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April 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Municipal
Corporation, Improvement Trust Ludhiana, April 12 LIT authorities were reported to be upset over the MC attempts to keep the building control in the colonies, developed by Improvement Trust but later on handed over to the MC for maintenance. So much so that the MC has issued a public notice, saying that building plans in such colonies have to be approved by its building branch, while the LIT is on record to have notified earlier that it still retained the building control and the right to compound the violation of building bylaws. The Municipal Town Planner, Mr S. S. Bhatia, says residents of colonies, developed by LIT, which were now being maintained by MC, had an erroneous impression that building plans need not be submitted to the MC for approval. This impression was wrong and against the law. He has cautioned the people to get the building plans approved from the MC to avoid harassment, demolition and penalty at a later date. However, the LIT authorities challenge the right of the MC to retain building control and right to compound the violations in Improvement Trust colonies. The LIT Chairman, Mr Madan Mohan Vyas, asserts that LIT has well within its legal rights to enforce the building control and to compound the violation of building bylaws. The matter, he told Ludhiana Tribune, had been thoroughly discussed at a meeting of the Chairmen of the Improvement Trusts of the state with the Punjab Minister for Local Bodies, Mr Balramji Das Tandon, at Chandigarh and the consensus was in favour of the Improvement Trusts retaining the building control in colonies developed by it. Moreover, the Punjab Town Improvement Act was also very clear on the subject and there was no provision for the enforcement of building bylaws to be transferred to the MC’s. Mr Vyas was emphatic that the building control of LIT colonies, even though transferred to MC for maintenance, had to remain with the LIT logically. The Improvement Trust was involved right from the conceptual stage till the execution and completion stage with all the information on sites earmarked as green belts, for community purpose or utility services. “For some time that the LIT did not assert its right over building control, the MC administration had gone on a spree to declare many of purely residential areas as commercial areas and had collected hefty amount as composition fee for change of land use. Even purely residential colonies, some of these specifically developed for economically weaker sections, had become commercial centers as a result of indiscriminate change of land use allowed by MC.” Meanwhile, the LIT top brass had allegedly taken a serious note of the MC plans to construct its headquarters in Sarabha Nagar on the vacant land, earmarked as green belt; and a part of which was now being developed as ‘Leisure Valley’. When queried, Mr Vyas declined to comment on the issue. However, according to sources LIT had served a notice to the MC, saying it was not the lawful owner of the land and therefore the area of green belt should not be utilised for the construction of MC building. |
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PAU austerity drive stepped up Ludhiana, April 12 According to a circular issued by the Vice Chancellor, Dr K.S. Aulakh, all Deans, Directors and officials of the university, including the Vice Chancellor, are authorised to have only one AC in their office room. The circular further states that no airconditioner should be used in any office, departmental committee room, departmental library or any computer room. According to sources, though all the state universities are facing similar financial problems, the PAU is probably the first to start such money saving exercise. The VC is also upset at the expenses incurred by free use of the official vehicles of the varsity and has instructed that no official is entitled to an official vehicle below the rank of Director, Research (DR). He has further instructed that anybody requiring the vehicle should ask for it from the DR and should specify the reason before asking for its use. As per the circular, the ACs already installed at such places should be removed and shifted to the estate officer- cum-chief engineer. In the laboratories the ACs should be used only where these are a necessary requirement for maintaining temperature at a particular level. The Vice Chancellor has also asked the Deans and Directors concerned to certify the retention of an AC in a particular laboratory conforming to the requirement of maintenance of temperature. The ACs installed in other laboratories where the use is not justified should The circular has also stopped the use of heaters in all the offices saying that “in no case heaters should be used in any office for preparation of tea and should be removed forthwith”. To ensure that the instructions are complied with strictly the VC has issued circulars to all the Deans, Directors, heads of departments, sections, Directors and Associate Directors of Regional Research Stations, seed farms at Ludhiana as well as other cities and other officials of the varsity. The Vice Chancellor has asked the Comptroller, PAU, for the consolidated report of the compliance including the number of ACs, removal of ACs and removal of heaters till April 16. While issuing the circular the VC has said that ‘’in order to ensure that research, training and extension work of the varsity does not suffer for want of funds, it is essential to reduce the consumption of electricity, thereby cutting down the extra expenditure in the form of a very high electricity bill.” According to sources, the measures are being taken in wake of the electricity bill of the varsity that amounted to a sum of Rs 1 crore during the last six months. It should be recalled here that the Board of Management of PAU in its last meeting had passed the Rs 137.79 crore budget and directed the university to generate its own resources for pooling the deficit of Rs 22 crore. Sources say that all the ACs removed from various departments will be installed in various rooms at Parker House, which is a guest house of the varsity, the rent of these rooms will be hiked to generate revenue in future. Dr Aulakh, while talking to Ludhiana Tribune, said that these austerity measures were the need of the hour as the varsity was already facing a deficit of Rs 22 crore. He also said that he had directed various Deans, Directors and HODs to identify areas where these austerity measures could be taken and the varsity may save more funds. |
