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Harvesting takes precedence over electioneering Mandi Ahmedgarh, April 9 Ludhiana is locked in a triangular contest and the city and its satellite towns are witnessing a spate of political functions and-street-level meetings. Although it is a welcome relief for the weary campaigners who have been crisscrossing the countryside braving the heat during the past fortnight, the candidates are worried since they wanted to cover all villages before concentrating on the cities during the last leg of electioneering. Wheat harvesting was in full steam when a Tribune team toured two subdivisions today. Normally, harvesting begins in earnest after Baisakhi, but as a result of the mild showers in the past two days, farmers have become jittery and want to get their produce to the mandis as soon as possible. Today too, the sky remained overcast after noon. Farmers Lal Singh and Jit Singh of Dehlon said they had been unnerved by the changing weather conditions. “In the past, we always waited till official procurement began before harvesting the crop, but are taking no chances this time. Once it rains it will not only be hard to harvest the crop, but the moisture content too will go up affecting the wheat quality. In such a scenario, who has the time for campaigning?” they questioned. Commenting on the affected electioneering, they said the farmers would be busy for the next 10 days and only then would the campaigning again pick up in the villages. “As you can see, no one can see villagers gathered at public places debating the merits of voting for the contestants. The politicians have wisely left us so that we can tend to more important matters and have shifted their focus to the cities,” they said. Others like Nachattar Singh and Sucha Singh of Chappar villages reveal that the committed cadres in the villagers try to gather the villagers at night, but then everyone is too tired to do anything. Door-to-door contact at the crack of dawn has been the norm during the past few days, they revealed. They said the yield had fallen by three to five quintals and the farmers were just playing it safe by not taking any risks. “We want to recover our costs as soon as possible as not heeding to the warning of the weather gods have proved dear to us in the past. Several years ago we could only sell a fraction of the crop as rains played spoilsport”, they added. Nonetheless, farmers agreed that polls were the farthest from their minds as their energies were centered in getting the crop harvested and sold. “We have read weather reports that the region may witness rain at some places in addition to thunderstorms. This is bad news since winds at high speed will result in logging and make it harder to harvest,” they said. Farmers were of the view that being an election year they would not face any problems in selling their produce. |
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Follow-up Ludhiana, April 9 Even as sources close to the Birmi group claimed that a compromise had been reached on the issue with Mr Dhanda after the gunmen of Mr Birmi tendered an unconditional apology, Mr Dhanda and his advocate Harish Narang have denied any such compromise on the issue. They have in fact initiated a signature campaign against two club members who were members of the assault party on Wednesday night. In a letter written to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anurag Verma, who is also the president of the premier club of the city, a number of club members have sought immediate requisition of the General House in which action will be demanded against the members. Meanwhile, the case seems to be over as far as the district police was concerned. Sources in the district police said they had been informed that a compromise had been reached at on the issue. The letter said the two members along with a non-member of the club had brought disrepute to the organisation by taking part in such an incident. The General House would seek suspension of these two members and a ban on the entry of the third person. Mr Kamaljit Singh Dua, senior Youth Akali Dal leader, has sought the resignation of Mr Birmi over the issue. Mr Sanjeev Malhotra, vice-president of the district unit of the BJP, has also demanded his resignation over the issue. |
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Pay staff decent salaries, private colleges told Ludhiana, April 9 In a communication sent to private medical Institutions in the state recently, Dr A.S. Sekhon, Registrar, BFU, said the staff strength in private medical institutions affiliated to the university should be as per norms within one month, failing which colleges would face disaffiliation. The letter also said the staff should be qualified to hold the post and employed on regular basis instead of for two-three days. Last but not the least, the university authorities asked all colleges to pay the staff a decent salary as per recommendations of the councils. The university directions to these colleges have come in
