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4 killed, 17 injured in blast at pharma unit
Lalru, April 30 The dead were identified as shift in charge, Nirankar Singh, office boy, Bunty, and workers Sushil and Patar Khan. The impact of the blast that took place in one of the 24 reactors in the pharma unit was so powerful that it created a large hole in the ceiling of the ground floor level. A major part of the unit turned into mangled remains of steel and concrete. Medical teams from Mohali, Dera Bassi and Zirakpur were rushed to the spot to assist the authorities in the rescue operation. The police registered a case under Section 304 of the IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against the management of the factory. Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said an inquiry would be conducted under the supervision of Superintendent of Police (Detective) and further action would be taken after the investigation was completed. Going into the factors leading to the blast, officials said intermediate dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was being produced as a bulk drug to manufacture clarithromycine, a macrolide antibiotic used to treat tonsillitis, pneumonia, skin infections and other diseases. Eyewitness account
Eyewitnesses said it was at 6.45 am that the blast rocked the factory and soon a major portion of it was engulfed in flames. There were 34 workers inside the building at the time of the incident. The bodies of two workers were found entangled in pipes. It took nearly four hours for at least 10 fire tenders to control the fire. The injured, who were admitted to hospitals in Dera Bassi and Chandigarh, have been identified as Ram Naresh, Sukhbir Singh, Bechand, Sanjeev, Chote Ram, Santosh, Kapin, Vimal, Mohinder Avasthi, Ashu, Muni Lal , Sarbjeet Singh, Ranbir Singh, Sucha Singh, Sobindu, Raj Kumar and Ashok Kumar, said Dr J K Bansal, SMO at Dera Bass Civil Hospital. Deputy Commissioner Mohali Varun Roojam announced Rs 1 lakh as compensation for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured. He inspected the rescue operation till the end. The factor management announced Rs 5 lakh to the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured and announced job to one of the family Probe begins
Soon after the incident, the state government directed the Deputy Director, Punjab, MP Beri, to go to the spot to probe the incident. The deputy director, who visited the spot, said no reason could be attributed to the incident immediately. The factory management had all licences and permissions for running the pharma unit, he said. Prima facie it was observed that due to the static charge set up and pressure build-up in one of the reactors during the recovery of material, a safety valve did not work, resulting in the tragedy. The SSP said a team of forensic experts was asked to identify the reason behind the fire and next action would be taken after seeing the report. The factory management was booked for negligence regarding the fire. The factory claimed that it
Volunteers help victims
Nearly 50 volunteers of the Green Welfare Force of Dera Sacha Sauda Sirsa reached the spot immediately after the blast. They searched each and every room of the factory to rescue the trapped workers and shifted the injured to ambulances with the help of police and Fire Brigade officials. It took more than four hours for 10 Fire Brigade tenders to control the fire. After completing the task, they organised an “ardas” and thanked almighty for the successful rescue operation and left the spot. Meanwhile, doctors at the GMCH, Sector 32, and Inscol, Sector 34, Chandigarh, where eight of the patients had been admitted termed their condition to be serious. A majority of them suffered burn injuries, nearly 50 per cent of them with burns of upper portion, including face. Lying at Inscol, a 35-year-old maintenance fitter Kapin, could have been safe had he adhered to the request of his wife for taking a day off. The wife of Kapin is a librarian at an engineering college at a college in Lalru. She took leave from office for domestic work and suggested Kapin also to take off for the purpose. Kapin, however, preferred to go to factory and got injured in the incident, said his brother waiting outside the hospital. Kapin (35), Vimal (24) and Chhotu, all admitted to Inscol, were serious and suffered injuries on face also, said doctors at the hospital. Abdul Kadir Mailik admitted to the GMCH was critical and had been admitted at the burns intensive care unit. His injured colleagues Sobindu, Ranbir, Sarbjeet and Sunil were also admitted at Emergency and burn wards also.
Third fire since 2005
This was not the first incident of fire at a pharmaceutical company in the area. Two years ago, on November 16, four factory workers were injured in a fire that broke out at the Anuja Healthcare Limited, near Dera
Bassi. Earlier that year, on January 29, a major fire broke out at the Surya Pharmaceutical Limited in Jangpura village, near Banur. The fire broke out at one of the units where welding was going on. On January 18, 2005, Instant Remedies Private Limited, a pharmaceutical unit located along the highway at Gholu Majra village was gutted.
