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| Thursday,
June 21, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Summit generates hope among city traders Ludhiana, June 20 According to Mr Ramesh Soni, a hotelier, while not much should be expected to come out of the talks between Mr Vajpayee and General Musharraf, at least the deadlock has been broken. He pointed out that things had come to such a pass that even the two countries were not prepared to play cricket with each other. He recalled that in 1978, the former Pakistan Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, who was in his thirties at that time, had visited his hotel along with Mr R. P. Honda. Mr Sharif had visited here as a businessman and had hoped at that time that relations between two countries would improve as it was in the best interest of the two countries. Mr Anup Thapar, another businessman of Ludhiana, observed that in case the relations really improve between the two countries, it would be Punjab, because of its proximity with Pakistan, which would benefit the most. In Punjab, Ludhiana will obviously do maximum business. He cautioned that not much should be expected so soon because things cannot move at a rapid pace. Mr A. S. Chawla, businessman and secretary of the Satluj Club, opined that the two countries would have to come closer in their own mutual interest. They could no longer afford hostility against each other. He pointed out that the massive defence spending by the two countries were mainly due to mutual suspicion. If the relations between two countries improved, this money could be diverted towards development activities. He also saw an American role in the proposed Summit. “But this should not be viewed with suspicion or doubt. After all, the USA seems to be committed towards regional peace and stability in South Asia”, he remarked. The general opinion among the people was that this was the time when the two countries should give up their traditional hostilities. They said Pakistan should see reason in peace and work towards it. Mr Keshav Rai Dhanda, an advocate, pointed out that General Musharraf should ensure that he stood by the commitment to peace. Otherwise the confrontation would continue,
much to the loss of both the countries. There was a dissenting note from Mr Harbhajan Singh, a jeweller. He felt that Pakistan could not be trusted, particularly in view of the past experience. He pointed out that while Mr Vajpayee was on a peace mission to Lahore, Pakistan was infiltrating mercenaries into Kargil, which ended in bloody confrontation at the loss of so many precious lives on both sides. He cautioned that India should take care that this was not repeated. |
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Councillors’ kin make hay Ludhiana, June 20 The work for filling some 200-odd garbage containers and deployment of safai workers for night cleaning has been awarded to a private contractor, who is related to one of the councillors, for Rs 57 lakh. Under the terms of the contract, 50 safai workers are to be deployed for cleaning during night and attendants have to be posted at each of the 210 garbage containers to fill these properly. The contractor is supposed to make sure that no garbage is littered around the site and the containers do not spill over. But that is not what is happening. The claims of the MC officials about the improved sanitation level, notwithstanding, the condition remains as pathetic as ever. Hardly anybody in the city has seen night cleaning being carried out. Residents have not been informed about the localities selected for night cleaning operations. The garbage continues to be littered all around the city and particularly where containers are kept. Reliable sources in the MC have revealed that the contractor, taking advantage of his ‘connections’, has deployed a few safai workers for the job and minor boys or those engaged in paper and plastic bags collection from domestic garbage have been put to take care of containers at nominal wages. The same contractor, it is learnt, has been awarded the work for painting of traffic lines on the city roads and maintenance of streetlight points in some localities. The contract for multi-storey MC parking and parking spaces around New Sabzi Mandi on GT Road has been bagged by another ruling party functionary. Amidst public outcry of being overcharged and misbehaviour by the attendants at these places, the MC officials find themselves helpless in taking any action against the contractor. There is increasing tendency among the contractors to take advantage of political connections so that they can get away with compromise on quality and quantity of work and to keep the prying civic officials at bay. The nexus of contractors and councillors has a stranglehold over the allotment of works and the tendering system in the MC. A few councillors have entered into partnerships, though benami ones, with the contractors to get a cut from the cost of the work and to share the profits. |
