 |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Villagers unhappy over admn’s
response
Mohali, August 6 They said the Kharar MLA, Mr Bir Devinder Singh, the local SDM, Mr M.L. Sharma, and other officials had visited the village to take stock of the situation after the rain had wreaked havoc, but no one had positively responded to the distress calls made by them on telephones when the village had got flooded and water had entered a large number of houses. Mr Avtar Singh, Mr Rakesh Kumar, both members of the panchayat, and a few other residents of the village told The Tribune that the Sarpanch of the village had rung up the police for help when the water entered the houses of the people. The police told him to contact the SDM. The SDM, when contacted, expressed his inability to reach the flooded area. They said the MLA could not be contacted as his mobile phone was switched off. However, Mr Bir Devin-der Singh said his phone was not switched off and he had received a call from some residents of the village and had immediately directed the SDM to do the needful. The SDM said as he was busy that day, he had sent the Tehsildar to the village. According to the residents, the day the water entered their houses they had to stay without food. The stock of wheat lying in the houses had got damaged due to flood water. Some houses had developed cracks and a number of calves had been washed away. Fodder had also been washed away. Mr Darshan Singh, who owns a poultry farm, said nearly 600 birds had died due to flooding. His wife, Ms Rajinder Kaur, said one of her sons who was looking after the poultry farm, was under depression due to the loss suffered and wanted to commit suicide. Residents said they were not hopeful of getting adequate compensation from the authorities concerned. Mr Karan Singh,
lambardar, said there were drought like condition in the village two years ago and the government had promised to give compensation and a patwari had visited the village to do “girdawaris” in this regard but till today not a penny had been given to the affected persons. Moreover, compensations were given in the form of cheques and most people living in villages did not have bank accounts, he said. The MLA, who visited the village along with a number of officials listened to the problems of the residents and directed the officials concerned for immediate
redressal. He even got a medical camp organised in the village in which as many as 275 persons were examined by about 1.45 p.m. A team of seven medical officers, headed by Dr
K.S. Kang, SMO, Primary Health Centre, Gharuan, examined patients suffering from problems. |
|
|
Body of another migrant found
Lalru, August 6 Pramod’s body was found half-buried in silt on the river bed. Bodies of three migrant labourers, had already been recovered about 1 km down stream by the villagers on Thursday. Hailing from Bihar, the deceased have been identified as Sanjay (22), Laloo (17) and Arvind (17), and Pramod (18). The bodies were identified by their relatives and colleagues who were accompanying them at the time they were trapped in the flood. It may be recalled that the raging Ghaggar had washed away six labourers of Soodan Cylinders Limited, an industrial unit near Lalru, in Tiwana village. Mr Kashmiri Lal Gulati, Manager of the industrial unit, has confirmed that the victims were employees of the unit. Neither the management of the industrial unit nor the local administration has promised any help to the families of the deceased. The bodies were handed over to the families after post-mortem examinations at Civil Hospital, Rajpura. Meanwhile, the police has started inquest proceeding in this case and and the families have been informed. |
|
|
Plan to augment stock of flood-fighting material Chandigarh, August 6 Presently about 1,500 sand bags are in store and the engineering wing also keeps empty sand bags, which can be filled and used at short notice. Already a provision for hiring earth movers from the market exists and a list of contractors, who have such machines is ready with the department. The department has seven pumps, which flush out water from flooded areas. The number will be increased. Plans are being drawn with emphasis on areas like Kishangarh and Behlana on the eastern boundary of the UT. Areas like Maloya and Dadumajra on the western boundary also need attention in such situations. The local airport has also been listed as vulnerable. The department will come out with the exact estimate of the loss it incurred in terms of money. Surveys have been carried out on damaged roads, water supply lines and sewerage lines in some villages have been washed away. The estimates will be out by tomorrow.
|
|
|
Downpour leaves admn
wiser Panchkula, August 6 The Deputy Commissioner, Ms Neelam P.
