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July 31, 2002,
Chandigarh, India
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DMCH ROW Ludhiana, July 30 About 200 employees, including women with kids, were forced to move on roads till about 4.30 am. Ms Amardeep Kaur, senior staff nurse of the DMCH, said most of the protesters had been sleeping at the time of the crackdown. “We had never imagined that the police would harass us again. We told the police that we had nowhere to go at this odd hour, but it said the order had come from the top and we should cooperate with the police,” she said. Once everyone was out of the park, the protesters dispersed and some of them gathered outside Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), while some others who had children with them gathered in a park near Kitchlu Nagar. One of the protesters said: “The police did all this to suppress the protest, as the death of a colleague, Satpal, had upset all employees. Several employees have been held responsible for injuring Mr Gurmel Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police, in the July 13 clashes. Now we want that someone be held responsible for Satpal’s death.” Meanwhile, the protesters staged a sit-in near Gurdwara Singh Sabha of Model Town Extension, where the action ahead was planned. Several other unions supported the protesters’ demand that action be taken against the police officials who had ordered the July 13 lathi-charge. The protesters also sought a CBI inquiry into Satpal’s death and said a murder case should be registered against the policemen who had attacked him. Meanwhile, Satpal was cremated at the Daresi cremation ground here today. One of his relatives said he had died of head injuries sustained in the July 13 clashes. Satpal had been in coma and on life-support system since then. One of the union leaders said more than 300 DMCH employees would have attended the funeral had they been told about the time of the cremation. “Perhaps, Satpal’s relatives were scared of the police, so, they did not inform us,” said the union leader. The persons who attended the funeral included Mr Amolak Singh, Mr Tarsem Jodhan, an MLA; and Mr D.P. Maur, president of the Punjab Agricultural University Teachers Association
(PAUTA). |
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DMCH
CRISIS Ludhiana, July 30 A faculty member said though they were back to their normal work, the
life practically remained standstill at the hospital. “We are back
because of management’s repeated requests and we also want that
patients and students should not suffer. But without sufficient
infrastructure, how can we work?” the faculty member asked.
Faculty members mourned the death of DMCH employee Satpal, he said.
Someone should be held accountable for the death. One of the doctors
said the victim had not participated in the strike, yet he and his
family were made to suffer.
“Satpal was chased by the police on July 13, when the clashes took
place between the employees and the police. Some eyewitnesses said he
had jumped from a building to save himself from the police, while others
said he was mercilessly beaten up by the police,” said a doctor.
Meanwhile, the faculty has demanded compensation from the management
for the victim’s family. The faculty members said,”They should offer
a job to the victim’s kin. We have already created a corpus fund to
help the family.”
One of the faculty members, on the condition of anonymity, said they
were fed up with the daily meetings. “What has come out of this? We
have been appealing time and again to the authorities concerned but
nothing has been done so far. What should we do? We are ready to work to
bring peace to the hospital, but we alone cannot run this
institution,” complained the faculty member.
It may be mentioned that the death of 45-year-old electrician Satpal
had created a tense atmosphere with heavy deployment of police outside
the hospital premises.
Meanwhile, DMCH employees supported by leaders of more than 40
organisations held a protest march, which started from Model Town
Extension and later concluded at Mini Secretariat.
Over 2,000 persons took part in the peace march. The DMCH employees
were joined by the United Council of Trade Unions. The leaders, while
addressing, said the hospital union had always resorted to peaceful
agitation. The police had forcibly removed the employees on dharna
because they had felt that they were being joined by other unions and
organisations.
Several representatives alleged that the state government had tried
to dampen the feelings and struggle of the union leaders. They had
deputed a huge police force so that the employees could not raise their
voice against the “culprits”.
