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Court orders auction of Circuit House land Ludhiana, October 28 The court has fixed October 30 for auctioning about 692 sq yrd of the Circuit House land. The orders were issued by Mr Baldev Singh Sodhi, Additional District Judge-cum-Land Acquisition Tribunal, Ludhiana, in connection with the execution applications filed by 12 persons of Mundian village. Before passing the orders, the court had granted ample opportunity to the Industries Department, Punjab, to make the payment, but it did not do so. To provide justice to the litigants, who had been making rounds of the courts for a long time, the judge had earlier ordered to attach the land of the Circuit House. Following orders of the court, the said property had already been attached. But even after the attachment, the payment was not made. Hence the court has ordered for auctioning the property of the Circuit House. The Industries Department had acquired the land of several farmers at Mundian village through its Land Acquisition Collector. The department had paid the price of the land to the farmers as assessed by the Land Acquisition Collector. The villagers were not satisfied as, according to them, the collector had fixed the rate of their property on the lower side. Thereafter, they approached the court for enhancement of the rate of their land. Convinced with their submissions and taking into consideration the evidence, the court enhanced the compensation. But the farmers could not get the entire enhanced compensation and other financial benefits awarded by the court. So, they filed execution applications in the court for execution of earlier orders. The executions applications were filed by Mr Nazar Singh, Ms Jas Kaur, Ms Gurcharan Kaur, Mr Baljit Singh, Mr Bant Singh through their representatives, Mr Karam Singh, Ms Paramjit Kaur, Mr Gurdial Singh, Mr Atma Singh, Mr Bhagat Singh, Ms Bishno and Mr Dema (Deva Singh). |
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Punjabi youths languish
in Pakistan jails Ludhiana, October 28 Mr Sital Dass Kaler, case coordinator of the outfit who is also the chief of the Guru Ravidass Mission in Canada, said he had visited Pakistan and had filed a review petition through Advocate Abdul Hamid Rana in the Supreme Court in the case of Sarabjit Singh of Bhikhiwind village in Tarn Taran, who has been sentenced to death for engineering bomb blasts in Pakistan. He said he has met Sikh youth in the Kot Lakhpat Jail where he has been incarcerated for the past 14 years and was convicted recently. Sarabjit told him that he had been convicted as one Manjit Singh and his pleas to the government to seek the necessary documents proving his claim from his family in India had been turned down by the court. Mr Kaler said Sarabjit was arrested by the police after he had strayed into Pakistan in an inebriated condition. At that time he was thrown into prison and his identity was not established. He was tortured and made to sign some blank papers and that was the last he heard from the authorities. Sarabjit was shocked to learn that he had been sentenced to death in the bomb blasts case, Mr Kler informed. He said it was after learning of such instances that the South Asian Human Rights Association had taken it upon themselves to plead the cases of the youth and secure their early release from Pakistani jails. Besides Sarabjit, they had drawn a list of such persons and had started the groundwork, he added. He said those identified so far include Jagwinder Singh of Himmatpura village near Dasuya, Avtar Singh of Nadala near Kapurthala, Balbir Chand of Sansauli near Hoshiarpur. All of them have been forcibly converted to Islam and are now known as Mohammad Ali, Ghulam Mohammad and Babbar Khan, respectively. All victims of unscrupulous travel agents, the trio narrated their tales of woes and appealed to him to take up their case with the Indian authorities and secure their release as they were being tortured and ill treated in the prison. A similar appeal has been made by the Vishawguru Ravidass Mission chairman Jaswant Kataria. Both the governments should take up the matter in earnest, they added. |
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DGP to hold inquiry into Mehta case Ludhiana, October 28 The inquiry was ordered following a complaint by Amarjit Singh, real uncle of the two accused, Jaswinder Singh, alias Pala, and Sukhbir Singh, who had alleged before the commission that a false attempt to murder case had been registered at the behest of the Congress leader. They alleged that the SHO and senior police officials did not listen to them and were allegedly working under the pressure of Parminder Mehta. Taking cognizance of the complaint, Justice R.L.Anand, member of the Human Rights Commission, observed: “The allegations prima facie constitute violation of human rights within the meaning and definition of Section 2(d) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. Keeping in view the serious allegations levelled by the complainant, an inquiry in the matter is entrusted to the DGP of the commission, who shall send his report by the next date of hearing.” Interim directions have also been issued to the SSP Ludhiana who will see the viability for replacement of Gunman Jasvir Singh, attached with Mr Parminder Mehta, the commission observed. A copy of the order has also been sent to the SSP Ludhiana for issuing necessary directions to their subordinates to extend full cooperation to the inquiry officer. It may be recalled that on the complaint of gunman of Parminder Mehta, the Division No. 2 police had registered a case under Sections 307 and 34 of the IPC and 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act against three boys. Thereafter, the Additional Sessions Judge, Justice S.M.S. Mahal, had granted anticipatory bail to accused Gagandeep Singh and Sukhbir Singh with the