Chandigarh, September 16
City residents continued to suffer on the second day today after high-velocity winds snapped power supply lines in various parts of the city yesterday. Many parts of the city are still without power.

Power supply remained disrupted in some parts of Mani Majra, Sectors 18, 19, 27, 20, 23, 30, 34, 37, 38, 41, Dhanas and Maloya. The Sector 43 ISBT also remained powerless on Monday. Though power supply was restored in some parts of Sector 28, where MP Pawan Kumar Bansal lives, but residents complained of low voltage. In most of the sectors, power supply was restored between 10 am and 1 pm on Monday. However, complaints of low voltage and single-phase supply kept on pouring throughout the day.

Traffic lights also remained non-functional in various parts of the city, giving motorists’ a though time.

UT Superintending Engineer (Electricity) MP Singh said the staff was on its toes to restore power supply in the city. The 66 kV and the 11 kV lines were made operational today, he said.

Power supply was not restored in the Sector 34 police station and the staff quarters.

Four electricity poles were damaged at the PGIMER on Sunday night. A number of trees were also uprooted in the staff parking near the research block. The storm led to power failure in hospital wards on Sunday evening.

The power failure also led to water shortage in the areas that get supply from tubewells. These include Mani Majra, Dhanas, Sectors 15, 23, 29, 44, 45, 46 and 32.

Panchkula, September 16
The electricity department in Panchkula is finding it hard to restore power supply in the town. Most of the sectors in the town are still powerless.

This has also affected water supply Sectors 12, 12-A, 20, 21, 4, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 25. The complaints of residents have also fallen on deaf ears.

Superintending Engineer, public health wing of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), NK Verma said: “Water supply has been affected in some sectors as the electricity department has not been able to restore the power supply.”

Executive Engineer of the electricity department DS Dhanda did not pick up the phone despite repeated attempts.

A total of 35 electricity poles were damaged in Panchkula. Officials said the department suffered a loss of Rs 80,000.

“No effort has been made by the department to restore power supply. It is difficult to manage without electricity and water,” said Girish Bhardwaj, a resident of Sector 16, Panchkula.

Chandigarh, September 16
Officials and workers of the UT Electricity Department have their work cut out to restore power supply in the city.

High-velocity winds that hit the region on Sunday evening damaged 40 electricity poles, 21 transformers and power cables. The power supply system remained crippled in the city as around 400 trees fell on the power cables.

It was no less then a Herculean task for the staff to remove the trees that had damaged the power cables.

The UT Electricity Department received 1,850 complaints on its helpline number 0172-4639999 in the past two days (September 15 and 16).

UT Superintending Engineer (Electricity) MP Singh said: “The department suffered a loss of Rs 3 lakh. Power cables have been damaged by trees in various parts of the city. It took a lot of time for the staff to remove trees that had fallen on the cables.”

General secretary of the UT Powermen Union Gopal Joshi said the staff worked very hard to restore power supply in some parts of the city.

Chandigarh, September 16
He may not be able to walk the rest of his life as Sunday’s storm has left him seriously injured.

Davinder Singh (28) was on his way back home on his motorcycle when a tree fell on him around 7.15 pm.

“He had gone to Sector 17 when the storm intensified. I had to accompany him but somehow I could not go along. I received a call from the police when he was rushed to the GMSH-16. He was later referred to the PGIMER around 10 pm,” said Davinder’s roommate Abid Suvhani.

Davinder Singh injured his spine and fractured his right arm. He will have to undergo surgery at the PGIMER, say doctors. Two more patients, who were injured during the storm, have been admitted to the Advanced Trauma Centre at the PGI.

Twenty-seven injured persons were rushed to the GMSH-16. Of these, four have been admitted, while others were discharged after treatment.

The GMCH-32 received nine patients, including a student of GGDSD College, Sector 32, with injuries during the storm. Another student of the college was declared brought dead at the hospital on Sunday night.

Government hospitals are providing free treatment to persons injured in the storm.

Chandigarh, September 16
Two persons, including a 22-year-old woman, died of dengue at the PGI.

Sarabjit Singh (60), who was suffering from the disease, died at the PGI on Monday. Atika (22), a resident of Shivjot Enclave, Kharar, died at the PGI on Sunday.