It is pertinent to mention here that homoeopathic teachers in the state had raised a lot of hue and cry regarding their “meagre” pay scales. For the past many months, the teachers had been writing to the university authorities and state government to pay them as per the Central council recommendations. The university has sent directions to its five affiliated colleges (homoeopathic) in the state. They include Homoeopathic College, Abohar, Kalyan Homoeopathic College, Tara Taran, Homoeopathic College, Chunnikalan, Guru Nanak Homoeopathic College, Ludhiana, and Lord Mahavira Homoeopathic, College, Ludhiana. The Association of Teaching Staff (ATS) of Lord Mahavira Homoeopathic Medical College here had even organised protest dharnas for several days for implementation of the recommended pay scales, according to the CCH. At present, the ATS are getting 16-18 per cent of recommended salary. Several rounds of talks were held with the college management and Principal to solve the problem of “poor pay package” but no results came out of it. Expressing gratitude over the directions issued by the BFU, Dr Deepinder Singh, president Association of Teaching Staff, Lord Mahavira Homoeopathic College, said it was a welcome step. “The VC, Registrar, BFU, have been able to understand our genuine demands and we see a positive outcome ahead. This way the standard of education would also be improved”, said Dr Deepinder Singh. |
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Residents resent stapling of
currency notes Ludhiana, April 9 The RBI had issued directives under Section 35-A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, against the stapling of currency wads to banks to discontinue the practice as it was damaging currency notes. The RBI had also appealed to the public to accept unstapled notes only. However, despite the directions, the bank authorities are continuing the age-old practice. A local resident, who had received a stapled wad having damaged notes, said he was surprised at the attitude of the banks, which were not following the directions. Mr Sher Singh, president of the Northern Railway Pensioners Association, said he had withdrawn Rs 5,000 from a post office yesterday and was shocked to see that the currency wad containing Rs 50 notes was stapled thrice by three banks. Interestingly, the wad bore slips of three banks — UTI Bank Limited, the Bank of Punjab and Karnataka Bank — and had three staples and a rubber band. Mr Sher Singh said the notes were already damaged and removing the staples would only worsen their condition. |
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‘Spare traders’ from sorting out old notes Mandi Gobindgarh, April 9
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Tiwari claims overwhelming response Ludhiana, April 9 Talking to reporters here last evening, Mr Tiwari maintained that he had already made up for the relatively late start of campaigning. He said the Congress has a particular support base and the Congress ideals were deeply rooted in the masses. He said, it was the Congress alone which could provide a secular and progressive leadership to the country. Mr Tiwari expressed his gratitude to the legislators, ministers and party workers who have been whole heartedly supporting him in the electoral battle. During his meeting with the media, he was accompanied by Transport Minister, Tej Parkash, Minister of State for Jails and Urban Development, Milkiat Singh Birmi, among others. The former Indian Youth Congress president asserted that the opinion polls would be proved wrong as the Congress-led front was sure and certain to form the next government at the centre. He observed that people across the country were feeling disillusioned with the National Democratic Alliance government and they knew only the Congress was the way out. Mr Tiwari did not foresee a united future for the NDA. He said the DMK, PMK, the National Conference and the Indian National Lok Dal had already parted ways with the NDA and others might follow the suit. He said the myth of a cohesive coalition was already broken and the Congress was getting feelers from smaller parties and they were coming forward under the leadership of the Congress. |
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Plans afoot to celebrate Ambedkar’s birthday Ludhiana, April 9 Addressing a meeting to make elaborate preparation for the function here last evening, Mr Chanan Singh Jassal, president of the body, informed that Dr Tanzin Wangyal, Director, National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes would be the chief guest of the celebrations while Mr O.P. Indal, president, All India State Bank of India SC/ST Welfare Association, Dr Harnek Singh Kler, Punjab School Education Board, Mr Malkiat Chand Janagal, prominent businessman and social worker and Ms Tarlochan Kaur, senior accountant, Accountant-General, Punjab office, would be the guests of honour. According to Mr Resham Lal Sidhu, general secretary of the federation, schoolchildren with