The rally was addressed by Mr Amarnath Koomkalan, Mr Daljit Singh, Mr
Jagdev Singh Garcha, Mr Raghuvir Singh Banipal, Mr Ram Sarup Kalsia, Mr
D.P. Maur, Mr Tarsem Jodhan, Mr Paramjit Singh, Mr Swinder Singh Jawaddi,
Mr Gurmel Singh Patwari and Mr Kulwant Singh Sahnewal. |
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A day of rallies and protests Ludhiana, July 30 The day, however, passed quite peacefully barring an incident at Mini Secretariat in the afternoon when members of the agitating organisations broke barricades put up by the police and entered the premises in violation of the Section 144 orders imposed by the District Magistrate. The situation looked alarming but fortunately did not take an ugly turn as both the police and the union members maintained an exemplary calm after that. Policemen were posted at almost all roads and crossings in the city as the police did not know which route would be taken by the union members taking out a protest march. Then there was a scheduled rally in DMC. Besides these, the Railway Unions also had announced a protest rally today. To cap it all, there was a well-understood tension in Khatti Mohalla where the deceased lived and at the old cremation ground near Daresi where his cremation was scheduled. After the late night police operation in the DMC where the policemen removed all arrangements for today's rally, the police attention shifted towards the Civil hospital, where the post-mortem examination of the deceased was conducted. Massive force was deployed there to prevent any untoward incident. Hundreds of people attended the cremation amidst wailing by close relatives. Heart-rending scenes were witnessed at the deceased's residence as well as the cremation ground. There was heavy presence of police force. After cremation the rallies began at the local railway station where Railway Unions carried out a protest march to express their solidarity with the DMC employees. Soon members of different unions collected outside the Mini Secretariat where a final rally was taken out. |
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Private
schools defy holiday notice Ludhiana, July 30 Authorities of private institutions said since no orders had been issued to them by the Deputy Commissioner or the District Education Officer, they were planning to continue to work normally. They said in case long power cuts were announced in the city by the Punjab State Electricity Board, they would manage to provide electricity through generators. Barring a few schools like Guru Nanak Public School at Sarabha Nagar, principals of all private schools, including Sacred Heart Convent Senior Secondary School, Kundan Vidya Mandir, BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, GGN Public School, Gupta Model School and New Senior Secondary School, have decided on keeping the schools open till they receive any written communication. Confused over the orders passed by the government, parents of the children studying in these schools were seen coming to the schools in large numbers this morning to enquire about the decision. In contrast, most of the government schools announced their holidays from today. Ms Harjinder Kaur, Headmistress at Government Senior Secondary School, Kheri Jhameri village, said the school would be closed till August 4. She said even though she did not have any written orders, she had read about it in dailies this morning and declared the closure. However, most of the aided schools were open today but they announced holidays from tomorrow till the end of this week. Mr O.P. Arora, Principal, Nauhria Mal Jain Senior Secondary School, Bharat Nagar, said since the entire staff and students had turned up this morning, it was decided to run the school but later they were told that the school would reopen on August 6. Meanwhile, most of the PU
colleges in the city that are aided would be closed from tomorrow onwards. However, several students continued to pour in this morning. Ms Madanjit Kaur Sahota, Principal, Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women, said the students and staff members who came this morning had to be sent back as it was decided by the committee members to abide by the Punjab Government’s decision to keep colleges closed. Ms Sahota, however, regretted that the college had opened last week and the things had just started to progress when these orders came in. She said while all teaching work would be shut down, administrative work would be held normally as several new students were coming to get their roll numbers and identity cards. |
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Siti Cable plays spoilsport Ludhiana, July 30 Inquiries revealed that the confrontation between the two parties was because of the alleged strange decision of the cable network to block channels of all operators because of non-payment of dues by a few cable operators. This has resulted in blocking of channels. The people are upset the most at the blocking of sports channels, particularly when a cricket match is on. The cable operators claim that more than 70 per cent of the operators had paid their dues but the Siti Cable network authorities were allegedly blackmailing and harassing them by blocking channels of all of them. The Siti Cable authorities, however, neither directly admitted this not outrightly denied these allegations. They say that this is business and channels are blocked as the Siti Cable has to pay the channel authorities. Cable operators say their blackmailing and harassment had reached the peak. They said more than 70 per cent operators had paid their dues but the Siti Cable was not releasing the channels saying it would be done only when the remaining lot too made the payment. Sources said the operators