Confusion over number of victims
The factory management and Mohali SSP GPS Bhuallar confirmed at 11.30 am that 31 workers were present in the factory at the time of the incident. While 15 of them got injured and four were found dead, 10 of the remaining had been traced to their homes. Baljeet, father of Bunty, said he had no clue about his son. “I came to know about the mishap at 7.30 am and since then, I have been searching for my son at the factory, PGI and GMCH -32 at Chandigarh, but in vain.” By evening, however, the factory management informed the media that there were 34 workers in the factory at the time of the mishap and 17 of them were injured. Bunty was also declared among the dead.
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Councillors jump to conclusions
Chandigarh, April 30 A classic example of the people's representatives’ style of functioning came to light today when councillous, cutting across party lines, unanimously rejected an issue, taking it to be an agenda item. The councillors did not even bother to check the information tabled on the floor of the house. "The authorities were told that they had to supply monthly report of the building plans and completion certificates issued by the MC to the UT Assistant Labour Commissioner for levying of 1 per cent of the labour cess on the cost of their construction in 10 villages of the city," said an official. Interestingly, the House unanimously rejected the issue and declared that no new tax would be allowed to be levied on the villages as it would add to the burden of the residents. Mayor Raj Bala Malik made an announcement in the House that the issue had been dropped and the department concerned would be informed about it. The department had not asked the MC to impose any kind of cess on the villages, while in a communication tabled in the House of the Assistant Labour Commissioner it had clearly stated that the Government of India had framed rules under building and other construction workers welfare cess act 1996 that the local authority which was giving approval for any construction work had to ask the applicant to deposit the demand draft of cess at notified rates on the estimated
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Door-to-door garbage collection employees staged a protest in front of the General House in protest against the hiring of employees by the MC for collecting garbage at Sector 22. There was a tiff between employees and Congress councillor Harphool Chand Kalyan during the lunch hour when he went to assure them. Ignoring his assurance, they started raising slogans against him and local Member of Parliament Pawan Kumar Bansal. The police vacated the corridor and they started to protest in front of the MC office. The Mayor constituted a seven-member committee to inquire whether there was any fault in the allotment of laying a pipeline for pumping to and delivering water from the Sector-39 waterworks. Another committee was constituted by the Mayor to study increasing the scope of the utilisation of the ward development fund by the councillors. The House unanimously approved a resolution that the Administration transfer the group housing society to the MC for providing it basic civic amenities and allotting it funds to for it. The issue was mooted by BJP councillor Davesh Modgil.
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NGO moves HC against IAS officer
Chandigarh, April 30 The organisation and its chairperson Sangeeta Vardhan sought court intervention to “locate, counsel, rehabilitate and take urgent steps for the welfare of the minor boy, Shambu”. The petitioner-organisation claimed that in 2009, it “came across two young children aged about 11 years, working as domestic helps at Sector 8-C, Chandigarh. One of them, named Shambu, hailed from Jagatpur village, near Patna, Bihar. Shambu was employed as domestic help with Mrs Puri, who incidentally, happens to the mother of Prerna Puri, who has been serving as IAS officer in the UT for past nearly six years or so”. The petition, filed through counsel Amar Vivek, added that the petitioners approached Shambu’s employer with the request to send him to their evening school and he was enrolled in 2009. Mrs Puri was later requested to send Shambu to the school for at least four hours daily to cope with studies. But “the respondent had other ideas. She repelled the contention of the petitioners that Shambu required good education. Not only this, for the last few days, it was observed that the child was unnecessarily stressed and scared to come to school”. “As such, a detailed investigation was made and it was found on Shambu’s statement that one didi, who used to come to their house with policemen, used to threaten and harass him, and he was asked to not to rejoin the school, but he was still insisting on coming to the school. Upon detailed inquiries, it was found that the didi happened to be none other than Prerna Puri, who was the daughter of the respondent.” The petitioners concluded, “The two respondents have, only for their ego and due to sheer misuse and abuse of their official position, made Shambu deny educational faculties. They are, thus, responsible for committing several offences. As such, a proper inquiry should be conducted against them and the statements of all concerned should be recorded to note down their role in the matter and thereafter, due action be taken against them. The special police should be assigned the task of locating Shambu for being produced in court”. Taking up the petition, acting Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Alok Singh put the UT Administration and others on notice for May 4.
