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Development a distant dream for Morni residents
Morni (Panchkula), July 18 Getting a regular power supply for a population of over 25,000 in the region is still a distant dream. Potable water is also a privilege here as a majority of the villages get water supply on alternative day and that too for less than an hour. “On one hand the state government boasts of developing Morni as tourism spot and on the other hand it had failed to provide the basic amenities of the residents,” said Rajesh, a Tikkar resident.
Much to the anguish of the school going students, absence of proper roads and bridges make it hard for them to cross the swollen rivulets during monsoons. The students living in the remote areas remain absent from schools during rainy season. Few years ago three students of schools in Bijlag and Raji Tikri villages lost their lives on their way to their schools as they drowned while crossing a swollen rivulet. “We have already pleaded to the authorities several times in this regard, but to no avail,” said Lal Singh of Koti village. “Even if bridges cannot be laid the authorities can at least postpone the summer vacations for the rainy season,” he suggested. Reiterating the demand for regular water supply, Lal Singh pointed out that a total of 526 hamlets (dhani) falling in Morni hills depended on the water from Tikkar Tal, Chhamal Bundh, Ghaggar bed and a few springs, from where the public health department used to lift water to its tubewells. Water becomes dirty during rains in this area which gets unfit for human consumption. It is not the locals who suffer alone, the tourists visiting Morni also get a raw deal. As there is a shortage of water the staff at Haryana Tourism hotel Mountain Quail had been avoiding the bookings since the past one week. “We have not got substantial water supply for the past five days,” said RD Gupta, the manager of Mountain Quail. No wonder that the guests using the restaurant here were disappointed finding dry taps in washrooms while all 16 rooms of the hotel remained unoccupied even during the weekend. Public health executive engineer Ashok Kumar, when contacted, denied that there was any shortage of drinking water in the region. “While the shortage of water at Mountain Quail may be due to their own reasons, the water is being supplied to the residents regularly,” he claimed. As far as the health services are concerned, there is just one primary health center (PHC) at Morni town that caters to the area with the help of eight sub-centres. As in case of an emergency the two ambulances at the PHC cannot reach the doorstep of a patient due an uneven terrain. The villagers have to ferry their sick to the ambulance on cot. A one-room ayurvedic dispensary being run at Baghlawaas hamlet in Maandna area is in a shambles. The three staff members at the dispensary are finding it difficult to protect the cartons of medicines under the leaking roof.
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11-kg opium seized, 4 held
Rajpura/Mandi Gobindgarh, July 18 Sachin and Gaurav belong to Jalalpur at Muzaffarpur Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, while the accused arrested from Rajpura are identified as Raju and Iqbal of Muzaffarnagar. The accused admitted before the investigating officials of smuggling opium from Uttar Pradesh to Punjab. Mandi Gobindgarh SHO Bikramjit Singh Brar said the accused were already facing similar cases at various police stations of Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Ropar and they were also declared proclaimed offenders by respective courts of these areas. They would be produced before the magistrate and police remand would be sought, said the SHO. Rajpura police officials said they were trying to interrogate the accused and a case in this connection had been registered against them.
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DC reviews flood situation in Ambala
Ambala, July 18 The district administration has swung into action and Deputy Commissioner Sameer Pal Srow held a meeting of the senior functionaries of different government departments at his office today. The flood situation in the district was reviewed at the meeting where he also directed heads of different zonal committees constituted for the purpose of providing flood relief in the area and to take stock of preparedness to face any eventuality. The Deputy Commissioner, along with other senior officials of the district administration, visited the areas affected by the rivers’ water. He said the situation was being closely monitored round-the-clock and the officers of the local administration had been appointed for this purpose. He said an alert had also been sounded in villages in the proximity of the rivers. According to official sources, overflowing water from the rivers had started affecting the paddy crop sown recently. Link roads between Mianpur and Toka have been submerged under two to three feet of water as a result of which traffic between Naraingarh and many villages had been completely disrupted. Toka, Tapria, Jhidiwala and Kala Amb villages, under Naraingarh sub-division, have been cut off from the rest of the district due to flooding of the rivers. Markanda and Nakti rivers have been flooded and water from these has entered Gaganhedi, Narahad, Rolahedi, Tangail and Sehla villages near Mullana where vast stretches of agricultural land having paddy and sugarcane crops were covered under a sheet of water. According to some villagers, agricultural crop was inundated with water up to four feet while the inhabited areas were also waterlogged.
