 |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Stone laid for new bridge over Budha Nullah
Ludhiana, October 2 Mr Pandey was addressing a function after laying the foundation stone of a bridge over the Budha Nullah to be constructed by the Municipal Corporation in New Kundan Puri here today. The minister said that after shoring up the finances of the state, the state government was all set to embark upon an integrated development programme, under which 18 corridors would be strengthened and widened at a cost of more than Rs 2000 crore and 40 new big railways overbridges would be built in the state. Referring to development in Ludhiana city, Mr Panday asserted that during the last two-and-half-years the city had witnessed good development and became the first city in the country to provide drinking water to the people living in authorised colonies. He said that by 2005, this facility would also be extended to all unauthorised colonies within the municipal limits of the city. He said the MC would spend Rs 200 crore on the development project in the city and to ease out the problem of traffic in the city, many new overbridges had been planned. Mr Pandey further said that in the different wards falling in his constituency, funds to the tune of Rs 15 crore had been spent to carry out different development works and said that the maintenance of all municipal parks would be ensured. Mayor Nahar Singh Gill said the corporation had decided to construct the bridges at different places over Budha Nullah so that the flow of traffic could be regularised. He asserted that the work on the ongoing overbridges had been speeded up and with the completion of these bridges, the traffic flow in the old city would be streamlined. Mr Gill informed that a special plan for the development of the Industrial Focal point had also been chalked out at a cost of Rs 20 crore, and with the implementation of this plan, the city will have number one Industrial Focal Point in the country. He said the Municipal Corporation was committed to provide quality civic amenities to the whole population and Ludhiana would witness fast development in the coming days. Others present on the occasion included Mr Jai Parkash, councillor, Mr Ashwani Kumar, secretary, PPCC, Mr Ashok Bhalla, Mr Ashok Wasan, Mr Madan Mohan Sareen, Mr Surinder Wasan and Mr Ashok Sareen.
|
|
BJP demands case against 2 for intimidating councillor
Ludhiana, October 2 Mr Praveen Bansal, BJP leader in the corporation, has urged the Mayor, Mr Nahar Singh Gill, to “lodge a criminal case against them for intimidating and gagging the voice of the councillor”. The party warned that it would be forced to launch an
agitation if no action was taken against them within a week. Mr Bansal said he objected to the presence of outsiders in the House for which they (the outsiders) tried to intimidate him. He added, "when I objected to their presence, one of them (husband of a lady councillor) along with another person (incidentally he was also the husband of another lady councillor), threatened me with dire consequences". Mr Bansal maintained, "even in the last meeting this issue was raised and they were sent out". Despite this they again entered when the general House meeting was in progress. Mr Bansal also questioned their claims that they were holding entry passes. "No such powers are vested with the
Mayor. Only the corporation (general House) can make regulations for a particular purpose, as per Clause 4 and 5 of Section 62 of the Municipal Corporation Act", he said while adding, "no such regulations have been made by the corporation till date and these two persons were sitting inside the house unauthorisedly". Mr Bansal asked, "have these persons been called for gagging the voice of the Opposition councillors by intimidating them?". He regretted, "this is the first case in the history of the corporation that outsiders have tried to intimidate the sitting councillors of the Opposition in the House itself. They not only misbehaved with me, but also obstructed and disturbed the proceedings of the house, which is a criminal offence"Mr Bansal said. Quoting from the Clause 5 of the Section 63 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, Mr Bansal said, "the corporation may make regulations for the purpose of admission of the members of the public to its meetings and for the removal by force , if necessary, of any member of the public admitted to a meeting for interrupting or disturbing its proceedings.”
|
|
Homage paid to Bapu
Ludhiana, October 2 Tagore Vidya Mandir organised declamation contest. Students spoke on relevance of Mahatma Gandhi’s ideas in life. Thirteen students participated in the contest and Ms Jaspreet was The Nationalist Congress Party (SC/ST) District Ludhiana, took out a rally from Basti Jodhewal and marched through the Subhash Nagar road. The rally ended at the Mata Rani Chowk. The rally was also organised to pay tributes to Lal Bahadur Shastri, whose birthday also falls today. The rally was led by the district president, Mr Rajkumar. They garlanded the busts of Gandhiji near the MC office and that of Lal Bhadur Shastri on the Daresi road. About 387 slum dwellers were invited on occasion of Gandhi Jayanti at Mahatma Gandhi Sidhant Kendra, Dewan Hospital. They interacted with children from St Patrick School and Jyoti Model Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana. The children presented dances which were enjoyed by the chief guest, Mr R.K. Jaswal, SP(City-I). Dr Narotam Dewan presided over the function. Blankets, garments and food articles were distributed among them. SKN Model School also celebrated Gandhi Jayanti. The chief guest was Prof
R.K. Dubey. The function started with rendering of ‘Sabarmati ke Sant Tune’. A quiz and drawing competitions were also held and Patel team was declared the winner. The main attraction was choreography on the life of Mahatma Gandhi. Principal
K.D. Arora also highlighted the major events in Gandhi’s life. Rich tributes were paid to Mahatama Gandhi at a function organised in Model Town, Dugri Road. Mr Harnam Dass Johar, Education Minister, presided over the function. Among others who paid tributes to the Mahatama were Mr Nahar Singh Gill, Mayor, Mr Sushil Gupta, Deputy Mayor, Mr Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Mr Balkar Singh (both councillors) and Mr Jagdish Marwaha.
