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Factory collapse biggest disaster witnessed: NDRF
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Rescue op ends, no trace of missing worker
Tragedy has made her life harder
With no work defined, 6 chief engineers serve local bodies dept
A file photo of water accumulated on a street in Rajinder Nagar in Jalandhar.
Revoke decision on subject: Lecturers
Industrialists woo Shital factories’ labourers
Family members of the deceased at the Civil Hospital in Jalandhar on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
from schools and colleges Students of St Soldier Divine Public School, Kapurthala Road, hold an awareness rally on “Save water, save electricity, save earth” in Jalandhar on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph
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Factory collapse biggest disaster witnessed: NDRF
Jalandhar, April 24 Assistant Commandant, NDRF, NN Gupta said: “Our teams have conducted many rescue operations, but this was difficult as paving the way through the debris was a daunting task. However, a dedicated teamwork and with the help of latest equipment, we managed to save many lives.” The NDRF team declared the rescue work closed this morning and Bathinda. The force will now prepare the report of the rescue operation and sent it to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Delhi. “Before the report is submitted, we will hold a D-briefing, where different rescue measures taken, operation conducted, problems faced and team effort will be taken into consideration. Once the briefing is done, we will submit the report to the NDMA,” said Gupta. Gupta said: “Since the building collapsed in a pancake mode or what we call a pack of cards, there was no space left between the rubble, leading to deaths and injuries. It was only after some days that we started using a vertical technique to locate the alive and the dead trapped under the debris.” The NDRF had deployed four teams comprising of 180 jawans of the 7th battalion in the rescue work. |
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Rescue op ends, no trace of missing worker
Jalandhar, April 24 Compensation is also being denied to Heera Chand (Radhe Mohan's brother-in-law, who came all the way from
Hyderabad after hearing about the incident) because the administration says it can only be given if the body is found. A livid Heera Chand said the district administration is not willing to listen to them. "I met the DC yesterday and he said he will look into the matter, but as the operation ended today, Radhe Mohan's body was still not found. He worked in the factory, I have his papers. His co-workers told me he was working with them that night, then where did his body go?" "I firmly believe his body was disposed of earlier. There is no other reason for the rescue teams not finding the body," Heera Chand said. Rankaj Kumar, admitted to the trauma ward of Civil Hospital ICU, said: "Radhe Mohan was with us that night. He was working as a helper on machine number one. We have still
not been able to understand why his body wasn't found." Anil, another labourer, who worked with Radhe Mohan, said: "He was not a labourer who would go unnoticed. Everyone in the plant knew about him as the 'cheerful studious' labourer. He was fond of reading books. His room is still full of books. We often wondered why he wasn't doing a better job. He was working with us on the night the building collapsed." When contacted, ADC Perneet Bhrdwaj said: "Heera Chand has contacted us. We have assured him of an adequate compensation if the body is found. But we cannot pay the compensation until the body of Radhe Mohan is found. As per the law, even if his name is found on the attendance register, we can't compensate his family, unless we have the body." Radhe Mohan is survived by his wife Malti and two daughters Pinki (12) and Nisha (3) and his
elderly parents back home at Aara. |
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Tragedy has made her life harder
Jalandhar, April 24 Chandravati had reached Jalandhar on April 19 with prayers on her lips and a strong faith on the almighty to see her husband alive. "I had told my children that I am going to bring your father along this time. My children would be eagerly looking forward to meet their father, but all that I would be carrying home is his belongings and some clothes that he had bought for us," she said. "I told my children that their father has been admitted to a hospital and he was serious. But only the almighty knows how would they overcome this tragedy," she added in a choked voice. Clad in a red saree and dishevelled hair, Chandravati was sitting on a cot in a dingy room of one of his relatives, also from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. She was continuously staring at the suitcase and a sack full of her husband's belongings, which she was to carry home. Chandravati was leaving for Gorakhpur this evening. When asked about her
husband's room, she said: "I vacated his room in the Dada Colony yesterday and gathered all that he left behind. He had bought clothes for children - two sons aged 10 and five years and a daughter aged seven years. He was planning to visit home when almighty snatched him from us." A MNREGA worker at Rampur Chakiya in Gorakhpur, Chandravati apart from bearing the sudden and the untimely demise of her husband is also concerned about a life full of struggle. "When I came to Jalandhar, I was not having a single penny and had to borrow Rs 5,000 from someone. Even yesterday when we went to Beas to immerse the ashes, I borrowed Rs 1,300," she said. She maintained silence for a while when she spoke about her first visit to the disaster site. "I was badly shaken to see the magnitude of the collapse, but hope kept me going. I was fearing some tragedy, but not his death," she said with tears rolling down
