Kalka, June 17
Six vehicles, including a tanker, and a toll collection centre of the Haryana Excise Department were gutted in a major fire that broke out after the tanker met with an accident on the busy Kalka-Parwanoo stretch of the Ambala-Shimla National Highway No. 22 this morning.

The incident occurred at about 7.30 am when the tanker, carrying extra neutral alcohol (ENA) from Banur in Punjab to an industrial unit in Parwanoo, reportedly developed a technical snag while it reached near a weighing machine at the Kalka-Parwanoo barrier.

Eyewitnesses said the tanker was climbing a steep road and suddenly rolled back and rammed into the toll collection centre.

Due to the impact of the collision, the tank of the vehicle got ruptured and the ENA started leaking. The inflammable liquid spread on the road till the main gate of the Kali Mata temple, almost at a distance of 150 metres from the spot, and accidentally caught fire.

Kalka Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM) Shakti Singh said the tanker was carrying nearly 20,000 litres of ENA to Panwanoo and was climbing a steep road when its brakes failed.

The SDM said the ENA caught fire on the road, that spread to the tanker, which was gutted. Lined up in the road, vehicles, including two cars, a jeep, a motorcycle and a scooter, also caught fire and were damaged.

The toll collection centre was also gutted. However, no loss of life was reported.

The SDM said eight fire tenders from Kalka, Panchkula and Panwanoo were pressed into service, which took almost four hours to put off the flames. Besides firemen, police personnel and Home Guards jawans also took part in the rescue operation. The police have begun investigations into the incident.

Ved Parkash, an inspector at the tax collection centre and eyewitness, said he and his peon, Dalbir Singh, had a miraculous escape in the accident.

“When the tanker rammed into the centre, we ran out. The fire engulfed the booth within seconds. I climbed a hillock on the roadside for safety while Dalbir Singh jumped into the Sukhna choe. Our two-wheelers parked on the road outside the centre were gutted,” he said.

Prem Singh, brother of tanker owner Gurjand Singh and resident of Guru Nanak Colony, Banur, said the tragedy had caused them a huge loss.

Accoring to the police, Vijay Kumar's Indica (CH 02 1855), Naraingarh resident Hem Raj's car (HR 04 E 5262 and Kalka resident Vishal Sharma's bike (HR 49 B 6726) were damaged in the fire.

Following the fire, traffic on the busy stretch was disrupted for almost five hours. Vehicles heading towards Shimla from Kalka and back were diverted from the Kalka railway bridge to the Tippra road. 

Panchkula, June 17
The mystery surrounding several deaths in Panchkula will remain a mystery forever. Reason: The investigating officers concerned failed to collect the samples kept at the General Hospital, Sector 6, and these got spoilt. Left with no other option, the hospital authorities destroyed these today. Twenty-one samples were destroyed near the mortuary of the hospital.

Samples being destroyed at the General Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula. A Tribune photograph

There were 24 samples in all, of which seven were simple blood samples and 15 of viscera taken in mysterious death cases. The remaining were blood samples taken in poisoning cases, which were also destroyed.

After Chandigarh Tribune had reported earlier how old samples had tumbled out of the cupboard during a check by the hospital authorities, a committee was constituted by the then Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ashwin Shenvi, comprising a forensic expert, Dr Sunil Gambhir, and Assistant Commissioner of Police Adarshdeep Singh.

A list of samples was prepared. The committee met today and decided to destroy the samples. While some samples were burnt, the others will be destroyed in accordance with the bio-medical rules in an incinerator tomorrow.

Dr Gambhir said, “Despite several requests by our doctors, who conducted the postmortem, the police did not collect the samples. A few samples are still lying in the mortuary.”

The oldest sample was that of a death case that took place in 1995. The other samples were of death cases reported from 2005 to February 2014.

Chandigarh, June 17
Chandigarh’s soccer buffs are having a gala time even at the cost of losing their sleep! To witness each move of their favourite stars in the ongoing FIFA World Cup being held in Brazil live on TV, the soccer buffs are ready to brave all discomforts.

Despite the inconvenient timings of the matches (a majority of the matches are being played at 9.30 pm and 12.30 am), the soccer lovers remain glued to their television sets late at night. According to the schedule of the group stage, 48 matches (18 matches at 9.30 pm, 12 at 12.30 am, 10 at 3.30 am, seven at 1.30 am and one match at 6.30 am) are being telecast live.