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9 eco-rickshaws to ply on Ropar roads
Ropar, July 18 He said eco-rickshaws were improvised and user-friendly versions of normal rickshaws. The executive officer of Ropar Municipal Council was directed that the rickshaws plying illegally in the town be registered and by Diwali these be converted on lines of eco-rickshaws. Rotary Club president Harjit Singh and DS Deol said the club would give first 20 beneficiaries help of Rs 500.
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Two govt teachers found absent
Ropar, July 18 ADC Sukhwinder Pal Singh Mrar conducted the surprise checking of government schools in rural areas and aanganwari centres. Aanganwari centre Dianpur, Bahdali 1 and 2, Chatamli 1 and 2, Rangian 1 and 2, Bangian and Arnauli, and government primary schools at Bahdali, Rangian, Bangian, Arnauli and government middle school Bahdali and Rangian were checked today. During the checking teachers of middle school at Bahdali, namely Avtar Singh and Amandeep Singh, were found absent. |
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SDM for action against patwari
Bassi Pathana, July 18 They alleged that in connivance with the local patwari he got mutation of 5 bighas and 18 biswas on his name, which belonged to them. Besides, he obtained a loan from a bank after mortgaging the papers of that land. The complainants demanded action against the patwari and the accused. The Deputy Commissioner marked an inquiry to the local SDM and the SDM in his report convicted the patwari and recommended action against him. When contacted, the patwari said he had not tampered with the record and there could be some clerical mistake. |
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Midday meals
Fatehgarh Sahib, July 18 Members demanded a rollback of the government’s decision to hand over charge of the mid-day meal scheme to contractors in eight districts. They resolved to launch a stir if the government privatised the scheme. They also decided to give a memorandum to the Chief Minister during a ‘sangat darshan’. State committee member Jasvir Kaur Amloh demanded a hike in salary of cooks and a free Rs 2-lakh insurance by the government. She alleged that many cooks were being harassed at the workplace, which should be stopped immediately.
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District
scan Tribune Reporters
Ambala, July 18 An auto-rickshaw carrying nine persons of a family was hit by a truck on the national highway near Ambala Cantt. The family was going to attend the funeral of a relative at Harihar village near here. Six of them were rushed to the Civil Hospital, Ambala Cantt, whereas three were taken to the Shahabad hospital. Ram Piyari, among six injured women, was declared dead on arrival by doctors of the Civil Hospital. The others injured, including Naseeb Devi, Sulochana Devi, Nirmala Devi, Parashi Devi, Amro, Jarnail Singh, Chander Das and Rakesh, were out of danger. In another mishap, Rishu Jain (21), employed in a private company, was killed when his Kinetic Honda scooter was hit by a truck from behind near new grain market on the Ambala-Hisar road. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Ambala City, where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Woman killed in accident
Dera Bassi: An elderly woman was killed on the spot after she was run over by an unknown truck near Bhushan factory on the Ambala-Chandigarh highway yesterday. The deceased was identified as Begum Baali (60), a resident of Poonam Baag. The victim was crossing the highway around 9 pm. She was rushed to the Dera Bassi Civil Hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival. Saplings planted
A sapling plantation drive was carried out by the Deepmala Public School, Dera Bassi, on its premises today. Several competitions, including drawing, painting, declamation and quiz, were organised among students with the theme of environment. |
School Molestation case
