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A fear that just won’t go away
Panchkula, December 26 The impression of torture at the hands of the police weighed so heavy on the mind of the family that even now they don’t want to come out in the open to say anything against Rathore even though he has been convicted, a family friend said on the condition of anonymity. Sandeep and his family were finding it hard to believe that Rathore was not powerful any more and that they were safe now, he said. And he has not exaggerated the situation. Sandeep and his family refused to even admit that they were linked to the case and were the target of Rathore’s wrath. When the Tribune team reached their house, Sandeep’s mother came to the main gate and said she never heard any such thing happen in the locality. “I was a teacher at Chandigarh, and used to leave home in the morning,” she said, adding that people with jobs found no time to interact with others. She even denied having any association with the Girhotras. “They were living in the neighbourhood, but we never had any interaction with them,” she said. However, her family friend, who was a neighbour at the time of the incident, said Sandeep was also picked up by the police whenever Ashu was arrested and was made a co-accused. Both of them were paraded on the roads while the policemen accompanying them used to tell the public that they were anti-social elements. Though the Girhotras had gone underground to escape the wrath of Rathore, Sandeep, who was in his teens, was regularly questioned by the police whenever there was a car theft in the town, ruining his academic career. Getting no response from his mother, the Tribune team coaxed the family friend to arrange for a meeting with Sandeep. Sandeep came till the gate of the house, but requested him not to compel him to relive his horror story. “I am a broken man, please excuse me,” he said. The scars of police torture were visible on his face.
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He made Anands’ fight tad easier
Chandigarh, December 26 He was not related to us and was a senior bureaucrat, but he has been extending financial and moral support to us since 2004. When everybody of his stature chose to be indifferent, he believed in our cause and continued to be there for us,” he says. Setia says his association with the cause was probably an outcome of an incident from his college life. “When I was in college, there was an incident of bride burning in our locality. Though everybody suspected foul play, nobody -- not even the girl’s parents -- complained to the police. I was adamant on doing it myself, but my parents stopped me from going to the police. Since then, the feeling of guilt has remained deep within me. When I came to the estate office and read a story about Anand Prakash in The Tribune, that feeling of helplessness surfaced and I knew I had to be with them,” he says simply. Setia, a former DPI (S) who is known for his ambitious plans, says that the first thing that bothered him was how the Anands were managing the legal costs. “I cut the newspaper report and circulated it among my staff, asking what we could do about it. We collected money and sent it to their house in Panchkula. I later got a call from him and our association began,” he says. He also ensured that they were not harassed. Today when they have achieved something, he wishes to take the crusade further. “They taught me that just because we are not victims, we cannot be a silent spectator. When I saw Anand’s confident face last Diwali, I felt I had repaid a debt of many years ago. I plan to initiate a forum to encourage girls to stand against any such act and help them in all possible ways,” he concludes with a smile.
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No stopping swine flu; six more dead
Chandigarh, December 26 According to health officials, the victims who died at the PGI were from Chandigarh, Himachal, Haryana and Punjab. Jaswinder Kaur (27), a resident of Khuda Ali Sher, died at the PGI today and her family has been quarantined by the health department. She was referred to the PGI on Wednesday from the GMSH-16 as her condition was critical. Earlier, she was being treated at a private clinic and after her condition started deteriorating, doctors referred her to a government hospital. The other victims who died at city hospitals are Swaroop Singh (35) from Una, Kamlesh (19) from Lalru, Amandeep Kaur (23) from Bathinda, Jagdish (35) from Ambala and Lakhinder Singh (30) from Kharar. The high number of deaths has sent the alarm bells ringing. Health officials have urged private medical practitioners, who have been authorised by the UT health department to treat swine flu cases, to follow renewed guidelines and administer Tamiflu to suspected patients in the initial days of the symptoms to avoid complications. It has been noticed that most patients who died at public hospitals were being treated for viral infections and pneumonia and brought for swine flu treatment when severe complications had set in. “It is important that private doctors take up the challenge of simple management of flu patients. Many patients are first treated for simple fever, even pneumonia, delaying H1N1 treatment, which can prove fatal. If a private practitioner suspects that the patient may have swine flu, he should start giving Tamiflu,” the nodal officer for swine flu said, adding that swine flu was expected to worsen in winter. Public congregation like kids’ carnival, Sector 17 carnival, and the forthcoming New Year parties are feared to expose more people to the virus.