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Two youths bashed up for digging grave Ludhiana, April 12 While the people beat up the youths, accusing them of digging up the grave to give the child’s body to some tantrik, the youths later confessed to the police that they were drug addicts and were digging the grave to recover some money buried along the body. The youths said they had seen the parents of the child burying money along with the
body. They said they wanted money to buy more drugs. No money was found by the youths. The police said the youths, who were watching the ceremony from a distance, mistook some ritual involving cash and thought the money was buried along the body. The child was born dead to a couple on April 10. The police did not register a case as the residents felt that the beating was enough punishment for the youths. |
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People silent over youth’s death Ludhiana, April 12 The case hogged the limelight two months ago as the residents of that colony had to launch an agitation to get a case registered against certain persons owning a hosiery factory in the same locality. It has now again become the talk of the town as it again highlights the power of money and influence in covering up any matter. The talk is centered around the reaction of the family members or the residents. They had taken to the streets following the injuries, but were now, for strange reasons, keeping a stoic silence when the youth, for whom they were fighting, had actually died. Mystery shrouds the silence of the family members and the residents. The case also raises a question that if an individual dies an unnatural death and his relatives enter into a compromise, is the state or society at large helpless in taking action against persons responsible for the death. The youth, Ram Rattan, suffered serious head injuries on February 22. He was admitted to the DMC. As per earlier media reports, the police, allegedly under the influence of a highly-placed police officer, scheduled to retire later this year, dilly-dallied on registration of a case. It relented only when public pressure was mounted on it by the residents, who even staged a dharna in front of the SSP’s residence. After the registration of the case, the residents and the family members entered into a compromise with the hosiery factory owners. Though no one wanted to go on record, several persons, including a family member of the victim, admitted that more than Rs 5 lakh were given to the affected family to hush up the matter. The parties went to the High Court and produced the compromise. The High Court ordered the quashing of the FIR immediately as a compromise had been reached at in the case. An eerie silence prevailed in the colony today when this correspondent visited it. The deceased’s father, working as a clerk with PAU, had gone to Hardwar for completing the religious rites. His only surviving son admitted that a compromise had been made with the opposite party and they were not going to take any further action. Mr Kapila, a neighbour, on whose complaint the FIR was lodged, also admitted the compromise and said when the family was not interested in pursuing the matter, they would not step in. Mr Kapila and other residents had also received injuries in the brawl. The residents who had participated in the dharna expressed their displeasure at the episode . They said while they had risked their life staging dharnas, certain persons huddled together and arrived at a compromise. When contacted, Mr Warryam Singh, SHO Haibowal, expressed the helplessness of the police in the case. He said a case of murder could be registered, but when the family members did not want to pursue the matter and said they stuck to the compromise, there was nothing the police could do. He said the police was bound by the High Court order of quashing the FIR. He said the case could be opened only if an appeal was filed in the High Court or the Supreme Court. |
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Liquor contractors remain adamant Ludhiana, April 12 An extended meeting of senior officials of the Excise and Taxation Department, led by Mr D.S. Kalha, Excise and Taxation Commissioner, with the liquor contractors here late last evening failed to arrive at any conclusion as most of the contractors were in favour of disbanding the bigger groups and holding auction in smaller groups, so that rather than the ‘syndicate’ or ‘cartel’ of liquor contractors, individual contractors could bid in the auction. The contractors, favouring small groups, argued that during last year all the groups in Ludhiana division, without exception, had sustained heavy losses and as a result the contractors were not in a position to incur more losses, which were imminent in view of the expected competition and the delay in holding auction of liquor vends. “If the vends are auctioned in smaller groups, the losses would also decrease proportionately and the risk factor would be reduced,” an old timer in the liquor trade observed while talking to Ludhiana Tribune after the meeting. Inquiries made by Ludhiana Tribune revealed that a majority of those in the liquor trade were wary of the ‘syndicate’ or the ‘cartel’ concept, Though no dates have been finalised for the auction of the remaining nine groups in Ludhiana, the officials were reported to have impressed upon the contractors to give a firm assurance of a reasonable hike and secured revenue before the department could make a definite recommendation to the government in this respect. The liquor contractors, however, appeared in no mood to tow the government line and were optimistic that sooner or later, the government will have to come round to their view point and would relent. |