Kasni, said that they had already got two boats, a motor boat engine that could be fitted to these boats, life jackets and a water pump that could be fitted to a fire tender to pump out water. These had been issued to the district administration by the Central Store of the Haryana Government. “In case of a downpour again, and the flooding of the seasonal rivulet we will have all equipment ready to begin rescue operations,” she said. It may be noted that after the seasonal rivulet passing around the Rajiv Colony was flooded on August 3 and hundreds of colony residents were marooned, the administration had to seek the help of the Army for rescue and evacuation operations. The Deputy Commissioner said that Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), Municipal Council and Public Works Department officials had also been put on alert to tackle such situations in future. Regarding the alignment of seasonal rivulets and ensuring the flow of the rivulets into the neighbouring areas of Punjab, Ms Kasni said that the demarcation of all three rivulets flowing through the town was being carried out. She said the Panchkula Administration and the Patiala Administration had agreed that after locating the middle point of these rivulets a minimum of seven-foot area on both sides be marked as the course of the rivulet so that the storm water did not fill the rivulet. She said at a number of places the HUDA authorities had found that the natural course of these drains had been blocked and instead of a 50-feet width, the width of the rivulet had been reduced to a mere 10 feet. Since the rain water could not be drained out it flooded various parts of the township, she added.
|
|
|
Heaviest rain in a day in 47
years
Dr Yogendra Agnihotri, Principal Scientist of the institute, who has been monitoring rainfall since 1958, said this was the heaviest rainfall in a day in the past 47 years. He said between August 2 and 3, around 330 mm of rainfall was recorded at the research farm, which is located near the Mansa Devi temple. The maximum rain fell on August 3 between 4.15 am and 9.30 am. Earlier, the maximum rain (219mm) fell on August 14, 2002. Figures provided by the institute reveal that August, which is the wettest month in the year, recorded the maximum rainfall (840mm) in 1971. However, the rainfall fell for 22 days. This month, in just three days, 550mm of rainfall was recorded. This July, which was the driest month in the past 47 years, recorded only 52mm of rainfall. In July 1992, 56mm of rainfall was recorded, the second highest, but in August, 554mm of rainfall was recorded. The maximum rainfall (738mm) was recorded in July 1994. Dr Arun Kumar Tiwari, Principal Scientist (Water and Soil Engineering) of the institute, said though the drought had been overcome to a large extent, the downpour might have caused damage to check-dams in the Shivaliks. “The institute is constructing check-dams and adopting watershed management programmes keeping in mind maximum rainfall of about 200mm in a day. Now after August 3 downpour, they are thinking of developing watershed designs on the basis of 300mm of rainfall a day”, said Dr Tiwari. |
|
Rain Fury
Chandigarh, August 6 On the other hand, the civil administration and the police could not even prevent huge traffic jams in Chandigarh, Panchkula and even on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway. In Chandigarh, not a single policeman was in sight to warn people against going to flooded or traffic jam prone areas. Thousands of city residents could have been saved of hours of hassle if the police had been posted to tell people about the dangers ahead. “Everybody had to feud for himself,” said Mr Sanjay Virmani, who was held up in a traffic zam on the Chandigarh-Panchkula road. Scenes in Chandigarh, where scooters were washed away, could have been avoided had the police warned people in the morning. Schools added to the confusion as several of those declared holiday around 8:30 on August 3. Hundreds of parents had to ferry children back to home thus adding to the traffic rule. On the other hand, the railways did a timely job. Trains and thousands of passengers were saved as not a single train on the Ambala-Amritsar route hit a damaged track. The field staff of the Railways follow a system. When the rainwater goes beyond a certain level at a bridge they call up their nearest office which in turn stops the trains plying on the tracks. |
|
|
6 diarrhoea cases reported from two colonies