Panchkula, July 18 The Panchkula Police here today filed an application before the district court in which it demanded the inclusion of inquiry officer SS Saini’s name in the list of prosecution witnesses. The court here accepted their application and included the name of Saini in the list of prosecution witnesses. Now, with the development there will be 15 prosecution witnesses in this case. Chandigarh Tribune in its July 13 edition had highlighted the blunder of the Panchkula police. Confirming the development, Panchkula SP Maneesh Chaudhary said the police had filed the application for the inclusion of the name of the inquiry officer and the court had accepted the same. Inquiry officer SS Saini’s name was crucial as it was on the basis of the report submitted by him that school officials had decided to file an FIR against Thapa. Saini in its report had stated that Thapa had molested not four but 15 girls of Class V. Saini in his report had also recorded the statements of victims, their parents and SB Thapa. Earlier, in the list of prosecution witnesses there were names of Army Welfare Education Society director Col (retd) Sunil Kumar, school principal Lt Col (retd) NR Baberwal, four police officials, four of the alleged victims and their mothers as witnesses. On November 30 last year the mother of one of the alleged victims reported the matter to the school principal. Thereafter, three more parents complained against the music teacher, accusing him of having molested their daughters. Following a complaint lodged by Baberwal against Thapa, the police filed a case of molestation against the latter under Section 354 of the IPC at the Chandimandir police station. However, the accused had fled when the police searched his home in Sector 25, Panchkula. He surrendered before a local court on December 6 and was later released on bail.
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2 convicted of murder
Chandigarh, July 18 According to the police, on September 29, 2009, Jaspal Singh and Shiv Kumar had doused Brij Lal, a resident of the same village, with kerosene and set him on fire. Brij Lal succumbed to his injuries on October 1, 2009. The police had stated that both were miffed at Brij Lal bathing in their tubewell in front of their family members. The police had registered a case on the dying declaration of Brij Lal.
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Sec-22 jeweller held for rape
Chandigarh, July 18 The Kharar-based victim had complained to the police that the accused, Uma Kant Verma (42), alias Vicky Verma, owner of Meena Jewellers, Sector 22, had allegedly raped her after giving her a drug-laced soft drink at his shop last evening. The police said the medical report had confirmed the crime and Vicky had been arrested following the registration of case against him. While the accused stated that he had been falsely implicated, the victim alleged that she was raped inside the shop where she was called on the pretext of finalising some issues regarding a job offer. The victim claimed that she had come in contact with the accused 20 days ago when she visited his shop to purchase jewellery. “He (the accused) told me that he was going to open a new shop and offered me a job of a salesgirl there,” the victim reportedly told the police. She alleged that around 6 pm yesterday, she received a call from the accused, who asked her to come to his shop to discuss some issues related to the job. “On reaching the Inter-State Bus Terminus in Sector 43, I called him up, following which he sent his employee, Lovely, on a motorbike to pick me up,” she claimed, adding that when they reached the shop, the accused was waiting outside, while the shutter of the shop was closed. “He took me inside the shop and offered me a drug-laced soft drink before committing the crime,” the victim further alleged. Sources in the police said Vicky had been booked after the victim, along with her aunt, visited the police station-17 to lodge a complaint. The local court has remanded the accused in 14-day judicial custody.
