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| Wednesday,
June 12, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Admn yet to take flood protection measures Ludhiana, June 11 Even though the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anurag Aggarwal, had directed the various officials on May 10 to start flood-protection work at vulnerable sites on Dhussi Bundh, the officials were yet to make any move in this regard. As the officials seem to dither over the work, the fear of the villagers of any flash floods reminiscent of 1988 and 1993 years is increasing. Though no serious floods have taken place since 1993, for villages situated close to the bundh, even minor overflowing of the water or seeping from cracks made in the bundh are enough to inundate villages every year. Crops worth lakhs are lost almost every year and several heads of cattle perish. A Ludhiana Tribune team carried a survey of a number of villages along side the Dhussi bundh and found that many villages situated on the weak sites, including Bonker Dogran, Khaira Bet, Gor Sianh Hakam Rai, Bholewal, Kharak and Chaar were living at the mercy of the weather gods only. The villagers of Gor Siahn Hakam Rai said that the government had spent a lot of money on erecting spurs as well as studs to contain the high-velocity currents of waters but that was not sufficient. They said that every year after the onset of the monsoon they have to move their family and household goods to some relatives’ house in Ludhiana city as the water inundates their village. Mr Gurcharan Singh, member of the panchayat of the village, said only floods seem to be waking up the officials concerned from the slumber. “ When the water fills our village then the officials come. Otherwise nobody visits us. The bundh lining near our village is very vulnerable and can be washed away by a fast current of water. But perhaps the officials concerned cannot see this.” said Mr Gurcharan Singh. Another villager Satnam Singh said that last time also when floods had occurred then all these villages were washed away. Losses of lakhs of rupees were incurred by these villagers besides losing many lives. “But it did not make any difference for the government.” Lakhbir Singh, a farmer from Bonkar Dogran village, rued that flood or no floods, their agricultural land that lines the bundh has to bear the brunt of the situation every year. “Earlier a stud on this side used to measure more than 100 yards. It was washed away by the floods last year and was reduced to 10 yards. It stands at this measurement even today. Nobody is bothered. And this year nobody has even tried to visit the place to review the arrangements.” The villagers told Ludhiana Tribune that many other villagers including Nurpur Bet, Bagge Kalam, Bagge Khurd, Bonkar Shole were also under threat besides the PAU Farm in Laddowal. The other vulnerable sites include Dhulewal, near Machhiwara, Madhepur, near Sidhwan Bet, Isapur, Milkowal, Ghumana, Mattewara, Jamalpur Laily, Kasabadh, Manewal, Talwandi, Rampur, Hoozra and Madhepur. While no measures have been taken for flood control at many of these sites, the work of desilting of drains has also not started. The drainage department has estimated. total expenditure of Rs 1955 lakh for the cleaning of all the drains in the district. |
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Lucky tree that survived concrete jungle
Ludhiana, June 11 While innumerable trees are cut every year to make way for buildings or roads, damaging the environment, a city industrialist has shown that development and environment protection can go together. The industrialist, Mr Brij Mohan Kalra, owner of the hosiery factory, has created an oasis in the concrete jungle of the colony sandwiched between Mall Road and Rani Jhansi Road. Mr Kalra said when he had started the construction at the site 15 years ago, the tree had been occupying the plot and birds had made nests in its branches. It was, then, an abode of dozen peacocks. “I could not cut the branches and destroy the abode of the birds to construct mine, so, I decided that, whatever might happen, the tree would not be felled,” says Mr Kalra. He had to face a lot of opposition from the architect, who even told him that the tree could damage the foundation of the building. However, the building is intact even after 15 years of that warning. The tree, too, has survived, contrary to the original belief that it would die as soon as the building surrounded it. The architect designed the building in such a way that let the roof give way to the thick trunk. Ventilators and windows gave way to the branches. The neighbours consider it a miracle that whenever there is a thunderstorm, many nearby buildings crumble like a house of cards, but this building has not even developed a crack even after so many years of being built. Mr Kalra believes that because he took care of so many birds living on the tree, the nature takes care of his building. He has to take the services of a Punjab Agricultural University expert to sustain the tree. “The expert visits us often and gives injections to the tree. He is happy that there is nothing wrong with it,” says Mr Kalra.