Chandigarh, August 6 “We have deployed mobile vans and our teams have been visiting colonies to take stock of the situation. Distribution of medicines and chlorine tablets and awareness drives are going on about the outbreak of various water-borne diseases,’’ said the UT Director Health Services (DHS) Dr C.P. Bansal. On the other hand, the Medical Officer Health (MoH), Municipal Corporation, Dr G.C. Bansal, while talking to Chandigarh Tribune said, “As the temperature has been rising after the heavy rains, the threat of diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, cholera and malaria has increased.’’ The DHS says that no extra manpower is employed or diverted from other assignments as was done after the cholera outbreak last month in the city. While the hand-pumps pose the greatest threat to the health of the colony residents as its water can cause cholera and gastroenteritis, these continue to exist in large numbers in Colony No. 5 here. Doctors stress that the things may worsen as the organism’s larvae take some time after rain to breed. “Though the situation is under control now, the things can be bad as the organisms take normally two or three days to breed after the downpour and water stagnation,’’ said a health official. Meanwhile, the MoH said special teams had been formed for garbage removal. “Garbage is the main cause of spread of diseases as it invites a number of flies which spread infection. Besides, defecation in open is another reason for breeding of organisms. We are stressing on garbage removal rather than mere road sweeping at the moment,’’ he added. |
|
Man forges friend’s sign,
withdraws Rs 90,000
Chandigarh, August 6 Pal Chand had discussed with Harpal Singh his intention to buy an Indica car and told him that he had requisite funds in his bank account. Pal Chand recently visited his bank and was shocked to know that somebody had been withdrawing money from his account. A peeved Pal asked the bank to give him details of his account. He noticed in the bank statement that money was being withdrawn regularly. Pal Chand instructed the bank to stop further payments with the trickster friend knowing about it. According to the police, Harpal Singh yesterday sent his wife Pushwinder Kaur and his minor son to get a cheque for Rs 15,000 encashed from the bank. The manager of the bank was asked to keep a vigil on the person who was fraudulently withdrawing money from Pal Chand’s account. The mother-son duo yesterday presented the cheque. The bank officials asked them to wait and informed Pal Chand. Pushwinder and her son were caught red-handed. Later, the police also arrested Harpal Singh and recovered blank cheques of the alleged stolen cheque book from his possession. According to the police, the bank statement showed entries of Rs 5,000 and Rs 14,000 (twice) being withdrawn under different names through “self” cheques. One entry is in the name of Manoj Kumar and another of Ravi Kumar. During interrogation the accused confessed to have withdrawn the cash from the account of Pal Chand through forged signatures. While their son has been sent to a juvenile home, the couple has been sent to judicial custody. Pal Chand said he did not take seriously the disappearance of his cheque book thinking that he might have forgotten it in his house itself. He told the police he did not believe that a long time friend would steal it to fraudulently withdraw money from his account. The police has registered a case against the accused under Section 419/ 420/ 511/34 of the IPC in Sector 3 Police Station. |
|
Man of the moment enters eternity
Chandigarh, August 6 Born in 1908 in Chanteloup in France, Bresson studied painting with Andre Lahote in the late 1920s. Later he, along with friend Le Corbusier and another legendary artist Ozenfante, went on to practice Purism, an offshoot of Cubism. Bresson’s relationship with Corbusier even brought him to Chandigarh twice when he was touring India in 1960s. Though there is no written record of Bresson’s visits to the city, he is said to have frequented sites which Corbusier had planned as landmarks for Chandigarh. Bresson was also close to Pierre Jeanerette, who helped Corbusier with the conception of Chandigarh. Art historian Dr B.N. Goswamy swears by Bresson’s unparalleled ability to recognize spontaneous compositions. He says, “His works are monumental. Bresson was also closely associated with Dashrath Patel, the first in charge of the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad. Dashrath has recorded instances where he travelled across Gujarat with Bresson. His accounts tell us of how humane Bresson was as a photographer. He could take a moment and throw it beyond the reach of time.” As we praise trace Bresson’s genius, his own comments about photography come to the aid of a mind struggling for brevity - something he exemplified well in his frames. “To take a photograph is to recognize a fact in a split second, and to organize with rigor visually perceived forms which express and signify it. It means lining up the brain, eye and heart for the purpose of taking aim at the target,” Bresson has said. He also mentions, “We are passive onlookers in a world that moves perpetually. Our only moment of creation is that 1/125th of a second when the shutter clicks, the signal is given and the motion is stopped.” Working with his 35 mm Leica which he popularized no end, Bresson measured the streets of the world seeking decisive moments when meaning and composition unite to make an image significant and beautiful. It was perhaps this incessant search for miraculous moments which placed Bresson at the heart