observation that the applicability of Section 307 (attempt to murder) was debatable. Even the third accused, Jaswinder Singh, alias Jatinder, alias Pala, was granted a regular bail by the court. The complainant had alleged before the commission that Gagandeep Singh, son of late Paramjit Singh, was playing cricket on October 18, 2003 at 5 pm with his friends in the ground opposite Civil Hospital, Ludhiana. It was then that an altercation broke out between him and Parminder Mehta. Parminder Mehta and his gunman Jasvir Singh started hurling abuses at him. The gunman of Mr Mehta fired three shots and one of the shots hit the leg of Pala, who was also present there, but he escaped unhurt. Mr Mehta then slapped the applicant and the brother of the applicant and threatened them with dire consequences. Mr Mehta and his gunman immediately lodged an FIR, although no licensed revolver was used by them, added the complainant. |
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Major fire in dyeing factory Ludhiana, October 28 Though sources in the Fire Brigade Department said it was difficult at this stage to ascertain the exact reason but it was believed that a short circuit in the electrical wiring had led to sparking and putting on fire the stock of highly inflammable polyester yarn in the factory. According to the owners of the factory, the fire was detected at around 11.15 a.m. and soon the blaze engulfed the major portion of the factory. Though the first fire tender had reached the site in no time, yet the entire machinery worth Rs 15 to 20 lakh and huge stock of yarn had been converted into ashes. The total loss caused by the fire was, however, being assessed. A large number of workers and the administrative staff managed to leave the building and no damage to the human lives was done, added one of the directors of the company. Later in the day, there was another incident of a minor fire in a residential house in Urban Estate. Furniture, furnishings and some household articles were damaged but timely arrival of the fire fighting staff brought the fire under control within minutes. The fire staff of the Municipal Corporation has been on high alert for the past few days keeping in view of Divali. There were more than 30 incidents of fire on Divali night whereas last year the number was a little more. The fire officials claimed that about 90 employees and officials of the Fire Department were on high alert and the entire fleet of 30 fire tenders in a state of readiness to rush to the spot without wasting any time. Moreover, all fire hydrants and for water supply pipes, particularly in the thickly populated and congested areas of the old city were checked to make sure that these were functional. |
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IndusInd Bank opens branch in Dubai Ludhiana, October 28 He further disclosed that the Dubai representative office aimed at consolidating the bank’s service capabilities for its non-resident Indian and High Net worth clients, apart from strengthening its Gulf-based correspondent banking network for mutually-beneficial business opportunities. The bank official disclosed that the IndusInd Bank was in its 10th year of operation, during which time it had established itself as a wholesale bank with a balance sheet size of Rs 9,901 crore (USD 2.08 billion) and foreign exchange business turnover of Rs 57,803 crore (USD 12.17 billion). Announcing the opening of the Dubai representative office, IndusInd Bank Managing Director Mr Bhaskar Ghose issued a statement in Mumbai that was released here today stating that India now featured very clearly on the investment radar-screen of international entities, given the robust growth of the Indian economy and the country’s judiciously-liberal advancement towards globalisation, positioning India for a GDP growth rate of 8 per cent p.a. in the coming years. The objective of the bank’s presence in Dubai is to improve its service for its Gulf-based NRI clients and to focus on international business opportunities between the Gulf and the Indian region. The opening of our representative office will boost opportunities in the private and investment banking areas, the statement adds. The Ludhiana Bank branch head said that IndusInd would focus on the remittance business as well, high relationships with exchange houses based in the Gulf. It would work towards tie-ups selected local banks for the creation of cross-border assets and liabilities for mutually-beneficial business growth. The bank also planned to open its London office soon to spread its service network to Europe. IndusInd Bank has a strong relationship with 229 correspondent banks all over the world that facilitates international trade and settlement of payments. The bank has entered into electronic money-transfer arrangements with Money gram International Limited, USA and Zoha Inc, also of the USA. This facilitates remittances from overseas. |
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This Divali, many city residents were pleasantly surprised to receive bouquets of flowers from none other than the Minister of State for Printing and Stationery, Mr Rakesh Pandey, with a personal message. The gesture has been very well received, especially by those who have been spearheading a campaign to de-commercialise the festival. ‘Cementing’ bridge The delay in the completion of bridge on the GT Road connecting Jagraon Bridge to Chand Cinema has got delayed beyond the time frame and is now causing a lot of resentment among residents. But what is most interesting is that the past few days have seen the replacement of boards on the construction site that read “completion date: 25-10-2003” with boards that read “the bridge is being built with Ambuja cement”. Though city residents feel “enlightened” with the information, they still have no clue to the tentative completion date of the elevated road project.