Sarabjit Singh, who was a resident of Patiala, was admitted to the PGI a few days ago. “He was suffering from dengue and died today,” confirmed an official of the PGI today.

Atika was admitted to the GMSH-16 and was referred to the PGI on Sunday morning. Her family members said Akita died during her treatment at the PGI. “We were told that she was suffering from dengue, said her relative. This is the first dengue death in the city.

She was cremated at Kharar this evening.

tragedy waiting to happen: A tilted tree in Sector 10-A poses threat to residents of the area. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

“I am still scared thinking about the last night’s storm. Things could have been worse had that branch fell on me. I am fortunate to have had a narrow escape, said Ravinder Singh, a resident of Sector 7, Chandigarh, and a coach with the UT Sports Department. He said it was his second encounter with death in the last five months. In April this year, a hailstorm brought similar havoc. At that time, he had just entered his home after parking his car in the verandha when a tree outside his home fell on his car and damaged it. Last night’s episode brought back those same memories, said Ravinder Singh.He said that incidents like this could cost a life as the squall had claimed three lives. “We need to form a policy whereby trees, which are termite ridden or dead, should be cut immediately, he said.

Help came late, says Vivek Sharma

For 37-year Vivek Sharma and his family, the previous night was nothing short of a nightmare.

Talking to The Tribune, he said the family was in the verandha outside the home when the squall began.

clearing up the area: Employees of the Horticulture Department Division No. 2 clear the area in Sector 23, Chandigarh. Tribune photo: Pradeep Tewari	loose cables threat to life: Power cables hang loosely in Sector 6 in Panchkula on Monday. Tribune photo: Nitin Mittal

Just when they moved inside, the heavy tree fell on the verandha, not only blocking the entry for the house for more than 12 hours, but also severely damaging their car, parked there. A resident of House No 2179 in Sector 37, Vivek said he was in the market when the whole incident took place. The family including his parents, wife and six-year -old son got really worried and were trying to seek help. “I literally had to crawl to enter my house and it took a lot of time to pacify the family especially my son, said Vivek. The family, he said, spent the entire night without electricity. The power went off in the entire lane, as the falling of the tree snapped the electricity wires too. “My son, a class I student, had an exam today and he was really worked up as to how he would complete his studies,” he said. He said that the Horticulture Department’s workforce came at 11 am that they could manage to clear the debris from their premises. . “My family really had a narrow escape. The tree fell on the car just after my son got off the car”, he said.

Chandigarh, September 16
BSNL officials today deployed staff to repair the damaged towers on a war footing, especially in the villages of Mohali and Panchkula, which were affected by the thunderstorm yesterday. Around 12 towers had developed technical faults due to which cellphone users were facing great problem.

J S Sahota, general manager (telecom), BSNL, said that by the evening six towers located in the urban areas of the tricity had been repaired by the team. But since there was no electricity supply in the villages of Panchkula and Mohali, officials were facing great difficulty in the repair work. He said that after the resumption of the electricity in these areas, all the towers affected by the duststorm would be repaired. He said that the landline services in the tricity were functioning normally.

Chandigarh, September 16
Visitors and store owners in Sector 9 faced inconvenience as police officials camped at the parking lot in front of a private eye hospital where UT Administrator Shivraj Patil paid a visit today and restricted public entry for nearly three hours.

The public visiting these stores and banks adjoining the eye hospital was not allowed to park their vehicles anywhere in the entire parking lot from 10am to about 12.50 pm.

The Administrator reached the hospital at around 12pm, while the parking was vacated at 10 am.

Nearly 25 policemen were deployed for ensuring that nobody enters the parking area where the Patil’s official vehicle was parked.

“Why could they not vacate a slot for ensuring the security of the Administrator in the parking area. They have displaced over 50 vehicles and not allowing anyone in the area,” said RajKumar, a visitor at an adjoining bank.

This entire stretch of showrooms is already congested and short of parking area. I had to park in the next parking lot, nearly 50 metres ahead and walk by, said Anita Kashyap, another visitor.

The police, on the other hand, claimed that the public entry was barred only for a few minutes.

