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| Thursday,
July 24, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Grief, anger as Katra victim’s body reaches home Angry voices were heard as the body arrived. People blamed the government for the situation. Much to their shock, the Katra killings were followed by the storming of an Army camp at Akhnoor near Jammu which left a Brigadier and seven jawans dead. A shocked father, Mr Gurmail Singh, told mediapersons that he had come to know about the tragedy late yesterday afternoon when some police personnel came looking for him after being asked to do so by the local administration. “The boy’s father was so numbed by the news of the death of his son that he hardly uttered a word for several hours until a photograph of the boy was placed on his lap”, a relative said . Gurpreet, a cousin of the deceased, was also injured in the grenade attack and is reported to be recovering in hospital. Some neighbours of the deceased said “Gurpreet was operated upon and grenade splinters were removed from his stomach. He is recovering in a hospital at Katra”. A neighbour said Harpreet’s mother Manjit Kaur escaped unhurt as she got up from the spot just before the attack. A wailing Manjit Kaur was heard telling relatives “why did it have to be my son? If Devi Maa wanted, she should have taken me instead”. Raju, a close relative of the deceased, said that many of them had read about the grenade attack in the newspapers, but it never struck them that the young boy was their own Harpreet.The district unit of the Shiv Sena yesterday submitted a memorandum addressed to the President of India, through the local Additional Deputy Commissioner, seeking President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir and cancellation of the bus service between Lahore and Delhi. The memorandum said under such circumstances it was not wise to operate a bus service between Lahore and Delhi when Pakistan was not cooperating with the peace process. It said innocent people were getting killed in Jammu & Kashmir despite the claims of the government that the situation had improved. The militants had demonstrated that they could strike wherever they wanted, it
said. The memorandum demanded that the Union Government should convey to Pakistan that no “misadventure” would be tolerated. It said though Pakistan was claiming to have extended a hand of friendship towards India, it had not stopped abetting terrorism. Cutting across party lines, leaders of the Congress, the SAD and the BJP, condemned the killing of pilgrims and the Army jawans. Senior BJP leader and MP, Lala Lajpat Rai, Akali leader Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal, DCC president, Jagmohan Sharma and senior vice-president of Pradesh Youth Congress Pawan Dewan in separate statements condemned the killings and said firm measures should be taken to prevent such incidents. They said the Jammu and Kashmir Government and the Central Governments should not show signs of weakness and should ensure that innocent people did not get killed. |
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Attacks
blamed on soft approach Ludhiana, July 23 Mr Yogesh Dewan and Mr Anil Kumar, secretary general and district chief of the front, said these attacks had occurred due to the inability of the government to deal with cross-border terrorism.
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Widow remarriages
by force alarm NCW Ludhiana, July 23 A similar study will be conducted on the fate of widows of farmers who committed suicide due to financial debt on the pattern of a study conducted on the fate of widows of Kargil martyrs. Dr Sudha
Malaiya, member of the National Commission for women, in charge of states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh, said here today that so far the NCW had reviewed 32 laws in the country and recommended appropriate changes to these with to safeguard the interests of women. Dr
Malaiya, who is on a two-day visit to Punjab for a first-hand account
of atrocities committed on women, visited the local Civil Hospital,
Working Women’s Hostel and other women’s institutions in the city.