“It’s worth keeping late hours to watch these players in action. We have been waiting for this moment for four years,” said Hemant Kapooria, a young businessman, while enjoying a match at an eating joint in the city.

With most of the matches of top teams scheduled for 12.30 am or later, the fans have altered their schedule to suit their convenience. “I am supporting Brazil. The team is playing all its matches after 12.30 am and I don't want to miss the action. My office starts at 10 am and it’s difficult to wake up after watching a late night match. I prefer working from home," said Himani Sharma, a consultant with a local IT firm.

The ongoing summer vacation has come as a boon for young soccer fans. As there is no pressure of attending school or doing homework, youngsters are enjoying the matches thoroughly.

“I saw my favourite team’s (Italy) first match at 3.30 am and will continue to see all matches despite the odd timings,” said Amit, a student of St John’s High School, Sector 26.

Chandigarh, June 17
After Uttar Pradesh Governor BL Joshi resigned from his post, rumours were doing the rounds that Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator Shivraj V Patil will also submit his resignation.

Though officials of the Punjab Raj Bhawan denied any such development, sources said the Narendra Modi government was considering changing Congress-appointed Governors, including Patil, in various states.

Sources said Patil had already conveyed to the Congress high command that he was ready to resign from the post. The name of 82-year-old senior BJP leader VK Malhotra has started doing the rounds for replacing Patil.

On January 22, 2010, Patil was appointed Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator. His tenure will end on January 21, 2015. In 2004, when Patil was Union Home Minister, he had removed several BJP-appointed Governors. 

Chandigarh, June 17
Tenants of SCO 117 and118 in Sector 17 that has been declared unsafe by the UT Administration have demanded that the building be retained and an inquiry conducted by a central agency to ascertain the health of the building.

The building was declared unsafe after the adjoining building collapsed on June 8 following a fire incident.

At a press conference held today in Sector 27, the tenants stated that in the present era of technology there was no dearth of techniques, which could keep the building in perfect shape. “Even after nine days of the incident, the UT Administration has failed to take a decision over the fate of the building. We have not been told whether the building would be demolished or retained,” said SK Madan, one of the tenants.

Madan who is a tenant for the last 29 years stated that the rights of the tenants of the building should be protected and the building should be retained.

Neelkant, another tenant, said the Administration had not told the tenants about the status of the building. “We are made to shuttle between offices, however, nobody is telling us the status of the building”, Neekant stated.

They criticised the Fire Department for failing to control the fire. They said even after the building was demolished the fire was still smoldering. They demanded that the UT Administration should rope in more experienced fire experts to douse the fire. The tenants have also demanded that as an interim relief should be provided and a possibility worked out regarding lifting of certain goods and documents from the building. 

Chandigarh, June 17
On the letter written by newly elected Member of Parliament (MP) Kirron Kher, the Union Home Ministry has now sought a reply from the UT Administration.

Since the UT Administration had turned down Kirron Kher’s request to hold a meeting of the UT Administrator’s Advisory Council (AAC) after June 27, the MP had shot off a letter to the Union Home Minister. Turning down Kher’s request, the UT Administration had decided to hold the meeting on June 19.

Kirron had already conveyed to the Governor’s office and senior officials of the Administration that she would be available in Chandigarh after June 27 for four to five months and the AAC meeting should be held after June 27. She had conveyed that as it was her first AAC meeting and important issues related to the city were to be discussed, she wanted to attend it.

But instead of postponing the meeting, the Administration decided to hold meeting on June 19, when Kirron Kher will be not in town. Earlier, the meeting was scheduled for June 16 and it was postponed to June 19.

In her letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Kirron had submitted that the UT Administration did not consult her before finalising the date of the AAC meeting. When she came to know that the meeting was earlier fixed for June 16, she requested them to postpone the meeting for after June 27. However, now they had fixed the meeting for June 19, she had written to the Union Home Minister.

Chandigarh, June 17
The Municipal Corporation (MC) Mayor, councillors and the Additional Commissioner today attended the bhog ceremony of fire fighter Amandeep Singh at his native place in Malout. Amandeep had died on June 8 after a building collapsed following a fire incident in Sector 17. 

Chandigarh, June 17
A day after it was reported to the police that a woman constable had gone missing, the mystery continues to shroud the circumstances under which she disappeared.