were sandwiched as on one hand they had to face the ire of subscribers and on the other the network authorities were harassing them. The sources said the operators had met the Siti Cable authorities and they were always saying that the channels would start soon. However, the channels were still blocked. Mr Ramesh Maini, president, Cable Operators Association, said he was aware of the problem and talks were on with the Siti Cable authorities. He also said the Siti Cable had said it would release channels to all operators who had paid the money. But unfortunately this had not been done so far. Mr Sunil Talwar, one of the Directors of Siti Cable Network, told the Ludhiana Tribune that they had to resort to such moves as the network had made the payments to the channels from its own pocket. He said he did not have a ready list of ‘defaulter’ operators but there were many. |
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LUDHIANA CALLING All those cops who believe that number 13 is unlucky have a strong example in their favour after the DMC employees-police debacle that took place on July 13. The date proved unfortunate on two counts. One, the cops are overbusy ever since then for providing security at the rallies or to catch the absconding employees. Many policemen and women had to sacrifice their off days and some others were directed to be on duty round-the-clock. Second, the DMC issue, especially the lathi-charge and the alleged police torture made a major dent in police’s image in the city. Ludhiana police was cultivating the image of being people-friendly but the way the DMC strike was handled, people have started calling it be close to a tyrant force. Fruits abound Farce sawan July is the month when most of the schools and colleges organise ‘Sawan’ festival. But there has hardly been any rainfall this month. Therefore, most of the educational institutions decided to do away with it. Such celebrations were held only in nursery and playway schools where kids had to be taught about monsoons using
artificial rains. Water sprinklers had to be set in school lawns for the purpose. Rubber mimics of frogs, grasshoppers and other insects which are normally seen in this season had to be arranged by the schools. Also, instead of teaching the kids songs to celebrate rainfall, they were made to perform prayers to the rain god.
Reclosed not reopened While a majority of the Panjab University colleges had re-opened a few days back and classes had just begun, these had to be closed once again due to orders by the Punjab government. This seems to be a setback to the authorities of most of the colleges who fail to find any logic in this decision. The college principals also rue that the orders were contrary to the statements made by the Education Minister as well as the Education Secretary during their recent visit regarding increasing the number of working days and cutting down on holidays. They feel that the colleges were starting their session with a bad omen but at the same time hope that things should work out in a cordial manner.
‘Experienced’ cops The injuries suffered by several cops in stone-pelting and rioting by the striking DMC unionists have put under scrutiny a special training of cops started in the Police Lines some months ago. Every Monday the cops were trained to tackle
rioting. Special focus was on how to save themselves from stone-pelting and rod and stick-wielding rioters. The hard training, however, proved of not much consequence as the policemen suffered a lot of injuries in the clash. Not to be discouraged, the Police Department called the incident as an enriching experience. The mistakes committed have been noted and training has been modified to prevent injuries in future.
Teej celebrations The Teej celebrations at the local Ladies Club assumed a very interesting dimension when the former president of the club was publically humiliated by the newly elected team. When the said ex-president tried to welcome the new team, some office-bearers asked the ‘dholi’ to play the dhol loudly so that she could not be heard. She felt bad obviously but welcomed the new team without being disheartened. “I was treated in such a manner because I openly questioned other members about the utilisation of funds”, she said, adding that to be daring nowadays was a crime.
Reliving the Raj days? Police brutality has been known since the pre-Independence days when Lala Lajpat Rai was lathi-charged to death while opposing the Simon Commission. Cases of police brutality are not uncommon, particularly in Punjab, where police has been used as an instrument by the ‘zimidars’ to oppress the rural poor. But in the case of the DMCH employees’ union versus the management of the hospital, the police more or less became an instrument of the latter to oppress the former. Hair-raising, one said as one went through reports of indiscriminate lathi-charge on nurses, journalists and the hapless pedestrians who got caught in the melee outside the hospital. A pregnant woman was lathi-charged and whisked away to the police station, humiliated there and sent to the prison. Police officers , assisted by the Deputy Commissioner, tried to pass the buck to the hospital management for ‘misleading’ them with concocted facts realising little that it was their responsibility to ensure tactful handling of the case. But sadly tact was thrown to the winds and sheer force was resorted to. The death of Mr Sat Pal, an electrician in the employment of the hospital for the past 25 years or so, yesterday in the CMC Hospital due to the police beating during the agitation, which speaks volumes , must be pondered over seriously by the police and others concerned in order to outline a less brutal strategy to deal with agitating employees.