She will make a one-day visit to Amritsar tomorrow. Dr Malaiya said
the commission was firmly opposed to any amendment of Section 498-A of
the Dowry Act. She said the Delhi High Court had opined that the
section was widely misused to involve relatives of the groom, but the
NCW thought otherwise. She said the NCW had written to all state
commissions for women to se The commission had also written to women officer manning police stations across the country to elicit their opinion on the issue. Dr Malaiya said most complaints received by the commission from Punjab were about dowry deaths, harassment for dowry against police personnel. “Contrary
to popular belief that dowry harassment is an issue among the lower
strata of society, it is the educated urbanites that form the bulk of
the accused,” she said adding that most complaints were received
from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Conceding that the NCW was a punitive authority, she said that recommendations by the NCW were morally binding on states. A major concern for the
NCW, in Punjab was female foeticide. However, she gave a clean chit to the state Health Department, saying that the NCW was by and large satisfied with the measures taken to curb female foeticide in Punjab. The state government had been asked to maintain a comprehensive data on Medical Termination of Pregnancy
(MTP) so that cases of female foeticide were detected and those indulging in the activity suitably punished. Dr Malaiya said she would be investigating into incidents of harassment of nurses at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital at Ludhiana at the hands of the police and the case of sexual harassment of Saru Rana at the hands of former Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala. She
exhorted the women from Punjab to approach the NCW for any violation
of rights. |
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Students
celebrate fee hike rollback Ludhiana, July 23 Members of the Ludhiana Students Union were distributing laddoos in front of the
Government College for Boys. The news spread like wild fire and the students had come in large numbers to celebrate what they term as “their victory”. Tanvir Singh Dhaliwal, president of the Ludhiana Students Union, said they were happy with the decision of the government but their struggle would continue until the Government reduced the fees of Government polytechnics and ITIs. Sandeep Kapoor, president of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP), said though the withdrawal of the fee hike was a welcome move, the agitation of the students would continue. The students want the Government to lift ban on students’ council elections and stop the commercialisation of education. Rohit, secretary of the ABVP, said the students marched from Arya College to Khalsa College for Women to celebrate their victory. Principals and College Managements feel that the rollback would bring back the students to colleges. At a meeting held by Capt Amarinder Singh yesterday, it was decided to rollback the fee hike following widespread agitation by students’ bodies. Mr Jiwan Ahuja, Principal of Arya College, and Ms Anup Kaur Bansal, Principal of Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, were happy with the decision. However, they have asked the government to admit fresh students without late fee. Mr V.P. Gaur, Principal of Government College, said all seats had been filled and the fee would be readjusted. |
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PAU entrance test results Ludhiana, July 23 Dr S.S. Chahal, Controller of Examinations, said the result could also be seen on the official website of PAU, www.pau.edu. He said the counselling of the selected students would be held on July 28. Nearly 24 students had applied for admission to four postgraduate courses in agricultural engineering, of whom 18 students had appeared in the test for the 19 seats of agricultural engineering on July 18. These included four seats each in Agro-Industrial Processing and Processing and Agricultural Structures and five seats seats each in Farm, Power and Machinery and Soil and water engineering. The response to entrance test for admission to postgraduate courses in Computer Engineering and Civil Engineering held on July 19 was much better as the number of appearing students was almost five times higher. Meanwhile, entrance test for 13 postgraduate courses in the College of Agriculture was held today. Nearly 151 students appeared for the test. Dr Chahal said MSc (Horticulture) was the preference of a majority of students appearing for the test. He said entrance test for MSc (Sociology), which was now a part of the College of Home Science, was also held today. With this, all entrance tests to be held for the current session were over, he said. |
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Councillor
assaulted in Mayor’s office Ludhiana, July 23 The police, claimed Mr Bharat Bhushan’s son had sustained an injury when Mr Puri struck him with a flower pot. Mr Puri was sitting in the Mayor’s room after a meeting of councillors of Zone-A when some persons led by Mr Bharat Bhushan entered the office and started abusing him for supporting the other party in a property dispute. Exchange of hot words led to exchange of blows. The Mayor summoned the police personnel to his office and told them to hand over the accused persons to the city police before the situation take an ugly turn. Mr Puri alleged that the accused nursed grudge against him for having lost the election to him from Ward No 66. The immediate provocation might have been his support to Bharat Bhushan’s brother in a property dispute. He said the miscreants not only abused him in the office of the Mayor, but also made an attempt on his life. “My clothes were torn. I sustained a head injury and my gold chain was snatched which was later returned to me by an employee of the Municipal Committee present at the spot.” Asked about the action taken against the accused persons, the Kotwali SHO, Mr Sadhu Singh, said investigations were in. The Mayor was not available for comment. |