“No route was blocked in front of the eye institute for more than a few minutes during the Punjab Governor’s visit today. All security, traffic and law and order arrangements were made as per law, due to the Z plus categorisation of the Punjab Governor,” said SP Traffic, Maneesh Chaudhary.

Panchkula, September 16
Despite a request by a prisoner from the Ambala jail to locate his missing wife and plaints from grieving parents to find their 16-year-old daughter who has been kidnapped by a 40-year-old man, the Panchkula police is not caring two hoots over such a serious issues.

Two complaints of police inaction were received today by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) where in one case, the parents even alleged that the police officials hurled abuses at them when they requested the latter to find their minor daughter who was kidnapped by a 40-year-old man.

Nirmal Singh, a prisoner from Central Jail, Ambala, who is serving life imprisonment in a case has sent several requests to the police officials about his wife who is missing since August 21, 2013.

The police has failed to lodge an FIR in the case. His wife was residing with their children in Beer Ghaggar.

“My son visited the jail and told me that she had gone to get rent from the tenants and has not returned since then. The tenants have not given rent since long and hence, Sunita had gone to collect the same,” Singh said in his complaint.

He added, “I smell foul play on the part of the tenants because they have even threatened my wife many times that too by pointing a pistol.”

Singh stated that officials of the Sector 21 police post had not registered any FIR in the case despite several requests.

On the other hand, Rameshwar, a resident of Sector 19, here, said his daughter was kidnapped by a man who used to visit his friend’s house in the neighbourhood.

The girl is missing since August 8, 2013, and despite the fact that the family gave important clues regarding her whereabouts, they alleged that police officials misbehaved and hurled abuses at them instead of investigating the matter.

“When I and my wife met a police official at the Sector 19 police station, he hurled abuses at my wife. The official said we may go to any senior official, but in the end we have to request him only to register the complaint,” said Rameshwar.

Assuring strict action, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashwin Shenvi said: “I will definitely look into the matter and any lapse on the part of any police officials would not be tolerated.”

Chanidgarh, September 16
The PGIMER administration has served a show-cause notice on Additional Administrative Officer in a case pertaining to alleged misappropriation in his selection five years ago.

The move came after the report was submitted by the committee inquiring the case.

The committee, headed by Dr SK Jindal, head, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, found deviations in the selection of AAO Dinesh Kumar.

Following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a committee was constituted by the PGIMER Director to examine the case.

“We found some deviations from the norms in the selection criteria adopted by the then selection committee,” said one of the inquiry committee members, requesting anonymity.

This is the second such case where an Additional Administrative Officer has been in the dock at the PGIMER. A few months ago, AAO Rajneesh Anand was issued voluntary retirement after he was found guilty in a vigilance case.

Chandigarh, September 16
Chief of the Army Staff Gen Bikram Singh arrived on a two-day official visit to the Headquarters Western Command, Chandimandir today. He is accompanied by Bubbles Singh, president, Army Wives Welfare Association.

He reviewed the operational preparedness of the Western Army and also discussed various administrative and logistics issues with senior commanders and staff officers. He exhorted them to focus on long-term all-round capability building endeavours.

Besides attending the 66th anniversary celebrations of the Command, where he met a galaxy of retired Army officers, General Singh will be making courtesy calls on Governor of Punjab and UT Administrator Shivraj Patil and the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana.

Meanwhile, Bubbles Singh will spend time with the special children of the Asha School in Chandimandir. She also interacted with wives of Army personnel and gauged the satisfaction level of families residing in the Chandimandir military station.

Chandigarh, September 16
An 18-year-old woman, Gulfassha, a resident of Nabha, needs Rs 3.5 lakh for undergoing kidney transplant, as her family is unable to afford the amount for her treatment.

Gulfassha is currently undergoing treatment at the PGIMER, Chandigarh. Those interested in extending financial assistance to the family can deposit the money in account number 65133861251, State Bank of Patiala, Bhikhi Moud, Nabha. Her father, Mohmood Akhtar, can be contacted at +91-9876973642.

Chandigarh, September 16
The Central intelligence agencies are probing in to the presence of the woman who was seen accompanying officials of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) on the stage before the PM, Dr Manmohan Singh, arrived on the scene to inaugurate the flats at Dhanas here on September 14.