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Will make all efforts to develop Mohali: Mann
Mohali, April 30 Mann, who has just returned from a tour of Canada, told mediapersons that no efforts would be spared to ensure the development of the district and for providing basic amenities to the people. He said that apart from his work as the Chairman of the planning panel, he would also continue to focus on his singing. In response to a question, Mann said he would meet the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister in connection with the need for a new cultural policy in the state. He expressed his opposition to vulgarity in songs and appealed to his fellow artistes to ensure that music did not violate the culture of Punjab.
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Councillors resent mismanagement
Chandigarh, April 30 Nominated councillors alleged that Mayor Raj Bala Malik was giving them stepmotherly treatment by ignoring their presence in meetings called by her. MP Kohli said all nine of them had decided to boycott the House today, but were here after the interference of senior leaders. Two nominated councillors on the water and sewerage committee said officials did not bother to inform them about the cancellation of the meeting. Subhash Chawla said officials had called the F&CC and water conservation meetings at the same time. The F&CC meeting was cancelled for lack of quorum. Malkit Singh said an auction was conducted without informing observers. No action was taken, he added. Verbal duels
Heated exchanges took place between Congress and SAD-BJP councillors when Subhash Chawla said the BJP was against granting voting rights to nominated councillors. The Mayor said this was true. BJP-SAD councilors demanded an apology. After 15 minutes, the Mayor expunged comments. BJP councillor Arun Sood demanded provision of details of parking passes issued by the MC this year and the cost borne for printing. When the Mayor avoided giving him a deadline for the information, he alleged a scam worth crores in the name of development in the last four months. Congress councillors demanded an apology.
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Tempo hits roundabout, overturns; 13 injured
Chandigarh, April 30 Three families were on way to Vaishno Devi in the tempo. The incident occurred around 8 am, when the vehicle rammed into the roundabout and overturned. The injured, who were coming from Barwala, were rushed to the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector 16, by the police. The injured were identified as driver Jagpreet, Amit, Shivi, Sajan, Neeraj, Umesh Puri, his mother Usha and wife Rajni. They were being treated at the hospital. The other injured, including Praveen, Sohan Lal and Shubham, went to a private clinic. Both eight-year-old Shivi and 10-year-old Neeraj sustained a fracture. The injured alleged that the driver fell asleep while driving, resulting in the accident. Some other injured alleged that the incident occurred due to a tyre burst. In the absence of any complaint, a case was not registered. A daily diary report was lodged at the Sector-39 police station. In another accident, reported near the Faidan barrier this afternoon, a JCB machine overturned. The driver had a narrow escape. In yet another accident, reported on a Sector-21 road, a three-wheeler collided with a car.
No case was registered.
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‘Banda Bir’ a spectacle of aesthetic statement
Chandigarh, April 30 The presentation sponsored by the North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala, and the ministry of culture, Government of India, as a part of the year-long centenary celebrations of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The rich thematic content of the heroic deeds of Banda Bahadur, sculpted to brilliance by Rabindranath Tagore and staged by Padam artistes under the able direction of danseuse Suchitra Mitra appeared to be complimenting each other. Suchitra had undergone training in gatka and other martial arts before taking up the formidable challenge of staging the play based on the life and achievements of great warrior general Banda Singh Bahadur. Suchitra had restricted the detailed myths and legends but attempted to focus on the historical facts eulogising the wisdom and bravery of Guru Gobind Singh who blessed the transformation of a hunter, Madho Singh Bairagi to Gurbux Singh, a khalsa and later Banda Singh Bahadur, an epitome of the supreme courage and conviction. Suchitra relied upon her expertise in various dance forms and production designing, including light, sound, audio-visual effects on background screen, which co-related the action as the play progressed. The adroit interpretation and script recitation in Hindi, Bangla and Punjabi, induction of shabads and soulful renditions of compositions of composer Chandrachur Bhattacharjee by Subhashish Hazra and Nasreen embellished the choreographic production. Her disciples, including danseuse Sumita, Fizza, Radha, Dashmeet Vrinda, Ramya, Shivangi and others supported Suchitra to make “Bandi Bir” a spectacle of history, art and aesthetic statement.