Chandigarh Police constable Reeta posted with the Police Control Room is missing since June 8.The constable went to the railway station on June 8 and since then she is untraceable. Her mobile phones are also switched off since then. Hailing from Panipat, her father, a farmer of Haryana, today met DSP (Central) Ashish Kapoor at his Sector 17 office.Her father Ramesh told the police he was not aware where his daughter went. “We have been trying to track her since June 8 but her mobile phone is switched off,” he said.The police said Reeta had applied for two days leave from June 9. She went to the railway station on June 8, after that she neither reported on duty nor reached home.”

The police have probed the role of constable Ravinder, who was being suspected initially. Ravinder and Reeta both hail from the same town in Haryana and their families are well known to each other. Ravinder had last met Reeta on June 7, when she had to purchase some household electronic goods. After that Ravinder was also not aware where Reeta went.The police have registered a case of kidnapping.— TNS

Chandigarh, June 17
The UT Administration today launched mDirectory - a mobile directory that provides contact details like address, telephone number and email address of the offices of Chandigarh Administration and its key officials.

mDirectory developed by the Department of Information Technology can be downloaded free of cost from the Administration’s web portal www.chandigarh.gov.in and it will also be made available on the Government of India’s mobile app store. This on-the-go app provides contact details of various departments of the Chandigarh Administration that anyone may need anytime, anywhere. UT Advisor KK Sharma said the Administration was g oing to improve the government-citizen interface. — TNS

Mohali, June 17
Meeting the long-pending demand of the people of the area, Zirakpur has been given the status of sub-tehsil by the state government here. Issuing notification in this connection under the signature of NS Kang, financial commissioner, Revenue and Secretary, Punjab, the communique, dated June 10, 2014, stated that a new sub-tehsil to be called Zirakpur sub-tehsil within Dera Bassi Tehsil of SAS Nagar district with headquarters at Zirakpur has been formed.

The new sub-tehsil comprises one Kanungo circle, eight Patwar Circles and 34 revenue villages with immediate effect, stated the communiqué.

The Kanungo circle is Zirakpur, while eight Patwar circles include Bhabat, Lohgarh, Singhpura, Dhakoli, Chhatt, Bhankharpur, Mubarakpur, Sundran.

Thirty-four villages, which come under the new sub-tehsil include Bhabat, Zirkpur, Lohgarh, Baltana, Himatgarh, Gajipur, Nagla, Singhpura, Ramgarh Bhuda, Bishanpura, Diyalpura, Nabha, Dhakoli, Bishngarh, Sanoli, Peer Machhaila, Kishanpura, Kishanpura, Chhatt, Nariangarh, Bir Chhatt, Satabgarh, Bhankarpur, Meerpur, Bakarpur, Mubarakpur, Daffarpur, Pandwala, Morthhikri, Kakrali, Sundran, Kheri and Haibatpur.

With this development, now Zirakpur would have its own naib tehsildar. The residents of these 34 villages would not have to go to Dera Bassi for their property-related works, including registration, mutation and marking of land.

Located along the Chandigarh-Delhi Highway, Zirakpur, which earlier was a small village, is now a rapidly growing town near Chandigarh. Having population around 1.90 lakh, this town is base of several builders, colonizers and property agents and boast to have malls, multi-national wholesale stores chains including The Best Price and Metro, several hotels, marriage palaces and a large number of new residential colonies and flats.

Zirakpur, June 17
The newly constructed bus stand here was thrown open only for local buses on a trial basis on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today.

Taking a serious view of the traffic congestion on the Ambala-Kalka Highway at the Zirakpur intersection, the court had asked the authorities to operate the bus stand to ease the traffic.

Officials of the Punjab Roadway Transport Corporation (PRTC) with the assistance of the traffic wing of the Mohali Police today diverted the local private and government buses to the new bus stand.

Praveen Sharma, traffic in charge, said the bus stand had been opened for the local buses plying from Ambala to Chandigarh and Panchkula to Patiala. There would be an entry fee of Rs 20 for mini-buses and Rs 40 for other buses at the bus stand, he said.

Mohali, June 17
Only a handful of complainants turned up at the first ‘sangat darshan’ programme of the Mohali Municipal Corporation, which has been started under the fresh guidelines of the state government.

