Top Headlines of the Day
1. Commuters stranded for hours as farmers protest
Various factions of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) yesterday blocked roads, causing inconvenience to commuters, who were held up in traffic jams for hours at various places in the district. Though farmers’ unions had announced a four-hour blockade of the national highway from noon to 4 pm in advance, many people moved out of their houses, causing traffic jams. However, the police managed to divert the traffic at several places.
2. Day after Karva Chauth, broken pots, diyas greet visitors at Sukhna
A day after Karwa Chauth, the Sukhna Lake was found littered with pots and diyas that were used for the rituals on Thursday morning right at the entrance.
Saying that this had become a yearly occurrence, local area councilor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu said, “It is up to people to not litter after themselves. The lake in Sector 42 has been specially made for religious ceremonies where people could have gone instead.” He added that a ban on Karwa Chauth festivities on the lake is also not possible as it will be hard for the authorities to monitor people bringing even a single diya to the lake.
Part of the lake is looked after by Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Limited (CITCO) and part of the lake is maintained by the municipal corporation (MC). Chief general manager (CGM) of CITCO Rakesh Kumar Popli said, “We had asked that the part of the lake in front of Chef Lakeview Hotel be cleaned before opening it in the morning.”
3. Soon, homestays to come up in Morni
Haryana education and tourism minister Kanwar Pal on Thursday announced that the state government was planning to introduce a ‘homestay’ scheme for the promotion of tourism in the hilly Morni area in the Kalka assembly segment.
“After Shimla, Morni hills is the best tourism spot in the region…we are planning to start the homestay scheme in Morni on the lines of Himachal to promote tourism,” Kanwar Pal said in the Vidhan Sabha, responding to a question of Kalka MLA Pardeep Chaudhary.
The MLA wanted to know if there was any proposal to develop Morni as a tourist spot in the Kalka constituency.
The minister added that the Tikkar Taal tourist complex had also been developed.
4. PGI begins rapid antigen testing at New OPD Block
To prevent the further spread of coronavirus, the PGI has started rapid antigen testing of suspected Covid-19 patients and their attendants in the New OPD Block.
To provide sufficient space to the patients and their attendants, the PGI authorities have converted an entire floor of the multi-level parking lot into a waiting area. Dr Naveen Pandey, Deputy Medical Superintendent of the OPD, PGI, said the waiting area had been created with a seating capacity of 1,000 persons. Every middle seat on a bench for three had been blocked to maintain social distancing. A maximum of 600 patients and their attendants could be seated in the waiting area at any given point in time.
5. Apni Mandis may restart soon
The Market Committee has floated tenders for allotment of sanitation work of the mandis. The mandis were suspended in March in the wake of the pandemic. Hence, The UT Administration may restart Apni Mandis in various sectors soon.
An official said UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore would take the final decision on restarting mandis after reviewing all factors.
6. Draft Model Tenancy Act to benefit landlords, says the association
The Commercial Tenants’ Association (CTA) has raised objections to various provisions in the draft of the Model Tenancy Act, 2020. The association stated that the creation of rent authority and rent court to be presided over by an Executive Officer was in contravention of the already existing procedure and adjudication of litigation.
The UT Administration had invited suggestions and objections to the draft of the Model Tenancy Act, 2020.
The Act was drafted to benefit landlords and to make the upper class richer as compared to the weaker section of tenants, the association stated.
“The proposed Act is not balancing the rights of landlords and tenants. It has been drafted for the benefit of landlords. The Act has been framed only on the basis of a survey conducted with regard to vacant residential accommodation and not commercial. As such, the category of residential and commercial tenancies cannot be treated on a par. The hardships faced by commercial tenants have not been taken care of in the purposed draft,” said Arvind Kumar Jain, president, CTA.
7. NGT seeks Chandigarh reply on banning crackers
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the UT Administration on prohibiting the use of firecrackers. The NGT wants a response from the Administration on whether the use of firecrackers is banned from November 7 to 30. The notice was issued to the UT as the city is included in the list of 122 non-attainment cities where the air quality is poorer than the permissible limits.
The green panel stated that the state governments of Odisha and Rajasthan had already issued a notification prohibiting the sale and use of firecrackers in the wake of unsatisfactory air quality.
UT Adviser Manoj Parida said UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore would take a final decision on imposing a ban on firecrackers in a meeting tomorrow.
8. Mohali witnesses 30 pc dip in applications for cracker license
The administration received 771 applications for temporary licenses to sell firecrackers in Mohali district this year, witnessing a decline of around 30 percent as compared to last year.
Firecracker dealers have shown lesser interest in getting temporary licenses this year in the view of the pandemic. They fear that people will not come in a large number to purchase crackers this year.
Wholesale firecracker dealers at the Kurali market here claimed that the sale of firecrackers is likely to dip by nearly 70 to 75 percent this season.
9. Students seek a refund of exam fee, hold protest
ABVP along with INSO protested against the Panjab University authorities demanding adjustment or reimbursement of semester examination fee as students were promoted to next class directly.
Students claimed that the university authorities agreed to conduct a meeting to discuss the issue and also extended the date for depositing semester fee by 10 more days. The ABVP Panjab University president, Paras Ratan, said, “Families of many students are facing financial crunch due to the pandemic, but still the authorities are not bothered.
10. Pre-existing disease no reason to deny insurance claim: Panel
While directing New India Assurance Company Limited to pay a total claim of Rs2,85,833 to a city resident, along with 8 percent interest per annum, the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Chandigarh, has held that an insurance claim cannot be denied on mere presumption that a person is suffering from a pre-existing disease.
The commission also directed the company to pay Rs25,000 to the complainant as compensation for causing mental agony and harassment and Rs10,000 as costs of litigation.
The commission’s order states: “It is clear from the records that treatment did not pertain to kidney problem, but a fungal infection. It has no connection or relation with the kidney disorder and is a pre-existing disease for invoking of the exclusion Clause 4.1”
The order further states: “In view of this the insurance firm is directed to pay the total claim of Rs2,85,833 to the complainant along with 8 percent interest per annum from the date of repudiation, which is December 29, 2017, till realization.”
11. 96 fresh cases in Chandigarh; 50 in Pkl along with 1 death
The city on Thursday reported 96 fresh cases of Covid. Besides, 60 patients were cured of the deadly disease. The UT tally stands at 14,794. The virus has claimed the lives of 229 persons in the city. The number of patients to have been cured of the disease has increased to 13,862.
Panchkula reported 50 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the tally to 7,314. The district also witnessed a Covid death. While 6,939 patients have defeated the coronavirus so far, 258 cases are still active. The recovery rate of the district is 94.87 percent. Panchkula has so far conducted 93,729 Covid tests
12. Mohali sees 12.93% rise in active cases in 3 days
The district saw a 12.93 percent increase in the number of active Covid cases as 192 persons tested positive for the virus in the past three days. On November 2, there were 526 active cases in the district, which increased to 594 today. During a random survey of the markets in the city and other places in the district, people were found moving around without a mask, exposing themselves to the deadly virus. The district health authorities have been warning people not to move out without a mask.
Source: Tribune, HT times