Toxic waste being discharged into nullah
Tribune News Service

LAKHNOUR (SAS NAGAR), Nov 2 — It is hard to ignore a nauseating smell of industrial affluents while passing along this village, located on the SAS Nagar-Landhran road. Such is the extent of pungent smell emanating from the industrial and domestic discharge flowing in a seasonal rivulet that you have to close your nose.

Imagine the plight of hundreds of hapless residents of the village who have to inhale the irritating smell of the toxic waste being discharged into the nullah by certain industrial units in SAS Nagar. Complaints of skin diseases and other health problems afflicting the villagers are abundant.

To see for itself the extent of suffering of the villagers, a Tribune team visited the village. Revealing facts about the extent of intoxication of the nullah water and contamination of underground water came to light. The first casualty for the villagers has been the source of drinking water — all the handpumps and wells have been declared unfit for human consumption.

Mr Sampuran Singh, Sarpanch of the village gram panchayat, said: " We are forced to fetch water from distant sources as the water sources in the village are contaminated and the supply of the Public Health Department is very erratic". Complains of skin problems, stomach ailments, vomiting sensation and falling hair were common among the villagers.

Dr Jaspal Singh Gill, who has his cold storage unit near the village, said the suffering of the villagers compounded as the causeway over the nullah, connecting the village with the main road had not been repaired ever since it was damaged five years back. During a heavy discharge in the nullah the village remains cut off from the rest of the world.

After an alarm was raised by the villagers at different forums, the district unit of Paryavaran Vahini, an independent body constituted on the directives of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for environmental protection , visited the village late last year. A member of the Paryavaran Vahini, Dr K.R.K. Raman, a senior scientist with Semiconductor Limited, collected samples of nullah water only to reveal disturbing information.

The ground water to a level of 80 feet had been contaminated and traces of toxic industrial waste like flourides, cyanide, nickel, lead and other dangerous elements were found in the nullah water. The source of contamination was traced to certain industrial units in SAS Nagar which had not installed waste treatment plants. After pressure mounted on the units, some of them installed the treatment devices but the problem is far from over.

A recent sampling of the nullah water done by Dr Raman revealed that though the presence of the toxic elements in the discharge has fallen slightly, the extent of biological oxygen demand (BOD), a parametre to check the level of water pollution, had increased from a count of 150 last year to 250 this year. The analysis revealed that the industrial and domestic waste was not being treated properly, endangering the lives of hundreds of people.

Ironically, the hazard continues to pose threat to the lives of the villagers with the officials of the district administration and the State Pollution Control Board doing little.

Exhibitions galore in city
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 2 — A number of exhibitions of paintings, photographs, graphics, sculptures and drawings have been opened to general public at various art galleries and museums in the city for the past two days.

Mr K.A.P. Sinha, Joint Secretary, Finance, Chandigarh Administra-tion, inaugurated an exhibition of art works by young Indian contemporary artists of the Masters Guild at the Sector 10 Government College of Art today. As many as 56 paintings, drawings, graphics and 28 sculptures and installations by 72 artists from all over the country are on display at the exhibition.

Mr Prem Singh, Principal of the college, took Mr Sinha around the exhibition.

The participants have done their masters in art from the Delhi College of Art between 1988 and 1999. The exhibition presents a cross-section of some of the trends prevalent in the Indian contemporary art. They range from the expressionist to abstractionist.

The objective of the organising this exhibition, according to the organisers, is to provide an opportunity to the students of Art College to get acquainted with different styles and techniques of registering an artistic expression and, at the same time, interact with artists. The organisation of this exhibition also provides experience to the students of handling and displaying the works of art. The exhibition will remain open for public till November 19.

A five-day exhibition of photographs by Subash Sapru — "US Kaleidoscope" — and organised by the Department of Fine Arts of Panjab University, was also inaugurated today.

The exhibition has over 40 prints on moods, moments, patterns and perceptions as captured by the photographer in the USA, seven of these pictures show different forms of Grand Canyon.

An exhibition of paintings by Ms Bharti Singh and Mr VIjaya Kumar has been in progress at the Sector 10 Government Museum and Art Gallery.

Last evening, an exhibition of paintings by Dr Neeta Mohindra was inaugurated by the Punjab Principal Secretary for Science and Technology, Mr Rajan Kashyap, at the Sector 8 IndusInd Bank Gallery.

Home gardening tips

(i) Peach, plum, pear, grapes, mulberry, almond, phalsa etc are called deciduous fruit trees as they shed their leaves during winter and go to rest, that is, they suspend their growth temporarily.

(ii) Stop watering these plants to allow them to go to sleep.