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Telephones out of order Ludhiana, April 12 Residents, traders and businessmen of Bhadaur House, Deepak Cinema road, Field Ganj area and Ghas Mandi complained that there was either no dial tone at all or the telephones continuously gave an engaged tone. The anguished complainants alleged that the carelessness of telecom officials had become a routine. Due to the regular disruption in phone lines, the subscribers were badly affected. Ms Sunita Bahri, a resident of the Dugri area complained that she had tried a number in the 74 digit series for two hours as there was an emergency but she could not get through. Mr Ashok Kumar, a shopkeeper at Bhadaur House, said he could not get even a single right number from his telephone. He said, “the phones are often disrupted in between or there is always a recorded message “please check the number you have dialled”. Meanwhile, Mr Kulwinderjit Singh, a resident of New Janata Nagar complained that the numbers dialled to Qadiyan village (code 951872) were being diverted to Batala (951871). He said despite repeated complaints and requests, no action had been taken by the department. He said, “When I contacted at number 408800, the person gave another number 413202, the in charge concerned, but the person refused to disclose his identity and said they would rectify the snag. It has been 15 days since this and the lines are still diverted”. Later, the complainant talked to the General Manager, Telecom, who assured him that he would look into the matter. Mr Kulwinderjit Singh alleged that due to the diverted lines, his work had been hit badly. |
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BOTTOMLINE Ludhiana, April 12 While it was heartening for the Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amrinder Singh to see his rival and senior PCC leader Mr Jagmeet Brar lavishing praise at him, but he was definitely upset over the course of events that took place. And if the local MP, Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib, is to be believed, it was all stage-managed by some disgruntled leaders. The DCC president, Mr Suridner Dawer, went a step ahead blaming directly Mr Harnam Dass Johar and Mr Rakesh Pandey for all the fiasco. Yesterday’s incident made it clear that the local Congress is vertically divided among the official and dissident groups. In fact the local MLA, Mr Rakesh Pandey’s, reservations about accepting Capt Amrinder as the PCC president are too well known. He has never been seen with the PCC president nor did he involve himself with the rally which was organised at the behest of the AICC president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, as part of a nationwide agitational programme to show resentment against the Tehelka expose. So is the former speaker, Mr Harnam Dass Johar. Their loyalties with former Chief Minister, Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, are too well known. The loyalists who include Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib, Mr Surinder Dawer, Mr Pawan Dewan, Mr K K Bawa, Mr Nahar Singh Gill and others have been maintaining that Capt Amrinder Singh is the choice of the AICC high command and he should be acceptable to all and who do not reconcile to this reality should be penalised. Yesterday’s rowdy incidents started at Ludhiana railway station when some workers shouted slogans against Capt Amarinder and also demanded his removal. They were said to be the supporters of Mr Rakesh Pandey. However, Mr Pandey denied the charge. The slogans, according to Mr Ghalib, were raised at the behest of certain leaders. He, however, did not mention any particular names. He said, it was this remark of his which provoked Mr Harnam Dass Johar to push him off the stage. But Mr Johar alleged that it was Mr Ghalib who pushed him. “But I retaliated with equal force and threw him down”, he claimed without any inhibitions. Mr Johar also accused Mr Dawer of slapping him (Mr Johar). Mr Dawer while denying the charge asked: “How could I do like that? It was my show and is it possible that I would damage my own show?”. He blamed Mr Johar and Mr Rakesh Pandey for all the fiasco and alleged that they wanted the rally to flop. “While they are claiming to be working towards the unity, they are sabotaging the party. Otherwise what was the motive behind staging demonstration against the PCC president”, he pointed out. This has at the same time caused anguish to a number of people in the party. According to Mr Pawan Dewan, one of the organisers of the rally, “it was quite unfortunate that such incident took place in an otherwise successful rally”. He urged the high command to identify people responsible for these incidents so that they can be penalised. |
