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Kaithal withstands flood fury
Breaches in Fatehabad; Army called in |
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High alert in Sirsa villages
Hansi-Butana canal Hooda’s biggest blunder, says MLA Majra
Thermal plant makes life hell for Khukhrana villagers
Constable found dead in tourist complex
Karnal villagers booked for damaging EVMs
2 elderly women murdered
HPGCL recruits 218 engineers
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Of vigil, valour & fortitude
Geetanjali Gayatri Tribune News Service
Kaithal, July 11 Soon after the Hansi-Bhutana breached at Keorak, the Army was called in even as water inundated surrounding villages and came swirling towards the Kaithal drain. Realising that the sheer quantum of water made the drain vulnerable to breach, the administration swung into action. The bundh around the drain was levelled overnight, floodlights installed every few metres to light up the area and policemen, villagers and Congress workers posted at every 100 yards in shifts to keep an eye on possible breaches caused by the water pressure. At least 250 volunteers fanned out over a distance of 3 km at any given time, fingers crosse, hoping the water level in the Ghaggar would not rise further, praying there would be no more rain. After a round-the-clock vigil for nearly 72 hours and plugging of the canal breach by the Army this morning , the city heaved a sigh of relief as the water level showed signs of receding and crops in fields began to peep out from underneath the water. “The worst has been averted for now. The power supply remained uninterrupted and there was no casualty. Now, our focus in on providing relief to the flood-hit villages,” said Kaithal MLA Randeep Singh Surjewala. Explained Deputy Commissioner Amneet P. Kumar: “The administration has established contact with all inundated villages. We have asked sarpanches to make a list of pregnant women, the and old and the sick. “ We have given them phone numbers for emergency services. We are distributing water pouches and gas cylinders and holding medical camps,” she said. Meanwhile, in the absence of any active NGO, a lot of volunteers have come forward to help the administration. If one is supplying candles and matchboxes, another is distributing packets of biscuits while still others are providing umbrellas. Barring Jagdishpura village, which turned down the request of the district administration to plug the canal breach while it was still “manageable, the town stands as one in these difficult times in the face of new challenges. Meanwhile, the situation in Guhla remains grim with the water level hovering around the danger mark.
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Breaches in Fatehabad; Army called in
Fatehabad, July 11 “60 men from our division have come here. We will assess the situation today and start the plugging work tomorrow,” D’ Souza told The Tribune at the Chandpura head. Flood waters are spreading to the fields from the Mamupur siphon of the Ghaggar under the Bhakhra Main Branch (BMB) and the Joiya stream that takes off from the south bank of the Ghaggar about 8 km north of the district boundary at Phulad (Sangrur in Punjab). Lamba, Dhani Babanpur, Kamana, Alika, Ganda, Khai, Mehmadki, Teliwara, Nathwan, Kamalgarh and Mehmada falling under the Ratia subdivision and Haidarwala, Hindolwala, Lalluwas, Chillewal, Nathwan, Diwana, Dher, Shakarpura, Meond Khurd, Meond Kalan, Nadel, Chuharpur, Talwara, Talwari, Sadanwas, Chandpura, Kasampur, Sidhani, Udaipur, Himmatpura, Simbal and Puranmajra of Jakhal and Tohana areas of the district have been affected by the floods. Most villages have been cut off from nearby towns. A road of the irrigation department on the BMB is the only mode of transportation for the villagers as well as the authorities. A stretch of agriculture land running into several kilometres has come under 6ft to 8ft water. The paddy fields are making the situation worse as the flood waters are flowing at a great speed without percolation into the soil. Villagers had a tiff with the authorities at Diwana. They cut off the Kulan-Jakhal-Chandigarh road with JCB machines, despite directions of the authorities to the contrary, to make way for the water flow towards Ratia and Fatehabad. The situation continues to be grim as the flow of water crossed 30,000 cusecs at Chandpura, much higher than its capacity of 22,000 cusecs. Similarly, the Rangoi Nullah is running at 12,000 cusecs, against 10,000 cusecs yesterday. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Prahlad Singh Gillankhera, accompanied by the DC, SP, ADC and Superintending Engineer of the Irrigation Department toured the flood- affected villages.
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High alert in Sirsa villages
Sirsa, July 11 Though the flood waters have not entered any inhabited areas in these villages, the authorities consider tonight as very critical keeping in mind the flow of water entering Haryana from Musahibwala village situated on the Punjab border. Besides Musahibwala, Panihari, Buddabhana and Mallewala villages are among the worst-affected villages in the district. Villagers were having a tough time in stopping the flood waters from entering their “abaadi” in Budhabhana and Nejadela and were trying to reinforce “bundhs’ on the Ghaggar, which is flowing far above its normal capacity. “With water flowing at 31,000 cusecs upstream of the Ghaggar at Chandpura in Fatehabad, the next few hours will be critical for us,” said Pankaj Chaudhary, ADC, Sirsa. She said the flow at Ottu head was about 12,000 cusecs in the morning and the water was flowing smoothly towards Rajasthan from there. Meanwhile, water started spilling over from the banks of the Ghaggar near Ranga, the village where the river re-enters Haryana after drifting towards Punjab upstream of Biranbadi village in Fatehabad. The ADC, meanwhile, toured all 15 villages, declared sensitive in view of the floods and deputed government functionaries to keep vigil on the situation. She said nodal officers had been appointed for each of these 15 villages and coupons for the purchase of diesel had been issued to them for emergency.