Sentinel |
Arrest accused, demands dal Amloh, July 30 Employees of various departments of the district raised slogans against the local administration and the Punjab Government. The employees also held a dharna in front of the SDM’s office and a memorandum was given in which the arrest of the accused was demanded. Other demands included restoration of LTC, three instalments of dearness allowance, medical allowance and 40 per cent cut on commutation of salary. While addressing the dharna, it was declared by the state president that the organisation would launch a dharna on August 5 in front of DC’s office, Fatehgarh Sahib. Mr Karamjit Singh Bhagrana said he failed to understand why the police is silent to take actions against the persons named in the FIR. |
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For him, Krishan Kant lives on Ludhiana, July 30 “I was six-and-a-half years elder to Krishan Kant, but we went to the same school, the Government Primary School, in our ancestral village where Krishan Kant was a mediocre student. But he was an extraordinary person even at a tender age and did everything with conviction. It was this faith in himself that resulted in his success in later life,” recalls Mr M.L. Sharma, himself an author of several books and a recipient of many awards for teaching and writings in English literature. Mr Sharma recalls that once in Lahore, Krishan Kant lived in Lajpat Bhavan, the house of Lala Lajpat Rai, as Krishan Kant’s father, Lala Achint Ram, lovingly known Mahasha, was a very close friend of Lala ji. Lala Achint Ram rose to be a Member of Parliament. Krishan Kant first became a Governor and later Vice-President of India. He says Krishan Kant was unique from childhood, honest, tender hearted, sober, very honest. “Krishan Kant was so honest in life that he never exploited his position to help his other family members. His cousin sister Savitri lived in Chauni Mohalla, Ludhiana, while her daughter Raj taught at the local Modern School. Raj’s father was serving in an oil factory G.T. Road near Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women. Krishan Kant’s paternal uncle, Chacha Khushbakt Rai, was a primary school teacher. The entire family lived in abject penury,” says Mr Sharma whose house was less than 100 metres away from Krishan Kant’s house in Kot Mohammad Khan. Mr Sharma’s father and mother were good friends of the former Vice President’s parents and would often hold intellectual discussions which the young Krishan Kant would hear with great patience, recalls his octogenarian friend. A khatri by birth and Kohli by caste, the family of Krishan Kant strongly believed in Arya Samajic traditions and preferred not to use their surnames behind their names. Neither Krishan Kant nor his father took any dowry in their marriages, claims Mr Sharma. He says that Lala Achint Ram even married outside his caste. Despite being jailed on several occasions, the family members of Krishan Kant strongly believed in the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and followed and preached non-violence. Even though, Krishan Kant’s grandfather Lala Bhagwan Dass was a marginal farmer, one of his uncles, Mr Bihari Lal, educated his family that resulted in one of his sons becoming the Chief Admiral in the Indian Navy. Having left Kot Mohammad Khan village at the age of about 12, Krishan Kant later studied at Lahore and Banaras Hindu University. He seldom came to the village, while his grandfather lived in the village till his last days, claims Mr Sharma, who himself teaches English at the local Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Gujjarkhan campus. Mr Sharma recalls that Krishan Kant at an early age joined Vinoba Bhave and did social work as Vinoba Bhave’s assistant for several years. |
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Night power cuts irk residents Ahmedgarh, July 30 Following the publication of a report in Ludhiana Tribune regarding the untimely power cuts, the electricity department had stopped power cut at night for about four days but have now rolled back again. While the residents face ordeal during nights, some call it a politically motivated move. They fail to see any other logic behind the imposition of two-hour-long cuts at peak hours. The noise of generators in the middle of the nights add to their woes. The problem has been further aggravated by the increase in mosquito population due to stagnant water in paddy fields around the town. |
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Work on for revision of
electoral rolls Ludhiana, July 30 After a review of the work for revision of electoral rolls, Mr Prem Chand, Joint Commissioner in the Municipal Corporation, who is also the Electoral Registration Officer for the segment, said that door-to-door visit of the staff on duty would continue till August 14 by which date the enumeration was expected to be completed. Draft voter lists would be published on October 16. Claims and objections could be filed till October 31 and these would be decided by December 31. Final voter lists would be published on January 6, 2003. According to Mr Prem Chand, those attaining the age of 18 on January 1, 2003, were eligible to get themselves registered as voters during door-to-door survey by the enumeration staff. He made an appeal to representatives of all political parties and electorate in the city to cooperate with the staff on election duty so that the task of revision of electoral rolls was completed smoothly and in a comprehensive manner. |