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ZP, SAMITI POLL Ludhiana, June 11 With this victory, the CM has completed a hattrick by winning the Assembly and Municipal Corporation elections since taking over in February. The arithmetic of the party that it will reap the goodwill generated by the anti - corruption drive of the CM has proved successful and got translated into an impressive mandate yet again. The results in Ludhiana have proved that although 100 days of the Congress governance may have swayed the voters to vote for the Congress, they have also shown that the hold of the Akalis on the rural populace has not completely slackened off. In fact, many results sprang a surprise with 16 Independents making it across the victory line in Congress and Akali strongholds. The Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD) and the CPI too, managed to open its account by registering a win in Samrala and Dehlon blocks. The biggest win by the ruling party was registered in Khanna where the Akalis were routed and failed to win a single seat. Of the total 16 seats, 14 were bagged by the Congress while two were won by Independents. In Samrala (15 seats), the Congress won in 11 and the Akalis bagged 3 seats while one was won by an Independent. In Pakhowal (!6 seats) the congress won eight seats while the Akalis and Independents were evenly placed with four each. The ruling party suffered setbacks only in Ludhiana-1 where they managed to win 11 of the 18 seats. The Congress won seven seats. The performance was also poor in Dehlon and Sidhwan Bet. In Dehlon (19 seats), the Congress managed nine seats to eight of the Akalis. In Sidhwan Bet (17 seats), the Akalis bagged eight seats to six of the Congress. In Sudhar (15 seats), the Congress won in 11 blocks while four were won by Akalis. In Ludhiana - 1 (18 seats), the Congress won in seven seats while the Akalis raced ahead with 11 seats. In Ludhiana - 2, the ruling party and the opposition were evenly poised with five seats each. In Jagraon, the Congress and Akalis won three seats each while the tally in Raikot was six Congress, one Akali and three independents. In the Zila Parishad results, the congress bagged the Binjal, Lalheri, Sarabha, Sudhar, Narangwal, Rabon Unchi, Mutton, Neelon, Purain, Bija, Bondli and Kadon
Parishads. The Akalis won in Baddowal, Mattewara, Chak Sarwan Nath, Alamgir, Qila Raipur and Ramgarh Sardaran. The issues, as in the previous elections remained the same : no benefits for the farmers who want to diversify, lack of development, rising unemployment, poor infrastructure besides the proposed hike in power charges. |
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ZP, samiti election results The following are the detailed results.
Seats Congress
SAD Ind/others
Ludhiana-I
18
7
11
-
Ludhiana-II
20
9
11
-
Dehlon
19
9
9
1(CPI) Doraha
15
8
6
1
Jagraon
20
12
7
1
Khanna
16
14
0
2
Machhiwara
15
9
6
-
Pakhowal
16
4
4
Samrala
15
11
3
1
Sidhwan Bet 17
6 8
3
Sudhar
15
10
2
3
Raikot
15
10
2
3
Total
201
114
71
16
Zila parishad seats -23; Election held-22; Congress-15; SAD-7
Name Elected candidate Party Humbran Mr Manjit Singh Congress Mattewara Mrs Satwant Kaur SAD Chak Sarwan Nath Mr Anup Raj Singh SAD Badowal Mrs Kulwinder Kaur SAD Alamgir Mr Kulwant Singh SAD Narangwal Mrs Balbir Kaur Congress Sarabha Mr Avtar Singh Congress Qila Raipur Mr Bant Singh SAD Ramgarh Sardaran Mrs Inderjit Kaur SAD Sudhar Mr Damanjit Singh Congress Binjal Mrs Manmohan Kaur Congress Manuke Mr Baldev Singh Congress Herran Mrs Mohinder Kaur Congress Hans Election not held — Galib Kalan Mr Gurdeep Singh SAD Purain Mr Bhajan Singh Congress Kadon Mrs Paramjit Kaur Congress Rabon Uchi Mr Amrik Singh Congress Lalheri Mrs Balinder Kaur Congress Bija Mr Avtar Singh Congress Mutton Mr Balbir Singh Congress Neelon Mr Kulwinder Singh Congress Bondli Mrs Nasib Kaur Congress |
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1 held in kidney donation case Ludhiana, June 11 Police sources said Ajmer Singh’s name was listed in the FIR some weeks after the original FIR was lodged. He was listed as co-accused with Sukhdev Singh and Navtej Singh. His name was included later on, on the complaint of the alleged victim Jagsir Singh. The nabbed accused Ajmer Singh has been charged with being a co-conspirator in the case. He is also accused of luring the victim Jagsir with false hopes of giving him enough money and job for his wife in lieu of the kidney donation. Ajmer Singh, an elderly man, was said to be instrumental in convincing the victim about the deal. Meanwhile, the police has failed to trace the accused Sukhdev Singh. The police was yet to initiate the proceedings of extraditing the third accused Navtej Singh, who is based in Hong Kong. |
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It was interesting to note that in a function organised by the local police to flag off PCR mobikes, the officials of the district administration were conspicuous by their absence. While the police had invited many leaders of the city, it ignored the district administration completely. While the politicians were made to sit right near the Chief Guest, DGP M.S. Bhullar, on the dias, one of the SDMs was made to sit among the audience. But they surely had nothing to lose as the function was nothing but a PR exercise where various guests tried their hand at oratorial skills. The mediapersons however, had anxious moments as they were forced to sit through the irrelevant lectures even as their deadline was approaching. Boys & beauty Gone are the days when only the girls used to be beauty conscious. Not any more now as the boys are also joining them now. They have also learnt to protect their skin from the scorching Sun. It is a common phenomenon