of major historical events of the 20th century. He was present in Germany at the liberation of concentration camps, in China at the end of Kuomintang and the advent of Mao, and in India with Gandhi a few minutes before his death. But that does not make Bresson a photojournalist who captured significant events in time. He was as touched by the death of a sage as by that of a national hero. His works in India are particularly striking for the empathy they evoke — be it the telling image that shows poor men and women jostling to get their share of distribution at the anniversary celebrations for the Maharaja of Baroda (a picture taken in 1947) or the frame that captures the games in a refugee camp at Kurukshetra, taken in 1948. But whichever moment Bresson captured, he ensured the technique did not assert itself at the cost of the object. It was for the sake of ethics in art that he never cropped his negatives. He treated his camera as an extension of the eye that helped him see the mystery and the humour in events that happened before him.  |
|
FBI team to train police
officers
Chandigarh, August 6 The sources in the city-based Institute said that the USA had offered a two-week programme but when a list of subjects was provided it was decided that India could benefit from the US in the fields of documentation, standard operating procedures, interrogation and psychological profiling of criminals and suspects. The Indian police experts felt a large part of information the US trainers were to provide was already known to India. The US experts would focus on these four subjects during the week-long training in Chandigarh. A batch of 30 officers drawn from north Indian states would participate in the training programme. The Indian trainers said they would make an effort to ask the Indian police officers to draw up a draft of an Indian version of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). This procedure would be handed over to different state police organisations to follow in their states. The sources said that Americans had an SOP for every crime that beautifully brought out all facts from the time of occurrence of crime to the facts being presented before a court. The Indian experts said it would be kept in mind for the development of an Indian SOP that legal and ground level conditions of India were taken into account. An officer, who had been to America under an exchange training programme post 9/11, said that Americans had very good documentation techniques that could provide a lot of help to the police in India. He said that Americans had converted the old-fashioned interrogation into an interview with a suspect through scientific inputs and a high level skills of interrogation. Interrogation had virtually disappeared from the police lingo in America, he said. The Chandigarh centre has recently become very popular with foreigners, who have been coming in a large number for training to the institute. Police officers from Afghanistan, African countries and neighbouring Asian countries have got training in the institute. |
Father celebrates child’s birthday in
courtroom
Mohali, August 6 Battling for the custody of his only minor son for the past one year after his wife went abroad to allegedly ''settle with her paramour'' leaving the child with his mother-in-law, a Mohali resident, Mr Manpreet Singh, on getting his son Yuvraj Singh from his mother-in-law, hugged and kissed him. Manpreet, accompanied by his father, Capt Narinder Singh, and family friends, carried the birthday cake, sweets and gifts and offered them to Yuvraj. In June 2004, Manpreet had filed an application seeking 15-day temporary custody of Yuvraj to celebrate his birthday but the court allowed Manpreet to see Yuvraj for an hour in court today directing Manpreet's mother-in-law Ritu Dhir to produce Yuvraj in court at the stipulated time. Manpreet said he married Gauri Dhir on March 1, 1997, but in December, 2002, she went for an excursion to the USA and returned in April last year. When she returned, he filed an adultery petition against Gauri. Besides, he also lodged a police complaint regarding the alleged kidnapping of his son and theft of his car, he said. ''Despite the court orders allowing me to see Yuvraj every Friday at his school, I was deprived of the opportunity as Yuvraj was never sent to school after the court orders in November last year,'' alleged Manpreet. He said it was on May 1 last year, Gauri, along with her mother and two others, allegedly took away Yuvraj from his Mohali Phase II residence. |
|
People-to-people contact best bet for India,
Pakistan
