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Industrial waste polluting potable water
Dera Bassi, April 8 Though waste water from some factories of the focal point, Mubarkpur, flowing into a drain crossing between Dera Bassi and Bhankerpur, has been affecting the life of people of nearby villages for the past few years, no corrective measure has been taken by the government till now to check the problem. Bhupinder Singh of Bhankerpur village rued over the government apathy regarding the spread of pollution in this area. He said the drain that crosses Bhankerpur, Issapur, Pragpur, Bakerpur, Ibrahampur Dhanounani and Bhora villages was polluted due to sewage drained from factories and as a result, people of these villages could not drink the water of hand pumps. “The tubewells dug up to 100 feet have failed to provide suitable water to crops,” he added. Avtar Singh, a resident of Pragpur, said: “Due to pollution of this drain, groundwater had been badly damaging the crops of wheat, paddy, onion, potato and other vegetables.” “Most people are forced to get deeper tubewells by paying more money for supplying suitable water to crops,” he said, adding that the pollution of the drain had also affected the trees of the forest department that were planted near this drain some time back. Kuljit Singh Randhawa, a farmer of Bakerpur village, said they had raised this issue through media and during public meetings many times, but to no avail. “Many people have been facing liver-related diseases and asthma due to the polluted groundwater. Some years ago a few buffaloes died after drinking the water of the drain,” he added. “Since then people became aware about the potential of the polluted water and factory owners started using underground means to dispose the sewage in this drain,” said Randhawa. Animals coming in contact with this water face skin-related problems. This drain further pollutes the water of Ghaggar where it converges. Meanwhile, chairman of industrial association Kewal Garg expressed ignorance over the spread of pollution from industries. He said some people had been throwing sewage in this drain by unloading their trucks. XEN, pollution control board, Karunesh Garg expressed doubts that some factories might have been dumping sewage in the drain through sewerage system. He admitted that the drain was polluted due to filthy water and to overcome this problem, checking of outlets of industries was on and effective measures would be taken in this regard. |
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Tribune Impact
Bassi Pathana (Fatehgarh Sahib), April 8 State convener of the Safai Karmchari Andolan Subhash Divasar said about 12 scavengers were identified in Bassi Pathana, who cleaned night soil of people for just Rs 30 a month, as there was no sewerage connection in the town. Though influential families had dug septic tanks in their houses, some of the families had been taking services of scavengers, he added. Krishna, a 63-year-old scavenger, said there was no provision of vehicles or machines to clean the septic tanks. Scavengers had to clean it in lieu of money. She said despite assurances of rehabilitation, nothing needful had been done so far. Manual scavenging was declared an illegal act in 1993 and owner of dry lavatories could be put behind bars for one year, besides a fine of Rs 2,000. Apart from Bassi Pathana, manual scavenging is on in Amritsar, Patiala, Sangrur, and Jalandhar Cantt. Meanwhile, president of the Hindu Organisation, Manoj Banda, demanded that public toilets should be constructed immediately for those whose lavatories were demolished by the government today. |
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Moga Incident
Patiala, April 8 According to sources, several students were manhandled by the police in Moga and cases were registered against a few of them, who were protesting against the government for not making bus passes valid in private buses and non-issuance of identity cards to them. The students alleged that instead of helping them, the police department was filing cases against students with serious charges under Section 307 of the IPC. They added that the government had been talking about providing this facility since one year, but it had not been implemented so far. Private bus drivers refuse to let the students sit in the buses despite bus passes. Unit leader of PSU Amandeep Kaur and Mandeep Kaur said: “The government is adopting a dual policy. On one hand they claim that the bus passes will be valid in AC and private buses and on the other hand, they are registering cases against innocent students.” District leader of PSU Jarnail Singh said the government was shifting all government sectors into private hands. “Unbundling of PSEB is an example and also they are sighting towards privatisation of PRTC. The government was not deliberately implementing bus passes in private buses because if these sectors come under private owners, students will travel in private buses, which will be a loss to them in the long run,” he added. Students also demanded that the government must order the release of fellow students, otherwise they would march towards Moga and would protest against district authorities. |
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‘India needs 600 varsities, 35,000 colleges’
Kharar, April 8 Encouraging the computer engineering students, Dr Arora emphasised on the need of being a successful entrepreneur and developing jobs. Talking about high influx of information, he said there was flood of information on the Internet and thus there was need for management, he added. He also spoke on need to develop efficient video and image processing algorithms, urgency to develop untraceable data security banks, wide expanse of robotics in day-to-day life that makes use of ideal computation facility for common man and need to develop gadgets like mobiles for Indian market. In technical sessions on software engineering today, 36 papers were presented. Similarly, 38 papers were presented during the session on artificial intelligence. Session on database had 17 papers, while that on graphics and multimedia/bioinformatics had 12 papers. — TNS
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Punjabi Theatre fest ends
Patiala, April 8 Manjit Singh Narang, Patiala Municipal Corporation commissioner and IAS SK Ahlulwalia, chairman of the festival advisery committee were the chief guests. NTAS president GS Kakkar, administrator historic Gurdwara Manikaran Sahib (HP), Balbir Kaur, Punjab director languages and Harmeet Singh Kandhari, chairman Kandhari Educational Institutions and Industries, were present. They paid floral tributes to Madam Norah Richard, also known as mother of Modern Punjab theatre movement, and IC Nanda. Pali Bhupinder "Main Phir Aavanga", a powerful social satire depicting martyr Bhagat Singh on the stage to condemn society, evils and corruption in the system, was directed by NTAS'
Surjit.
