” However, he praised the organiser of the tournament for rescheduling the matches instead of abandoning them. He also had a practise session in the indoor nets at the Mohali stadium along with the bowler Rana Deb Bose following a strenuous exercise regime of 45 minutes. Ganguly reached the stadium at around 3 p.m. and remained there till 6 p.m. Ganguly’s team will take on Rajasthan tomorrow at the PCA Stadium. |
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WWE, more entertainment than game: Sushil
Zirakpur, September 20 Taking his success humbly, Sushil, is focused on the Common Wealth Games 2010 and London Olympics 2012. Sushil still follows more than six hours vigorous training. He says, “After the triumph at Olympic games, there is not much change in the duration of the practice but yes, now I am working on the new techniques of the game.” Though Sushil has been showered with cash awards worth lakhs following his triumph, at the Beijing Olympics, but this down to earth champ still maintains same lifestyle. Still grounded, Sushil is ever ready, to sign autographs and click pictures with his fans. “If I get into luxury, then I will not be able to continue my wining spree,” quips Sushil. He not only had a shower of cash prizes but had also been abounded with many advertisements and film offers. His coach, Yashvir Singh reveals, “Sushil will soon be seen in few advertisements and he has got many film offers with him but if any good film offer comes his way, he will go for it because it will help promote wrestling.” Earlier in the day, he was honoured by the SBI and other distinguished members present at the Akhara. On the occasion, citing the problem of dearth of diet for players, Sushil’s coach, Ranbir Kundu said, “We have all the facilities only problem that we are facing is players’ diet which they find it hard to afford as majority of them come from poor families.” |
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FIH approves four-Nation hockey meet
Chandigarh, September 20 According to the Punjab Sports director, Pargat Singh, FIH general manager, Christophe Troendle, has conveyed the sanction to ad hoc committee of the Indian Hockey Confederation. Besides hosts India, Pakistan, Holland and German teams would be seen in action in the double leg to be played at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium in Chandigarh and the second leg, classification match and final will be staged at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar. The Punjab Sports Department will provide to and fro airfare for the 22 members, including one umpire of each team, free board and lodging and local transport. Pargat said that expert agencies would be associated and the matches would be telecast live. Meanwhile, the Punjab Sports Department has also requested the International Hockey Federation through Amrit Bose of Indian Hockey Confederation, for a sanction to organise an invitational Four-National Women Hockey Tournament in the last week of April, next year. |
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Badminton Championship
Chandigarh, September 20 Kevin ousted Ahil 21-9, 21-12 in the boys under-10 semi-finals, while Tushar defeated Aryan Singh by 24-22, 19-21, 23-21. Kevin also advanced to the boys under-13 semi-finals after defeating Shaurya Rattan by 21-13, 21-12 in the quarter-final match. Top seed Rajjan Singh gave a walkover to Vishal. Results: Boys under-10 (Semifinals): Kevin bt Akhil 21-9, 21-2, Tushar Khurana bt Aryan Singh 24-22, 19-21, 23-21. Boys under-13 (Quarter-finals): Vishal w/o Rajjan Singh, Robin Saini bt Lovepreet Singh 21-15, 21-15, Kevin bt Shaurya Rattan 21-13, 21-12, Chetnaya bt Gauravdeep Singh 21-18, 21-14. Boys under-16 (Pre- quaterfinals): Tarush bt Deepankar Wadhawa 21-6, 21-3, Gaurav bt Gaurav Mannan 21-7, 21-8, Nikhil Raj bt Gurvinder 21-12, 21-12, Kenneth bt Jivtesh Nagi 21-17, 21-17, Prajawaldeep bt Arjun Verma 21-2, 21-15, Sameer Gupta bt Gautam 21-18, 21-18. Men's singles (Pre- quaterfinals): Oscar Bansal bt Aman Sethi 21-16, 21-8, Vikash Khundu bt Abhinav Thakur 2108, 21-8, Tejinder bt Navjot 21-19, 21-11, Ashish Sharma bt Sharad Nagpal 21-11, 21-19, Vivek Sharma bt Sunil Malha 21-11, 21-12, Tushar bt Mahip 21-14, 22-20, Pankaj Nathani bt Amit Sachdeva 21-15, 21-9. Girls under-10 singles (Quarter-finals): Arshia Sethi bt Tanvi 21-5, 21-2, Garima Singh bt Jaisikha Singh 21-8, 21-16, Rashmi Goyap bt Gurleen Kaur 21-12, 21-11, Daamandeep Kaur bt Navsift 21-12, 21-11. Girls under-13 (Quarter-finals): Daaman Sharma bt Harmanant kaur 21-10, 21-8, Mehak Sood bt Simarandeep Kaur 21-6, 21-6. Girls under-13 doubles (Quarter-finals): Harmant Kaur and Anushika bt Drishia Kalia and Rhythm Sharma 21-18, 21-10, Kaushik and Sanya bt Simrandeep and Malika 21-10, 21-14. Girls under-16 singles (Semifinals): Mehak Sood bt Navika 21-17, 22-20, Sherya bt Daaman Sharma 21-20, 21-10. |
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City to host Albatross junior golf on Oct 3
Chandigarh, September 20 The one-day tournament will see competiton in five categories, namely under 17, under 14, under 12, under 10 and under 8, for which the entries will be accepted online only on www.albatross.co.in. The entries will close on September 25. The president of the Chandigarh Golf Club will tee off the tournament at 8:30 a.m. Albatross is an organisation, founded by parents of junior golfers, to promote junior golf by holding regular competitive tournaments in different age groups and holding training camps that focus on physical fitness and mental toughness among junior golfers. This will help junior golfers develop their skills, abilities and temperament to handle competition and tournament pressure. The organisation plans to take the tournaments to regions and zones across the country to enable more youngsters to participate in golf and also to provide increased International exposure to the maximum number of junior golfers. |
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Selection trials for Indian ball badminton teams
Chandigarh, September 20 Selected teams will represent the Indian ball badminton teams for the upcoming first Asian Ball Badminton Championship that will be held at Amritsar from
October 4 to 6. India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Malaysia are among the seven participating teams in the championship. The coaching camp will start from September 23 to October 3 at BMD Public School. |
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SAI table tennis selections
Panchkula, September 20 The interested candidates can report along with their photographs and birth certificates before 10.30 a.m. at the school premises. |
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