Under the guidelines, all commissioners and additional commissioners of MCs in the state have been asked to hold special “sangat darshan” on every Tuesday from 9 am to 1 pm to hear the complaints of residents and address them immediately.

Only four or five complainants from the area turned up at the programme today. It was conducted by Mohali MC Additional Commissioner BD Singla at the MC Bhawan at Sector 69 here.

Giving the reason for the low turnout, Singla said the people were not aware of the programme. “The next such programmes will definitely attract more people. Our toll-free service and special application on smart phones “MC Cramat” are very popular and effective. We solve most of the problems within the given time frame, which resulted in a sharp decrease of visitors at the office,” said Singla.

The Additional Commissioner said since the launch of the MC’s toll-free number on December 30 last year, the MC had got as many as 2,738 complaints regarding sanitation, stray dog menace, streetlight, water supply, sewerage, horticulture, encroachment and others.

“We have already solved 2,627 complaints, which means that over 95 per cent complaints have been addressed,” said Singla.

The MC has received around 270 complaints so far on the smart application. The authorities claimed to have solved most of these complaints.

Mohali, June 17
After massive drive against drug peddlers and addicts, the Mohali Police are now set to make residents of the area, particularly the rural ones, aware of drugs by staging plays and holding exhibitions.

The police will also launch a special helpline tomorrow. Anyone can lodge a complaint against drug peddlers or other such anti-social elements without revealing his/her identity on this helpline.

Giving details, Mohali SSP Inder Mohan Singh Bhatti said the police would hold a drug awareness event with the association of an NGO, Nimer International, at Balongi village tomorrow at 6 pm.

“During the programme at the Ramlila Ground in the village, a play conveying the anti-drug message will be staged by professional artistes. Besides, an exhibition will also be organised in which people of the area will be made aware of the ill-effects of drugs,” said the SSP.

“Such programmes will continue at different places in the coming days,” said the SSP. — TNS

Chandigarh, june 17
Hi-tech fire safety arrangements at Panjab University, which were made by spending lakhs of rupees, are of little use as only a handful of security officials are capable of handling the equipment in case of an emergency.

The fact came to light a fortnight ago after an incident in the administrative block when the fire alarm suddenly went off due to some technical fault and no security official deployed in the building was able to switch it off.

Sources said a number of senior officials turned up at the spot but none of them was able to handle it.

Later, the staff of a contractor involved in installing the system in the building were called to switch it off. The staff told the officials that a lot of dust had gathered on the alarm due to which it went off all of a sudden.

The sources said the contractor informed the PU officials that five security personnel had been trained in handling the hi-tech equipment, but none of them was on duty when the incident took place.

This is not the first time the university security staff have failed to act. Records reveal that on May 13, 2010, when a major fire broke out in Girls’ Hostel No. 5, the issue was raised that there was a need for training all security staff to handle such incidents.

However, no further action was taken on this proposal. In the hostels, a new fire system was installed recently, but nobody was trained to handle it in case of a fire incident.

A visit to the administrative block revealed a sorry state of affairs. Old furniture of all departments has been dumped in the corridors in the basement, inviting a tragedy.

An official said as the storeroom of the university was in Sector 25, all departments had dumped their old and damaged furniture in the basement from where it was lifted by trolleys to the store. Usually, the furniture remained lying in the basement till a trolley was available with the department concerned to shift it to the store.

According to the fire safety norms, the corridors of all buildings should be clear to deal with an emergency situation. There should be a well-trained team to handle the fire equipment in case of an emergency. The norms also point out that a fire control room should be set up in each hostel.

The sources said after a number of notices issued by the Fire Department of the MC, the PU authorities had decided to replace the entire fire system in the administrative block.

What Chief Security Officer says PU Chief Security Officer Jatinder Grover said they were planning to impart special training to around 20 security guards to handle the fire-fighting equipment on the campus in case of a fire incident. Besides, basic training to handle a fire situation would be imparted to the entire security staff of the campus.

He conceded that only five security personnel had been trained in handling the new fire equipment.

what norms say

* The corridors of all buildings should be clear to deal with an emergency situation.

* There should be a well-trained team to handle the fire equipment in case of an emergency.

* The norms also point out that a fire control room should be set up in each hostel.

CORE ISSUES

* Recently, the fire alarm suddenly went off in the administrative block due to some technical fault. No security official deployed in the building was able to switch it off.