Chandigarh, August 6 With that end in view, a 60-member delegation of intellectuals, artistes and politicians will visit Pakistan on August 26 to participate in the “urs” celebrations of the Sufi poet, Baba Bulle Shah, at Kasur(Lahore), Ms Deshpande, who was in Pakistan recently, told The Tribune here. A prominent member of the Association of People of Asia,an organisation dedicated to the promotion of better understanding among Asian countries, Ms Deshpande said the delegation would prepare ground for a sustained grossroots-level contact between two countries. It was regrettable that the level of discussions in the legislative bodies had hit the rock bottom and adjournments and boycotts of the legislatures were the order of the day. In fact, the ideals for which the Father of the Nation stood for, seemed to have been forgotten by the present-day rulers and as a result morality and character-building have taken a back seat. The Akhil Bharatiya Rachnatmak Manch was continuing with its pioneering work in the social field, Ms Deshpande, who is also the president of the manch said. The excessive publicity was also be blamed for the rise in atrocities on women, she added. The secretary of the manch, Mr Ram Mohan Rai, informed that the national convention of the organisation would be held at Amritsar from October 8 to 10. |
|
Lions Club cabinet meeting on Aug 8
Chandigarh, August 6 Mr Garg had attended the international conventions of the Lions Club International held in Detroit, USA, and Ontario, Canada, recently. As many as 747 district governors from all over the world were installed at the convention held in Ontario. |
|
Award for CSIO
scientists
Chandigarh, August 6 According to a press note issued here today, the award was presented to Dr R.P. Bajpai, CSIO Director, Dr A.K. Aggarwal, Dr N.S. Mehla and Dr S.C. Jain during the 18th annual general meeting of the ISAMPE held at the National Aerospace Laboratory in Bangalore recently. The team had been awarded for developing a sensor for smart technology applications. The sensor, which had been developed under a project funded by the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences of the Department of Atomic Energy, is used for monitoring the health of bridges, buildings, aircrafts and runways, the press note added. |
|
Amarnath pilgrim dies in Srinagar
Lalru, August 6 Mr Sharma said that Mr Hari Kishan could not bear the cold wave and was down with pneumonia. His health started deteriorating and was later admitted to the Srinagar hospital. He breathed his last on Friday evening. The members of his family brought the body from Srinagar and performed the last rites this evening. |
|
|
Chandigarh, August 6 In a press note issued here today, Mr O.N. Bindroo, general secretary of the staff association of the Chandigarh circle, said the federation had decided to call off the proposed strike in response to an appeal from the Chairman of the bank.
TNS |
|
|
HUDA, Army resolve land
dispute
Panchkula, August 6 A team of army officials from Chandimadir visited the site in Sector 2 along with the HUDA officials led by Superintending Engineer S.C. Malik. The HUDA officials showed the Army officials the records of the area in Sector 2. They showed the army officials that the area being dug was not part of the four acre land allotted to the Western Command authorities in 1993. It is learnt that HUDA had deployed earth movers for digging land and channeling the nullah yesterday, when a team of Army officials came and stopped them saying that the land they were digging had been allocated to the Army for constructing an Army Institute. The HUDA officials tried to reason with them, but to no avail. Encroachments on the downstream of the nullah had led to the flooding of Sector 2 after Tuesday’s floods. After HUDA assessed the damage caused by the floods, they decided to channel the nullah. The HUDA officials said that the Army officers were convinced by their
arguments, and the work for realigning the nullah
had begun. |
|
Two two-wheelers, three cars
stolen
Chandigarh, August 6 Ms Sukwinder Kaur of Sector 45 complained that someone had stolen her purse from the dickey of her scooter (CH-01-Z-6196) in Sector 17 yesterday. She informed the police that her purse was containing Rs 50,000, a bank pass book, two credit cards, her voter card and a ration card. The police registered a case under Section 379 of the IPC. Mr Daljit Singh of Sector 39 reported that someone had stolen one golden kara, a gold chain, two gold earrings and Rs 15,000 from his house yesterday at about 11 pm. The thieves entered his house by breaking open the door as they were not at home at that time. A case was registered. In a separate case, Mr Navneet Asotra of Sector 41 alleged that one gold chain with a locket, three gold tops, four gold rings, and artificial jewellery set, one VCD player, 31 saris, one camera and Rs 1,000 in cash from his house during daytime yesterday. There was nobody at home at that time. The police has registered a case under Section 380 of the IPC. One Maruti car was lifted from the parking of the PGI and another from Modern Housing Complex in Mani Majra. A Fiat car was lifted from Sector 44. A scooter was stolen from near the Sector 17 petrol pump. A motor cycle was lifted from Sector 43. A mobile phone was stolen from a shop in Sector 41 and another from a house in Sector 26. A car stereo was stolen from a vehicle parked in Mani Majra. Rear view mirrors of two luxury cars were stolen from Sector 17.