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Sikhs urged to follow Gurus’ path Ludhiana, June 20 Addressing the sadar circle meeting of SAD-B at Gurdwara Manji Sahib, Alamgir here last evening, Mr Talwandi focussed on the achievements of SAD-BJP coalition government in Punjab, led by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, which was voted to power with a massive majority in 1997. He said the state had ushered in a new era of development and prosperity and was all set to give a repeat performance in the next assembly elections. Referring to the July 2 district party conference in the city, for which hectic preparations and a mobilisation drive were on, he expressed confidence that the political conference would further consolidate the vote bank of the ruling party and both urban and rural people would rally round the SAD-B. He derided the opposition parties for saying that the Shiromani Akali Dal could gain power but not last a full term. A major reason for the Akali Dal governments in Punjab, not lasting their full terms, was the presence of anti-Akali (Congress) governments at the Centre, which would dismiss the Akali governments in Punjab on the slightest pretext, he added, without naming the Congress. Mr Daya Singh, president, District Akali Jatha (Rural), speaking at this occasion, disclosed that circle level meetings were being organised to mobilise party cadres for the district conference. He said specific duties were entrusted to party functionaries to make the event a great success. |
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Where unhygienic conditions greet patients Ludhiana, June 20 “The hospital officials are always reluctant about new admissions. If a patient is admitted, he or she is not given proper care and treatment. Sirf paise wale ka zor hai”, said Pushpa Rani, a patient in the general ward. It has been two days now that Pushpa Rani (45) got admitted to the hospital with fractured backbone, high fever and chest infection. Pushpa, who is undergoing imprisonment in a local prison said, “I am all alone and was admitted here two days ago by the jail officials, but I have hardly got any treatment.” She said the attending doctor had prescribed medicines, but the nurses did not provide these to her. An attendant of another patient said the hospital officials wanted her to deposit money for the treatment. “How can she deposit the money? They should write to the jail authorities”, said the attendant. “If the money is not deposited, will they not treat me?”, asked the bedridden Pushpa. Prince, a two-and-a-half-year-old boy, was admitted to the hospital a week ago. “We are not sure about the problem. Perhaps he is having some sort of abscess in his left arm”, said the grandmother of the child. After spending a week in the hospital, the doctors have directed his father to take him to the Christian Medical College and Hospital for further treatment. “Last night, the doctors told us that Prince would be operated upon soon, but today they referred him to the CMC. We are really worried about his health”, said the octogenarian grandmother of Prince. Doctors’ indifference can further be judged from the plight of seven-year-old Poonam. Her open wounds tell a horrible tale of criminal apathy. Flies could be seen sitting on Poonam’s open wounds as her mother tries hard to keep these away. Poonam met with an accident on Saturday last and suffered multiple fracture. Accompanied with mother Balbouchi, Poonam was admitted to the hospital as an emergency case. “She was operated upon on Monday as Sunday was a holiday”, said the mother. On asking about the open wound on the arm, she said, “We do not know anything, perhaps ‘they’ forgot to put a bandage on the wound”. Dr Gagandeep Singh, the attending doctor, when contacted said, “I had covered the wound, the child must have removed it by herself”. Another one-and-a-half-year-old-boy, Gurminder Singh, needed an emergency operation. But due to the non-availability of blood he could not be operated upon. Gurminder’s mother said, “My husband is a daily wager. He has gone to arrange blood for the operation. I can not see his pain. Let’s see what happens”. The Senior Medical Officer (SMO) of the hospital said the hospital had 100 beds whereas they received 125 to 130 patients everyday which added to there problems. |
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Paddy procurement to be discussed
with Fatehgarh Sahib, June 20 Commenting on the WTO impacts on agriculture and industry, he said public awareness would be created and the Punjab and Haryana governments had joined hands for protecting the farmers and the industry. He said though the Government of India had increased import duty on agricultural and industrial products, but our struggle would continue till all terms were not renegotiated and made favourable to the Indian farmers and industrialists. Lashing out at the Congress, he said in their 50-year rule they did nothing for the state and a sum of Rs 16,000 crore was spent on industrial growth, whereas during their four-year term they had spent more than Rs 20,000 crore in industrial sector. They indulge in criticism of the government for the sake of criticism and to mislead the public, whereas the Akali Dal was struggling for the development of the state and to fulfil aspirations of the people, he said. Answering a query, he said elections would be held on time and that the conditions would become more favourable for the Akali Dal as they had initiated various development works, moreover the Congress was badly faction ridden and they could not face the public. They were fighting for individual survival, he said. He said the government had decided to set up petrol pumps and LPG agencies at rural focal points and new roads were being constructed in every constituency of the state. Earlier, Capt Kanwaljit Singh inaugurated a petrol pump at the Focal Point, Paheri, and with that Fatehgarh Sahib became the first district in the state to have a petrol pump at the focal point. Addressing the function Mr Vikas Partap, Deputy Commissioner, said other focal points in the district would also be developed and basic facilities would be provided there. Mr Balwant Singh Sahpur, MLA, Mr Sanjeev Sharma, manager, (retail), Indian Oil, Punjab, Mr H.P.S. Sethi, manager (sales), also addressed the gathering. Later Capt Kanwaljit Singh, presided over the workers’ meeting at Chanarthal Kalan, for the preparation of a political conference to be held on June 26, which is scheduled to be addressed by the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. |