Lottery boom Everyone desires to become rich overnight. When Maa Lakshmi Divali Pooja Bumper announced that it would give out Rs 2 crore in its next draw, the rush to buy tickets at Rs 100 each was unprecedented. Rumours in the market were that a ticket from an agent in Ludhiana would prove lucky. Following this, city resident started receiving calls from friends and relatives in other cities asking them to buy tickets for them. Whether they prove to be lucky or not is a different matter, but Ludhiana lottery agents surely have had a good sale.
When 1,100 couples got married at a mass marriage ceremony at Baddowal, contrary to the expectation that it would be tough to manage the would-be brides and grooms, the organisers had a tough time managing the photographers who accompanied each couple. There were 1,100 photographers at the venue and the only option the organisers had was to queue them up and give them one opportunity to take a picture of the couple they were accompanying.
Fling thing In olden days extramarital affairs in the city were looked down upon and considered to be a thing that happened only in places like Mumbai where people associated with Bollywood were believed to be predisposed towards such flings. But with money flowing into the city along with industrialisation, extramarital affairs have become a common thing. In fact now people in close circles openly boast of their affairs. One wonders what is happening to a society that on the one hand boasts of teachings from the Vedas, while on the other makes no bones about acts that are looked down upon by the social system.
Oye Mayor...! The Minister for Higher Education, Mr Harnam Das Johar, known for his antics, provided a lot of comic relief at a state-level function to mark the Vishvakarma Day in the city. In the midst of his speech, which comprised a lot of critical references to the working of the Municipal Corporation, when Mr Johar found that the City Mayor, Mr Nahar Singh Gill, was constantly talking to the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, he admonished him by saying: “Oye Mayor, dhiyan edher kar” (Hey Mayor, pay attention to me).
Get facts right Mr Harnam Das Johar, Minister for Higher Education, does not let go of any opportunity to castigate the civic administration. Not for the first time, he again challenged the claim of the MC of providing 100 per cent water supply to the city population at a function where Capt Amarinder Singh was also present. He said the claim was far from being true since almost one third of the city people, residing in “undeclared” colonies were still to get piped water supply. He conveniently forgot that the MC’s claim pertained only to the declared areas of the city. Similarly, in the context of corruption prevailing in the MC, he observed that money was changing hands in the sanctioning of building plans of the city in “unapproved” colonies whereas the fact is that there is no provision to entertain applications for approval of building plans in such areas of the city.
Cleaner Divali This Divali, it was in stark contrast to the traditional fireworks and bursting of crackers associated with the festival of lights as the city residents seem to have realised the havoc that they were wreaking through tonnes of fire crackers burst on Divali night. With the retail sale of crackers having been confined to a few places far away from the main city and the overall sale dropping by an estimated 50 per cent, it was a massive relief for environmentalists and those showing concern for the alarming pollution level. Scores of social and religious bodies, as well as quite a few educational institutions, had also played a pivotal role in motivating children against bursting crackers and making the city a bit more clean and green.
No celebration, this! On Divali night around 1am, while the crackers were still being burst and the drunken drivers were driving recklessly and posing grave threat to other commuters, a young couple was carrying mounds of waste cardboard boxes and other papers over their head, oblivious of dangers of walking that late on quite a lonely road. While others were enjoying, this couple was busy collecting from the roadside all the waste material they could so that they could sell it the next day. What a stark contrast!
Tall order Gastroenteritis has afflicted a number of people after Divali. The city doctors are having a brisk practice on this account. People during Divali tend to eat more than their share of sweets, perhaps kept in the open and not handled by clean hands, and to quench their thirst drink probably not so clean water. People are already exhausted preparing for Divali and gastroenteritis further weakens them. The moral of the story is that even during festivals one should be moderate in eating and drinking. Though it is tall order, it is the only way to stay fit.
Scary functions Various functions like sports day, Independence Day, Republic Day, swimming parties, etc. organised at city playway schools seem to have started haunting the parents nowadays, as they have to shell out a good amount of money from their pockets to make their little ones “fully dressed”. Recently, one such school organised a sports day and young students were asked to wear white shirts, trousers and sports shoes. “The day meant an expenditure of Rs 800. But then I decided not to send my child to the school. The day passed and my money was saved”, said a mother.