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UT baseball squads selected in a jiffy
Chandigarh, July 18 In a blatant violation of norms, the association picked up squads (boys and girls) for the upcoming 21st Sub-Junior National Games at Nauni University, Solan, from July 21 to 26, in trials that lasted just a few hours, that too, just three days before the competition. “Due to the shortage of time, we could only manage to conduct trials this time. Players do undergo training the entire year and they are fit to play,” claimed Tilak Raj, general secretary of the association. He is also the land acquisition officer (LAO) in the estate office. The authorities even failed to conduct a pre-competition coaching camp for the players. They were picked up to participate in the national competition from trials that lasted just a few hours on the wet grounds of Punjab Engineering College. Some players criticised the apathetic attitude of the authorities concerned while selecting the team. “This shows their lack of interest in the game. The performance of players in a tournament is bound to be affected if the authorities do not adopt the proper method of selecting a team. The players need to get proper training before they head for such tournaments,” said a player on the condition of anonymity. Some players even raised the issue of grants provided for the welfare of the sports. “Players are often asked to pay the fare of the journey from their own pocket. This may not happen during national championships but players usually end up paying the fare,” said a source. The general secretary, however, denied the allegations of charging fare from players. “We do not charge any amount from players. The association is bearing the expenses of the team for the championship,” he said. Under the rules, associations that inform the authorities about the camp a month in advance are provided with grants. Meanwhile, the following teams have been selected to represent Chandigarh in the championship: Boys: Paramjit, Ankit, Neeraj, Naveen, Girish, Naveen Kumar, Shiv Pujan, Rahul, Mukesh, Deepak Kumar, Deepak Paswan, Amrit, Bishm, Karan and Atul. The team will play its first match on July 21. Girls: Anu Sharma, Megha, Jinnie, Deepa, Deepika, Poonam, Pooja, Kalpana Negi, Reema, Asha, Parul Saini, Hema, Rashmi, Sarika, Jyoti and
Nisha.
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clta-aita meet Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 18 Natasha defeated Amol in straight sets 6-0 and 6-2. In the same category, Disha Saigal overcame Deepanshu Gupta 6-4, 6-0. In the men’s singles category, Lalrinamwa Khanlaring went down fighting to Sagar Ahuja. Sagar defeated Lalrinamwa 7-5, 0-6 and 6-4. In another tough clash, Maninder Singh defeated Aaditya Tiwari 6-1, 3-6 and 6-4. Results: Main Draw: Women’s Singles: Natasha Palha beat Amol Amla 6-0, 6-2; Disha Saigal beat Deepanshu Gupta 6-4, 6-0; Vineeta Singh beat Kirandeep Kotde 6-2, 6-3; Shruti Dhawan beat Priyanka Rawat 6-1, 6-1; Eetee Mehta beat Manya Nagpal 6-4, 6-1; Sonia Dayal beat Nikita Bishnoi 6-2, 6-0; Tarannum Handa beat Sanya Madan 6-3, 6-1; Ravnoor Kaur beat Anaisha Patch 6-1, 6-0; Sagrika Phadke beat Shilpa Dalmia 6-4, 6-1; Vaibhavi Trivedi beat Steffy Sangani 6-3, 6-1; Natalia Khaniejo beat Sonal Phadke 3-6, 6-2, 6-0; Abhilasha Ahuja beat Karishma Mehta 6-0, 6-0; Nupur Koul beat Victoria Chahal 6-4, 6-1; Baljinder Kaur beat Krishnali Bhonsle 6-4, 6-1; Likita Shetty beat Aashima Garg 6-3, 6-2; Shweta C Rana beat Shivani Dabas 6-1, 6-1. Men’s Singles: Sidharth Rawat beat Shahbaaz Khan 6-1, 2-0 (conceded); Ankit Chopra beat Chinmay Pradhan 6-2, 6-0; Surya Pawan beat Sidharth Sarthak 6-2, 6-3; Arpit Sharma beat Lohani Mutaza 6-4, 7-6(2); Pradeep Deswal beat Sameet Paranjape 6-4, 6-2; Sagar Ahuja beat Lalrinamwa Khanlaring 7-5, 0-6, 6-4; Maninder Singh beat Aaditya Tiwari 6-1, 3-6, 6-4; Rohit Bisht beat Karan Salwan 6-4, 6-2; Vaidik Munshaw beat Ranjeet Singh 6-2, 6-2; Shantanu Rajput beat Abhilash Srivastava 6-1, 6-4; Digvijay Singh Mehta beat Allen Gomes 6-4, 6-2; Amardeep Jaglan beat Siddhesh Khade 7-5, 6-0; Pulok Bhatacharya beat Arvind Sharma 6-4, 6-3.