|
|
|
Gandhi memorial in bad shape
Phillaur, October 2 The memorial is of significance in the region as Mahatma Gandhi had chosen this place as one of the sites in North India where his ashes should be immersed. But thanks to people and government apathy, the place gets due attention only at his brith and death anniversary. That too at times is forgotten as happened in 2002. The place is lying ignored with wild grass, bushes, stray dogs, waste papers and polythene bags dotting the place. It was cleaned up by some schoolchildren and devotees for today’s function. It seemed as if the place was never cleaned up. No emphasis has been laid on its upkeep since it was set up. The lawns are not maintained. The board reading the historical importance of the place is eaten up partially by rust. An urn containing ashes of Gandhiji was immersed in the Sutlej, near the old railway bridge, on February 12, 1948. From then on, a fair at the site had become a regular feature. However, the memorial, situated a furlong from the GT Road, is at present home to urchins and anti-social elements. Old timers of this town recall how, on previous occasions, only news reports had made politicians and the administration took notice of the state of the memorial. “Politicians of Ludhiana and other places have been visiting the memorial every year on the birth and death anniversaries of the Mahatma in the past, but the place, now, remains utterly neglected,” they said. Till 1970 a fair used to be held here with people spinning Khadi and participating in various competitions and functions here. Set up in the scenic background of the Sutlej in February, 1948, the calm and serene environs of the memorial were quite an attraction for the residents of Phillaur town, inmates and visitors from the Punjab Police Academy and tourists, but with the deterioration of the place, very few people visit it now. 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 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 a jungle. Civil Administration sources said they were helpless about the matter as the memorial was maintained by an organisation called the Vayu Raksha Brigade. However, there was no information about the address of the organisation or its members.
|
|
|
Spouses of women councillors call the shots
Ludhiana, October 2 It has now become an established fact that most of the women who get elected from the reserved wards are there just to make up for legal requirements. Otherwise it is their husbands only who call the shots. It seems to have become a routine practice in the MC that the spouses of women councillors assume the wholesome charge of the ward. In fact, they are themselves addressed as “councillors” instead of the real councillors. This is because in most of the reserved wards, being represented by women, active party workers field their wives. In the MC the reservation for women in wards rotates after every five years. Barring a few women councillors, who act independently and are there by their own merit and not merely because they are wives of some influential persons, most other women councillors contest because their husbands had contested from or had represented that particular ward in the previous term. This defeats the very purpose of the reservation (for women).
|
|
Doc booked for negligence
Ludhiana, October 2 Dr Inderjit Singh, an anaesthetist, has been booked under Section 304 (causing death by a negligent act) of the IPC. He is yet to be arrested. He is accused of administering a wrong injection or adopting a wrong procedure on Seema Jain at a diagnostic centre late last night. The woman was undergoing medical tests. The woman, a resident of Shahpur Road, had come to the centre with her family as there had been an intense pain in her right arm for the past few weeks. Her husband Devinder Jain, a businessman, and their nine-year-old son Nipun accompanied her to the hospital. Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, members of the family alleged that Seema was administered some wrong injection prior to and MRI test. When her condition suddenly became serious, the doctors at the diagnostic centre asked them to take her to the Hero DMC Heart Centre. There she was put on the life support system but the woman died within an hour. The members of the family were quite agitated at her death. They were joined by friends and relatives. Sarabha Nagar SHO Pawanjit said a case was registered on a complaint of Devinder Jain. He said investigation would be conducted involving medical experts. The post-mortem examination report was awaited eagerly as it would throw light on the exact reasons of her death. Dr Satwinder Singh Grewal of Ell Ess Diagnostic Centre has denied the allegations of negligence on the part of the doctor. He said the anaesthetist was fully qualified and an MD in anaesthesia. Dr Grewal said the same injection had been given to other patients also, but no complaint was reported. Expressing his sympathy with the aggrieved family, he said they had explained the possible reactions of the injection to the family and had taken their permission in writing for the MRI test. He asserted that they followed the legal procedure in all cases. Dr Grewal alleged that around 15-20 persons of the Jain family tried to harm the doctor, staff and medical equipment. Dr Grewal said the mob did not spare him even though he was a physically challenged person.