Nagar kirtan taken out on Baisakhi eve Ludhiana, April 12 “Panj Piaras” in traditional Sikh attire led the procession, which commenced from Shahid Darshan Singh Pheruman Gurdwara, Miller Ganj on G.T. Road and passed through main Dholewal Chowk, Partap Chowk, Basant Park, Bhagwan Chowk, Jaimal Singh Road, Janta Nagar Chowk, Gill Road, Campa Cola Chowk, Cycle Market, Miller Ganj and Vishwakarma Chowk before terminating at the starting point. Several associations of traders and shopkeepers, religious and social bodies had put up ‘chhabils’ and distributed ‘prasad’ all over the route of the nagar kirtan. Prominent among those, who joined the nagar kirtan were Mr Gurdev Singh Badal, Punjab Minister for Agriculture, Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, Punjab Minister for Technical Education, Mr Kewal Singh Badal, vice-president, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, Mr Amarjit Singh Bhatia, vice-president, Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), Mr Pritpal Singh, president, Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran, Mr. Gurcharan Singh, president, Gurdwara Kalgidhar Singh Sabha, Mr Kishan Singh Lyallpuri, president, Gurdwara Shahid Darshan Singh Pheruman, Mr Balwinder Singh Lyallpuri, director, Punjab Mandi Board, Mr Kulwant Singh Dukhia, Mr Hakam Singh Giaspura, Dr Parshottam, Mr Kirpal Singh, Mr Kashmir Singh Sheera, Mr Arjun Singh Cheema and Ms Sukhwinder Kaur — all councillors. |
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110-yr-old refuses to retire Ludhiana, April 12 Establishing his age is not his problem. Working as chowkidar of Baddowal, he is being dismissed. His main job is to maintain the record of the births and deaths in his village. About two months back, he was served with an order, which read that he was no longer in the job due to indiscipline and manipulation of birth and death records. He denies the charges, claiming that he is being victimised. Although heading a clan of about 100 people, Mr Waryam Singh claims, that he will die of hunger if he is thrown out. He argues that he is fit and has been doing his job. Mr Waryam Singh today presented his case at the sangat darshan before the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.R. Kaler. He was accompanied by his 74-year-old son Dulla Singh and 50-year-old grandson Bhupinder Singh. His eldest son Swaran Singh and daughter Tej Kaur died about an year back and both were around 80 years old. Asserting that he was being subjected to injustice, he said, his vision was as good as any young man, he was able to walk and run and could have more food than any youth. “Still they are bent upon relieving me of my job at this age”, he protested. The ADC referred his case to the SDM (East), Mr Manjit Singh Brar. Mr Brar said he had asked Mr Waryam Singh to present his case and it would be decided on merit. Mr Brar said there were charges of indiscipline and manipulation of records against Mr Waryam Singh.
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Objects of desire — the status symbols IF you want to be on the top rung, you have to be dressed in the right clothes, possess the right set of wheels, flash the latest models of cell phones. All these trappings have a magical effect and act as a passport for one to join the elitist society. A&M and AC Neilson conducted surveys at regular intervals in the years 1994 and 1997 and the latest was conducted in the year 2001 to find out India’s top status symbols. A&M picked up 30 symbols after careful deliberation in association with AC Neilson. These were given to respondents from Metros and some other important cities. In this survey women were included for the first time. The primary criterion of selection was whether one had a car other than Maruti 800. Naturally the survey reflects the attitudes among India’s upper class society. Around 24,000 respondents were selected and were asked to pick up 10 objects from a given list of thirty, and were asked to rank them. Points were awarded in the reverse order. (10 points for a symbol ranked first and one point for the tenth). National power scores were calculated by taking an average across all the cities and people. Each respondent was further asked to name status. The results are enlightening. Here are the ten status symbols listed according to the survey of A&T Education 7.29% Car 6.67% Home location 3.57% Cell Phone 3.53% Child’s school Credit Card 3.29% A.C. 2.72% Holiday abroad 2.51% Job/Business 2.54% Club membership 2.26% Education has been considered of great importance. In Ludhiana , too, the elite class is sending their wards abroad to get ‘foreign education’. The degree preferred is an MBA. Remember the most powerful guy in the world is an MBA too. The next preference is for medical studies and infotech studies. Car, the hottest thing on the four wheels, is of course Mercedes. The second choice may surprise people, for the people prefer Esteem to Honda city or any other luxury car. Home location, though in the earlier surveys had got the top position, but now has slid to third position as there has been a slump in real estate and that may be responsible for its sliding down in the list. Cell phones, which provide great freedom of communication, are more favoured by men than women. Nokia is the most popular brand and the second one on the list is Airtel. Children’s schools and college are of prime importance. Everyone wants their wards to be admitted to prime institutions, be it schools or colleges. Obviously, every city has different institutions of importance and the elite sometimes send their students to the best boarding school in Dehra Dun or some other prestigious school. Credit cards rank next on the list. Most of the respondents like using plastic money and Citi Bank cards are most favoured followed by American Express Credit Cards. Air-conditioners of LG are the prime favourites with the people conscious of their social status. Voltas and Carrier come next. Holiday abroad has become popular with the elite class. The USA as a destination of holiday has replaced the favourite holiday country of snow-capped mountains, Switzerland. Job/business also have high status appeal. Being your own boss holds a high status appeal. A decade into liberlisation has also given business respectability. Club membership, a hangover of the Raj, makes the elitist class join the most prestigious clubs of their cities. The other 20 status symbols include possessing a farmhouse, a home theatre, a washing machine, a micro wave, diamonds, private swimming pool and flying first class and a laptop computer. If you possess all these status symbols, you have arrived.
