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Jalandhar
tragedy Members of a rescue team bring out Sanjiv on Tuesday night. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
Survivor recalls ordeal
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Capt for probe by retd judge
Capt: Withdraw cases in 2 weeks
PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh in Jalandhar. Tribune photo
PM to inaugurate Bathinda refinery on April 28
Abolition of quota by Thapar
University
Members of the Punjab Students’ Union hold a protest in front of Thapar University in Patiala on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar
Students hold protest dharna
Town planning dept surrenders 193 posts
Govt explores options to tide over fiscal crisis
...may slash fuel expenses of officers
Illegal drugs recovered from chemist shop in Patiala
Super-speciality services in three medical colleges
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Survivor recalls ordeal
Jalandhar, April 18 The young boy who was working on a cutter machine recalled, “When the flash of light fell on me last night, I thought it was just daybreak. I had been lying in a semi-conscious state unable to bear the stench, giddiness, thirst and hunger. Soon I realised it was actually a ray of life for me and I shouted ‘please help, I am here’”. “I had given up hope of surviving and thought I would die under the debris. My survival is like rebirth for me,” said Sanjiv. A native of Gopalganj in Bihar, Sanjiv sustained minor injuries on his head, back and legs. He has been admitted to the trauma ward of the Civil Hospital. Narrating the horrifying experience, Sanjiv said: I, along with two other workers Vinod and Bhagwan Dass, was working on a machine on the ground floor. We heard a loud noise after a part of the building collapsed. I immediately took shelter under the machine and the entire building collapsed in no time”. “There was a hole in the rubble which helped me breathe. My two grievously injured colleagues were also near me. They were crying in pain. I too had been hit with an iron rod because of which I fainted. When I woke up, I called out their names but they did not respond. I moved a little closer and found that they were dead. That was the most tragic moment for me. I kept on crying for long before I went to sleep”. “I woke up after some hours. I was thirsty. I had forgotten where I was and tried to get up only to get my head hit against concrete. Then I realised that I had been lying trapped”. “Soon after, the stench emanating from the bodies of my friends turned unbearable. There was heat and I started feeling rashes all over my body,” said the boy. “When I heard some noise from outside, I called for help. Within minutes, I was given a water bottle and biscuits through the hole. I took some biscuits but could not drink water and fell unconscious. When I regained conscious, I was in the hospital,” he said, adding that he would return to his native place. Sanjiv had come to Jalandhar in January this year and had been working in Shital Fibres factory since then. Dr MB Bali, incharge of the trauma ward, said: “Sanjiv is out of danger”.
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Capt for probe by retd judge
Jalandhar, April 18 Amarinder, who took stock of the rescue operation, claimed the multiple probe committees, as set up by the Punjab Government to ascertain the reasons behind the disaster, won’t serve any purpose. Instead, he said, a high-powered committee headed by a judge or a senior engineer should be appointed for the job. Accompanied by Congress affairs in-charge for Punjab Gulchain Singh Charak and Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Sunil
Jakhar, Amarinder also visited the local Civil Hospital and Devi Talab Hospital to enquire about the well-being of those
hospitalised. The PCC chief demanded that responsibility of the officials concerned under whose tenure the industrial unit came up illegally must be fixed. He said the victims who had suffered physical injuries and mental trauma must be rehabilitated.
Amarinder criticised the state government for not giving adequate land to the Union Government earlier for setting up of a National Defence Response Force
centre. The Centre, he claimed, had given a proposal to Punjab in this connection in 2010. “Punjab wasted the opportunity to have a National Disaster Response Force
centre, which ultimately went to Himachal Pradesh,” he said. Appreciating the work being done by rescue teams, he said, “Every life is precious and we need to take measures to save those still trapped under the rubble.”
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Hopes recede, victims’ kin fear the worst
Jalandhar, April 18 The authorities said the death toll could rise with many more still under the debris. The rescue teams, from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Punjab Police, other agencies and private volunteers, have been working non-stop since the wee hours of Sunday. Till Wednesday evening (5 p.m.), the rescue teams had clocked nearly 65 hours. “Our rescue work will go on for two more days, at least. We are trying to get near the centre of the pile of the debris to look for more survivors. Our teams are trying to create tunnels from all sides,” said JK Rawat, Deputy Inspector General of NDRF. He said because the debris "is in a collapsible state we cannot use heavy machinery. We are using technology to find any survivors". Over 100 workers could still be trapped under the debris, according to unconfirmed reports. Manoj Kumar, a worker at the factory, said that he was waiting for his brother who was missing. "After so many hours, we have not found him. We fear for the worst," he said.