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Dental hygiene poor in villages: Study
Rajpura, April 8 Dental surgeons of the centre Dr Neha and Dr Sakshi conducted this study to have close look at dental problems in Punjab arising out of low awareness and poor oral hygiene habits. It was found that people did not consider oral health as key towards ensuring dental well being. The study tracked oral health care products usage patterns in villages and drew inference that 37 per cent villagers were dependent on non-dentifrice products such as neemstick, charcoal and ash for dental care. This was despite the fact that 24 per cent of villagers had suffered from toothache in the past one year, 96 per cent were aware of the problem, but only 17 per cent sought treatment from a dentist. Meanwhile, a dental check-up camp was also held by doctors of the centre at Shambhu
village where 135 villagers were examined. |
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BSNL launches new scheme
Ambala, April 8 The sources in BSNL said now customers could enjoy life time plan with either one paisa per second with FRC Rs 42 or all at the rate of 49 paisa per minute with FRC Rs 48, along with a usage value of Rs 15, with a validity of one year. The sources further said the old scheme with a usage value of Rs 200 and validity of 365 days extended up to April 30. BSNL Haryana is also providing its 3G service in 21 cities in the state, including Ambala, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Hisar, Sonepat, Hansi, Kaithal Jind, Bahadurgarh, Fatehabad, Panipat, Rohtak Bhiwani, Kalka, Jhajjar, Palwal, Yamunanagar, Mahendargarh, and Narnaul.
— TNS |
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Bus drivers’ tiff causes traffic jam
Dera Bassi, April 8 According to information, both the buses were coming from Chandigarh to Ambala and drivers of these buses quarrelled near Zirakpur over the issue of taking passengers. The driver of the Haryana Roadways stopped some buses of Haryana for help near Sukhmani College, Dera Bassi, and tried to nab the driver and the conductor of the Syndicate bus. However, the driver of Syndicate bus drove to the Dera Bassi police station. Commuters were harassed as a result of this controversy. Drivers of both buses had submitted complaints in the Dera Bassi police station against each other. Meanwhile, the police
intervened and removed the traffic jam. |
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65-yr-old woman hurt in mishap
Zirakpur, April 8 The incident took place when Ram Rati was crossing the highway where the truck, coming from the Zirakpur side, hit her from behind. She fell on the road and sustained injuries. A passer-by immediately informed the highway patrolling team, which rushed the injured to the hospital. Meanwhile, the driver of the truck managed to flee from the spot leaving the truck behind. The investigating officer stated that the truck was impounded. A case would be registered after recording the statement of the injured woman, he added. One injured in
accident
Dera Bassi: One person was seriously injured in a road accident near Lalru today. According to information, Surjit Singh, a resident of Dharmgarh village, was hit by a minibus while he was standing on the roadside. He was admitted to the GMCH-32, Chandigarh. The police had registered a case against the bus driver under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC at the Lalru police station. Three held with poppy husk
Dera Bassi: The Lalru police has arrested three persons and recovered 75 kg of poppy husk from their possession. The accused, identified as Tarlochan Singh, a resident of Khajour Mandi, Mohali, Parbodh Singh and Ashish Kumar, both from Uttar Pradesh, were nabbed near Lehli village today. After receiving a tip-off, the police intercepted their vehicle. The accused were produced before a local court and were sent to a one-day police remand. Lalru SHO Dapinder Singh said a probe was on. |
Punjab, Haryana, UT get HC notice on absconders