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Musical fest at Tagore Theatre
Chandigarh, December 26 Commencing on a spiritual note, the wonder music genius Tejasvini Sharma with an invocatory “Saanware sab dukh” gave a majestic start to the programme. The versatile RamTirath, winner of Rafi Memorial Nites, Priyanka and Veenu Kautish maintained their supremacy and it was Jagmohan Phutella, Sukhna Singh, Dr Arun and Balak Ram who registered their presence with confidence. After a mundane beginning in “Aaja re” classicist Chitra Amrik Singh managed to come up. The selection of raga-based songs was another challenge for the amateurs. Tejaswini, however, won applause as also his guru Varinder Bachan as she presented more songs. Earlier, vice-president of the club SS Jammu and Manvir Saini welcomed the chief guest, Union Home Minister Virbhadar Singh.
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Haryanvi folk dance results
Panchkula, December 26 Results: Gurgaon division: Karan Singh and group, DAV College, Faridabad, bagged the first prize, Vicky and group, Mahendragarh, got the second prize, while Dharamvir and group, Banchari, got the consolation prize. Hisar division: Sharda and group, Hisar, bagged the first prize, Pushap Kaur and group got the second prize, while consolation prize was bagged by Ekta and group, Hisar. Teams securing the first and second positions in the division-level will be awarded Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000, along with certificates and mementos. The state-level winners will get Rs 1,00,000, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000, along with certificates and the mementos. Jagan Nath Pahadia, Governor, Haryana, will distribute prizes to the state-level winners at 5 pm tomorrow.
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Open House Response It is sad and equally bad news of the Sukhna lake shrinking for lovers of the lake, specifically for those who have grown up here and enjoyed the prime of their youth at its banks during the 1960s and 1970s, when the lake was at its prime. On the one side, the UT Adviser admits that his office does not know the fate of the project file sent to the ministry for the last three years and on the other, the matter is called too sensitive for the UT administration to answer on issues raised by the public. Similarly, on the one hand, a proposal to sanction a project worth Rs 72 crore for mechanical desilting has been sent to the ministry for its sanction and on the other, a decision to close the lake for mechanical desilting is yet to be taken. It reflects that no one with the Chandigarh administration is serious at all in saving the Sukhna from its ultimate death. The only source of water to it is rain water in the catchment area, which has been stopped by Haryana with check dams. Thus, the major flow of water has been stopped at the upper level of the catchment area. The statistics of reduction in flow of water indicated by the UT administration has shown that the intake of water has dropped from 7370 acre feet to 736 acre feet during 2006. To revive the lake in its original form, it requires to be closed for time-bound mechanical desilting and then, given water from the Bhakra mainline. Sewa Singh ,New DelhiCritical issue The Sukhna lake is a jewel in the crown of Chandigarh. Huge silt deposit, reduced wetland and wild plants under water have pushed the lake into degradation. The preservation of the lake becomes critical for bird survival, improving the ecosystem and bolstering the economy through tourism and water sports. The past more than 15 years have not witnessed any improvement in the restoration and cleaning up of the lake. It is high time the government ensures that adequate funds are sanctioned and utilised for critical programmes. Ajit Singh Silt heaps help The present silt heaps on the bed of the Sukhna lake are not interfering with the functioning of the lake. Instead, those help increase the depth of the water at unsilted places. This becomes a boon for boating activity at the time of low water level at the lake. Despite being sterling property, the UT has been spending lakhs on their removal by ‘shramdan’ and draglines every year in April and May in the past. Not satisfied with the slow pace of their removal, the UT, in concurrence with the Centre, has prepared a scheme for desilting the entire lake in six years at a cost of over Rs 50 crore. The two governments should immediately cancel this scheme and educate the public about the true properties of the silt heaps. In order to make the lake absolutely silt-proof and make it live for all times to come without a silt problem, the government must construct a silt-excluding device. This lake is a victim of a self-created water problem, which is threatening its existence. The unfortunate part is that neither the government, nor the public is aware about it. The recently constructed 190 check dams are supposed to retain the silt and release the desilted water. In actual practice, the desilted water is also being permanently retained at these dams. In other words, these check dams have become mini-lakes of the water which actually belongs to the Sukhna lake. What is surprising in that the government is not aware about the total water being stored in these 190 check dams as these do not have any arrangement for measuring the same. While operating these check dams, care has not been taken to protect the legal share of the Sukhna lake. If the lake is to be saved, immediate arrangements should be made to know the quantity of water being retained by these check dams and make it a rule to empty all of these by the 15th of October every year. SP Malhotra