— IANS
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Jalandhar: Even as some Bihari labourers continued to wait anxiously for their relatives trapped under the debris of Shital Fibres building on Day 3 of the tragedy, there were others who could be seen frantically hunting for blankets. Owned by industrialist Shital Vij, Shital Fibres used to manufacture blankets, which were exported to several countries. Those who managed to dig out a blanket were elated while those who couldn’t continued their search. While digging a mound of debris, a group of four-five persons realised that they were pulling out the same length of an uncut yet-to-be finished blanket. At this, they started quarrelling. After five minutes of the fight, they decided to cut it into pieces and take one portion each. Soon, several labourers even brought pickaxes to dig deeper. They continued the search till the mounds were flattened unmindful of the fact that winter was over and summer season had already set in. — Deepkamal Kaur
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A gadget that saved several lives
A National Disaster Response Force personnel shows a
life-detector being used in rescue operations. A teenager was rescued with the help of the gadget on Wednesday.
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Capt: Withdraw cases in 2 weeks
Patti (Tarn Taran), April 18 Addressing a demonstration organised by senior party leader Harminder Singh Gill here, Amarinder said the CM had gone back on his word that he would look into the ‘vendetta’ cases against Congress workers. Amarinder said the Akalis, in government for barely a month, had already begun to harass and victimise Congress cadres. He said in Patti, 11 cases had been slapped against Congress workers in the past one month. “In Dayalpura village in Rampura Phul, an 11-year-old boy was put behind bars for 10 days. This has to stop or else Punjab will be pushed into chaos,” he warned. He visited the house of Bhola Singh whose two sons have been booked. Punjab Congress affairs incharge Gulchain Singh Charak said he had with him a list of false cases which would be brought to the notice of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister P Chidambaram. Congress Legislature Party leader Sunil Jakhar said the SAD-BJP government had betrayed the trust of the people. He alleged that the “anti-drug campaign” launched in the state was actually aimed at targeting and falsely implicating Congress workers under the NDPS Act. Talking to mediapersons, Amarinder said the state was heading towards a fiscal emergency because of “wrong” government policies. On the charge that he was staging a protest in an attempt to maintain his hold on the party, he said it was a “hard fact that the Congress workers are being targeted.” On the reasons behind the party’s defeat in the assembly poll, he said he had submitted a report to the high command in this regard and the chapter was closed. However, Charak said the report was being analysed by a committee formed under Union Defence Minister AK Antony.
Patti leaders boycott visit Chandigarh:
Pradesh Congress member Maninder Singh Patti claimed that “genuine Congress workers” had boycotted the PCC chief’s Patti visit. Maninder, son of former Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission chief Kashmir Singh Patti, said he along with block president Sarwan Singh Bhagupur and vice-president Ranjit Singh Uppal had boycotted the visit. He alleged that Amarinder’s team had hijacked the programme.