Chandigarh, April 8 Taking up the matter, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh also fixed August 18 as the next date in the matter. The respondent states have been asked to file their response to the issue. The development is significant as more than 460 convicts in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh have over the years jumped parole. The Tribune was the first to report on the issue. In an obvious attempt to bring the outsiders back into the folds of law, Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia had earlier taken suo motu cognisance of the matter. Justice Ahluwalia had earlier ruled: “It has come to the notice of this court that during the pendency of their appeals, convicts after obtaining parole have never surrendered before the jail authorities on the due dates and are absconding…. “The Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary to the Government of Haryana, Jails Department, has furnished information on persons released on parole but absconding. A perusal of the information furnished reveals a very disturbing situation. As many as 245 persons, released on parole/furlough have not surrendered in the state of Haryana…. “The secretary to the Government of Punjab, Department of Home Affairs and Justice, Chandigarh, has filed an affidavit dated March 25, according to which 202 persons who obtained parole are absconding. As per the affidavit filed by the Inspector-General of Prisons, Union Territory, Chandigarh, 14 persons are absconding after obtaining parole. “In these circumstances, this court is of the opinion that a writ in the nature of mandamus ought to be issued to the state authorities to initiate coercive measures to arrest the absconders, whose appeals are pending in this court. Since a large number of persons are absconding, it is in the public interest that this litigation is monitored by this court and appropriate directions are issued to the functionaries of the state to take active steps to enforce the rule of law.
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Bar Assn members for action against ‘erring’ cops
Chandigarh, April 8 Amrit Pal Singh and Shelly Sharma, members who were close to deceased advocate Vijay Paul Singh sat on the first day of strike. They said they would go on with the indefinite hunger strike until the Punjab Police took action against the ‘erring’ cops. A Bar member Vijay Paul Singh had reportedly died after receiving grave
injuries in a road accident in Kharar on January 26. Malkit Singh Jandyala, secretary of Bar
Association, said they all were deeply disturbed with the way the Punjab Police initially handled the case. “It was after we made a complaint to the DGP, Punjab, that the accused driver was arrested and the vehicle was impounded. But no action had been taken against the cops who didn’t take action against the culprits on time even after the complaint was submitted to them. They also misguided
the family and friends of the deceased about the status of the inquiry all through,” he said. Jandyala said after the executive meeting of the association, they had appealed the members of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association to preside over the strike along with them to get justice. “The token strike will be observed in all courts of Punjab and Haryana,” he affirmed. Puneet Chauhan, Secretary of Bar Association, Mohali, said that they would also be going on hunger strike. “Work will be suspended tomorrow in the courts of Mohali,” he said.
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Fraud by Kotak Mahindra Bank employees
Mohali, April 8 Yesterday, Surinder Singh, an investor, had complained that his Rs 32 lakh had been misappropriated by the employees of a private bank from his account. Subsequently, the police today received three more applications from other investors. The police has already arrested two employees of the bank, Love Bumby and Rampreet Singh. “We are registering other cases. Raids are being conducted to nab other suspects,” said the SHO. The alleged fraud had come to light when the complainant went to the bank to withdraw the amount for getting a plot registered on his name. The bank authorities, in a statement issued here today, said investigations had been initiated into the said complaints against the alleged fraudsters, including an ex-employee, whose services had already been terminated by the bank a couple of months ago. The bank has also lodged a police complaint on March 26 and the bank was extending its full cooperation to the police authorities.