to witness such beauty conscious boys wearing sun gloves and other sun protectors in the city. The overzealous ones even drive a scooter donning an umbrella. Wearing of helmets can be compromised but not the protection from the sun. (see picture) Discounts for toppers Ever since the results of CBSE, PSEB and other competitive exams have come out, the elated toppers securing more than 90 per cent marks have been offered discounts at some eating places. The students are thrilled that their efforts have been recognised by people other than their families and school authorities. With more and more shops and restaurants likely to offer discounts to the bright students. It will serve as an added incentive for students to study hard and secure better marks in order to avail of discounts. Luring customers With the market becoming extremely competitive the companies are coming out with new promotional gimmicks to attract the customers. Sentinel witnessed a crowd standing in the blistering heat watching the artistes perform “bhangra” on a stationary van. The van was parked outside the office of a mobile phone company which had come up with this novel idea. Bhangra artistes were dancing with gusto and seemed to be oblivious of the heat. The van travels all over the city and stops at all important places to make the people aware of their new schemes. Camp woes Nothing succeeds like success. So when someone started summer camps and these met with success, rest followed suit, be it schools, clubs, dance or art schools. The little ones thus have no respite from the routine even during holidays. They had to venture out in heat and dance , prance, learn new sports, perform vigorous bhangras and giddas. The parents had to pick them up in heat. No doubt the children learnt new things but at what expense. They never learnt to relax as they had to follow routine. They never got a chance to read. Reading is becoming alien to modern day child. The parents could have let them spend some time with them and taught them various skills which seem to be missing instead of trundling them to ‘summer schools. Money power Two first timers in the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections, who were prompted by public to contest the elections had a first hand experience of how dirty the political game was. Hailed by media as honest and well-meaning candidates, who refused to distribute money and liquor, the two candidates lost the elections by a thin margin. Looking back at the campaign they felt it was not the money power of the opponent but their lack of money power that had turned the tables as they lost from one or two booths where their political workers were won over by the opponents. So, while one polling agent meant to keep a close eye on the voting went home saying he was hungry. The other said he was feeling sleepy. A number of others also deserted the candidates on the polling day leaving the booths free for opponents to catch on. The first timers say now they realise how important money power was to keep the workers work faithfully for you. Hefty fee Authorities of the city schools seem to be smart enough to earn a fast buck in the ongoing admission days. Students of some of the reputed schools in Civil Lines and Sarabha Nagar who have cleared class X have been told to once again pay admission fee before joining Plus 1 in their own school. The students and parents, who have to shell out more than Rs 9,000, are quite frustrated as they feel that the authorities were being unjust to them. Students said they had been studying in the same school for over 10 years and were still being treated as outsiders. They believe that had they been studying in some other school earlier, payment of admission fee at this stage would have been justified. However, in an effort to help bright students from weak section of the society to continue their studies, authorities of Greenland Day Boarding School have decided to waive off the fee for those scoring more than 90 per cent marks in class X and taking admission in plus 1 in the school. Mr Rajesh Rudra, director of the school, said he was touched by cases where several bright students had to discontinue studies due to high fee. Sentinel |
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Decks cleared for election of Mayor Ludhiana, June 11 The notification regarding election of councillors to all the four Municipal Corporations in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Patiala was issued by the state Government on May 22. In accordance with section 38(2) of Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the Mayor has to be elected in a meeting of the corporation to be convened after the meeting held for making and subscribing oath or affirmation by the councillors but not later than one month from the date on which election of the councillors is notified. Although the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had indicated during his visit to the city on Sunday that election of Mayor might be held after conclusion of the Budget session of Punjab Assembly which commenced today but in the case of proposed extension of the session till June 28, the government might have to give a go ahead to the councillors in all the four major cities to elect the Mayor as well as Senior Deputy Mayor and the Deputy Mayor in the next couple of days. While knowledgeable circles in the ruling party maintain that the issue of new City Mayor for the city is more or less decided with the Punjab Pradesh Congress committee general secretary, Mr Nahar Singh Gill almost certain to make it to the coveted post, the other contenders to the post, including Mr Surjit Singh Ahluwalia, a former Senior Deputy Mayor (1992-97) and group leader of