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‘Cong leaders should not air grievances in public’ Samrala, April 12 Addressing mediapersons in the local civil Rest House, Dr Mohi said yesterday’s incident was unfortunate and Mr Johar should maintain party discipline. There were hundreds of ex MLAs, and ex-ministers and all could not sit in the front row. Mr Galib was an elected MP and being a senior Congress leader, he had every right to sit in the front row. Mr Mohi claimed that yesterday’s rally showed that the people were with the Congress and in the coming elections, Congress would get two-thirds majority. There was no dissidence in the party, he claimed. Mr Mohi said all stood by the PPCC president, Captain Amrinder Singh. Mr Mohi urged Mr K.R. Narayanan, the President of India, to dismiss the Vajpayee’s government and announce fresh Lok Sabha elections. There was no need of any inquiry into the Tehelka expose as Mr Bangaru Laxman had been shown on electronic media accepting the bribe. Even the Shiv Sena and the RSS had confessed that there was corruption in PMO, he added. |
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The poet of composite Punjabi culture APRIL 7 was a memorable day as the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Police Academy arranged a seminar on Sufism in Phillaur. Its director, Mr A.A. Siddique, established the Centre for Sufi Studies on the campus three years ago. The third National Seminar on Sufism was inaugurated by Dr K.S. Aulakh, Vice-Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, and the keynote address was delivered by Prof Nisar Ahmed Faruqui. Five papers were read, but the emphasis was on the life and poetic compositions of Hazrat Baba Bulle Shah. This great Punjabi Sufi poet, Bulle Shah was born at Uch Gilanian in Bahawalpur, now in Pakistan, in 1680. His father Sakhi Mohammad Darvesh left this village for Malikwal and later settled at Pandoke (Kasur), where Bulle Shah received his early education. A time came when he became the disciple of Hazrat Shah Inayat Qadri, who was well-versed in Sufi traditions. Incidentally, Shah Inayat was an Arain (gardener) by caste, whereas Bulle Shah was a Sayyad, a high-born Muslim. The poet remained steadfast in his resolve, although friends and relatives advised him otherwise. Bulhe nun samjhavan aian, bhainan te bharjaian Mann lai Bulhia sada kehna, enhad de palla raian It is the kafis of Bulle Shah which are most well-known. The prominent theme is the pain of separation from God. The Sufi soul at times wails, then cries and yearns for union with the beloved sought. After the Sufi has attained union with God, he is no more Heer, but becomes Ranjha. At this stage, all differences vanish and the seeker sees God as much in his own soul as in the external world. Ranjha Ranjha kardi nee main aape Ranjha hoi Saddo nee mainun dheedo Ranjha, Heer na aakho koi Some scholars refer to Bulle Shah as ‘Vedantic Sufi’. In this connection, Lajwanti Rama Krishna argues that he is a firm believer in Advaita and sees God in all religions. Likewise, Sadhu Ram Sharda is of the view that even when Bulle Shah uses Islamic terminology in his poetry, the spirit of the poetry is Vaishnava. Ishk di navio navi bahar Ja main sabaq ishk da parhia Masjid kolon juara daria dere ja Thakur de varia Jithhe vajde naad hazar Denis Matringe puts forth the argument that many Punjabi Sufi poets make use of themes from Punjabi popular culture, which include Hindu traditions. Bulle Shah makes use of references to God as a yogi as much as he makes use of the Heer-Ranjha story. Mustansir Mir distinguishes between the critical aspect of Bulle Shah’s poetry, in which the poet criticises hypocrisy in religious practice, and the constructive aspect of poetry, which is decidedly
Islamic in structure and detail. In view of the deep impact of his poetry on Punjabi psyche, it becomes evident that Bulle Shah was an ardent lover of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat. His poetry shows the influence of the folklore of Punjab, particularly his use of the Heer-Ranjha story and his frequent allusions to spinning cotton. Robin Rinehart says, “The fact that Bulle Shah’s poetry has remained popular among Punjabis of different religious communities indicates that a serious study of his work may be a means of discovering common threads in the religious traditions of Punjab.” On his part, Bulle Shah sings and dances with gay abandon. Bulle kih janaan main kaun Na main moman vich masitan Na main vich kufar dian reetan Na main paki vich pleetan Na main musa na faraun Bulle ki janaan main kaun |