excellent academic performance from classes VIII to XII will be honoured on this occasion and a general knowledge and IQ competition would also be organised for school and college students. Cash prizes will also be awarded to those securing first, second and third positions in these competitions. An exhibition of books authored by prominent Dalit writers will be a part of the function. Mr Jita Singh, Deputy General Manager, Telecom, and Mr Amarjit Singh, Chief Engineer, Northern Railways, will inaugurate the exhibition. Other speakers, including patron of the federation, Mr Joginder Rai, and the chief organising secretary, Mr Husan Lal urged the state government to rename the road from Dr Ambedkar Chowk bypass to Sherpur bypass as Dr Ambedkar Marg and further to initiate steps for construction of Dr Ambedkar Bhavan in the city. The functionaries of the bodies wanted that suitable site should be provided for Ambedkar Bhavan near Dr Ambedkar Chowk bypass. Among others, Mr Karnail Singh, Mr Harjinder Singh, vice-presidents, Mr Paramjit, additional general secretary, Mr Surjit Kumar, organising secretary, Dr Parkash Singh, joint secretary and Mr Ram Das Guru, finance secretary, Mr Jagdish Bhagat, Mr Ram Lubhaya, Mr Harmesh Kler, Mr Chhinder Singh and Dr Inderpal Mehta also addressed the meeting. |
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Dug-up road irks residents Ludhiana, April 9 According to Dr Sonia
Hora, a resident of the area, digging work was carried out right in the middle of the road and huge mounds of sand were piled on the side. As a result, only half of the total width of the road was available for two-way traffic, which often led to prolonged traffic jams. Repeated disruptions in the movement of traffic during the day, particularly during peak hours in the morning and evening, due to parking of vehicles on the roadside by residents and shopkeepers often led to angry verbal duels, observed another resident of the colony. He said as the road was dug up for quite some time and even after the sewer work had been completed, and there were no signs of surfacing the road, most residents, traders and other regular users of the road had been taking detours and covering longer distances for fear of getting caught in traffic jams. Residents told Ludhiana Tribune that with the rush of office-goers in the morning and all kinds of vehicles moving to and from a playway school and some other institutions in the locality, the traffic situation had become worse. Residents all along the stretch of the road were finding it difficult to cross over the deep trench on foot or take vehicles across to reach their houses or commercial establishments. Inquiries made by Ludhiana Tribune revealed that the work for resurfacing the road after completion of the sewer work had already been allotted to a contractor. “When the contractor was about to start work of last month, we found that the dug-up portion was not properly compacted. Had the top coat been laid on improperly compacted surface, that portion of the road could have caved in, making the road uneven and dangerous. The compaction work is in progress and resurfacing will be completed in couple of days,” an MC official said. |
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Car bazar aggravates parking blues Ludhiana, April 9 On earlier occasions also shopkeepers and residents had been complaining that the Sunday car bazars, being organised in this particular market were virtually holding them to ransom to the extent that owners and tenants of other shop-cum-offices and commercial buildings were finding it difficult to park or take out their respective vehicles from the designated parking sites. In a representation to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a noted advocate Mr S.P. Sharma, having his office in Feroze Gandhi Market, has alleged that a Maruti car, with an ASI among its occupants, was parked in such a manner that it blocked the entry to the parking lot. To make matters worse, another brand new Santro car, belonging to one of the car bazar organisers was also parked in the middle of the entry point. “On being told to move these cars to make way for other vehicles into the parking lot, the police officer refused to oblige. Moreover, attendants at the car bazar behaved in an arrogant manner and also tried to rough me up,” Mr Sharma alleged. He alleged that he was threatened. When he called the police, the ASI as well as the employees of the car bazar fled away from the spot. The complainant further claimed that the parking lot contractor of the market had also gone on record saying that the parking sites were used unauthorisedly by owners of Sunday car bazar. He sought directions to the civic body and the traffic police on a civil writ petition on this public menace, which was already pending under consideration with the high court. Inquiries made by Ludhiana Tribune revealed that the organisers of the Sunday car bazars, who buy and sell hundreds of used cars on a single day in the week, not only misuse and damage parking sites and other public places around these markets, but also cause great inconvenience to other shopkeepers and visitors by parking the vehicles meant for sale and purchase at every conceivable place. Affected traders in these markets have complained that when the number of cars being offered in the bazars is high, the parking lots have become inaccessible to other visitors. The matter was also earlier raised by the Traders and Property Owners Association of Feroze Gandhi Market. They have written to the district administration and the Municipal Corporation, demanding immediate action to check the misuse of parking lots and other vacant sites by the car dealers. |