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Hansi-Butana canal Hooda’s biggest blunder, says MLA Majra
Kaithal, July 11 The CBI should conduct an inquiry into all aspects, from land acquisition to execution of the project. Majra, who held the irrigation charge in the Chautala government, after touring a number of flood-affected villages, said that breaches in Hansi Butana Canal had occurred at about half a dozen places due to technical flaws and poor construction material. He said from the very beginning his party had opposed the construction of the canal as “we were of the considered view that the funds spent on the canal would go waste. No prior technical approval from the Central Water Commission was obtained for the canal constructed against the natural flow of water.” The project was the brainchild of Hooda and Capt Ajay Yadav. Irrigation Minister. “This canal should be renamed HYL Hooda-Yadav Link) canal.
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Concrete plan must to check floods, says Sidhu
Karnal, July 11 Sidhu, who was deputed by BJP president Nitin Gadkari to visit the flood-hit areas of the two states along with party secretary Captain Abhimanyu, told mediapersons a relief package alone would not help and a concrete plan must be made to save people from the fury of recurring floods. “Better prevent and prepare than to repent and repair,” he said and emphasised that floods in Punjab and Haryana, which contributed 50 per cent foodgrains to the country, would have an adverse impact on the whole country. Sidhu said he, along with Captain Abhimanyu, would visit the flood-affected areas during the two-day visit and submit a report to the party high command. “There is no food for flood victims; their crop is still submerged and the people have nowhere to go. It is painful to note that disaster management work starts after the disaster has taken place and the focus shifts to relief and rehabilitation,” he added. A strong preventative mechanism, rain and flood warning forecast system and immediate relief and rescue arrangements were the need of the hour and governments must remain in a state of readiness to meet any eventuality and mitigate the sufferings of people, he added. Suman Bhatnagar adds from Ambala: Sidhu said the government was responsible for the damage that took place in Ambala and other districts due to the floods. After visiting several villages of Naggal, he told mediapersons that the government had not taken precautionary measures to prevent this natural calamity otherwise the loss would not have been so huge. He demanded that at least Rs 25,000 per acre compensation should be given to farmers whose paddy crop had been destroyed in the flood. Similarly, Rs 10 lakh should be granted to next of kin of those killed in the floods. |
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Tricolour touches new height Gurgaon, July 11 Kurukshetra MP Naveen Jindal, who is also founder-president of the FFI, was present on the occasion. The national flag would be kept hoisted round the clock. The flag pole weighs 1.5 tonne and its circumference is 430 cm at the base and 110 cm at the top. The flag, measuring 20ft X 30 ft, is made of waterproof fabric. It is larger than those put up at Rastrapati Bhawan, Parliament Street and the Red Fort. Two lights of 400 watt each have also been installed at the base of the flag so that people can see the Triolour during the night too. Jindal said efforts were on to have a national flag on a 73-m-high pole in Delhi before the start of the Commonwealth Games. “The flag would be almost as high as the Qutub Minar,” Jindal said, adding that the Delhi government was yet to decide on an appropriate place for the same. The FFI president maintained that they would install national flags on 100-ft- high poles at all district headquarters of the state. “When the national flag is hoisted atop a building, we see it as part of that building,” Jindal observed, adding the flag would be hoisted atop buildings of other states too. One such flag at 206-ft height had been installed at Angul in Orissa. A national flag would be hoisted at Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of the country, soon. The FFI has installed five flags at Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Ladwa, Sonepat and Hisar, all at a height of 206 ft, while another pole at the Musical Park in Kurukshetra fluttered at a height of 100 ft.
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Thermal plant makes life hell for Khukhrana villagers
Khukhrana (Panipat), July 11 Thanks to the constant pollution being caused by the plant, there is hardly a household here where one or more persons are not suffering from problems like asthma, tuberculosis and other related respiratory diseases. It is believed that the polluting power plant has also contaminated the water in the area which has lead to various skin diseases among people. The constant ash being emitted from the plant has almost given the entire village a pasty white look. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the Haryana government to shift the entire village to some pollution-free area after the local residents had filed a petition in the court in 2007. Though the local administration initiated a move to acquire 55 acres near Sodhapur village in the district for the purpose, it got caught in a legal tangle when the owner of the land moved the court and got a stay against the acquisition. For over a decade, after it was set up here in 1979, the plant had been a source of pride for the local residents. But now it has turned into a pollution-emitting monster with a total of eight units consuming over 22,500 tonnes of coal each day. According to experts, about 35 per cent of the total coal burnt at the plant gets converted into ash. The plant authorities used to sprinkle water on the ash which was an effective way of keeping the pollutants in control. But with the more and more ash being generated here each day, it almost became impossible for the authorities to tame the ashes. Residents of the village told this correspondent that the problem here was so acute that some of them, who could afford, had already left the village and settled in Karnal or other pollution-free places in the state. Besides ash, fine dust produced by crushing of coal has also caused extensive pollution in the area.
