Punjab News Weekly: PGI's Sangrur centre to focus on liver, kidney diseases

SANGRUR -  The satellite centre of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), whose foundation stone would be ...

Tripti Dhyani is students’ council president in MKP College

Dehradun, August 30
Tripti Dhyani of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) was elected president of the students’ council in MKP PG College today. The party won all 12 posts in the election.
Tripti secured 366 votes and defeated her nearest rival Karishma Rawat, who contested the election as an Independent candidate. Pooja Gusain of the Vikas group finished third.
The other ABVP candidates, who were elected office-bearers of the students’ council, are: vice president- Sangeeta Sajwan; university representative-Kiran Chauhan; treasurer-Chander Kapoor; and joint secretary- Aasma Ansari. Chander Kapoor was elected treasurer unopposed.
The elected executive committee members are Neha Thapa, Shilpa, Anamika Verma, Garima Chawla, Priyanjali Sharma and Simran Kaur (all belonging to the ABVP).

Meanwhile, the election saw mere 30 per cent of polling in the morning. There were total 2,500 registered voters in MKP PG College. The voting began at 10 am and went on till 1 pm. The counting started after an hour and the results were declared late evening. The NSUI did not field any candidate in the election in MKP PG College though it was supporting many candidates belonging to other groups.

Students’ scuffle

Students owing allegiance to two groups entered into a scuffle during the polls at MKP PG College here today. The police had to intervene to defuse the situation.

Tension erupted when Karishma, an independent candidate for the post of president, was asking her supporters to stand ahead in the queue for voting. This made the supporters of Vikas group angry and they got involved in small brawl. Khushby Raturi of Vikas group registered a complaint against Karishma with the authorities. 

Dev Sanskriti University inks pact with South Korean varsity

Haridwar, August 9

Dev Sanskriti University, Haridwar, has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean Dongguk University to collaborate in subjects of spirituality and religion. The memorandum was signed in the presence of the visiting Chancellor of Dongguk University Dr Chongsik Kim and Indian University counterpart Dr Chinmay Pandey, here today at the Dev Sanskriti University. 

As per the memorandum, both the universities will collaborate in religion and spiritualism and try to bring younger generation closer to these two aspects. Both the educational institutions will also hold seminars and carry out various research based programs for the students. Dr Chinmay Pandya said with this agreement, the principles and ideas of Shantikunj founder Pt Shri Ram Sharma Acharya will propagate in Korea as foreign countries are now understanding that the physical prosperity is one thing and intellectual-spiritual prosperity is more important.

While Dr Kimsaid their University will translate some of the works of Pt Shri Ram Sharma Acharya in Korean language soon, so that the Koreans have an easy access to the vast spiritual knowledge of the Shantikunj founder.

Initially, the works related with youth and women empowerment will be translated in the Korean language and later on Vedic scriptures would also be translated.

The Korean delegation also inspected the Dev Sanskriti University and met the students. They also praised the discipline, social work and working of the university.

Dr Kim told TNS that Dongguk University is a prestigious University of South Korea. It has campuses in Seoul, Gyeongju City, Gyeongsang and Los Angeles, USA.

Accompanied by a 18 member delegation from South Korea, Dr Kim also observed meditation at the university mediation centre ‘Devatma Himalaya’, where replicas of Shri Badri Nath, Shri Kedar Nath, Gangotri and Yamunotri have been put up. Korean delegation also met Shantikunj spiritual head Shail Jiji and had talks on various spiritual-religious aspects.

We will rescue everyone in Uttarakhand, says Army Chief General Bikram Singh

Dehradun - Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh said Friday that the armed forces will continue their operations till all the people are rescued from various locations in flood-hit Uttarakhand but did not specify a timeline as relief efforts depended on the weather conditions.

General Singh, who was on a day-long visit to flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand, told mediapersons in Gaucher that he had asked his commanders to carry out rescue efforts in a proactive manner.

"We will get all citizens out, wherever they are," General Singh said.

He said the army was getting information that there may still be survivors in certain areas and an endeavour was to locate them and get them out.

He said many of the troops deployed in relief operations were from Uttarakhand and their families were also impacted by the flash floods.

"These boys have refused to take leave to attend to their kith and kin and render their duties. We all had a phenomenal synergy," Singh said.

The army chief said the troops have exhibited commitment unparalleled in history. He complimented officers and Jawans for their efforts. "It was a very difficult operation. What needs to be appreciated is how all agencies worked in unison to save lives," the army chief said, adding that rescue teams had to work in very difficult conditions.

"There was no communication setup. Many places were difficult to reach but they (rescue teams) went to most inaccessible areas to save people," General Singh said.

"I would like to laud the efforts of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indo-Tibetan Police Force (ITBP) and the Indian Air Force. They have done a great job along with the Indian army," he added.

General Singh said he had instructed commanders not to wait for any requisition for relief operations and they had acted speedily.

He said a few pilgrims were still stranded in Badrinath in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand and their evacuation would depend on weather conditions.

"We are getting information that some survivors are still stranded in north Badrinath. Yesterday (Thursday) we had sent some sorties but the rescue teams were unable to locate them. The time for their (pilgrims') evacuation cannot be specified as it depends on the weather," the army chief told reporters after arriving at the Gauchar air base in Chamoli district.