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No plea on Bhindranwale’s
memorial Mandi Ahmedgarh, April 9 Sources reveal that Mr Mann had announced a grant of Rs 3 lakh for the construction of a gymnasium in Baba Attar Singh Khalsa College at Sandaur village last year. While addressing a public gathering there, Mr Mann had asked the management to dedicate the gymnasium in the memory of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. A similar grant of Rs 1 lakh was announced for the construction of an Ali Jinah memorial library at an educational institute at Malerkotla. Mr Sukhdev Singh Bari, a Left candidate, and Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, an SAD candidate, criticised Mr Mann for allegedly exploiting religious sentiments of Sikhs and Muslims for his meager gains. Mr Mann, on the other hand maintained that it was justified to set up memorials to the two. “When a status of Mahatma Gandhi can be set up in Africa, what is wrong with setting up a memorial to Jinaah in India. As far as Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale is concerned, he has been a martyr of Sikhs and every Sikh, like me, should strive for the cause of setting up a memorial”, Mr Mann said. Though the management of educational institute at Malerkotla had declined MP’s offer to set up a library after Jinaah, the management of Baba Attar Singh College at Sandaur village is still awaiting grant. Mr Babu Singh, president of the college, said: “We have not received even a single penny of this grant. The question of dedicating the gymnasium to someone would only arise after we receive the grant and construct it. The district administration, however, denied having received any application for the release of grants for setting up such memorials. Mr Baldev Singh Sidhu, ADC (Development) at Sangrur, said: “Even if we receive such requests, we would not release grants as these funds can only be utilised for construction of memorials to national heroes, and aforesaid persons did not fall under that category.” |
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JTOs’ names missing in seniority list Ludhiana, April 9 In 2002, the BSNL head office had sought confidential reports of all JTOs from all telecom circles in the country against posts of permanent SDE (Regular). Sources said the report was prepared and submitted to the Chandigarh office in 2003. However, surprisingly when the revised report came back, it did not include the names of JTOs of Ludhiana and Chandigarh circles. Kanwaljit Singh Shankar and Mr Gurdev Singh members of the Sanchar Nigam Executive Association (India), said this would adversely effect the career prospects of hundreds of JTOs. The executive members pointed out that this was a major fault on the part of the BSNL, Punjab. They disclosed that despite several reminders to the circle office in this regard, no remedial measures have been taken. Local officials had been maintaining that the names of local JTOs had already been sent for seniority to the head office in New Delhi. |
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Swami Ramdev gives tips on yoga Ludhiana, April 9 Mr Jagdish Behal and Mr Suresh Munjal, members, Managing Society, DMCH, presented bouquets to Swami ji. Dr Daljit Singh, Principal, DMCH delivered the welcome address. Dr Rajoo Singh Chinna, Convener Health Education cell, introduced Swami Ji to the audience and threw light on the contribution of Swami ji in creating health awareness in the country through yoga camps, by running various institutes and lectures on television. The event was exclusively organised for the DMCH family and a large number of doctors and para medical staff attended the event. “Last year also, DMCH had organised a yoga camp conducted by Swami ji, which was attended by a large number of heart patients, “ informed Dr Rawat., yoga expert, DMCH. Swami ji started his lecture with the uccharan of the holy word ‘Om’ and ‘Gayatri Mantra’. He said that the tradition of yoga was thousands of years old and before the arrival of invaders in our country, a lot of Gurukuls were running, thus preserving this pious Vedic culture. But with the destruction of Nalanda University, a lot of damage was done to the intellectual movement in the country. He lamented that it was sad that in an era when yoga was getting recognition