her cheeks. When asked whether she found any cash saved by her husband in his room, Chandravati broke down badly and said: "I found Rs 140 kept in a diary, which he used for keeping record of money sent home and that was saved." "Now, we will have to bear a life full of hardships as I hardly earn Rs 100 after working for 10 days in a stretch. My husband used to send around Rs 3,500 per month home, which was more than enough for us. But now, it would be a life full of penury," she added. "Owing to poverty, I could not send my children to school and now they too would be forced to work," Chandravati said. |
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With no work defined, 6 chief engineers serve local bodies dept
Jalandhar, April 24 There were three chief engineers till December 23, 2011, and three new posts were created to appease the higher rung officials just before the implementation of the code of conduct for the Assembly polls. Till 2006, there was one post of the chief engineer that too in the B&R cadre. The posts of the chief engineer in the O&M wing and the improvement trusts cadre were created before the 2007 polls. The three new posts created recently include one more chief engineer each for the O&M and the trusts and another for municipal committees. SE (B&R) from the Amritsar Municipal Corporation Lachhman Dass got promoted as the chief engineer (B&R) with headquarters in Ludhiana, but official say the post he relinquished in Amritsar was still vacant and he had to continue to work from there as well. Similarly, SE (O&M) AS Dhaliwal, who was posted in Jalandhar, was promoted with the current charge as the chief engineer from the same wing, but has been continuing to work from his previous headquarters. His previous charge was passed onto PS Jaggi who has instead come from the design wing. With two persons on the post of the chief engineer (Trusts), the work has been divided unequally for Manmohan Singh and Anil Kumar Kansal. While the former has the maximum workload by being asked to study the new projects of various trusts, the latter has been asked to work as the chief vigilance officer (CVO) for the MC and trusts. The second chief engineer (O&M) has been given the charge of CVO (O&M). Ajay Kanwar has been given the charge
as the chief engineer (committees). While some chief engineers have been elevated on the basis of the current charge, certain officials, especially those from the building branch, had been elevated from the municipal town planner to the senior town planner on regular basis despite chargesheets and inquiries still pending against them. Likewise, there have been several commissioner-level officers working with one MC. While earlier there has been just one assistant commissioner and a commissioner in the Jalandhar MC, there are two assistant commissioners, one joint commissioner, one additional commissioner and one commissioner here. Ironically, an assistant commissioner who has been serving post-retirement has been given the maximum workload. On the contrary, there is a minimal staff working as junior engineers and sub-divisional officers, who are, however, required in more numbers. Bhagat Chunni Lal, Minister for Local Bodies, said he would look into the matter. “We are planning to hold meetings with mayors to discuss all such issues and sort out the matter as early as possible,” he added. |
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Sans drainage system, rainwater continues to flood Rajinder Nagar
Jalandhar, April 24 The accumulation of three to four feet water during rains on the streets of this locality has been making the lives of its residents a hell for several years. The 500-odd residents of Rajinder Nagar located at a stone’s throw from the District Administrative Complex find it difficult to wade through the accumulated water. The rainwater also enters several low-lying houses of the locality. Talking to The Tribune, general secretary of the Rajinder Nagar Welfare Society Gurmeet Singh Hayer said: “Residents of the area have approached municipal councillor Raminder Kaur Dhinda with their problem, but to no avail.” Hayer said the are councillor had got sanctioned Rs 7.5 lakh from the discretionary funds of the then Local Bodies Minister, Manoranjan Kalia, for setting up a water harvesting system to get rid of the water accumulation problem, but nothing had been done so far. Had the water harvesting system been installed in the locality, it would have killed two birds with one stone. The problem of water accumulation would have been solved besides improving the groundwater level in the area, he added. When contacted, area councillor Dhindsa admitted that funds sanctioned by Kalia for installing a water harvesting system in the area could not be used. She said the idea of installing a water harvesting system in the locality had to be dropped as the system set up in other parts of the city did not prove successful as dust, plastic bags and leaves choked it, she added. Subsequently, they thought of installing a pump for speedy disposal of rainwater, but there was no space in the locality to set up the same, she added. “We then chalked out a plan to rebuild the streets by increasing their level so the rainwater from nearby areas could not accumulate here,” the councillor said. “However, residents were not ready for that.” “Now, we have decided to increase the level of a portion of the street on the Congress Bhawan road so that rainwater does not enter the locality, Dhindsa added. |
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Revoke decision on subject: Lecturers