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Rotary
Club
honours members Ludhiana, July 30 Established in 1952, the club is among the oldest in this part of the country and has many firsts to its credit. The club is involved in many social and awareness activities and it was in this context that a lecture on “Role of newspapers in a democratic society” was organised for the benefit of its members. Mr Prabhjot Singh, Chief of Bureau, The Tribune, was the chief guest. He enlightened the Rotarians. Mr R.D. Gera, president of the club presided over the proceedings with the secretary, Dr A.S. Bindra, also sharing the dias. Mr Prabhjot Singh said the role of the media had increased manifold in society in this information technology era. The role is always a challenging one as a newspaper has to cater to the needs of all the stratas of society. “A child, an adult or a senior citizen — all are our readers and to fulfill their needs is our job,” he pointed out. He later interacted with the guests and answered their queries. |
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Camp for scouts and guides concludes Amloh, July 30 Dr Raghbir Shukla stressed the need for launching a concerted awareness campaign against heinous practice of female foeticide, prevalent all over the country which has resulted in the decline of sex ratio, which will breed so many evils in society. He also expressed concern over the increasing trend of drug addiction among students. Mr Bela Singh, Assistant State Organisation Commissioner (ASDC), gave a brief history of the scout movement, importance of scout camps and their roll in the society. Mr Paramjit Lal district organising commissioner said the scout movement helps in the all-round development of the child. Mr Jagdish Parshad District Training Commissioner, said 80 boy-scouts and girl-guides from different schools of Fatehgarh Sahib District had participated in the inter-unit visit and school service project camp from July 27 to 30 . Speaking on the aims of the camp Mr Shamsher Singh Muraru, camp-leader said, the campers learnt to work with their hands, as it inculcated self-confidence and developed the quality of leadership in them. Mr Mukesh Kumar scout master, said 200 ornamental, shady, fruit and flower bearings plants were provided free of cost by forest department’s nursery at Amloh and were planted on the school premises. Regular monitoring of their growth and proper upkeep was assured by the local school unit. Among others Mr Baldev Singh Mianpur, state president Bharti Kisan Union, Mr Kahla Singh Baini, former chairman Market Committee Amloh, Mr Shamsher Singh Bhambri and Mr Avtar Singh also spoke on the occasion. Scouts and guides presented a cultural programme on the occasion. |
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NGOs’ help sought Ludhiana, July 30 |
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Cop assaulted Amloh, July 30 According to the police, Mr Balwinder Singh, head constable, was on duty at the Mandi Gobindgarh chowk, Amloh, yesterday, when he was allegedly attacked by them.
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Management association awards Ludhiana, July 30 Announcing this, Mr
V.K. Goyal, general secretary of the association, said Mr Nirmal Jain, director, Duke Group of Companies, has been selected for the LMA-Vardhman Entrepreneur of the Year award, Mr Hari
Jaisingh, Editor, Tribune group of publications, has bagged the LMA - Dayanand Munjal Award for excellent performance in creating public awareness towards an informed society. For LMA - Trident Young and Innovative Entrepreneur of the year award, Mr Kanwardeep Singh, chairman and managing director, Toubro Infotech and Industries Limited, has been chosen. The executive committee of the association has unanimously selected these award winners from the short-listed candidates forwarded to it by the Awards Committee of Ludhiana Management Association
(LMA), headed by Mr Sunil Kant Munjal after scrutinising various nominations. The awards shall be conferred at the annual day function of the association by Lt-Gen.
J.F.R. Jacob (retd), Hon'ble Governor of Punjab, on the 24th annual day function scheduled to be held in the second week of August. The awards have been sponsored by three leading industrial groups of Ludhiana, namely the Vardhman Group of Industries, the Hero Group of Industries and the Trident Group of Industries. |
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It may be a bad time in terms of weather. But as far as the variety of fruits is concerned, Ludhianvis cannot ask for more. The city markets are full of all kind of fruits from citrus fruits to apples. It started with mangoes some time ago and the city residents have relished various breeds of mangoes ever since. Then there was a short spell of peaches that lasted only for a few days. However; apricots, pears and plums from Himachal Pradesh continue to dominate the city markets. What has come as a special bonanza is the import of certain fruits like kiwi from New Zealand or even some other melons from Australia that have become the latest craze among the nouveau riche in the city.