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Centre keen to bring US PGA Tour to India
Chandigarh, July 18 If such an event takes place in the country, the line-up may well comprise golfing greats like Lee Westwood and Luke Donald from England, Steve Stricker, Matt Kuchar and Phil Michelson from the US or Germany’s Martin Kaymer or even beleaguered Tiger Woods and KJ Choi from Korea. India has so far hosted events of the Asian Tour and the European Tour. The biggest prize money event being the Avantha Masters in which India’s SSP Chowrasia won and pocketed the prize money of 3 lakh Euros. Chandigarh’s Sujjan Singh created a flutter by occupying the fifth slot and winning 69,000 Euros. Golf fans from all over the world flock to watch such gala events. This may provide the ministry with a platform to present the country as an ideal golf tourism destination. According to the guidelines, which are to be implemented immediately and reviewed after three years in 2013, the objectives include, promoting India as a golf tourism destination; earning additional foreign exchange; generating employment and creating additional world class golf infrastructure. Taking a leaf out of the Chandigarh Golfing Tour projecting the tricity as a golf tourism destination, the ministry plans to take this to an all-India level. The Centre also plans to pool in for the conduct of golf tourism events. This help may range from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 12 lakh, depending upon the number of foreign tourists participating in the “recognised” event. If all goes according to the guidelines of the ministry, the Centre will share Rs 2 crore and Rs 1 crore on a 50-50 sharing basis for a European Tour and an Asian Tour event, respectively. A similar support is made out for the Women’s LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour. The ministry guidelines say: “The Ministry of Tourism will provide assistance for a maximum of two events with the upper ceiling of up to Rs 1 crore each for the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour. For the Asian Tour up to Rs 50 lakh will be provided.” Promising a number of other initiatives, the guidelines clearly spell out that the India Golf Tourism Bureau (IGTB) will be the nodal body for golf tourism in the country. Initially, the IGTB will be formulated through nominations by the Ministry of Tourism and will include representatives from airlines, tour operators, travel agents, golf promoters, golf associations and golf associates. The brainchild of the then Chandigarh Tourism Director, Vivek Atrey, and Chandigarh Golf Association’s CSR Reddy and JS Cheema, the CGA launched the Chandigarh Golfing Tour way back in 2007. Since then, the association has organised six events, the last being in December when over 100 NRIs from 12 countries participated. A special invitee to this contest was Golf Area Director of Costa del Sol Tourist Board Francisco Amoros from Spain.
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Deepak, Amanjot best athletes
Chandigarh, July 18 Sachin Sharma and Rajshikha (U-16), Paramjeet and Puneet Kaur (U-18) and Aashish Lohan and Aanchal Bajwa (U-20) were also declared best athletes in their respective categories. Results: Boys (U-14): Long jump: 1 Rajandeep Singh , 2 Manoj, 3 Keshav; 600 m: 1 Rajandeep Singh, 2 Manoj, 3 Vishwajeet. Boys (U-16): 200 m: 1 Pawan, 2 Amaneed Singh, 3 Mehul; 800 m: 1 Pankaj, 2 Mehul, 3 Mandeep Singh; 1500 m: 1 Sahil, 2 Gaurav, 3 Kailash; hammer throw: 1 Kunwar Saini, 2 Naveen Sharma, 3 Sachin; long jump: 1 Mohit, 2 Karanjeet, 3 Gurinderjit Singh; javelin throw: 1 Sandeep, 2 Nishan Singh, 3 Padam; discus throw: 1 Sachin, 2 Naveen, 3 Nishan. Boys (U-18): 200 m: 1 Husandeep Singh, 2 