Sohan Lal, president of the Khukhrana Sudhar Samiti, which had moved the High Court in 2007, said there was no relief in sight for them. Villagers had even boycotted the recently held panchayat elections in order to register their protest and no one from here filed nomination papers. |
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Constable found dead in tourist complex
Kurukshetra, July 11 The body, found in a “sitting position”, was stripped of clothes and a “chunni” was wrapped around the neck when the hotel staff peeped into the room through a ventilator. The constable, Kuldeep Singh (29), posted at the Chandni Bagh police station in Panipat, checked into the hotel yesterday afternoon and showed a woman accompanying him as his wife. They came to the hotel in a Swift car (HR 06 M 3344) around noon and paid the hotel bill at night on the pretext that they would leave early in the morning. The waiter who went to the room at night saw the woman wrapped in a blanket but she was found missing in the morning. Though the door of the room was found open in the morning, the bathroom was bolted from inside. When repeated knocks by the staff went unanswered, one of the staff members peeped into the bathroom through a ventilator, and found the constable dead. The Swift car in which Kuldeep came to the hotel was carrying a sticker of a TV channel. Sources revealed that the car was lent to him as Kuldeep was known to the owner of the car for the past sometime as he was a member of the investigating team constituted to trace the owner’s son who was abducted on December 12, 2008. The incident has sent shock waves in the area and baffled the police. A case has been registered and a manhunt has been launched to trace the woman. Kuldeep, who hailed from Sonepat, stayed in room No. 101 and its tariff was Rs 1,500. The door of the bathroom was broken open after the parents of the deceased arrived and the body was sent for a postmortem. The postmortem report was awaited and further progress in the investigation could be made only after the cause of death was ascertained, said Kurukshetra SP Sultan Singh.
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Karnal villagers booked for damaging EVMs
Karnal, July 11 Over 50 men and women were booked under Sections 148, 149, 332, 353,356 and 307-A of the IPC and the Damage to Public Property Act for beating up the police party, obstructing government officials from performing duty and trying to set a police vehicle on fire in Chandipur village in Kunjpura area. The accused included Kalaso Devi, Jaswant, Arjun, Vikram, Giddu Ram, Ashoki Ram Kushani and 50 others. In another incident, over 10 persons, including Rameshwar, Sunil, Surendra, Bhatia, Naresh, Rajesh, Karan Singh, Vishambhar Dass, Shiv Kumar and others, were booked for intruding into booth No. 92 in Kaharwa village in Indri, damaging two EVMs and ballot papers and obstructing government officials from performing duty. The police said five persons identified as Karan Singh, Bishambar Dass, Naresh, Shiv Kumar and Rajesh had been arrested. Rewari: The Kosli police has arrested eight persons, Sandeep, Benarsi, Meghnath, Moti Ram, Mahavir, Ram Nath, Khazan Singh and Bhim Singh, all residents of Jholri village, near Kosli, for alleged booth-capturing, burning of ballot papers and a murderous assault on the polling staff at booth No. 19 in Jholri village yesterday. They were today produced in the court of Subdivisional Judicial Magistrate PK Lal, who remanded them in 14-day judicial custody. Earlier, on a complaint filed by presiding officer Surender Singh, the police had registered a case under Sections 307, 147, 148, 353, 436, 332 and 186 of the IPC and under the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act against 11 persons, including a woman.
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Rohtak, July 11 It is suspected that the victims had been electrocuted by some persons, who wanted to grab their land. The police has sent the bodies, which bore injury marks, for postmortem and registered a case of murder against unidentified persons. Neighbours found the two women dead in their house and called the police. Services of a dog squad were requisitioned. Forensic experts took samples for laboratory examination. The bodies were cremated after postmortem. — TNS
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Chandigarh, July 11 A spokesman for the HPGCL said here today that to prepare the engineers for handling hi-tech equipment, the first batch of 60 engineers had already been deputed for 26-week training at National Power Training Institute, Badarpur, and Power Management Institute, Noida. The remaining engineers, who had already been deployed at the HPGCL power stations and were undergoing training would be sent to the institutes later. — TNS
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Three days and three nights of vigil prevented the town from being devoured by the surging waters of an unfettered
Ghaggar. Fear came riding on sheets of water from a breach in the Hansi-Bhutana link canal on July 9 as the town gasped amid the rising waters.
These three days and three nights symbolise the strength of a town that rose to the occasion and tamed the fury of the gushing waters before it entered the homes.
Tricolour touches new height