Promote tourism The concern to save the Sukhna lake is appreciable. Any problem is always directly linked with financial resources. First, the private sector will bring an end to the unending menace of lake-silting with latest techniques and equipment from their financial resources. They can built an all-round ring around the lake by collecting the unwanted silt and mud around the lake like a round necklace. Secondly, they should be permitted to have a five-star hotel along with camping facility of international standard on the other side of the lake bank, which will attract a few hundred crores of revenue for development. The recurring expenses for continuous maintenance of the lake can be met by introducing water-skiing, water-polo and Kashmir-like ‘shikaras’. The opposite side of the lake can be connected with ropeway trolleys and helicopter rides and then be developed with beautiful landscaping, musical dancing fountains, modern colourful lights, cultural evenings and fire camping. The most important feature can be setting up an amusement park. Fishing tourism can be introduced for attracting national and international tourists on the banks of the lake. Ashok Bansal Aquatic wildlife The administration has been only busy to start mega-projects and most of those are of no public or environmental use. Had Le Corbusier not created this lake, Chandigarh would not have been so healthy and free of pollution. No other place in the city is being visited daily, not only by tourists, but also by regular morning and evening health-conscious citizens. There can never be zero-level silt in the lake. The accumulation of silt is a natural phenomenon. Therefore, it can be reduced, but not stopped permanently by any means. So, the focus should be on reducing and not removing it. The protection and preservation of aquatic wildlife and its flora and fauna is equally important. The lake has become a way of life for citizens of the city. It has to be protected like a treasure of heritage. There is a need for excessive plantation in the periphery of the lake and on its banks to check soil erosion and provide a natural habitat to birds. One suggestion for improvement is an autonomous body to take care of the lake, consisting of eminent citizens and experts. Capt Amar Jeet Kumar Pathetic handling The Sukhna lake is the best example of the administration’s pathetic handling of a world-class man-made lake. Countries the world over spare no efforts to save spots of tourist interest and heritage monuments and spend phenomenal sums to preserve those. It is intriguing why the administration is not paying any heed to suggestions which entail small expenditure as compared to plans envisaged by it. The lake is the best gift to residents of the City Beautiful by its architect Le Corbusier. Just as Marine Drive is called the necklace of Mumbai, the Sukhna lake is the necklace of City Beautiful. The government can constitute an independent board comprising technical experts and senior citizens, backed by the Centre. Lajpat Rai Garg
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MC Polls
Chandigarh, December 26 Although the final decision will be taken by the Congress High Command, Chatrath seems to be the party favourite. For the post of Senior Deputy Mayor there seems to be a tough competition between Kuldeep Singh and Bhupinder Singh Bhaderi, while Sheela Phool Singh seems to be a strong contender for the post of Deputy Mayor. While the “controversial” tenure of the present Mayor, Kamlesh, has raised doubts about her re-nomination, Chatrath’s chances for the elevation to the post have brightened. Local MP Pawan Bansal will play a pivotal role in the selection of the candidate. Insiders said candidates for the mayoral elections would be formally announced tomorrow in the presence of Congress observer Major Ved Prakash. On the other hand, opposition parties have not finalised their candidates as yet. Sources in the BSP revealed that the party councillors have authorised their party president Harmohan Dhawan to coordinate with BSP Supremo Mayawati to support Akali Dal councillor Harjinder Kaur as their mayoral candidate during a meeting held here today. Party sources said after getting the final approval from their chief they would formulate their strategy for the coming mayoral elections. Sources said the BJP-SAD alliance would also finalise their candidates by tomorrow. The date for filing nomination papers is December 28.
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Palm Garden opened
Chandigarh, December 26 Palm Garden developed in 2.75-acre have different types of palms and flowerbeds and multi play equipment. Mayor Kamlesh while presiding over the function said this was the first garden in any colony of Chandigarh where multi play equipments had been provided in sand and special care would be taken to provide more facilities to children in the garden. She said the corporation would develop such gardens in all colonies. Other councillors and officers of Municipal Corporation were also present.
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Afghan national gets police remand
Chandigarh, December 25 Walid, according to police sources, had come to India on a student visa in 1997 and had sought refugee status from the United Nations. His original passport number, bearing his name and date of birth as July 25, 1977, was valid till 2008. He had allegedly applied for a new passport at the regional passport office under fake details and was arrested yesterday. He had mentioned his name as Wali Khan, care of Seva Bhavan, Kartarpur Mohalla, Nabha, Patiala district, and mentioned July 7, 1977, as his date of birth on the application form.