Card obsession While Divali has just passed, many women in Ludhiana still seem obsessed with playing cards. Recently, a president of a ladies’ club, who is also a principal of a school, sent a press note regarding awareness rally being organised by its students. While the principal intended to mention that the children were carrying “placards”, she inadvertently wrote it as “play cards”.
Retake Last week, the elementary wing of the District Education Department had organised 22nd District Sports for students of primary classes. On the concluding day, Dr Jagtar Singh Khattra, DPI (elementary), had been invited as chief guest at Government Senior Secondary School for Boys, Jawahar Nagar. While the school had two gates, one of these was decorated tastefully with flowers and rangoli for the chief guest. As teachers, senior officials and organisers stood at the gate with garlands to welcome Dr Khattra, the vehicle of the DPI entered through the other gate. As Dr Khattra stepped out of the vehicle, he was requested to make the entry from the other gate so that he could be accorded a formal welcome.
Rare honour It really was a rare honour for the winners of the District Sports Meet
organised by the elementary wing of the District Education Department. While all VIPs and teachers were made to sit on chairs, winners of the event were made to sit down on mattresses. Even when the members of the winning teams of kabaddi and kho-kho were to be given mementoes, no names were announced and no mementoes were given to them individually. Instead, in a rare honour, all mementoes of a team were packed in a polythene bag and handed out to them on the stage.
Tailpiece A few days ago, Ludhiana Tribune received a fax from outstation. It read: “Rich ‘Tribunes’ were paid to the martyrs at a function”. “Tribunes” was repeated a couple of times instead of “tributes”. Sentinel |
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Rise in violence among children Ludhiana, October 28 Dr Rajeev Gupta, a city-based psychiatrist, said drug abuse among children between the age group of 13-16 years was increasing with each passing day. It was one of the major reasons of violence among children. Children were getting hooked on to drugs like narcotics painkillers, cough syrup, use of “bhang”, opium,
gutkha, alcohol and even smack. The symptoms of these drugs include change in behaviour, loss of night sleep, daytime sluggishness, loss of appetite and weight, physical weakness, unprovoked anger and violence, severe mood fluctuations, frequent absenteeism from school, falling grades and repeated failure in examination. “These children commonly use the drugs in school and home toilets and often spend 1-2 hours there. When the drugs are not available to them, they become violent and often show their aggression by breaking expensive products like TV sets or refrigerators. Some of them even hit their parents or siblings,” said Dr Gupta. Another reason for increase in violence among children could be poor parenting techniques. “The movements of their wards should be closely watched by the parents. They should be given freedom but their activities should be properly monitored by them. The society has changed drastically in recent years. The boyfriend-girlfriend trend is in vogue. Young children want to present expensive gifts to girlfriends or vice-versa and if they fail to get the money, they throw tantrums and resort to violence,” said Dr Gupta. Ms
Manmeet, another child psychologist in the city, feels that since young children are not experienced enough to handle their frustrations, they become violent. “They do not know how to handle the situation, hence become aggressive, disturbed, depressed, lethargic, mentally slow, quarrelsome, restless and poor in studies. These children need proper counselling and in some serious situations they are kept on medication for three-four months,” said
Manmeet. Dr Rajeev Gupta said three to four children are brought to him every week. “These children need thorough counselling and psychotherapy sessions, which help them overcome their depression and boost their morale,” stressed Dr Gupta. |
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Clear encroachments, demands sangh
Ludhiana, October 28 He has alleged that those responsible for encroachments are paying money to MC employees of the tehbazari wing on a regular basis. As a result, these employees turn a blind eye to the problem. OC