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Chandigarh Passport adalat: The regional passport office (RPO) would hold a passport adalat on May 3. All concerned whose passport files are pending in RPO, Chandigarh jurisdiction, should attend the said passport adalat along with all relevant documents. No separate intimation is being sent to such applicants whose cases are pending in the old system. In case, they fail to attend the said lok adalat, then application will be treated as closed without further intimation and they will have to apply again giving reference number of earlier application filed manually in 2010-11. The said passport adalat will be held from 9 am to 1 pm at the RPO office in Sector 34.Medical camp: A free mega medical check-up camp will be organised at the Traffic Police Line in Sector 29 here. Doctors from Callurdoctor Organisation will conduct the camp from 9 am tomorrow.Missed call facility: With a view to provide hassle-free service and convenience to customers, the Central Bank of India has introduced missed call facility for its existing and prospective customers. To avail this facility, the customers have to register their mobile numbers with a branch. At present, the facility to know balance in current and saving accounts and also last three transactions done by the customers in account are available. B Akbaraly, zonal manager of the bank, announced this facility. He informed that to know the balance in the account, the customer has to give a miss call on 09222250000 and to know the details of last three transactions, the customer should make a miss call on 09222240000.Awarded: Dr Zora Singh, chairman, Desh Bhagat Group of Institutes, was awarded the “Punjab Gaurav Shiksha Rattan Award” by Governor Shivraj Patil at CII, Chandigarh. The All-India Technical and Management Association (AITMA) organised a corporate summit-2012 on bridging the industry- institutes skill gap. Dr Singh was invited to speak on the subject during this summit. While speaking on the occasion, Dr Singh said, “Industry and institutes should work together to bridge the gap between demand of specific human resources and production.” He further elaborated that the curriculum should be industry based so that more and more employable graduates come out from the institutes and they become assets to society and not liabilities.MOHALI Night sky tour: About 150 students of Dikshant International School, Zirakpur, got an opportunity to go on the terrace of the school to see star-studded sky on a clear dark night. The event was organised by the International Space Society (ISS) in association with Pushpa Gujral Science City, Jalandhar. A team of experts organised the night sky tour through high-powered telescopes showing students from classes IV to X, the star-studded sky, which they found not only beautiful but bewildering. The session started with an experience team of Akashdeep Singh and Manpreet Singh from Pushpa Gujral Science City briefing the children about the high-powered telescopes and introducing children to the basics of sky gazing followed by a detailed description of moon, Saturn, Orion Nebula.Awareness drive: Joining the authorities in their anti-malaria drive, students of Lemmon World School near Landran, Greater Mohali, on Monday took another step forward in their social responsibility initiatives by organising an awareness drive in a nearby village to spread the message of protection against malaria. With the breeding season of the mosquito in full swing, a students-laden bus from classes IV to VI along with their teachers descended at Swara village where they educated a gathering on the causes of malaria, its symptoms and the ways to prevent it. Children carried placards to spread the message and had convinced the villagers that preventing the occurrence of malaria was as much in their hands as much it is in the hands of the government. — Tribune Reporters
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Fraternity fumes over VC’s act
Chandigarh, April 30 According to sources after a heated discussion on the issue pertaining to sending PU officials on deputation, Syndic GK Chatrath staged a walkout and didn’t return till 20 minutes. The Syndics’ claim that the Vice-Chancellor stalled the House midway and made everybody wait, the meeting restarted when he returned, but the rival group, including Ashok Goyal and Dinesh Talwar, went out. Though the VC reportedly continued the proceeding for a few more minutes, he got a call and soon after abruptly concluded the meeting, asking everybody to stand up for the National Anthem. RC Sobti failed to respond to numerous calls made to him. “This is my first time as a Syndicate member and I was left shocked. Just like Senate, the House is nothing more than a puppet show, directed by Ashok Goyal and GK Chatrath, according to their own whims and fancies and we are nothing more than mute spectators. The VC’s act of stalling the meeting to wait for Chatrath was unjustified, as one member, no matter how important authorities deem him to be, cannot be more than the code of conduct. Similarly, while Sobti refused to divulge whose call it was that made him end the House abruptly, we all knew that it was Ashok Goyal who had called and asked him to end the House because he was not there. From next time, the VC should conduct the House along with these two only as they matter,” said a Syndic. The Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA), meanwhile, took a serious umbrage to the issue, as president Akshay Kumar said, “From what we hear, ending the august House midway without a valid rhyme or reason is uncalled for and is yet another display of rampant irresponsibility among Syndics and authorities. The fraternity looks forth to conduct of House, as it is where key career, academic and policy decisions are taken, which may be just another agenda item for the Syndics but are key to our academic lives. It’s high time that the Syndics and VC rise to expectations of the community, which looks up to them.” Sources reveal that an average of Rs 25,000 is spent on each Syndicate meeting and such abrupt end is sheer waste of funds. Legal opinion sought Deterred by the ever-increasing number of dissents being recorded by VC RC Sobti on various issues raised in Senate, the PU Registrar’s office had sought a legal opinion on its impact. The opinion submitted by a panel of three judges claims that PU calendar allows the VC to record his dissent but it will have no impact of the decision taken by a majority in the House. In case of a tie between those in favour or against an issue, the VC’s move will be a deciding factor.