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Dr Howie’s nostalgic visit to city Ludhiana, April 12 She had worked in the CMC as a gynaecologist for more than 22 years before leaving the hospital in July, 1981. It was indeed a privilege to meet the energetic octogenarian, Dr Beryl Howie. While she was working in the CMC, she was the most trusted and sought after gynaecologist. Though she visited India earlier also, she could not visit Ludhiana. She was invited by the CMC on the occasion of its convocation and annual founders’ day celebration. On that day, she met some of the passouts of the year 1976 who were specially invited on the occasion. She said, ‘‘Some of the children that I had helped to come to the world came to meet me. It was a pleasure to see them assume responsible positions. It was good to interact with children of the staff members. I am thankful to God who has allowed me to be a part of the training programme. I also thank Him for helping and guiding me when I was here. He directed me to serve people rather than be served. I will be going to Kerala to interact with some of my students at their invitation, and then fly back to New Zealand.’’ Dr Howie leaves Ludhiana tomorrow for Delhi and Ludhianvis think it was a great privilege to meet such a remarkable personality who had served the people of Ludhiana to the best of her capacity. |
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Internet services disrupted Ludhiana, April 12 The prominent ISP like Glide and Satyam were either not accessible or were operating at a slow speed. The net users had to face a difficult time and people who depend on the Internet for communications were the worst hit. The snag continued today as well. |
Rs 2 lakh stolen from shop Ludhiana, April 12 Liquor seized: The Division No 6, police also seized another 10 bottles of liquor smuggled in to the city by Surinder Singh, a resident of Street No 5 of Bachittar Nagar. Vehicle stolen: Cash, jewellery stolen:  |
Nambardars held Ludhiana, April 12 |
Ex-servicemen exhorted to set up industrial units Ludhiana, April 12 Wg Cdr M.S. Randhawa, Deputy Director, Sainik Welfare, also provided details about the facilities which were being provided by the state government to the ex-servicemen. Dr Dubey presented cheque to the Kargil War Hero L/NK Jatinder Singh, who had lost both the kegs in a mine blast during Kargil operation in 1999. Sewing machine were also distributed to the dependents and marriage grants were also disbursed. |
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Enterprising roadside entrepreneurs WHILE going round the city, one invariably finds the pavements occupied by the small time vendors. These vendors with ‘mobile’ business can start any work any time and at any place. The migrant labour comes in droves to Ludhiana thinking that the streets here are paved with gold.
In fact, what Mumbai is to western zone in terms of opportunities, Ludhiana is to the northern region. The migrants come with their meagre belongings, pitch up small tents for their families and then go in search of jobs. Those with “contacts” find employment in the factories or as farm hands. While others who are unable to find any such job try to set up these small businesses. With a number of pavements there is no dearth of space to set up shop and the buyers are also in abundance thus for many these businesses are very lucrative options. One can see a variety of such shops on the pavements. Small awnings are fixed overhead to give protection from the fierce sun. Cobblers, auto repair wallahs, battery repair wallahs, paan bidi wallahs, astrologers, fortune tellers with parrots, tea vendors, chat wallahs, dhabha wallahs can be seen on the roadsides. The law against child labour also does not apply in these businesses as many small children look after such shops to earn some extra money. The girl (in the picture) is running a business of selling paan-bidis at an age when she should have been in the school or playing. Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Rajjo said, “I have to look after this shop as my parents are employed as daily wagers. My brothers are working as domestic servants. So I was the only one left to look after this business of selling ‘bidis’ and cigarettes. I do not like it as very indecent kind of people come and the way they stare at me makes me feel very uncomfortable.” Her parents take charge of the shop after finishing their work but then Rajjo is supposed to cook food. She did not know how much they had to pay to Municipal Corporation or ‘hafta’ to the policemen. But most of these small entrepreneurs who barely make two ends meet have to pay a big part of their earning to the police for their survival. |
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