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Teachers
resent poll duty Ludhiana, July 23 Mr Dhillon said the teachers would waste a day on collecting the required material and another on returning the same, a day after the cards were prepared. He said five days would be wasted on the entire procedure, affecting studies. He said such material was to be distributed in PUDA office yesterday and teachers were made to sit for hours. Finally, they had to return empty-handed. He asked the Deputy Commissioner to ensure punctuality among his officers and make sure that such an incident did not occurs. |
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PTDC down, but partners safe, says MD Ludhiana, July 23 The PTDC had floated membership of the PTDC ventures for Indians Indian and NRIs nearly two decades ago. The membership is transferable. “The memberships would be transferred along with all liabilities and assets,” Mr Puri said. He said the PRTC had lined up nine more of its ventures for disinvestment after a successful disinvestment of four ventures. The first phase of the disinvestment process has attracted 17 bidders and negotiations for the disinvestment of four properties was in an advanced stage. Mr Puri said the properties lined up for disinvestment included Gardena Tourist Complex, Kapurthala; Pinkasia Tourist Complex, Ropar; Gulmohar Tourist Complex, Pathankot; Malsouri Tourist Complex, Aam Khas Bagh; Sirhind; Sukhchain Tourist Complex, Jalandhar; Marigold Complex, Sanghol; Surajmukhi Complex, Khanauri; Tourist Complex, Faridkot; and some land at Dasuya. The PTDC has invited an ‘expression of interest’ from interested parties to take over these ventures with working restaurants and rooms. Three of these properties are. The government had retained the services of Karvy Investor Services to interact and negotiate with the interested parties. “It is only a matter of months before the PTDC becomes a thing of the past. Out of its 367 employees, 360 have already sought voluntary retirement Mr Puri said. However, the state government was not saying goodbye to the tourism industry and the Department of Tourism would continue to promote heritage centres. The Golden Temple at Amritsar was attracting more tourists than the Taj Mahal and in the process of being declared a world heritage monument. The corporation has lost Rs 12 crore in the past 25 years. Though the losses were not much, the government of Punjab took a policy decision to disinvest. Punjab had sought disinvestment of Amaltas in Ludhiana and Blue Well at Phagwara and written to the Forest Department in this regard. For pulling out of some other ventures, the corporation required the permission of the Central Government, which Mr Puri said would be obtained in the course. Among the properties lined up for disinvestment, there are six petrol pumps and disinvestment requires a no-objection certificate from the Union Government. |
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How TTEs take Railways for a ride Ludhiana, July 23 For example, if someone has to travel from Jammu to Ludhiana, he is supposed to pay Rs 126 for a sleeper class ticket. But if he purchases a general class ticket for Rs 75 for the same journey, he can travel in the general coaches only. It was found that most of the TTEs make passengers travel without ticket. Since the TTEs get changed in Ludhiana, they even take such passengers out of the railway station. But the TTEs do not do it for free. Between Jammu and Ludhiana, they charge Rs 100 for sleeper class if the passenger is without ticket and Rs 50 if he has a general class ticket. This way, the passenger has to pay less. Most of the passengers prefer to travel without ticket as this saves them Rs 25 and also the botheration of standing in a queue to purchase the ticket. This had come to the notice of the railway officials earlier and they had constituted flying squad teams which would randomly check the passengers. However, much to the dismay of the Railways, even flying squad officials seemed to have joined hands with the TTEs. During a train journey from Jammu to Ludhiana, this reporter was an eyewitness to such an incident. Around five officials, including two women, claiming to be the members of a flying squad, boarded the Malwa Express at Dasuya railway station. They started checking the tickets of the passengers. While they did not question the passengers with sleeper class tickets, those without ticket or with general class tickets were specifically asked whether they had paid anything to the TTE or not. Initially, some passengers were reluctant to tell the truth, but the flying squad officials started seeing the markings on the tickets which confirmed that the passenger had already paid the “balance” to the
TTE. And those without ticket were simply let off after the TTE verified that they had made the payment. Some passengers revealed that at times, they were allowed to sit in the AC compartments also for paying about Rs 200 instead of the routine Rs 100. They said it saved them time and trouble in procuring the ticket. |