Before the cavalcade of the PM arrived at Dhanas and the VVIP went up to the stage, the woman was asked to move away by the Special Protection Group (SPG) officials. The woman, Niranjan Kaur, was not found to be an official of the CHB, howevere, the official record shows that the woman was in the personnel staff of the Secretary of the CHB. Investigations are on to ascertain if there was any violation of the security guidelines. —TNS

Chandigarh, September 16
The play ‘Dastane Gursharan Singh’, highlighting the contributions made by the famous playwright and director Bhai Gursharan Singh to the Punjabi theatre, was staged at Tagore Theatre today.

A trust running in his memory organised the event to pay tributes to the eminent theatre personality. Director Kewal Dhaliwal picked up various dramas written by the playwright throughout his life and brought them together on the stage.

Dhaliwal, who began his career with Gursharan Singh, tried to show every aspect of Singh’s extensive theatre reservoir. Gursharan Singh wrote nearly 175 plays, with most of these highlighting the issues concerning the less privileged sections of the society.

Chandigarh, September 16
Expressing grief over the death of third-year BBA student Himanshu Bhargeri, students of the GGDSD College, Sector 32, accused the college authorities of using poor material for the construction of the wall that collapsed, claiming Himanshu’s life, during the squall yesterday evening.

The students alleged that the college authorities were least concerned about the safety of students residing in the hostel. Claiming that Himanshu died due to the negligence on the part of the college authorities, the students said the entire incident was being attributed to a natural phenomenon, without investigating into the material used for the construction of the wall in the parking lot of the boys’ hostel.

“The wall had no pillars to support it, and it collapsed for the third time,” the students said.

They alleged at the time the incident happened, no one from the college staff, including the warden, was present on the campus. There was not even a first-aid box in the hostel, they said.

Himanshu, who sustained a serious head injury, was rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, where doctors declared him brought dead.

The principal of the college, Bhushan K Sharma, could not be contacted despite several attempts.

Chandigarh, September 16
With hundreds of students failing to get admission to Class XI even after three rounds of counseling, the union of city-based government schoolteachers today sought a review of the admission policy.

The Government Teachers’ Union (GTU) said wards of schoolteachers and employees of the Education Department were also denied admissions. Members said government employees working in the railway, transport, banking and other departments were getting all facilities concerning their departments, but teachers are helpless when it comes to getting their children admitted to schools.

The union demanded that the policy should be reviewed so that wards of teachers can be admitted to government schools at all levels. The issue was also raised in the teachers’ conference last month in the presence of Education Secretary VK Singh.

The GTU also decided to send a delegation to press upon the department to address other issues such as promotion of junior basic teachers, fixing a notional pay, regularisation of SSA teachers’ services, and grade pay of Rs 4,200 to nursery, tabla instructors and tailoring teachers.

A meeting of the executive body of the union has been convened on September 18.

Chandigarh, September 16
In a unique campaign against drug menace, Desh Bhagat Community Radio 107.8 FM today entered the second day of its 100-hour live-on-air marathon, with several actors and other dignitaries joining the move.

The organisers said besides spreading awareness about drug abuse, they also aimed to enter the Limca Book of Records through this initiative.

“What makes this live-on-air marathon different is the battle that we have waged against drug abuse. We believe it will help in making the youth about various aspects of this menace,” said Ritu Ghai, programming head of the community radio.

The campaign has been launched in association with the UT Administration, State AIDS Control Society and Chandigarh Rotary Club. The marathon started yesterday at 9 am, with a message from Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal against drug menace.

Director, Public Relations, UT, MM Sabharwal complimented the efforts of the community radio and said drugs were eating our society.

“Others should also make similar efforts to spread awareness about drug menace,” he said.

Desh Bhagat Group chairman Dr Zora Singh said, “We as a society must kill drug menace before it kills our youth, society and nation.”

Tajinder Kaur, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Desh Bhagat University highlighted the role of women, especially mothers, in showing the right path to their kin.

Several Punjabi actors including Geetanjali Gill, Nishant Bhullar, Vinay Pal Bhuttar, Balli Riar, Anjana Sukhani and Anita took part in the campaign.

Also associated with the campaign is Neil Roberts, who gave up drugs after being addicted to them for 10 years and is presently helping other addicts leave the fatal habit.