Congress councillors in the outgoing house, Mr Prem Mittal, former Deputy Mayor (1992-97) and Mr Balkar Singh Sandhu, do not subscribe to the assertion, while claiming that the final choice remained with the councillors. Amidst hectic political activity and intense lobbying for different civic posts, political observers did not rule out the chances of cross-voting, even though remote in view of the election to be conducted by show of hands. The SAD-BJP combine and other groups like BSP, Independents and the Ludhiana Development Alliance, headed by former Akali Dal legislator Mr Hira Singh Gabria, could not just be written off and had the potential to spring a surprise. In addition to electing the Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, the General House of the MC will also elect from amongst themselves two councillors as members of the all powerful Finance and Contracts Committee besides members of Water Supply and Sewerage Disposal Committee, Building and Roads Committee and a House Tax Committee, which have a statutory status. |
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Budha Nullah bundh breached Ludhiana, June 11 All the industrial waste goes into the Budha Nullah and these days the toxic water is flowing towards residential area. This dirty water which is not only a environmental hazard but a health hazard also has created a great problem for the residents of the area. The place is so stinking that nobody could stand by. Ludhiana Tribune investigations revealed that the land on which this dirty water is flowing flawlessly belongs to provincial governments and a land dispute regarding the land is pending in the court. According to sources, earlier some farmers used to cultivate the land, who got annoyed after filing a court case and broke the bundh. There are many pits on the piece of land which are full and overflowing these days. One of the residents of the nearby colony, Harbans Singh, said after very short period of time, not only the land would become infertile, but it would be difficult for the area people to pass by. Moreover, due to this diversion of dirty water during the monsoon, our houses would be flooded with toxic water. Then the life would become hell for us. However, no action had been taken so far by the authorities concerned. While talking to this correspondent, the Zonal Commissioner, Mr
B.K. Gupta, said neither he had any complaint regarding the breach of bundh, nor the matter had been brought to his notice so far. But soon after talking to this correspondent, he had deputed the officials to enquire the matter and to report to him. |
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Garbage
at MC’s door Ludhiana, June 11 Officials
concerned say that they have told their staff to discontinue the
practice, but it is standard operation procedure for ‘safai
karamcharis’. These sanitation workers take the garbage out of
sewage and dump it near a manhole that is often left open. They never
take the pain to remove it, though they have been provided with
vehicles for this purpose. One can easily see heaps of such waste in
every street here, especially the old city, where sewers have to
cleared countless times. The MC workers are supposed to remove the
garbage immediately after taking it out from the sewage, but they do
it rarely, that, too, only if some top official exercises his or her
influence. Usually, the wet garbage dries on the road or sticks to the
wheels of passing vehicles and that is how the roads get “cleaned”
here. There is a point near Jamalpur Awana for the dumping of such garbage, but the filth is left to rot in the streets, deliberately. Any house around it, then, becomes the dumping point. This wet garbage not only creates a stink, but also gets spread on the road by vehicles, causing inconvenience to pedestrians. Sometimes,
when wind rakes up this dry garbage in the streets, people find it
difficult to move around. The commoners have to close their eyes to
cross the street where the MC has left a heap of sewage waste. |
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Transparency
in MC working sought Ludhiana, June 11 The Dugri Urban Estate Residents’ Welfare Society, in a memorandum submitted to the Commissioner of Municipal Corporation, has urged that execution of all works relating to repair and maintenance of roads, sewerage, streetlights, supply of potable water and maintenance of parks, should be made public as to the nature of work being executed, detailed specifications of the project, estimated cost, the time limit for the completion of work and the contractor or agency to whom the work was allotted. All these details should be displayed prominently at the site of the work for the information of end users of the services. Mr B.R. Kaushal, president of the society, observed that the civic body would do well to make known to the residents concerned, the number of sweepers deployed in a specific area with their work duration and the officials to be contacted in case of complaint regarding non-performance by the sweepers so that the residents of a particular locality could keep a watch over the work force, entrusted with the job of sanitation. He said bodies of residents and welfare societies, functioning in different city localities could play a significant role to ensure that the services, intended to be provided by the MC to their respective localities and the projects for improvement and expansion of civic services, were carried out efficiently to the satisfaction of the end users. Further the transparency in all ongoing and future projects and the vigil maintained by the residents, would also act as a catalytic check on executing agencies and would also help the MC officials to a great extent.