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Student rivalry to fore again
Chandigarh, April 8 Bhupinder Singh claimed that he was standing outside their residence around 1 am along with his son Udhay and nephew Gurbaz Singh while waiting for his elder son to return home. Four cars, including a Maruti Swift Dezire (registered with a Haryana number with 3737 as the last four digits) and a Chevrolet Optra car (registered with a Punjab number with 0066 as the last four digits) stopped near their residence. Bhupinder said his son identified the youth who alighted from these two cars to be Vikramjit Singh Vicky, Ajay Pal Singh, Robin Brar, Jaswinder Singh, alias Jassi, Harshvardan, Jasdeep Singh Dhillon, Vinay and Amit Bhatia, all of who began hurling abuses at them. Ajay Pal allegedly emerged from his car and fired a shot at Gurbaz Singh. Soon Vicky, who was allegedly carrying a rifle, along with two others started firing shots from their pistols, Bhupinder told the police. Two of the bullets hit a tree in the house, while three bullets hit windowpanes and other parts of the house. The police had found an empty cartridge and a lead of a bullet from the spot. Police sources said both groups had clashed with each other twice yesterday. First they had an altercation in the university and later in the Sector 11 market. Sub-inspector Tilak Raj, who was the emergency officer at the Sector 11 police station last night, told The Tribune he was going to attend a spot when he got a call about this incident around 1.50 am following which he rushed to the spot. “We called the forensic experts to examine the spot and found a piece of lead of a bullet from there. The police also got the spot re-examined from experts of the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory during the day to collect evidence,” he said. Sector 11 SHO Sukhpal Rana said a case of rioting, attempt to murder and criminal intimidation under various provisions of the IPC and Sections of the Arms Act had been registered.
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Two held for robbery
Chandigarh, April 8 Kuldeep Kumar of Kajheri reported to the police that Sumit and Mukesh, both residents of the same area, had robbed him of his mobile phone and a wallet containing Rs 200 from Kajheri. The police arrested the accused later. In another incident, Hans Raj of Sector 41 lodged a complaint with police alleging that John, alias Johny, of Attawa was caught red-handed while snatching his mobile phone from Sectors 36 and 42 crossing yesterday. Two separate cases have been registered.
Assaulted
Sunil Kumar of Colony No. 5 had lodged a complaint with the police alleging that Sudheer Kumar of
the same area had assaulted and threatened him near Traffic Lights Point in Colony No. 5 yesterday. A case has been
registered.
Car burnt
Mahishinder Singh of Sector 8-C reported to the police that unidentified miscreants had set afire his Ford Ikon (CH 04 K 9362) parked in the parking lot of the municipal corporation in Sector 17 yesterday. A case has been registered.
Liquor seized
Santosh of Colony No. 4 was arrested from her residence yesterday and recovered 35 quarters of country-made liquor from her possession. A case under the Excise Act has been
registered.
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A dream come true
Mohali, April 8 “I could not believe that one day I would get a chance to share nets with Sachin. But when he started giving us some cricketing tips, these were just like ‘mantras’ for us”, said an elated Akhil Raj and Shamsher Yadav, both residents of Mohali. Seventeen-year-old Akhil, who is an off-spinner, said that when he was informed by the PCA authorities that he had been selected to bowl to IPL players, he was very happy as he had been waiting impatiently to meet Sachin Tendulkar. “Not only me, but all my family members were equally excited”, said Akhil. However, he was not that fortunate to get a chance to bowl to his favourite players. But he was not disappointed as he showed his bowling skills to other international stars like Dwayne Bravo (West Indies), Kieron Pollard (West Indies) and JP Duminy (South Africa). “We not only bowled to them but also managed to snap their wickets on the nets”, said 17-year-old Yadav, another off spinner, proudly. While Akhil has been honing his skills at the Mohali Cricket Association, Yadav plays for the APJ Academy. “For all of us, spending around half-an-hour with ‘Sachin sir’ today is the most memorable day of our life as only a few lucky budding cricketers get such a chance”, said the other two young bowlers, Daljit Singh and Sonu Dhiman. |
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Disappointed fans to cheer visiting team
Mohali, April 8 Surely, the cricket buffs are planning to turn up at the stadium for tomorrow’s tie between the local team and Mumbai Indians, but not many of them will be seen cheering for the local team. “Watching Sachin in action on the field will be a a feast to eyes. We have seen him on TV, but seeing him in flesh and blood would be something exciting,” said Harpreet Singh, Rocky, Raj and Sukhi, all cricket enthusiasts. Interestingly, most of the fans said they wanted Mumbai to bat first. “Sachin and Harbhajan will hit big scores. We do not want Kings XI to play first, as we are sure that they will spoil the match,” said Priya and Sonia, who are Sachin’s die-hard fans. When asked which team they would want to win in tomorrow’s match, most of the fans chose Mumbai
Indians. “I want to see a healthy competition. I am no more interested in rooting for Preity Zinta’s team, as the team disappointed “Punjabis” with its dismal show during the league”, said Hardeep Singh, who turned up during every match to support Kings XI. But surely, this time it seems that the support-scale has tilted towards the visiting team. |
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