General Singh said his heart goes out to those who had lost their lives in the chopper crash June 25.

The incessant and intense rains that hit Uttarakhand over three days from June 14, leading to flash-floods and landslides, have led to hundreds of deaths, while many more are missing. There were thousands of pilgrims in Badrinath and Kedarnath areas when the tragedy struck.

Punjab sends relief material for Uttarakhand victi...

Rishikesh, June 25 Punjab Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Punjab, Navjot Kaur Sidhu today reached Rishikesh  along with 6 truckloads of ...

IAF copter carrying 20 crashes near Gaurikund; 8 bodies found

7,000 still stranded as landslides, rain hamper rescue; toll 822

Gauchar, June 25
An Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed near Gaurikund this evening killing eight persons, including five IAF personnel and pilots. The helicopter was returning from Kedarnath after dropping supplies. The toll may rise to 20 as the helicopter was carrying ITBP and NDRF men.

Elsewhere, fresh landslides, cloudbursts coupled with torrential rains hampered rescue operations as the death toll in the June-16 flood rose to 822 with 142 bodies being found, including 127 in Kedarnath. Around 7,000 people still remained stranded in Uttarakhand.

Further, mass cremation of hundreds of bodies was delayed amid fears of disease outbreak. Rescuers battled rains to evacuate 1,000 people.

The IAF helicopter crashed around 4.30 pm north of Gaurikund amid poor visibility.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) vice-chairman M Sashidhar Reddy said eight bodies had been recovered, and that chances of finding any survivors were remote.

The IAF in a statement said five of its personnel were killed. ITBP Director General Ajay Chadha told the TNS: “We have been told that six ITBP men and nine NDRF personnel were on board.”

The helicopter was tasked with dropping firewood for mass cremation. The helicopter was part of a fleet of 80 ordered from Russia in 2008 at a cost of $1.3 billion (Rs 6,500 crore). The first induction was done in February 2012.

“IAF’s rescue operations (in Uttarakhand) will continue,” the IAF statement said. A court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident.

The IAF flew fewer sorties today and evacuated around 500 people, including 120 from Badrinath, as rescue operations were disrupted by cloudbursts and rain.

The 500 people rescued earlier from the Himalayan shrine were brought down safely to Joshimath by road, a distance of 44 km.

Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar told mediapersons in Dehradun that IAF helicopters rescued 120 people from Badrinath and 327 from Harsil. At least 127 more bodies were recovered since yesterday from the Kedarnath area. Fifteen corpses were found floating in the Ganga in different districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Muzaffarnagar, Bulandshahr and Bijnore, taking the toll in the tragedy to 822, officials said.

The IAF, Army and Uttarakhand administration launched an operation to transport firewood and fuel for the last rites of those killed in the Kedarnath valley.

Agencies undertaking relief and rescue operations have expressed concerns over imminent spread of disease as bodies continue to rot in the temple town area 10 days after the tragedy.

Truckloads of dry wood and ghee have been dispatched to Kedarnath and efforts were on to conduct mass cremation of bodies after their identification, postmortem and DNA preservation formalities, a senior police official said.

State Director General of Police Satyabrat Bansal said the DNA of unidentified bodies was being preserved and they hoped the weather cleared tomorrow to facilitate the cremation.

“No survivors remain in the jungles around Kedarnath. They have all been brought out,” Ravinath Raman, nodal officer of rescue operations in Rudraprayag district, said in Guptkashi.

With rain hampering rescue operations in the morning from Badrinath, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna appealed to their relatives not to run out of patience, saying they were safe.

In Patna, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said he had asked the Uttarakhand Government not to allow any VIP to land in the flood-ravaged areas to avoid any disturbance to relief work.

The ITBP today decided to send in a fresh contingent of troops and bring out those tired and exhausted. The paramilitary force, according to sources, is replacing around 45 men with an equal strength in Kedarnath, Badrinath, Harsil and Gaurikund areas.

Punjab hires private chopper to evacuate pilgrims trapped in Uttarakhand

Chandigarh - The Punjab government has hired a private helicopter to airlift the pilgrims stuck in Uttarakhand following flash floods, cloudbursts and landslips, triggered by incessant 340-mm downpour.

On the directions of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who despite being on a visit abroad is continuously monitoring the current situation, the Punjab government has also constituted a four-member team of senior officers that has already left for Dehradun to monitor the ongoing rescue operations of the pilgrims, who had been trapped at various places in Uttarakhand due to bad weather, causing road blockades at several places.

The team would further visit Joshimath and Hemkund Sahib to minutely observe and coordinate the rescue operations. Punjab Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh, along with his officers, is keeping constant liaison with Uttarakhand administration to provide all type of help and support for this massive rescue operation at war footing.

Two days back, Badal had directed the Chief Secretary to extend all help and support to the Uttarakhand government in launching a massive operation to rescue the victims.

The Chief Minister had also directed the state government to take immediate necessary measures.Acting on the Chief Minister’s direction, Chief Secretary and Ropar MLA Daljit Singh Cheema had established a contact with the Uttarakhand government.

“The Punjab government is providing all type of assistance to the Uttarakhand government as rescue operation was going on at war footing,” claimed a state government spokesperson. A team, led by Special Secretary Education K S Pannu and DIG Khubi Ram and assisted by other police officers, has left for Dehradun to monitor the entire ongoing rescue operation.