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| Thursday,
October
2, 2003,
Chandigarh, India
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FCI to procure 35 per cent of paddy Jagraon, October 1 Mr Prasad said he had visited around a dozen mandis in Ropar,
Fatehgarh Sahib and Ludhiana, including Asia’s biggest mandi at Khanna, today to supervise the paddy procurement operations. He said that the quality of paddy during this season was very good and the FCI had made elaborate arrangements of bardana, storage and crates and the required staff had already reported for duty at their place of posting. He appealed to the farmers to harvest only the fully ripe crop and directed the arhtias to ensure the proper cleaning of the produce so that the paddy of the state could be bought under the excellent quality norms. Mr Anurag Verma, Deputy Commissioner, who accompanied the Senior Regional Manager, earlier launched the paddy procurement operation at Jagraon along with Mr. Gurcharan Singh Galib, MP, Ms Simarjot Kaur, DFSC, and other officers. They visited nine mandis and monitored the auction process. He informed that the administrative machinery had been fully geared up to ensure the efficient procurement and all the SDMs, Tehsildars and BDPOs had been directed to personally visit the mandis daily and redress the problems of the farmers on the spot. The Deputy Commissioner said that the procurement had been started almost in all the mandis in the district and sufficient bardana, staff, labour contracts, cleanliness, and storage places etc in all the 99 mandis in the district were fully in order. Mr Verma said that in some of the mandis, the farmers were bringing unripe paddy with higher moisture than the fixed 18 per cent and the procurement agencies were unable to purchase such heaps. He appealed to the farmers to only harvest fully ripe paddy and not operate the combines during the night time from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. He said that SDMs and other officers had also been directed to strictly check the night operation of the combines and strict action against the violators. The DC visited the mandis at Jagroan, Leelan, Sidhwan Bet, Bhani Araian, Bhundari, Sawaddi and Salem Tabri. Others present on the occasion included Mr Harmohinder Singh, President DCC (R), Mr Darshan Singh Brar, a former minister, Mr Gurmit Singh, SDM, Jagraon, Mr Gurdeep Singh Bhani, Mr Vipan Kapoor, DMO, and Mr Darshan Singh Birmi. LUDHIANA: Punjab Minister for Jails, Housing and Urban Development Malkiat Singh Birmi formally inaugurated the government procurement of paddy at the Sahnewal grain market on Wednesday. While interacting with farmers, he assured that the government would ensure the efficient and smooth procurement of the paddy in all mandis and warned that stringent action would be taken against the employee who tried to harass the farmers. He told them that all the officers concerned had been directed to ensure the daily purchase of all the paddy heaps arriving in every mandi of the state and also make foolproof arrangements for their quick shifting to the shellers. The state government has deputed all the SDMs and tehsildars in the mandis to supervise the procurement operations and solve the problems of the farmers on the spot, he added. Mr Birmi also strongly criticised the NDA government for its step-motherly treatment towards Punjab farmers and alleged that the Centre, in connivance with former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, had deliberately delayed the procurement process by 10 days which had caused huge losses to the farmers who had to sell their produce at the lesser
ratters than MSP.