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Kashmiris’ contribution to Ludhianvi culture Ludhiana, July 23 But that did not seem to deter them from their pursuit of excellence. Having been forced into exile and made to live like refugees in their own country, these people are spread across the length and breadth of India. And wherever they have gone, they have made their mark felt. Right from the Nehrus to Haksars and Dhars, Kashmiri Pandits were respected for their outstanding brilliance. Although there are not many Kashmiris in Ludhiana, but there number is not that too insignificant either. In fact, the Ludhiana hosiery industry owes its origin to Kashmiris. According to the Ludhiana District Gazetteer, during a devastating famine in the 19th century a number of Kashmiris migrated to Ludhiana. They are known world over for their handicraft skills. They started weaving woollen fabric here. Slowly the trade got popular and Ludhiana started to be identified with hosiery only. The Ludhiana District Gazetteer mentions, “In Ludhiana, woollen industry had a start on a very small scale. Woollen ‘chadars’ and shawls were manufactured by Kashmiri refugees, who had migrated and settled there consequent upon acute economic distress in the valley in the thirties of the 19th century. Superior pashmina shawls were also manufactured at Ludhiana”. The Gazetteer goes on further, “the emigrant Kashmiri labour had maintained the importance of handcrafts by manufacturing hand knit gloves and other woollen accessories, like, chadars, ‘shawls’ and ‘namdas,’ etc.” Even today there are a number of Kashmiris who are settled here. While before the Partition, when Ludhiana was a Muslim majority town, Kashmiri Muslims used to come here in great numbers, after the partition it was mainly the non-Muslims. Against the tradition of handicrafts, now the Kashmiri Pandits have been mostly involved in teaching, research and medicine. There are some famous Kashmiri doctors like Dr M.K. Mam, Head of the Department of Orthopaedics, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Dr T.K. Kaul, Head of the Department of Anaesthesia, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Dr Aruna Dhar, famous gyanaecologist, are a few examples. Besides, there are several Kashmiris who have made their mark felt in teaching profession besides banking, business and media. Dr Kaul said, “it has been possible for Kashmiris to settle and shine here only because of the cooperation of the local people who have been more than generous in accepting and accommodating us”. Dr Mam said in Ludhiana they never felt that they were in some alien land. “It looked like a home away from home,
as such is the warmth of people here”, he said. According to Dr G.S. Grewal of the SAS Grewal Mediscan Hospital, Kashmiris have a great capacity of
adaptability and adjustment. “They are intellectually sharp, hardworking, sincere and loyal that is why they are always welcome and acceptable everywhere”, he maintained. Dr Grewal, who himself has studied in Government Medical College, Srinagar, said. “It is education that is the prime asset of Kashmiris which has helped them to survive under hostile circumstances”. |
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Amendment
to labour laws opposed Ludhiana, July 23 Mr Kewal Krishan
Marwaha, vice-president of the sangh, cautioned the government against blindly following the policies of privatisation and disinvestment. Mr Pritpal Singh, president of the
PNGO, lashed at the government for “anti-labour” policies. Mr Nageshwar Singh, organising secretary of the sangh, said an awareness fortnight against the WTO regime would be held until August 9.
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Electric
crematoria soon in city Ludhiana, July 23 He said, under the Rs 19 lakh development project, the vacant land outside the crematoria would be developed as a parking lot. The green belt facing the cremation ground would also be beautified. The MC had already adopted a motion to have electric crematoria in the city and the Model Town Extension cremation ground would be the first to have this facility. Mr Sharma said, over the last year-and-a-half, the civic body had completed several ambitious projects like ‘water for all’ and the Dhuri line railway overbridge. Significant progress was achieved on many other projects like ‘elevated road’ and Dholewal flyover. He said the work on a flyover to replace Lakkar Pul would soon be resumed by the PWD, to which the required funds had already been released. The ongoing projects included installation of digital traffic lights and beautification of entry points, central verges and traffic islands, besides landscaping of Nehru Rose Garden and Rakh Bagh. The stone-laying ceremony was attended by prominent citizens of the area and functionaries of the Swami Vivekanand Swarg Ashram Trust like Mr Bhagat Ram, Mr Ram Parkash Bharti, Mr Makhan Singh Khurana and Mr B.D. Arora. |
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Capris, kurtis are in this monsoon Ludhiana, July 23 A faculty member of the National Institute of Fashion Designing (NIFD) here says girls have become very choosy about the colours to be worn in rainy days. “Blacks and whites are out. Bright shades — magenta, pink and orange — are in. Stretchable jeans are common. Girls wear these with short cotton kurtis. Kurtis can be worn for both casual and formal occasions.” “Though I love to wear salwar-kameez, for the rainy season capris and jeans are perfect. These look cool and one looks attractive, says a student of Khalsa College for Women, Neetu Anand. Not only dresses, but young women are also particular about the make-up, says Ms Indira Ahluwalia who runs a beauty clinic. “Women prefer light make-up during the monsoons. Light eye shadows with silver and golden highlighting are preferred. Water resistant lip colours are ideal. We are conducting seminars and workshops to teach students about convenient make-up and hair-styles for the monsoons.” |