all over the world, not much was being done by the part of Indian Government for its encouragement. He emphasised that most of the diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart blockage and obesity were caused due to wrong life style and lack of discipline. But the diseases could be prevented by Yoga, if done with Upaukt vidhi (right techniques) - sankalp (positive frame of mind) and Samay (right calculation of tie). He said that techniques of yoga were very simple and if adopted, could show miraculous results. He also told the audience about the innumerable cases he had cured of cardiac blockage, joint pains etc. Later, he gave demonstration of different types of Pranayams (breathing techniques) which were not only easy to do but could have multiple health benefits. He urged the audience to keep a control on their eating and drinking habits by sticking to vegetarian diet and giving up of egg, non vegetarian food, alcohol and smoking, which was the formulae to ward off most of the diseases. He also laid emphasis on simple lifestyle and contentment for the peace of mind, which could bring the glow on face. He concluded that virtues like Rashradharm and Atamdharam could bring prosperity in our country and it could only start if every individual took the initiative in this direction. The lecture concluded with an interactive session between the audience and Swami Ramdev
ji. |
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Patrolling team to rescue of
mishap victims Doraha, April 9 A team of National Highway patrolling, including Mr Sobati, security officer, Manjit Singh, driver, Sikandar Singh, fitter and Gurdeep Singh, security guard, reached the spot in no time and admitted the injured to the hospital. |
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Tarksheel
challenges Jyotish Kendra Amloh, April 9 Both kendras had displayed their performance on providing jobs, facilitating promotion, foreign tours, court cases and marriage, etc. They have asked the kendras to prove their claims and get a reward of Rs 5 lakh from the society. In case they do not accept the challenge, they should close their shop within 10 days, the society said. |
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Ludhiana, April 9 Mr Manjit Singh had reportedly gone to Delhi on a business trip. However, he died while sleeping. The cremation will take place in the I Block of the Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar crematorium tomorrow. —TNS
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12 bottles of liquor seized Sahnewal, April 9
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Indo-Pak flour millers float forum Ludhiana, April 9 Interestingly, Mr Bilal Sufi, honorary advisor of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA), who was considered to be one of the strong opponents of wheat imports from India, has been appointed founder chairman of the federation, while Mr Gopal Bhushan Gupta, president of the Roller Flour Millers Federation of India, has been appointed vice-chairman. The chairman of the Punjab chapter of the PMFA, Mr Liaquat Ali Khan, has been appointed general secretary. Disclosing this here today, Mr Gupta told The Tribune that there was a sea change in the attitude of flour millers in Pakistan. Earlier, they would resist wheat imports from India, although these were very cheap. He pointed out that Pakistan was importing wheat from Australia at a cost of $ (US) 255 per tonne, while they could import wheat from India for just $180 per tonne. Pakistani millers, he said, had doubts that Indian wheat was infested. Mr Gupta had taken samples of wheat along with him, which were tested in Pakistani laboratories during his stay and found proper and without any disease. He maintained that since the Australian wheat was currently infested with kernel brunt, Indian wheat was free from all diseases and there was great scope for Indian wheat export to Pakistan. He said there were other factors also like proximity. From Punjab wheat could reach Lahore within a few hours, while from Australia it took months. He said now it depended on the governments of the two countries to speed up the process. Mr Gupta pointed out that India had huge wheat reserves and could conveniently export the same to Pakistan. Giving details about the joint federation, he said its scope would soon be extended to all SAARC countries. India was the only country in the SAARC region, which had huge surplus reserves of wheat and could export it to all these countries. The federation would devise strategies to increase wheat production in the region and also explore possibilities of export. The federation would also help in establishing a flour milling school in Pakistan. |
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Reliance dealers go on strike Ludhiana, April 9 A company official, however, denied that there was any dharna. He said some dealers had some problems which were sorted out on the spot. |
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