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No respite from dengue Ludhiana, October 1 Dr Ajit Chawla, District Epidemiologist, said: “Due to the ongoing strike at the DMCH, department officials had to face a lot of problems while collecting the data of the patients. But the condition of the patients is said to be stable”. Five patients were reported at Christian Medical College and Hospital, out of which one patient had died. Three patients are still admitted while one has been discharged. Dr Satish Jain, Medical Superintendent, Mohan Dai Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation has said the hospital had recently started the diagnosis and treatment facilities for dengue fever. “There has been a sudden spurt of dengue cases in the city. To tackle the problem, the hospital has started facilities like cell separator, platelet transfusion and kits for diagnosing the disease. A separate isolation ward has also been set up for the patients”, said Dr Jain. According to health officials, Batala still remained in the grip of dengue. “Majority of the fresh dengue cases at the DMCH have been reported from Batala. The 30 cases reported from the city, are the sporadic cases. We cannot say that there is a dengue epidemic in the city”, claimed one of the health officials. Meanwhile, 30 fresh cases of gastroenteritis have been reported from Giaspura locality. Dr S.S. Dhir, Senior Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, who is looking after the camp hospital at the sight said: “There has been a little respite in gastroenteritis cases. Health workers are on the job round the clock. The chlorine tablets and ORS packets are continuously being distributed among area residents. The water samples are being taken and the situation is now under control”. |
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Building
violations under vigilance scanner Ludhiana, October 1 This was stated by Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the Local Government A.K. Kansal in an interview with Ludhiana Tribune here today. He said after massive violations of building bylaws had come to light in Amritsar, the Municipal Town Planner (MTP) and Assistant Town Planner (ATP) allegedly responsible for the bungling, had been placed under suspension. The Vigilance Department was conducting probe against 42 civic employees all over the state and during the past one year, as many as 65 employees and officials were chargesheeted for various irregularities. "The Vigilance Department had also directed the MC authorities in Ludhiana to take cognizance of commercial complexes being put up near Dandi Swami on Old DMC Road and Bagh Wali Gali in Chaura Bazar, allegedly in contravention of bylaws. Both these buildings, having committed non-compoundable violations, were partially demolished." Mr Kansal confirmed that departmental action had been recommended against the MTP and ATP in the city for compounding third and fourth floor of a neurocentre in an upmarket area and construction of a hotel near Mini-Secretariat on the Ferozepore Road in contravention of the building bylaws and rules. Among the complaints, which the CVO was to look into during his visit, were illegal gratification received by two employees in the house tax branch of the MC and irregularities in tenders for premix carpeting of the city roads, valued at Rs 4.40 crore. Senior officials of the B and R branch told the CVO that the said tenders had already been cancelled and ordered to be recalled. Statements of the complainants in alleged corrupt practices by the house tax employees were recorded by the vigilance officials for further action. Mr Kansal later inspected some commercial complexes in different parts of the city to see for himself the extent of demolition of the alleged non-compoundable violations of building bylaws. |
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Youth’s bid to commit suicide Ludhiana, October 1 Sources said that at around 12:30 a.m. last night, the family members were sleeping when they heard a shot. They rushed to the youth's room only to find that he had tried to kill himself. He was rushed to the hospital. The youth is unmarried and his father is a noted industrialist having his hammering unit on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana road. The family could not tell the reason for his bid on life. He used his licensed pistol and could fire only one bullet. The police is yet to register a case.
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Gandhi’s memorial cries for attention Phillaur, October 1 It seems that the place has never been looked after. It comes alive only on the death and birth anniversary of the Mahatma every year when various leaders of different political parties make a beeline to the place to pay tributes to him. Residents of Phillaur, who have been seeing the memorial for the past several years, say the civic administration and some political leaders used to maintain the memorial in the past, but it has been ignored since the construction of the new bridge on the river. Not many people in Ludhiana and Phillaur know about the place in their district where ashes of the adored national leader were immersed. While the authorities of the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, had claimed two years ago that they would take the responsibility of cleaning the place, nothing has happened Old timers recall that they used to come to the place for morning and evening walks, but all that is lost now. A visit to the memorial today revealed that there were no caretakers for the place as it was littered all over and stray dogs were seen sitting inside it. It seemed as if the place had never been cleaned. The lawns were not maintained. The board telling the historic importance of the place has been eaten up, partially by rust. Set up against the scenic background of the Sutlej in February 1948 after the Bapu’s death, the calm and serene environs of the samadhi were quite an attraction for residents of Phillaur town, the inmates and visitors of the Punjab Police Academy and the tourists visiting the place but with the deterioration of the place , very few people visit it now. The memorial was constructed here as the place was selected by the then Union Government for the immersion of ashes of Gandhiji. He had wished that his ashes should be spread in different parts of the country. The place was just beside the then GT road bridge over the Sutlej. However, with the passage of time, the bridge became too narrow to cope up with the ever increasing traffic and another bridge was constructed at a distance. This shifted the focus from the memorial also. Today it is almost in a jungle. The civil administration sources said they were helpless about the matter as the samadhi was maintained by an organisation called Vayu Raksha Brigade. However, there was no information about the address of the organisation or its members. |