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Chandigarh, December 26 The senior and retired faculty members of the institute felicitated the students of 1984 batch. — TNS
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New Year
Chandigarh, December 26 The authorities would also write to the headquarters to start special trains to deal with the heavy rush. The railway authorities informed that the additional coaches, including air-conditioned, are ready with the Railway authorities in Chandigarh, and that they would release the coaches during rush. Chandigarh-Lucknow (2232) and Chandigarh-Allahabad (4218) witness heavy rush, and the Railways authorities are monitoring the waiting list of commuters. During April to December, 149 additional coaches are attached to Chandigarh-Allahabad train. April - June being the peak months of rush witness 112 additional coaches attached to the train out of a total of 149 during these three months. Similarly, 167 additional coaches, including air-conditioned, out of 267 are attached to Chandigarh-Lucknow train during three months. According to sources, authorities are careful during this time to provide relief to the commuters travelling in general coaches, as they have to bear the brunt of the menace created by the army or railway police personnel, who lock the doors from inside and do not allow entry to other commuters. During this time, the authorities mull dealing strictly with such elements. Karan Singh, senior divisional commercial manager, Ambala division, said this New Year, they would provide a comfortable journey to the commuters. They would monitor every train on a daily basis and whenever they would feel the need of extra coaches, they would connect them to the train, he informed. Going by the numbers, travelling by train is getting popular among residents. There has been a consistent annual increase of 10 per cent in passenger volume at the Chandigarh railway station. As per the latest figures, around 30,000 people in Chandigarh travel by trains every day.
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Sahayata Kendra inaugurated
Chandigarh, December 26 Appreciating the role of the staff and NGOs, who had brought clothes and books for distribution among the needy, he said motivation was necessary to help change the mindset of people. Terming it a noble cause, General Rodrigues said the donated items would be distributed among the poor under the supervision of NGOs and committees constituted for the purpose. He said proper record of people who donated the items and the beneficiaries would be maintained. For donations, donors can inform the e-sampark centres falling in their areas and can also contact principals of private schools. Prominent among those present included Home Secretary Ram Niwas, Finance Secretary Sanjay Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Brijinder Singh, and SDM
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Place on global map beckons city
Chandigarh, December 26 The land for the academy, to be set up at Sarangpur village, near Chandigarh, has been identified and a map of the prestigious project will soon be submitted to the engineering wing of the administration to know the exact cost. Dr JPS Sidhu, Joint Director, sports department, said this project would help in promoting equestrian sports in the region as there were no world-class facilities available in the city or surrounding areas. Another project which would be taken up was an athletics and football stadium of international standard. One side of the stadium would be for football and the other for hockey. The design of the stadium had been completed. A sportsman said the renovation and laying of a synthetic track at the Sports Complex at Sector 7 was yet to see the light of the day despite repeated claims by the authorities for early completion. He said the projects should be completed in time as not only did sportsmen suffer, but crores also went waste due to revised estimates submitted by companies. Answering queries regarding the delayed project of an indoor basketball stadium at the Sector 42 sports complex, he said due to some technical reasons, some of the projects would be carried on to the next year. He said the stadium would be completed by March next. He said the estimated cost of the project was Rs 1.80 crore, but it could cost more as there had been a considerable increase in prices of raw material like steel and cement. A new astroturf would be laid at the Sector 42 hockey stadium by the end of 2010, he added. He said work on floodlights at the Cricket Stadium at Sector 16 would begin soon as the engineering wing has floated tenders. He said there was some delay in the project as companies did not agree for installing four-mast floodlights due to technical reasons. He added that six-mast floodlight would now be installed and work would be taken up soon after the finalisation of tenders.