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League
against Army build-up Ludhiana, June 11 In a statement here yesterday, Lieut Col Chanan Singh Dhillon, president of the league, said the movement of Army on border was not only causing a big drain on the national resources but had also resulted in avoidable affliction to the people living in border areas. “The league feels that the entire show of strength is aimed at gaining political mileage and to divert the attention of the people from shameful happenings in Gujarat,” Mr Dhillon said. He said the BJP-led coalition government in the centre was guilty of relegating the interests of the nation and its people for its own parochial political aims. According to Mr Dhillon, the international community would not take the misadventure of the Indian government casually because the drummed up war by the hawks in the ruling party would administer a terrible blow to the prestige of India among the world community. |
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Bhagat
Singh’s nephew sore over ‘distortions’ Ludhiana, June11 Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, he said, “Of the three movies released so far, the movie made by Deols is distorted maximum to create mass appeal. The movie has played with facts. No where in the history Lala Lajpat Rai was involved in the Gadar Movement. Bhagat Singh and his entire family is shown as fundamentalists. The whole movie is superficial and there is no substance in its character. No where Bhagat Singh’s thought process and his ideas expressed in the movie”. “Santoshi’s movie also creats new history. In the movie, the girl’s parents go to Bhagat Singh’s house for marriage proposal. The girl stays back and Bhagat Singh tells his problems to her that why he can not get married,” he further said. Mr Jagmohan said he had already written the Ministry of Information to be very careful before granting permission to so many producers to make films on the martyrs and the maker must follow history. |
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Vets resent indiscriminate sacking Ludhiana, June 11 Led by Dr Harbans Singh Dhalla, the agitating officers claimed that they were selected by the PPSC against the vacant posts. They also claimed that the number of veterinarians applied for the post were equal to the number of posts advertised and there was no chance of any foul play. They further said that hundreds of veterinarians were leaving government jobs and going abroad in search of greener pastures. In some cases, a number of posts was lying vacant due to non-availability of vets. Out of 1,200 posts of vets in Punjab, nearly 750 vets are working, and the rest are lying vacant. |
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1 hurt
as three vehicles collide Ludhiana, June 11 The accident occurred when the bus (PB-12-8626) rammed into a stationary Maruti car (PB-10-AB-7786) that, in turn, banged into the rear of another Maruti car ahead of it at the traffic-lights point. While the bus suffered minor damage, the cars, especially the one that got crushed between the other two vehicles, were severely damaged. The bus driver, Sohan Singh, later, told the police that the brakes of the bus had failed and, in spite of trying hard, he had not been able to stop the bus from hitting the car. The Sarabha Nagar police said a case could be registered only after recording the statements of all persons involved in the accident. The accident affected traffic on the road for about an hour. |
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Engg industry worried Ludhiana, June 11 These observations were made by Mr Inderjit Singh Pardhan, president and Mr Avtar Singh, general secretary of the Chamber of Commercial and Industrial Undertakings (CICU). They said the issue had already been taken up with Mr Brij Kishore Tripathi, Union Minister for Steel, with the request that a price regulatory body be constituted immediately. Mr Pardhan asserted that as a result of such arbitrary hikes in the prices of raw material, the relaxations announced in the recent EXIM Policy of the Central Government will become meaningless. |
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Imported
homeware
in city Ludhiana, June 11 Unveiling the latest in houseware and kitchen articles, Mr M Mansoor and Mr Ahmad Zakaria, MD and director of the group, said that multinationals had organised themselves on a larger scale in the consumer products like foodstuff, dairy items, health and beauty products but there was no organised company in the consumer durable sector such as kitchen and household articles, baby products, gifts, toys, stationery etc. The added benefit is that not only will quality products be available at affordable prices here since all imports were imported legally and there was a complete backup support for replacing defective or damaged goods, Mr Zakaria stressed. |
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