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READERS WRITE OUR happiness knew no bounds when we read that the fee hike has been withdrawn, as we belong to a middle-class family. We wanted to pursue studies but after discovering that they will have to pay in thousands for it, our parents expressed their inability to finance our education. We are twins and our parents are broad-minded, who wanted to give us education, but had to give up the idea in the face of the tremendous hike. They had nurtured a dream that free education for girls will enable them to see us through college. The government is going to review restoring free education for girls and students from economically weaker sections. We the daughters of a tailor have every right to improve our future and hope that the government will restore free education for girls. One way of reducing the prejudice against girls is to educate them so that they can be self reliant. With economic freedom, probably, their parents will not consider them such a burden. Prerna and Rakhi Drive justified Nearly 90 per cent of the people are corrupt in every sphere of life, particularly in the public-dealing departments. It is disheartening to see the mad scramble to amass wealth by illegal means and even Class IV employees have joined the rush to possess flats, cars and palatial houses. The upright 10 per cent who resist temptation are treated as outcasts and labelled fools. There are instances of children rebuking their parents for chewing honesty. The drive to eradicate corruption is a step in the right direction and enjoys the support of all right-thinking persons of the state. Opposition to the drive is against the Constitution. Besides, it will lead to the collapse of federal structure since every state can act as it thinks proper. The people of the state have given a mandate in favour of anti-corruption campaign and any effort to hinder the legal process or the probe should be dealt with an iron hand. The hard-earned peace, stability, harmony, brotherhood should not be allowed to be disturbed. Let the law of the land take its course. R.R. Katyal
Bureaucratic functioning The system of bureaucratic working in our country which is not at all transparent. Since laws, bylaws and other rules and regulations are not clear and specific, officials use these to harass people. Some officials are using these to amass wealth. There is a dire need to make rules and regulations transparent so that public cannot be harassed. It is high time we start thinking in the national interest and give up our individual and vested interests. Surinder Singh
Facilities at new court complex The new court complex was inaugurated with great fanfare, but it is bereft of facilities for the handicapped and the elderly. The lifts are not working and the offices of the lawyers are housed on the fourth, fifth and sixth floors. One can imagine the plight of an elderly litigant who has to climb the stairs to meet his lawyer. Not only this, there is no sitting arrangement for the senior citizens. They have to fend for themselves and god help them if their lawyers is still functioning from the old court complex, three to four km away. It is understandable that the judiciary is overworked, but the shifting could have been delayed till the facilities at the new complex were complete. Joginder Pal Singh |
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Tributes
paid to Azad Ludhiana, July 23 Mr Chander Shekhar Sahota, President of the Block Congress Committee, described the martyr as a brave and fearless freedom fighter who inspired lakhs to join the struggle for freedom. Mr Joshi, addressing party workers, said the real tribute to martyrs would be to maintain a vigil against anti-national and disruptive elements. Lala Jiwan Kumar, Mr Dina Nath Sidhu, Mr Sarbjit Bunty, Mr Rajinder Sharma, Mr Rakesh Hans, Ms Sandhya James, Mr Sudhir Sharma, Mr Parveen Grover, Mr Krishan Lal Malhotra, Mr Jeewan Keyarpal and Mr Jagdish Gill also attended the function. |
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Woman held with opium Ludhiana, July 23 Fraud alleged:
The complainant had alleged that the accused had purchased cloth from him sometime ago and had given him a cheque. But the cheque was not honoured by the bank concerned on January 10. He approached the accused and demanded money at which the accused started threatening him. No arrest has been made so far. Hit-and-run case:
The Division No. 5 police on Tuesday registered a case under Sections 279 and 338 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Pal Singh, a resident of a village near Amargarh in Sangrur district, against an unidentified person riding a Bullet motor cycle. The compliant had alleged that the motor cycle rider hit him at Bharat Nagar chowk on Tuesday and sped away from the scene leaving him injured on the road. No arrest has been made so far. Assault cases:
The Jodhewal police has registered a case under Sections 323, 451, 506 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Ms Sarabjit Kaur, wife of Mr Randeep Singh, a resident of Mohalla New Shakti Nagar, against Manjit Kaur, Kirpal Singh and Raju. The complainant had alleged that the accused came to her house on Tuesday, beat her up and ran away. The accused also threatened her, added the complainant. No arrest has been made so far. Another case of assault was registered at the same police station on the statement of Ms Jamila, wife of Mohammad Jasil, a migrant from Uttar Pradesh, now living in Shakti Nagar against Gobind, a resident of the same locality. The woman had alleged that the accused intercepted her on the road, beat her up and threatened her. No arrest has been made so far. Eve-teaser booked:
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‘Sleep ins’ comes to city Ludhiana, July 23 ‘Sleep ins’ is a concept product.
Mr Pradhuman Sabharwal and Ms Rasna Sabharwal, local franchise holders of ‘Sleep ins’, said they had studied the market trend in this segment of fashionwear and were optimistic about its
acceptability.
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Ludhiana, July 23