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Mass marriages performed Ludhiana, October 28 Several hundred marriages were solemnised on the occasion. Congratulating the newly weds, Mr Lal Singh appreciated the service of Sant Baba Jaspal Singh, head of the Bhai Ghanaya Hospital and Public Sewa Society for holiding mass marriages. He said such charitable organisations were the real asset in society, who were, day and night, working for the welfare of the down-trodden. The minister said the trust had created a new history for the service to society and poor people not only from Punjab alone, but from the other states, including Himachal Pardesh, Rajasthan and Haryana also were appreciating the trust for marriages of their children. The Finance Minister also appreciated the yeomen services rendered by Sant Jaspal Singh for providing medical facilities to the poor patients. He said the general public should extend full cooperation to help such a charitable trust, so that their area of service could be further extended for the suffering humanity. He announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh to the trust. Mr Gurbinder Singh Atwal, Parliamentary Secretary for Power, extending his felicitation to the newly weds said the Saints like Sant Baba Jaspal Singh were the pride of society, who were doing a great service for the weaker sections. He said solemnising the marriages of the daughters of the poor people was a great service to the humanity as during the present time, it was extremely difficult for poor families to arrange marriages of their daughters. Mr Malkiat Singh Dakha, MLA, appreciated the social services of the trust. Mr Avtar Singh Madana, MP from Meerut, announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh from his discretionary fund. Sant Baba Jaspal Singh, Chairman, of the society, claimed that at this mass marriages function, the marriages of around 1100 couples had been solemnised as per their religious rituals and gift items costing around Rs 25,000 per couple given. Among others who were present on this occasion included Mr Adel Singh, Rural and Development Minister, Madhya Pradesh, Mrs Gurkanwal Kaur, MLA, Mr Anurag Verma, Deputy Commissioner, Mr Harminder Singh, President, DCC (Urban) and Mr Mohinder Singh Kalayan ex-MP. |
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Vishwakarma day honour for coloniser Ludhiana, October 28 |
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Beautification of park begins Ludhiana, October 28 Speaking at the occasion, the councillor said major roads in the area had already been repaired or resurfaced, depending upon the condition of the roads. He also outlined other development projects for the locality in different stages of planning and execution. Prominent among others present at the occasion were Mr Munish Chopra, Mr Bittu Bhullar, Mr Sunil Datt, Mr Jagdeep Singh, SDO and Mr Sanjeev Sharma.
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Dhanwantri Jayanti celebrations Ludhiana, October 28 Sakshi Gopalji of ISKCON, Kurukshetra, who had come to the city specially for the religious function, organised the offering of
chhapan-bhog to Lord Dhanwantri from 30 families. It was later on distributed among devotees as
‘prasadam’. Aarti was performed at night. It was followed by fireworks to mark Dhanwantri Jayanti
celebrations. Pentavox Herbals also organised a seminar on “Ayurveda for successful management of chronic problems” at Hotel Park Plaza. It was attended by ayurvedic physicians and students. Many dignitaries, including a Dutch delegation led by Dr Anil Mehta, an eminent Ayurvedic Physician and Chairman, European Institute of Scientific Research on Ayurveda, Denhaag (Netherlands), also attended the seminar. Dr
M.V. Acharya, Chairman of the Central Council of Research in Ayurveda and Sidha
(CCRAS) Patiala, was the chief guest. The seminar began with Dhanwantri Vandana recitation by students from Dayanand Ayurvedic College, Jalandhar. Ayurvedacharya Dr Pradeep Nagrath read the English translation of the incarnation episode of Lord Dhanwantri from Srimad
Bhagwatam. Dr Raj Kumar Sharma, Principal, Dayanand Ayurvedic College, Jalandhar, gave a presentation on “Srishti
utpattikram, ayurvedic principles and vata”. Dr Sanjeev Kumar, Research Officer,
CCRAS, gave a presentation on “Migraine and its management in ayurveda”. Dr Raghunandan Sharma, an eminent panchkarma specialist, Ayurveda India, New Delhi, also a visiting professor with Ayurvedische
Gezondheidscentrum, Netherlands gave a presentation on “Panchkarma and its role in asthma management”. Dr Vishal Bhalla, and ayurvedic physician, who is based in Australia, gave a presentation on “Role of single herbs with specific reference to
giloy”. Mr Ravinder Angrish, Deputy Director, Ministry of Communications, Government of India, New Delhi, delivered a lecture on Ayurveda, astrology and gem therapy”. |
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Jewellery exhibition from November 2 Ludhiana, October 28 Zak Jewels-2003 aims at creating awareness about new qualities like 916 KDM, hall-marking and to showcase the jewellery of leading manufacturers under one roof and to provide a platform for all those involved in the trade to interact with each other and that to know the latest designs. The exhibition will be open to visitors from 10 am to 8pm on all days. |
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Good response to BSNL scheme Ludhiana, October 28 The department had put up a stall for the students at Punjab Agricultural University here today. The students will have to pay Rs 200 as activation fee and then they would be paying Rs 99 per month as the rent plus expenses of the outgoing charges. Incoming calls will be free of charge. Amongst others present on the occasion were Mr Harminder Singh, Mr S.M. Nayyar, Mr Kanwaljit Shankar, Mr Gurdev Singh and Mr Bhupinder Singh. |
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