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No vendetta, Congress misleading people, says Badal
Amritsar, April 18 Talking to mediapersons at the Golden Temple complex here today, Badal said the Akalis had no grudge against anybody. Taking a dig at the Congress, he said its leaders should first stop fighting among themselves. On the appointment of 21 Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, the Chief Minister said they were the “right hand” of the ministers. “We will utilise them in the field and they will play a significant role in resolving various issues being faced by the people of the state”. On the attendance of government officials, he said they had been told to remain present in their offices every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and redress people’s grievances. “I will also be in office on these three days to meet people,”
he said. — TNS
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PM to inaugurate Bathinda refinery on April 28
Chandigarh, April 18 Sources say the Petroleum and Industry Ministers would accompany the Prime Minister. The state would be represented by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the entire Cabinet and senior leadership of the SAD-BJP alliance. The foundation stone of the refinery was laid in 1998 by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. However, the project was stalled in 2002 when Capt Amarinder Singh took over the reins as Chief Minister. In the original proposal, the refinery was to get an interest-free loan of Rs 250 crore a year for five years after the project was commissioned. Amarinder maintained that too many concessions had been promised to the refinery to the detriment of the state. The project was revived by the Akalis in 2007 and after a few changes, HPCL and Mittal Energy decided to take up the project as a joint venture. HMEL is banking on the refinery attracting an investment of Rs 1,300 crore in the state’s polypropylene-based downstream industry. The state, on its part, is in the process of acquiring land for establishing a 200-acre industrial park for such industry. Twists & Turns
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Abolition of quota by Thapar
University
Chandigarh, April 18 Till now, 5 per cent seats were reserved for backward classes (BC) and 2 per cent for sports category students. Scheduled Caste and Backward Classes students are eligible for applying for seats in the sports quota also. Reacting to abolition of both the BC and sports quota, the Backward Classes Commission has asked the university to disclose under what constitutional clauses the quotas have been abolished. The commission, which had written a letter in this regard to the university a few days ago, sent a reminder to the university yesterday, followed by a complaint to the University Grants Commission (UGC). Harjit Singh Adalatiwala, vice-chairman, Backward Classes Commission, disclosed that the commission had also informed Thapar University Director Abhijit Mukherjee that the BC and sports quota had been fixed by the state government and was applicable to all educational institutions. The commission has also written to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and requested him to intervene in the matter in the interest of students of the state in view of the “dictatorial” attitude of the Thapar management. Adalatiwala said the commission had taken up the matter following a complaint by former minister HS Gabria. He said Gabria had detailed that Thapar University had been given land free of cost by the state besides being liberally funded for decades. In view of these facts, the university could be pressed to reserve 50 per cent seats for Punjab domicile students, besides reviving BC and sports quota. In a separate development, the Welfare Department has asked the university authorities to detail clauses under which both the BC and sports quotas had been abolished. Welfare Department Additional Director Lakha Singh said the university registrar had sent a reply stating that the governing body had taken the decision. “We have asked them to send us minutes of the meeting of the governing body,” he added. The department has brought the matter to the notice of the government as well. No one from the university management was available for comment, but the university has maintained that it has done away with the 50 per cent quota for Punjab students in the interest of merit as per the UGC norms.
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Patiala, April 18 He said the university had taken the decision to fulfill its vested interests. For commercial gains, the university was ignoring the fact that Punjab students would now be forced to migrate to other states for study, he said. The state government must intervene and direct the university to change its decision in the larger interest of Punjabi youth, he said. University management, however, maintained that their decision was in the larger interest of students. "It is a private deemed university that does not receive government funding and by making admissions equally competitive for all students, the university will provide opportunities to the best engineering students in the country," said a spokesperson.
— TNS
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Town planning dept surrenders 193 posts
Chandigarh, April 18 The JEs, a large number of whom have already put in 31 years of service and are designated as Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), have shot off letters to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, stating that they were being discriminated by not being promoted as ATPs despite the fact that they had put in several years in service. “We are being offered the post of planning officer, which is a lower grade. We are already in the grade of ATPs. The department does not want to move us from non-gazetted post to the gazetted post,” said a senior member of the Engineers’ Association of the Town and Country Planning Department. In the rationalisation process, posts at the higher level have been increased and those at the lower level have been decreased. On the plea of rationalising the staff strength and strengthening the planning and regulatory wing of the department, the Housing and Urban Department has recently surrendered posts and created almost equal number of additional posts, mostly of the Assistant Town Planner (ATPs) and Planning Officer (POs). “Many of the surrendered posts were useless or were of little use to the department in the present scenario. There is a need of planners to execute and enforce master plans,” said a senior officer in the Directorate of Town Planning, Punjab. In the rationalisation process, the department has surrendered 63 posts of JEs, 12 posts of AZO printers, one post of superintending engineer and three posts of executive engineers (XENs). The service rules are being amended to facilitate the changes. Countering the claim of the association, an officer said under the promotional quota, the JE who qualifies will be taken as Planning Officer (PO). “Those who are serving are not being disturbed, but no new recruitment against the surrendered posts will be done,” said. Members of the association said that their promotional avenues had been blocked due to the rationalisation exercise.