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Women’s jail abounds in murder convicts Ludhiana, June 20 Mr Chalya visited all three jails in the city. Besides the Central Jail, he also visited the Boster Jail (for children) and the Women’s Jail. He was here to supervise the functioning of the jails and also enquire about the facilities being provided to the inmates. The IG disclosed that 60 per cent inmates of the Women’s Jail were either the murder convicts or were facing murder charges. In most of the cases it was the dowry death for which these inmates had been either convicted or were facing trial. Thirty per cent of women in the jail have been convicted for smuggling of various narcotics. He disclosed that the government was planning jail reforms which included improving the catering facilities, hospital and school in the Boster Jail. He said LPG would be used for cooking in all 27 jails of Punjab instead of wood. He disclosed that the negotiations were on with the Indian Oil Corporation and soon all the kitchens would be transformed. Mr Chalya revealed that the hospital in the Ludhiana Central Jail would be upgraded. Currently there are 20 beds in the hospital which would be increased to 500. The IG said while there was a budget of Rs 46 crore for various jails in Punjab, about Rs 4 crore would be provided by the government of India for improving facilities in the jails and the amount was expected soon. He denied the smuggling of drugs and narcotics into the jail. He said only two cases of addiction had come to his notice in Patiala. However, he assured that in case of any more complaints special drug de-addiction programmes would be launched in the jails. Mr Chalya expressed concern over the increase in number of cases on the pretext of human rights violations in jails. He said in most of the cases it was found to be misused to bully jail authorities. He quoted an example, where an inmate had himself got the word ‘qatil’ tatooed on his back and put the blame on jail officials. He said he would personally check all such complaints lest they should defame the jail authorities. |
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Pinki moved to Patiala Ludhiana, June 20 The jail sources said he was shifted as there were allegations that he was getting special treatment in the jail and misusing his influence. Pinki is facing charges of murder of a youth, Avtar Singh. It was reported in a section of the media that he was being provided special treatment by the jail authorities here. He was reportedly going out of jail regularly. It was decided to shift him to prevent this. |
Ex-servicemen sore with govt Ludhiana, June 20 The Indian Ex-servicemen League, Punjab and Chandigarh, has been spearheading the cause of the ex-servicemen. The president of the league, Lieut-Col Chanan Singh Dhillon (retd), claims that the league has been fighting for the cause of the ex-servicemen for the past 25 years. All state governments have been making tall promises of meeting their demands, but nothing has come out of the same. According to him, only private agencies are providing jobs to the ex-servicemen whereas the answer to the problem that all able-bodied personnel should go to the paramilitary forces as per the statues approved by the Government of India in 1962. The statutes are not being implemented. There is a provision of 13 per cent reservation of jobs for the ex-servicemen in the state, but they are not being provided jobs according to the reservations. The ex-servicemen are active and want to do some job. The lack of job opportunities is causing social tension among them, he laments. The political parties are creating their own cells in the ex-servicemen, although the Akali Dal has not formed any cell of ex-servicemen. The party is not taking any interest in the rehabilitation of the ex-servicemen. The Chief Minister has discussed the demands of the ex-servicemen for three years, but nothing has been done. Colonel Dhillon regrets that the recommendations of the Firth Pay Commission have been implemented pertaining to all categories of the Central Government, But not the army personnel. A number of lacunae have been created. The government has agreed to full pension for Army personnel who have served for 30 years, but this is not being applied to the other ranks and JCOs who retire early. The former Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, had announced at Anandpur Sahib at the time of tercentenary of the birth of Khalsa that these demands would be conceded within one week. More than one year has passed and nothing has been done. The BJP had promised that if the Congress Government did not implement the one rank-one pension scheme, it would raise the issue in parliament. The BJP too did not do anything. War widows were allotted land jagirs. A total of 220 widows were identified. The Government has failed to allot them the land and if any allotment has been made, it is on disputed land. They should be paid compensation instead of disputed lands. The Punjab Sainik Board has decided to raise the ex-gratia grant from Rs 300 to Rs 800 per month