Chandigarh University students end protest; varsity declares 'non-teaching days' till Sep 24
Chandigarh (PTI): Students of Chandigarh University in Punjab's Mohali ended their protest in the early hours of Monday after the district administration and police assured them of a fair and transparent investigation into allegations that objectionable videos of several women students had been recorded.
The university on Monday suspended two wardens for negligence and also declared "non-teaching days" till September 24.
Further, it formed a joint committee comprising students and senior functionaries to address certain issues pertaining to hostel timings and other demands of the students, sources in the varsity said.
"They (students) ended their protest at around 1:30 am," Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Vivek Sheel Soni said.
He told reporters that a special investigation team headed by a senior police officer will be formed to probe the case.
The university in a tweet said, "We are always with our students, be it their academic aspirations or their safety and well-being. We will leave no stone unturned to live it upto this commitment towards our students."
Protest had rocked the campus on Saturday night over allegations that objectionable videos of several women students were recorded by a hosteller. Some students claimed that the videos were even leaked.
Police, however, had said the woman student appeared to have shared a video of only herself with a 23-year-old man, stated to be her boyfriend, and no objectionable video of any other student was found.
She was arrested from Punjab itself while the man was held in Himachal Pradesh and handed over to the Punjab Police. Officials said the woman's mobile phone has been seized for forensic analysis and added that there was no suicide attempt by any student.
The university authorities had also rejected as "false and baseless" reports that claimed videos of several women students in the hostel were made and leaked on social media and that distraught students had attempted suicide.
The students, however, had accused the university authorities of "suppressing facts" and held a fresh protest on Sunday evening, which continued till late night.
An FIR under Section 354-C (voyeurism) of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act has been registered in the matter and further probe is on, police said.
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Climate Change crisis: IMD to change parameters to declare heatwaves
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The IMD, along with its technical partners, will soon revise the criteria for declaring heatwave conditions in the country, as the present parameters do not suit India’s geographical conditions, according to official sources here.
Kerala, in particular, has faced difficulties in issuing heatwave warnings because of the limitations of the existing parameters.
Sources in the India Meteorological Department said the state experienced severe heat and humidity this summer and, for the first time, weather forecasts were made based on the anti-cyclone system that formed near the Karnataka–Maharashtra coast.
"We have never had an anti-cyclone system form closer to the South before, and this time we had to predict the weather based on it," a senior IMD official told PTI.
Anti-cyclonic systems are common over north-western parts of India, but this year one formed near the southern region, leading to unusually hot nights.
The anti-cyclone caused downward air movement, which pushed warm air towards the surface and prevented it from dispersing at night, the official added. As a result, Kerala recorded night temperatures 3 to 4 degrees Celsius above normal.
Because Kerala has experienced a steady temperature increase during the summer months for the last few years, changing the parameters for declaring heat waves would benefit the state, enabling the authorities to issue warnings more efficiently, the official added.
The IMD currently issues hot and humid weather warnings, although the situation warrants a heatwave warning, as the existing parameters do not allow the department to issue one.
At present, the IMD issues a heat wave warning in coastal areas when the maximum temperature reaches 37 degree Celsius or more with a temperature departure of 4.5 degree Celsius over the recorded maximum temperature.
For plains, the threshold is 40 degrees Celsius with a departure of 4.5 degrees Celsius or more from normal, while for hilly regions it is 30 degrees Celsius with a departure of 4.5 degrees Celsius or more.
Officials said the current heatwave declaration parameters also require these conditions to be recorded at two stations in the state to issue the warnings.
"In Kerala, we hardly get to record these conditions in two areas; moreover, we have severe heat stress that can easily cause a heat stroke. So we have decided to rework the heatwave declaration parameters and the changes will be implemented shortly. There will be a consultation with the Disaster Management Authority also before finalising the parameters," the official said.
Throughout Kerala, temperatures recorded this summer were three to four degrees Celsius higher than usual. The state also reported multiple cases of heatstroke despite regular warnings issued by the IMD and the state disaster management authority.
According to experts, Kerala has become a climate change hotspot, with a steady increase in atmospheric temperatures and erratic monsoons.
The IMD has also predicted a below-normal monsoon this year, as this is the first time two consecutive El Nino years are being witnessed.