|
|
Dhindsa’s claim on byelection
Ludhiana, October 2 He was in the city to attend a function of the youth wing of the party. Interacting with mediapersons, he said the government was going all out to win the poll adding that the misuse of official machinery was rampant. The Akali leader said they had been bringing poll-related violations to the notice of the Election Commission from time to time but their plea for a special observer to oversee the elections had not evoked any response from the Commission. To prevent any foul play by the Congress, they will depute MLAs and MPs at all potential flash spots, he said. The only way the Congress could hope to win was if the people rewarded them for non- performance and ushering in the rule of the jungle in the state, he remarked. He said the confrontationist attitude of the government was visible at Ropar when slogan-shouting Congress workers tried to influence the functioning of the special court trying the Badals. It is a clear case of contempt of court and we demand that the guilty should be brought to book, he added. Commenting on the incident at Nankana Sahib, he said the Pakistan government had reacted swiftly and had not allowed the things to go out of hand. This has sent a positive signal to the Sikh community worldwide. But the Pakistani government should ensure that such incidents do not recur. He also urged the Pakistani government to rethink allowing the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee to start kar seva at Nankana Sahib. The same should be entrusted to the SGPC, which is an elected body of the Sikhs and well equipped to deal with the work at hand, he pointed out.
|
|
BJP seeks action on Nankana Sahib issue
Mandi Gobindgarh,
Mr Rakesh Gupta, general secretary of the mandal told about the plan of the mandal to make the party active at the village level. Under the plan three mandals will be formed at Amloh, Mandi Gobindgarh and Dehati in place of the existing mandal. Mr Ram Niwas Jain said reaction of Congress governments both at the Centre and in the state to things taking place at Nankana Sahib was only eyewash. He demanded that the Centre and state governments should warn the Pakistan Government to take a strong action so that this kind of happenings might not recur. Mandal vice-president Ram Lubhaya Puri and Ms Bimla Sharma, district president of the Mahilla Morcha, also spoke.
|
|
Devotees participate in
Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra
Ludhiana, October 2 The SAD President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, was the chief
guest. He paid obeisance to Lord Jagannath at Durga Mata Temple. As the yatra passed through different routes of the city, thousands of devotees joined it. Speaking on the occasion Mr Badal pointed out, all great prophets had preached peace, love and brotherhood. He said such yatras would help in spreading the message of peace and brotherhood among the people. The traffic police had made adequate arrangements for the smooth flow of traffic in the
city. At several places the traffic remained held up for hours. With the main Jagraon Bridge remaining blocked for considerable time people had to take alternate routes. This time the traffic police had given advance information about the traffic diversions.
|
|
Industry heaves sigh of relief
Ludhiana, October 2 In view of an unprecedented dry spell the PSEB had imposed two compulsory weekly off days for industrial consumers around a fortnight ago. The offs were in addition to the regular power cuts that were being imposed, resulting in heavy losses to the industry. “The measure had severely hit the industry. Not only had the production costs increased, we were not being able to meet our export targets, which had also resulted in losses of several export orders, affecting our credibility as well,” said Mr G.S. Kahlon, secretary, Ludhiana Motor Parts Manufacturers Association. Power cuts plus two compulsory off days had led to a decline of 35 to 40 per cent in production, he said. Industrialists say while local clients understood their condition credibility had been affected in case of overseas clients. Citing the example of his own export-oriented unit, Mr Kahlon said they had to make amendments twice and it hit the orders the company had received from its clients in France and South Africa. “Such experiences reduce industry’s competitiveness apart from causing losses to individual units,” he said, adding that reduction of off days to one had come as a relief to the industry. “It would help us meet our targets apart from providing relief on the cost front,” Mr G.L. Pahwa, president, United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association said. Due to power shortage, industry had to arrange for alternative sources of electricity supply, that led to increased costs. Moreover, with two off days, the labour too was left without work. Seasonal industry, like woollen, too feels PSEB’s decision would improve the situation. The Woollen industry has been particularly hit badly as this was the time of the year when we “needed regular power supply. It is from the months of May to July that this industry receives orders. Production has been badly affected,” said Mr Narinder K. Miglani, general secretary, Knitwear Club. To meet their targets the industry ideally requires a much better power supply than the prevailing one. “In fact they should even withdraw the one-day power cut that still exits. A PSEB official said the industry could look forward to better days. “The situation is improving and we are even regularising and reducing power cuts. If the better situation continues, even the one-day compulsory off might not be required in coming days,” a PSEB official said.
|
|
Biz Clips
LUDHIANA ELECTED: Mr Kamal Chopra, general secretary, Offset Printers Association, Ludhiana, was unanimously elected general secretary of the All India Federation of Master Printers, according to a press note. Mr Chopra has been part of advisory technical committees of several universities, including Guru Nanak Dev University, PAU and Punjabi University, Patiala.
— TNS AIRTEL: Airtel on Saturday announced that it had crossed the 1,00,000 customer mark of ‘Hello Tunes’ users in Punjab in a record time of 50 days, making it the fastest Bharti circle to achieve this mark. The internationally successful “Ring back tone” service, marketed as Hello Tunes by Airtel, is a personalised mobile music service where the caller hears songs and other sound clips instead of the traditional switchboard “ring-ring” tone. The service is available in six different languages (Punjabi, English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannad) along with the latest songs from each of these languages, a company release stated.
— TNS
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