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253 students conferred degrees
Mohali, April 30 To achieve this, it was important to have up-to-date and multidisciplinary education. He also emphasised the importance of literacy and educational institutions in bringing about desirable changes in society. He asked the students to spread the knowledge they had acquired from their alma mater and be a part of this positive change. JS Bedi, chairman of Gian Jyoti Group of Institutes, welcomed the chief guest and other dignitaries and congratulated the students on getting their degrees. Addressing the students, Bedi advised them to work hard for achieving their goals in life.
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Vandana Saxena is principal of Tribune school
Chandigarh, April 30 She has previously taught at senior positions in prominent educational institutions in Chandigarh and Delhi. Prior to her appointment at Tribune Model School, she was working as a senior teacher at Yadavindra Public School, Mohali. In a teaching career stretching over 20 years, she has spent 11 years interacting with young children who have ignited a wish to perform in a wider arena, which is child friendly and conducive to learning and hence developing wholesome personalities.
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Only 80 unfair means cases so far
Chandigarh, April 30 Though the PU authorities may pat their back for reported success of recently introduced anti-cheating measures, it may actually be forthcoming Senate elections, which have proven to be a boon for “munnabhais”, especially of affiliated regional colleges. Given to the fact that the anti-cheating squads primarily comprise of Senators, a majority of them are abstaining from registering cases to win over the college authorities, who are expected to play an important role in the elections. While these members claim that there is nothing to record “unofficial” data collected by PU otherwise. “No matter how much our controller blabbers about the success of his reforms, truth is something else. Reports collected by us suggest that cheating is going unchecked and is more blatant now, as our own squads are turning a blind eye towards the menace. Recently, a college notorious for mass cheating was barred from being an examination centre, but the Senate went ahead removing the ban. And now our revered Senators are not registering cases just to win over the college authorities who will be pivotal in the forthcoming elections. We will putting the reports across to the Vice-Chancellor,” revealed an official. While VC RC Sobti and controller examination AK Bhandari remained unavailable for comments as usual, the Senators refuted the claims saying, “If they don’t trust us, then why put us on squads? Should we go out registering cases even if there is nothing? It is about students and their future and we can’t play with it.” Meanwhile, a member of one of the last year’s UMC committee said, “There is always a scramble amongst them to be a part of the squads and they use all influences they can to get there. Even during the hearing of these cases, they approach us to let students off. The UMC is a big toll for them to run their politics.”
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Red Day celebrated
Mohali, April 30 The significance of the colour, which symbolises love, warmth and passion was brought home to the children by principal Virender Tiwana. Various activities related to the colour were conducted in the activity room decorated with red balloons and buntings. Rooh Afza, watermelon, strawberries, apples and tomatoes were distributed among children. Literary contests
Various interactive literary competitions were organised at St Xavier’s School, Mohali, and students got a chance to showcase their talent in all spheres like poster making, Hindi elocution and debate. The students enthusiastically participated in the activities and Yellow House secured first position in the elocution. The students also showed their concern for the environment through poster making.
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