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‘Politicians shedding crocodile tears’
Chandigarh, December 26 Claiming that their reactions are nothing more than political propaganda, Anand Prakash said, “If they genuinely think so, there will be no more Ruchikas in the country, but it is hard to trust them. When we knocked at their doors to seek help in getting justice, they either sided with the culprit or turned their backs on us.” “Now, when our efforts have borne fruit and there is a strong public opinion against the verdict, they are just trying to gain publicity out of it. Had their sense of responsibility and apathy been awakened then, we would have not lost Ruchika and undergone so much trauma,” he added. “It is sad that the case had lingered on for so long. No political leader or party was interested in getting justice for Ruchika and so, we faced so many hurdles. Today, when we see them on television, extending their support or praising us, we wonder whether to feel encouraged or disgusted with the hypocrisy,” said Madhu Prakash. Though every single politician today was busy condemning the quantum of punishment awarded to SPS Rathore, nobody could overlook the virtual support he got from across party lines and successive governments in Haryana. The molestation incident had come to light during the Janata Dal government led by Hukam Singh and despite strong recommendations of the then DGP, the registration of an FIR against Rathore was conveniently avoided. The same indifference had been shown next year by the government led by Om Prakash Chautala. The FIR was finally registered in 1992 during the Congress government led by Bhajan Lal. Almost immediately, the police slapped the first of six auto theft cases on Ashu Girhotra, Ruchika’s brother, who was arrested in 1993 under the Congress regime. Though the court later dismissed cases against Ashu, the then Chief Minister Bansi Lal did nothing against Rathore. During the successive regimes of the Congress and the HVP, the Prakash family had struggled to get a copy of the inquiry report submitted by DGP RR Singh in 1990. It was only in 1997 that things got moving, but Rathore continued to get patronage and promotions.
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Fiza draws parallel with Ruchika
Mohali, December 26 Drawing the parlance of Ruchika’s case with her own against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and his family members, she said no politician stands up at the time of the incident and crops up later to drive political mileage. There were so many other girls whose plight was never highlighted and they got buried under the weight of the slow judicial system. Addressing a press conference at her Sector 48 residence, Fiza said she would pray the New Year brought strict punishments for persons like SPS Rathore. Citing the case of Bhajan Lal, Kuldeep Bhisnoi and Chander Mohan, she said those who did not respect women and used them as a commodity needed to learn a lesson from such incidents. Due to wrong doings, the political career of Bhajan Lal’s family was almost finished, she said. Coming back to the Ruchika case, she advised girls to stand up and fight any oppression. “Being a woman is an asset and not a liability. The judiciary also needs to wake up and do something to teach such molesters a lesson,” she said.
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Mango Garden cries for upkeep
Mohali, December 26 Broken dustbins, damaged lights, wild growth, litter, heaps of garbage along the boundary offer an unpleasant welcome to those visiting the garden. The eight-acre garden, which extends from Phase I to Phase V, was earlier maintained by the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority and was handed over to the civic body for maintenance around three years ago. Mohan Singh Maan, a resident of Phase IV, said he had been a regular visitor to the garden for some time but was disappointed to see it deteriorate with the passage of time due to lack of proper upkeep. A number of lights had been lying broken for the past few months and the civic body had failed to get these replaced or repaired. Lights were also not placed properly in the garden, which caused poor lighting in areas with big trees. He said even the lights that were functional were not switched on by the contractor at night. This caused inconvenience to people who frequented the garden in the evening. Also, most dustbins in the area were broken and served little purpose for which they had been placed. He suggested that the civic body should install tower lights in the garden to ensure better lighting. Also, this would curb theft of lights there. Council’s executive officer Amna Kumar Goyal said thieves had been stealing lights from green belts and complaints had been made to the police in this regard but to no avail.
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Human chain against mild punishment
Chandigarh, December 26 Several prominent members of the forum participated in the event, which, according to its president, Sushil Gupta, was organised to condemn the misuse of power by bureaucrats and politicians in shielding the accused. “The punishment that he has got is far too less compared to his crime. We have gathered here to create a public opinion in favour of stringent punishment,” he added.
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London-based author honoured
Chandigarh, December 26 The lofty applause came for poems from the latest “Sonata for Four Hands in English” with its preface written by John Berger, an author and philosopher of international repute, added Dewan Manna, former associate now chairperson of the CLKA.
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Placement
Chandigarh, December 26 Accusing the authorities of step-motherly approach one of the students claimed: “When we had joined the regional centre they had exclaimed it was the city which was different but all other things like infrastructure and academics will be replica of the Chandigarh campus. However, ever since day one we have been compromising on everything, but what has irked us is their indifference towards getting us placed,” said one of the protestors. “We also pay the same fee for the course as Chandigarh students, but they are not bothered about us. We have adjusted with lapses so far, but will not compromise with placements. If they have sold us dreams they will have to fulfill the promise,” added another. Meanwhile, Vice-Chancellor RC Sobti tried to pacify the students with the promise of looking into the matter, but they refused to deter.
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