Bahadur Singh, 3 Simranjeet Singh; 800 m: 1 Shanky, 2 Jatinder, 3 Amit; 1500 m: 1 Vikas Goyat, 2 Jatinder, 3 Amit; long jump: 1 Amit, 2 Sushant, 3 Ashu Kumar; javelin throw: 1 Aman Kumar, 2 Mohan, 3 Ajay Kumar; discus throw: 1 Paramjeet Singh, 2 Rachit Thakur, 3 Gurjeet Singh. Boys (U-20): 200 m: 1 Aashish, 2 Rahul, 3 Shiv Kumar; 1500 m: 1 Vaibhav Mago, 2 Vijay, 3 Parveen; long jump: 1 Swapandeep, 2 Parkash, 3 Rajneesh; discus throw: 1 Manish, 2 Rajneesh, 3 Mangat Ram; 800 m: 1 Vaibhav, 2 Shekhar, 3 Sachin. Girls (U-14): 800 m: 1 Gurleen, 2 Nikita, 3 Aditi Pandey; 600 m: 1 Amanjot Kaur, 2 Shweta, 3 Harmanpreet Kaur. Girls (U-16): 200 m: 1 Sunita, 2 Tanya, 3 Komal; 400 m: 1 Tanya, 2 Pariana, 3 Talwinder; 800 m: 1 Ripu Daman, 2 Sapna, 3 Shreya; 1500 m: 1 Rajshikha, 2 Anita, 3 Shiwani; long jump: 1 Komal, 2 Kamini, 3 Mehak; javelin throw: 1 Sapna, 2 Monika, 3 Suman; discus throw: 1 Mehak, 2 Monika, 3 Aashima. Girls (U-18): 200 m: 1 Puneet Kaur, 2 Shalu Chaudhary, 3 Kiranpreet; discus throw: 1 Gagandeep, 2 Suman, 3 Harmeet.
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COA chief hopes to perform
‘No poll invite’
I have received no invitation to the elections. Sodhi invited me to lunch over the phone and I came. Things need to be sorted out for the benefit of sports and I hope that they will do
it. Chander Shekhar, president, Hockey Chandigarh
‘Jinxed’ past
Talwar, attached to many other sports associations, seems to have been unfortunate. During his tenure with the School Games Federation of India and the local football association, these had been taken to court. An MLA,
too
Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, MLA from Guruharsahai in Ferozepur district, is a resident of
Panchkula. The former shooter will have to manage time between his constituency and the city to uplift sports here. Many members of the COA are either MLAs from constituencies in Punjab or IAS officers.
Chandigarh, July 18 The election notice issued by the COA was challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Chander Shekhar, president of Hockey Chandigarh, and JP Sharma, secretary of the Chandigarh Swimming Association on June 21, following which the court asked the authorities to file their replies before June 26. During the annual general meeting of the COA, Gurmeet Singh Sodhi and Ravinder Talwar were unanimously elected president and general-secretary, respectively. For the past few years, the working body of the COA had failed to uplift sports in the city. The ongoing tussle had left players to face the loss. Despite facilities, teams from the city failed to participate in competitions many a time. The COA organised the first Chandigarh State Games in 2005. After that, games were never held at this level here. “I have met all officials of the Chandigarh sports department. Hopefully, we will function properly this year. We will honour players who have won laurels for the city this year,” said Sodhi. “We are aware of the loss faced by players due to some misunderstanding, but will surely come up with a solution,” he added. During the meeting, attended by 34 affiliated units, land was demanded to build an Olympic bhavan here. Meanwhile, the association has nominated Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal as its patron and Col AS Judge its life president. The following have been appointed office-bearers of the COA: vice-presidents — Kewal Dhillon, Jagbir Singh Dahiya and Jasdeep Monty; associate vice-presidents — MC Sethi, Puneet Bedi, R Sharan and Som Parkash; joint secretaries — Ravinder Chaudhary, Rakesh Bakshi, KS Bharti and NS Thakur; treasurer — Maha Singh; convener — Anumit Singh Sodhi; co-convener — Jagbir Singh
Dahiya.
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