from January 2001, but this has also not been implemented so far. The Chief Minister has been disbursing money through the sangat darshans. He further says that the government has decided to raise the money for the marriage of daughters of the ex-servicemen from Rs 3500 to Rs 8500 and this is also not being implemented. The village panchayats are also acting against the ex-servicemen. The panchayats are using the mandatory clause of the panchayat Act, which cannot be challenged in the court, to settle scores with ex-servicemen, he alleges. He points out that the welfare workers appointed by the government at the tehsil and block level for the ex-servicemen are not able to provide necessary feedback to the sainik boards or the government. The activists of the ex-services league should be involved in such a programme. The DPDOs (Defence Pension Disbursing Officers) make the payment of pensions to the ex-servicemen on the recommendation of the pay pension commission. The government should implement the one rank-one pension scheme at the earliest, he emphasises. Colonel Dhillon demands that the league should be given representation on the sainik welfare boards and the district grievances committee to redress the grievances of ex-servicemen.  |
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Diploma-holding SIs seek promotion Ludhiana, June 20 Mr Jagdev Singh, General Secretary of the Punjab Agriculture Sub-Inspectors Association, in a press release issued here today, said, ‘‘The Director, Department of Agriculture, has already promoted 37 agriculture sub-inspectors and seven fertilizer supervisors to the post of agriculture inspectors, after the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in their favour. The government should consider the case of all those diploma-holding agriculture inspectors, who have completed 20 years of service keeping in view the decision of the court.’’ He further said, ‘‘A meeting of all the diploma-holding agriculture sub- inspectors has been called on June 23 at 11 a.m. in Chattar Singh Park to discuss the issue of promotions. The meeting will take a decision to file a writ petition in the High Court to demand equality of scales of agriculture sub-inspectors with the Soil Conservation Department.’’ Mr Jagdev Singh Grewal urged the state government to announce the modified seniority list of all the employees in the department. He appealed to all the diploma-holding agriculture sub-inspectors to participate in the meeting to discuss the issues concerning the welfare of the employees. |
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SAD-BJP will get majority: SGPC chief Machhiwara, June 20 Jathedar Talwandi
expressed confidence that the SAD-BJP alliance would again obtain
majority in the forthcoming Assembly elections. |
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SAD youth wing holds meeting Mandi Gobindgarh, June 20 He made an assessment of participation of the youth workers in the political conference of SAD (B) at Fatehgarh Sahib on June 26, which would be addressed by the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. He asked the workers to tie yellow turbans on that day. He praised the state government for holding sangat darshan programmes. The dream of Capt Amarinder Singh, president of the Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee, to come to power would never be fulfilled, he added. |
Bhagat’s birth anniversary Samrala, June 20 Mr Sukhdev Singh Libra, a Rajya Sabha member, paid tributes to Bhagat Puran Singh and donated a sum of Rs 1 lakh for school building. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Amrik Singh, district president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (A), and Mr Nirmal Singh Rohno suggested the constitution of a committee for the construction of a memorial in the name of Bhagat Puran Singh. Mr Bachan Singh
Cheema, Akali Dal MLA, Mr Swaran Singh Rohno, Congress leader, Mr Bhalinder Singh (advocate), Jathedar Sukhvinder Singh, Jathedar Nachhattar Singh
Ikolaha, Mr Teja Singh (advocate), Mr Mann Singh Khatra, Mr Mehar Singh
Ikolaha, Mr Manjeet Singh Lali Ikolaha, Dr Harbans Singh Gobindgarh, Mr Gurdev Singh
Lotte, Mr Didar Singh and Mr Bhajan Singh, president and vice-president of the Bhagat Puran Singh Educational Society, and Mr Amarvant Singh, Principal, were also present on the occasion. |
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Paswan to address rally on June 24 Ludhiana, June 20 Giving this information here, Mr Kiranjit Singh Gehri, president, Dalit Sena, Punjab disclosed that workers of the Lok Jan Shakti, its women and youth wing, the Dalit Sena and the Dalit Students Federation were assigned duties to mobilise the people for the rally. The party functionaries were told to organise meetings at ward, mohalla and village levels to propagate the party policies, with particular reference to those aimed at welfare of the Dalits and other weaker sections. |
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Conductors’ stir enters third day Ludhiana, June 20 Mr Jang Singh Gill, chairman, of the union, said: “The workers will sit on hunger strike-cum-dharna every day in front of the General Manager’s office from 9 to 5 pm. The agitation will continue till the demands were accepted.” The union has demanded the implementation of seniority list of conductors and annual promotions without any discrimination. |
Case
of fraud registered Ludhiana, June 20 Bid to steal money: Police vehicle hit: Bootlegger held: Knife recovered: |
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