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Gandhi Jayanti celebrated Ludhiana, October 1 Ms Kanchan Kaur, Principal told the students about life and teachings of
Gandhiji. Prizes were distributed among students by Prof Vijay Sheel Jain. |
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Navratras
celebrations by Gujaratis Ludhiana, October 1 Many young Gujaratis born and brought up here do not know the fine points of Gujarati dances, as they know more about Bhangra compared to “dandiya ras”. So the seniors decided to celebrate Navratras in the way they celebrate back home. For this purpose, Gujarati families living in Ludhiana for the past few years have taken time to celebrate Navratras in the traditional manner and teach their children various steps of dancing. What better way than to dress in typical “chaniya choli” studded with mirror work and boys dressed in traditional Gujarati attire. The temple came alive with the clanging of dandias in a rhythmical manner. The women felt nostalgic about the nine days of unbridled fun, and thrill of Navratras back home. Geetika said it seemed that during nine nights, they had develop wings as they swirl and twirl the whole night without getting tired. “We are glad, we have made a beginning in Ludhiana.” Raaz Thakur is the force behind getting the Gujarati Samaj together and is trying to motivate the boys to shun their indifference to wards the traditional dance. He is coaxing boys to wear typical Gujarati dresses during these nine days. Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Mr Raaz Thakur said that “dandia” will continue for five nights in the temple. Last year it was on a smaller scale but this year it has been expanded. Shri Gujarati Samaj had got a chance to be together and enjoy themselves in the same way they do at home. Moreover, our younger generation has to learn and appreciate its own culture. |
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Durga Puja begins Ludhiana, October 1 “The venue will be near Gol Market, opposite FCI godwon, Jamalpur Colony. The Pujas will include Maha Saptami Puja, Maha Ashtami Puja, Sandhi Puja, Maha Navami Puja, Maha Dashmi Puja and Darpan Bisarjan,” Mr Malay said. Shri Sarbojanin Lakshmi Puja and Shri Shri Sarbojanin Kali Puja will be held on October 24, respectively. |
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PAN card shows discrepancies Ludhiana, October 1 He said that he was disappointed at the style of working of government undertakings and their employees, who had made a mockery of such an important document. He added that he had already filled in numerous papers and attached many documents while applying for the PAN card and he would have to do it again. He also said that he did not even know when would he receive it now. |
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LMA silver jubilee function Ludhiana, October 1 Mr Goyal said Mr Tejendra Khanna, Chairman, Ranbaxy Laboratories, would speak on ‘Ethical professionalism and global competitiveness’. He said this year three coveted awards namely LMA-Vardhman Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2002, LMA-Dayananad Munjal Manager of the Year 2002 and LMA-Trident Young Innovative Entrepreneur of the Year 2002 would be given. Announcement of the award winners would be made at the function. A large number of industrialists, entrepreneurs, bureaucrats, management professionals and students will attend the function. |
Lottery sellers rounded up Ludhiana, October 1 According to sources, some of the lottery sellers were indulging in ‘satta’ and ‘darra’ bets apart from booking various numbers of lotteries on a plain paper in lieu of the printed tickets. Today’s raid gains significance from the point of view of maintaining law and order in the city in the wake of recent incidents of robberies allegedly by members of the ‘kale
kachhewale’ gang and also by other gangs of robbers and drug-addicts. It may be mentioned here that in a recent robbery, one of the robbers was desperately looking for a bit of opium while his companions were searching the house for valuables. Since the top priority with the police at present is to curb the crime rate, it is following a multi-pronged strategy to deal with the situation. Cinemas are being raided and the migrants are being frisked. Colonies with concentration of migrants are being raided and kept under watch. Clusters of lottery sellers in various colonies are also being watched for, it is difficult for these petty criminals with their ill-gotten wealth to avoid the lure of lottery. After the comforts of a cinema hall, a busy lottery market in the city is the next best choice for the petty criminals who want to be part of the crowd for obvious reasons. According to sources, the current campaign against the criminal elements among the migrant population of the city would continue till the festive season is over or the law and order situation returns to normal.
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Five booked for defying Magistrate’s order Ludhiana, October 1 Theft:
Assaulted:
Forgery case:
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Cycles’ consignment sent to Japan Ludhiana, October 1 “With a view to supplying high-end bicycles to developed markets of the world, Hero Cycles had established a unit at Mangli which was a state-of-the-art factory, conforming to world standards. The company aimed at making Hero Cycles a reliable supplier, meeting expectations of demanding markets,” the spokesperson added. |
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Bicycle
given to lucky winner Ludhiana, October 1 Speaking on the occasion, Mr Brahm Dutt Kaushik, manager of the filling station, said the BPCL petro card, available at a one time entry fee of Rs 250, entitled the holders to a vast range of rewards, based on petro-miles earned for purchases of fuel and lubricants. |
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