Jalandhar, April 24 Lecturers from various colleges affiliated to GND University said due to the decision the non-Punjabi students, children of armed forces personnel and the Central Government employees would be deprived of learning about the rich Punjabi history and culture. The lecturers have demanded that the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Dr AS Brar, and the Academic Council should restore the subject at the graduation level and help the university flourish further by giving a chance to the non-Punjabi speaking students to study there. The GND University was offering PHC as a subject option in lieu of Punjabi, a compulsory subject at the graduate level. The PHC subject was been a great boon for scores of students from different states, as they, too, had been getting a chance to study in the colleges affiliated to GND varsity. Talking to Jalandhar Tribune, Vishav Bandhu Verma, Head of the Department of Punjab History and Culture, said, “The GND University authorities claim that the decision was taken to promote Punjabi language. But this is contradictory to the decision of the varsity, which claims that they wish to promote Punjabi language. Such a move would discourage the non-Punjabi students from pursuing their graduation in Punjab.” “Owing to this decision, the non-Punjabi students would be forced to learn basic Punjabi, which would be an uphill task for them. It will be quite difficult for the students from outside the state to learn Punjabi at the graduation level,” he added. History lecturers believe that the subject, which has been abolished, actually educated the students about the Punjabi culture, literature, history of Sikh Gurus, their achievements, teachings, martyrdom and struggle for freedom. “Not only this, the decision would also affect those students who are specialising in Punjab history and Sikh studies in their postgraduation in the hope of getting jobs as assistant professors in colleges. Many temporary lecturers would lose their jobs. This would lead to unemployment for the history teachers as there is a total ban on fresh recruitment,” he added.
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Industrialists woo Shital factories’ labourers
Jalandhar, April 24 In a state of shock after the factory collapse incident, migrant labourers working in the factory and those working in 30 other units of the same group have already started leaving for their hometowns. Sources said more than 1,500 migrant labourers of Shital industries had already left for their hometowns. The others, who were still in the city, may be either waiting to get their dues from the factory owners or were expecting a word from them on when they intended to start work. The factory collapse has in fact come as an opportunity for other industrialists as they have not been leaving any stone unturned to woo its labourers by offering them lucrative wages and a lot more perks. Rajesh Kumar, a migrant
labourer, said after the factory collapse the representatives of various local industries and even industries of other districts had been approaching them offering better remunerations. “Scores of my friends, who were sitting idle after the incident, have already joined work in other industries,” Rajesh said, while quipping that what was bad in joining work in other industries, that too with more wages. Another labourer Mukesh Yadav said, “I was approached by some officials of a textile industry of
Phagwara. They offered me Rs 1,500 more than my current wage with free insurance.” One of the leading industrialists, requesting anonymity, confirmed that like other industrialist even he had wooed a number of labourers of Shital Industries, “Though he has to pay more wages to them, but problem of labour shortage in his industry will be sorted out to a great extent,” he said. While defending his move, he said, “Wooing Shital’s labourers doesn’t mean that we have been deliberately adopting any business tactic or our move may cause labour shortage in his industry, in fact we are trying to stop the labourers from going back to their hometowns, no doubt by offering them employment with more pays.” Sources revealed that industrialists had deployed their men near the factory collapse site to lure the labourers into joining work in their units. |
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3 of family killed in road accident
Jalandhar, April 24 The deceased have been identified as 32-year-old Rajiv Kumar, his wife Sulanda (28) and their daughter Tania. The deceased were residents of Saghewal village near here. The incident took place when a speeding Indica car hit the motorcycle they were riding near Mahilpur village. The impact of the collision was so intense that the trio fell meters away from the road. They sustained head injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital where they died. Rajiv was a taxi driver and his wife was a NREGA worker. Rajiv is survived by his eight-year-old son and elderly mother. |
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Five BD Arya Girls College lecturers get UGC grants
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, April 24 Dr Kawaljit Kaur from the Zoology Department got Rs 2 lakh, Parminder Kaur from the Commerce Department Rs 1,20,000, Nupur Chopra from the Home Science Department Rs 1 lakh, Neerja Dhingra from the Economics Department Rs 70,000 and Niti from the Commerce Department Rs 1,05,000. Principal Dr Sarita Verma congratulated the lecturers on their achievement. Rally held An awareness rally on “Save water, save electricity, save earth” was held at St Soldier Divine Public School, Kapurthala Road. Students made posters and with messages of global warming, save water, save electricity, save earth and keeping the earth
pollution-free. |
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