Man beaten up A truck driver was allegedly beaten up and threatened by the manager of New Friends Carriers Transport Company at Timber Market, Sector 26, on Thursday night. According Raghbir Singh of Chatter village in Jind district of Haryana, he was having his meals when manager, Surinder came in an inebriated condition and started abusing him. When he urged him to stop, Surinder started beating him up. Surinder hit Raghbir Singh with a brick. He received multiple injuries. He was admitted to General Hospital, Sector 16. The police registered a case under Sections 323 and 501 of the IPC and arrested the accused. |
|
Scooterist killed in road
mishap
Panchkula, August 6 His brother, Kamal Kumar, who was also going to Surajpur last night, saw a damaged scooter on the road. Recognising the scooter as that of belonging to his brother, Kamal drove off the road and found the victim bleeding profusely. He sought help from some passerby and rushed the victim to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Woman assaulted Suicide attempt Two injured CHANDIGARH Body found According to deceased’s wife he was a habitual drinker and had left home a day before yesterday. The police initially termed it as a natural death and sent his body to General Hospital, Sector 16. The actual cause of death will be ascertained after the autopsy report. The police has registered a case. |
|
3 held for stealing vehicle parts
Mohali, August 6 The accused Rajinder Singh, Ajay and Bhumnath have been arrested under Section 411 of the IPC. TNS |
|
Man killed in mishap, family cries foul
Chandigarh, August 6 The police said he gave his statement in the General Hospital that he fell off his cycle on his own. Members of the family of the deceased alleged that the police had been trying to save the scooterist. They alleged that the statement was signed in Hindi, which was fake as Rajinder Bhalla was a graduate and did not know Hindi. They said the police informed them at 6 am and got the statement from Rajinder Bhalla in their absence. The inquiry officer said the police worked on the information gathered from eyewitnesses.
OC |
|
Police announces Rs 5000 reward
Mohali, August 6 This was listed as a part of a set of instructions and suggestions for residents listed by Mohali police today. A special drive was launched by the police today to check the spate of thefts and burglaries in Mohali. The police asked residents to inform the police at the SP’s office (telephone number 2225755), DSP office (2266871), Phase I Police Station (2225870), Phase VIII Police Station (3093819), Phase II Police Post (2215007) and Police Control Room (2266350, 351). The identity of the informer would be kept a secret. |
|
Software firm booked
Chandigarh, August 6 Mr Vijay Shree from Secundrabad complained to the Mani Majra police that the said company had given him a job work for Rs 15 lakh, involving data entry, but refused to make the payment after the work was completed. The complainant had approached the IG, Police, Mr Rajesh Kumar, who directed the Economic Offences Wing to investigate the complaint and register a case. The police has registered an FIR under Sections 420 and 120- B of the IPC. |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Chandigarh, August 6