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Govt explores options to tide over fiscal crisis
Chandigarh, April 18 Sources said officers of the Revenue Department told the Chief Secretary that certain nominal fees with regard to registration of revenue documents could be enhanced. Moreover, the Revenue Department raised the issue that organisations like the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), which is developing Aero and Echo cities, should be told to deposit the change of land use (CLU) charges with the state government. “When all private developers are depositing the CLU charges with the government, the state government’s urban development bodies should also do the same,” said a source. The Transport Department suggested that registration fees of certain vehicles could be enhanced to generate more revenue. Besides, the tax on air-conditioned public transport vehicles could be rationalised to generate more income. Sources said a proposal to hike fee in government medical colleges was also discussed. Compared to engineering colleges, fee structure in the government medical colleges is very low in the state. A proposal to make the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) financial viable was also discussed. Money given to the board by the state government should be utilised for some other purposes. Officers were also told to explore whether there was a scope to charge professional tax in the state. Sources said what had made the situation critical on the fiscal front was the huge increase in committed liabilities. The state government’s annual salary and pension bill has gone up to Rs 21,800 crore and there is an annual interest payment of Rs 7,100 crore on the loan secured by the state government from various sources. Also, there are electricity and other subsidies and old age pension. The state’s net revenue from all resources, including share from the Central taxes, is pegged at Rs 34,000 crore and the net expenditure at Rs 36,000 crore. The government borrowed over Rs 9,000 crore this year to meet the expenditure needs.
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...may slash fuel expenses of officers
Patiala, April 18 Talking to The Tribune Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa said the fiscal health of the state was not in a good condition and raising and saving funds were his top priority. “Raising revenues and VAT collection are on the top priority list and restricting avoidable expenditures is the first step towards managing finances better,” he said. “We have identified certain departments where work load is less, but expenditures are at par with certain other departments. A proposal has already been submitted and the Chief Minister is likely to take a decision in this regard soon,” he stated. “Check on purchase of new vehicles, stationary items and cutting down on fuel expenses of officers not posted in the field are some steps that can help the government save money,” he said. On appointments of Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, Dhindsa said that it was a political decision. “Some decisions are political while others are administrative,” he explained. “I accept that presently the state exchequer is under pressure to clear arrears of employees as per the Central government recommendations, but by the end of next financial year, we will be in a comfortable position,” he added. “We have no option but to tighten the noose around tax defaulters and ensure that there is no evasion,” he said.
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Illegal drugs recovered from chemist shop in Patiala
Patiala, April 18 Drug Inspector Amit Lakhanpal said the department received information that Shakti Medical Hall at Bhadson was selling banned drugs. “We conducted a raid and confiscated 600 capsules of Proxyvon, 5,000 tablets of Monolit, Lomotil and Tinolet and five bottles of Corex syrup from the shop,” he added. The owner of the shop could not produced bills of the recovered drugs, he said, adding the seized medicines would be presented in a court and suitable action would be initiated after that. Civil Surgeon Dr Varinder Singh Mohi said the department would not spare anyone found indulging in such practices. “We will soon conduct more raids to nab defaulters,” he added.
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Super-speciality services in three medical colleges
Chandigarh, April 18 Punjab Medical Education and Research Minister Bhagat Chunni Lal in a high-level meeting of department officials said here today that there was a need to strengthen the basic infrastructure in medical colleges of the state so that patients belonging to poor families could get better treatment at reasonable rates. The Minister further said Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences and Research has started a survey in villages of the Malwa belt to find causes of cancer and to eliminate the disease from the grass root level. Keeping in view the long-pending demands of medical and dental colleges to start new post-graduation courses and increase seats of MBBS and BDS in the state, Bhagat Chunni Lal said he would soon approach the Medical Council of India in this regard. The Minister also sought a report from the secretary regarding demands of the Medical Education and Research Department.
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For the National Disaster Response Force team spearheading the rescue operation at the collapsed Shital Fibres building, saving teenager Sanjiv was perhaps the most satisfying job. For, he was brought out from the rubble at 1:20 am today, around 51 hours after being trapped at 11:30 pm on Sunday.
Patti (Tarn Taran), April 18
Chandigarh, April 18
The rescue teams have a life-detector machine with six sensors attached on it. It is capable of detecting heart beats or any audio wave up to a distance of 500 metres. As soon as the NDRF team made its entry inside the collapsed structure at 5:30 pm on Tuesday evening, the life-detector beeped and the search operation led to the recovery of Sanjiv, 51 hours after he was buried.