* Later, the staff of a contractor involved in installing the system in the building were called to switch it off.

plan of action

* Impart special training to around 20 security guards to handle the fire-fighting equipment on the campus in case of a fire incident.

* Basic training to handle a fire situation would be imparted to the entire security staff of the campus.

* PU authorities had decided to replace the entire fire system in the administrative block.

Chandigarh, june 17
To discuss the status of fire-safety norms in the science departments on the campus, the Panjab University Security Department today called a special meeting of the security staff.

The meeting was chaired by the chief security officer Jatinder Grover.

The moves comes after Chandigarh Tribune had highlighted that the science laboratories in the varsity were not well-equipped with fire-safety measures, exposing students to grave risk as they experimented with inflammable solvents.

The officials decided in the meeting that a communication will be sent to the PU Dean University Instructions AK Bhandari that all science departments should install fire-safety equipment in their laboratories for the safety of students.

The meeting also decided that the authorities concerned should put up safety instructions in all laboratories to sensitise students on how to react when a fire breaks out.

sensitising students

The meeting chaired by Chief Security Officer Jatinder Grover decided that the authorities concerned should put up safety instructions in all laboratories to sensitise students on how to react when a fire breaks out. 

Chandigarh, june 17
Under Skill Training for Employment Promotion Amongst EWS (STEP-UP) component of the Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana, distributed certificates among 141 selected EWS youth beneficiaries who have completed training in retail sales and marketing conducted by Bridging the Gap Together (BTGT).

In the programme conducted by BTGT, 83 women and 58 men underwent skill training programmme and approximately Rs 14.07 lakh were spent on the same.

The certificates were distributed by VP Singh, commissioner, Municipal Corporation and Archana Verma at the PHD Chamber of Commerce, Sector 31.

The skill training programme — especially custom-designed by Poverty Action Research Lab (PARL) of BTGT — focuses on combination of competencies, education and experience through industrial exposure visits, expert sessions from industrial specialists and corporate, while providing a nurturing and non-judgmental learning environment with a focus on ethics and nation building.

Vivek Trivedi, social development officer, said, “I’m happy to see the way BTGT has worked on providing psycho-social support and progressive growth”. 

Chandigarh, JUNE 17
Panjab University has asked the CET (UG)-2014 qualifying candidates to submit their online admission forms for B Pharmacy, and BSc (Honours School) in anthropology, biochemistry, biophysics, biotechnology, botany, chemistry, geology, maths, maths and computing, microbiology, physics, physics and electronics and zoology.

The online admission forms for BPharmacy and BSc (Honours School) will be available on the website http://cetug.puchd.ac.in.

The qualifying candidates are required to log in with 
the same log in ID and password at website http://cetug.puchd.ac.in and fill online details of their Class XII results and other relevant information.

The last date for the submission of applications is July 2, while the last date for submission of hard copy of the admission form is July 5.

A PU spokesman said a candidate would be able to apply for more than one course by selecting the order of preferences for which they are eligible and qualified the CET (UG) 2014 test.

Candidates belonging to the reserved categories should submit a copy of documents from the competent authority in support thereof along with the application on the prescribed pro forma.

The tentative merit list will be displayed on the website on July 16. Objections regarding the merit list can be filed on July 16 and 18. The dates for the online filling of preferences for B Pharmacy and BSc (Honours School) courses are from July 18-20. The final provisional merit list would be displayed on July 22. On July 22, the allocation list for B Pharmacy and BSc (Honours School) courses would be released.

The dates for reporting on the basis of allocation list for B Pharmacy and BSc (Hons School) are July 23-25.

problem areas

* The road on the South Campus — from the University Alumni House to the University Institute of Engineering and Technology — should be re-carpeted.

* Leakage in a sewerage pipe in front of Girls Hostel No. 8 for the past many days, resulting in water stagnation on the road.

* Rampant power cuts in the heat have become unbearable.

Chandigarh, june 17
Kokuyo Camlin Ltd, formerly known as Camlin Ltd premier, a pioneer stationery and art manufacturer, has announced the launch of the world’s largest contest for children ‘Camel Art Contest - 2014’ previously known as the All India Camel colour contest. Candidates can register their participation after registering at www.camelartcontest.com.

The company will respond to all individuals and organisations registering on the website and guide them on how to participate in the contest. Apart from the pre-schoolers, the students of Class XI and XII can also participate in the event. — TNS