(iii) The time is also approaching fast to plant deciduous plants as these are planted only once in a year that is winter when they are dormant.

(iv) Do not plant hill varieties of deciduous plants in this region as there are varieties available that are suitable for growing in the plains.

(v) To make sure that you get only the recommended varieties of such plants only buy them from reliable source like government nurseries or the agricultural universities.

(vi) Stop watering adrak and haldi and let the leaves dry.

— Satish Narula

Divali spirit gathers momentum
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 2 — With just four days left for Divali, almost all shops in the city and surrounding areas are abuzz with activity, as a large number of people are thronging the markets mostly for gifts and sweets. And to cash in on the occasion, companies dealing in items, which have the potential to be gifts, have jumped in the row with new ideas in the shape of gifts and schemes along with them.

Interestingly, companies in the business of confectionery and eatables, have entered the market with gift hampers and discounts on their products to attract more customers. A company, dealing in squashes and juices, is offering one such gift hamper with one piece each of its squash, tomato puree, sauce and jam in it, with a price tag of Rs 182.

Similarly, a biscuit major has pushed in gift hampers containing its range of cakes in all three flavours like orange, vanilla and chocolate in the market in different sizes with a price range of Rs 46, Rs 70 and Rs 115. A juice company has come out with a gift hamper on its different juices, priced between Rs 70 and Rs 150 per pack. Same is the case with a chocolate company that has offered gift packs, ranging between Rs 60 and Rs 100 and another confectioner is in the market with its ‘namkeen’, ‘sohan papri’, ‘bhujia’ and other items pack, priced at Rs 133-150.

At gift shops, customers are going in a big way for fancy items such as ‘touch lamps’ and stuffed toys. According to Mr Gurpreet Singh, a Sector 22 shopkeeper, an imported colourful fibre lamp, which can be switched on and off with a slight touch on it, is selling like hot cakes, even as its priced high between Rs 700 to Rs 800.

“The most favoured thing among youngsters are stuffed toys, ranging between Rs 100 and Rs 250, while corporate people are preferring gifts like dry fruit-filled crystal bowls, ranging between Rs 65 to Rs 1500,” he added.

Those favouring silver-ware are going in for fruit bowls in the range of Rs 3000 to Rs 6000, lemon-sets priced between Rs 10000 and Rs 12000, tea-set for Rs 8000-10000 and bear-mugs priced between Rs 5000 and Rs 6000 per six pieces.” What has caught the fancy of people this year are idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Laxmi, available in the range of Rs 200 to Rs 2000, though these are normally not used as gifts,” said a Sector 17 jeweller.

Festival “discount” sales is another feature which has made its presence felt in almost all markets of the city. One can find anything in such a sale including ready-mades, suitlengths, crockery and baggage at a discount ranging anywhere between 40 to 60 per cent, no matter if the original price has been enhanced two to three times. So much so that a baggage company was offering as many as 14 items “free” with its cabin bag priced at Rs 1995.

Playing big role in polio eradication
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 2 — The contribution of Rotary International towards polio eradication in India has been significant as the number of reported polio cases has gone down considerably.

According to figures available, 28,257 polio cases were reported in 1987 and it was estimated that only one out of 10 actual cases was reported. Hence, the incidence of polio in late 80s was around 3 lakh per year. Last year, the number of cases was 4320 and with strong surveillance system in place it is estimated that currently almost 90 per cent cases are reported. This year till October 8, the number of polio cases in the country is round 1356. Interestingly, Kerala and Orissa have achieved zero level polio virus transmission.

The figures for Chandigarh are also satisfactory. Last year, out of the 19 cases of acute flaccid paralysis, four were found to be of polio with one confirmed as wild polio virus case. However, this year, out of the 13 acute flaccid paralysis cases reported so far, nine have been found to be non-polio and four are in the process of investigation.

Thanks to the polio eradication initiative of various organisations in the last decade, approximately 3 million children who might have been polio victims, are walking and playing normally. Statistics reveal that more than 50,000 cases of polio are now prevented each year. Over 1 billion children have received oral polio vaccine and are successfully protected from poliomyelitis. During last year, more than 79 countries conducted national immunisation days and over 75 per cent of all the world’s children under the age of 5 were immunised.

Even monetarily, more than $ 33 million have come to the Government of India from Rotary towards the purchase of oral vaccines . Over one lakh Rotarians, their families and associates provide the hands-on-support to state governments and health workers in conducting the pulse polio immunisation days.

Rotary International is the volunteer arm of global partnership dedicated to eradicating polio by 2000. Its partners include the World Health Organisation (WHO), UNICEF and US Centres of Disease Control and Prevention.