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Downpour leaves farmers high & dry
Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 11 Farmers in many villages in Mandi Ahmedgarh were seen making their own arrangements to cover paddy lying in open markets. They arrangements of the authorities for paddy procurement were exposed. Farmers said they were worried about the increase in the moisture content and delay in harvesting due to accumulation of water in fields. They feared that the produce that had already been brought to mandis would be damaged due to the downpour. Work to drain out the accumulated water in the markets was being carried out manually as well as mechanically. Some farmers were seen carrying their produce home in tractor-trailers. Raj Singh Sohi, a farmer of Jandiali village, rued lack of proper infrastructure in mandis despite promises made by the government. “I have spent my life here but nothing has changed. I have to take my produce back home as it will take another week to dry it”, he said. Another farmer, Harnek Singh of Jagraon said he had brought his produce to the mandi yesterday, but due to the rain 20 per cent of it got damaged. Many villages in Mandi Ahmedgarh block were lashed by hailstorm. Farmers said it had caused a considerable damage to their standing crop. Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner, Sangrur, Mr Husan Lal has asked the revenue authorities to assess the damage to the standing crop also. Dr Indu Malhotra, SDM, Malerkotla, said she had supervised the damage-control operations and got water drained out from mandis manually as well as mechanically. She said the report would be prepared within a week and sent to the authorities. Mr Gurmeet Singh, SDM, Jagraon, said there was not much damage to the standing crop in Jagraon.
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City gets N. India’s first dung-based power plant
Ludhiana, October 11 Mr Pandey said that the project with a capacity of 1 MW power generation had been set up by PEDA under the UN Development Project and Global Environment Facility (GEF) in 2.42 acre of land provided by Municipal Corporation on a lease basis. He said that the project would utilise 235 tonnes of cattle dung daily being produced in the dairies in the Dairy Complex. The minister said this would permanently solve the problem of the disposal of animal waste. He said that the daily cattle waste being produced in the complex was causing an environment problem and also hampering the functioning of sewerage system in the area. The minister added that the surplus energy, after meeting the in-house power requirement, would be fed to state grid. Beside the electrical energy this project would also produce organic fertiliser of about 7 tons (70 per cent solids) and 40 tons (50 per cent solid) per day. He said that the total project cost was Rs 13.66 crore. Part of the funds was provided by the UNDP-GEF while rest was provided by the state government and PEDA. It was expected that the plant would operate at its full capacity by October-end. Mr S.K. Sharma, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, added that with the commissioning of this project, the major problem of sewerage choking in this area would be solved. Mr Sharma said that Ludhiana was the only city in the Northern India, where three sullage treatment plants were being installed. After finalising the sites, the work on these projects had already been started. He said, apart from this, the Municipal Corporation has attained distinction of becoming the first and only Municipal Corporation in Northern India to install Bio-medical Waste Treatment Plant with a capacity of treating five metric tones of waste per day to systematically handle the medical wastes containing some poison elements which was the major problem of the city.
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Operation of wrong kidney: Civil Surgeon orders probe
Mahesh Sharma
Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 11 The decision was taken after a story reflecting woes of the victim family was published in the Ludhiana Tribune today. Meanwhile the in charge of the hospital who has been asked to enquire into the allegations, has assured that the interest of the patient would be watched at all costs. While reacting to the allegations levelled against the surgeon of the Civil Hospital, Dr S.N Tiwari, Civil Surgeon at Ludhiana, said he had asked the in charge of the hospital to enquire into the matter and submit a report within a stipulated period. Dr Manjit Kaur, Senior Medical Officer and in charge of the Lord Mahavir Civil Hospital confirmed having received the orders to investigate the matter.She said, “Though attendants of the patient might have brought some minor problem to my notice during her treatment here, I do not remember about the details of any particular case. I, like my other seniors, came to know about the allegations from the newspaper only and will be able to comment on the issue after completing the inquiry which has since started.” Elaborating on the course of action she claimed that she had already called for details of the investigations made by various sections of radiology and pathology department.Though the original file had been reported lost, the other records were available with the respective departments, she claimed.Assuring a fair inquiry, Dr Manjit Kaur said the interest of the patient would be watched at all costs. “After all these hospitals have been constructed by the government to serve the ailing humanity and we are here to ensure that the patients get maximum out of our expertise.” She said the girl would be given required treatment to the satisfaction of the family irrespective of the fact whether the surgeon was at fault or not. A backward class family of the village had alleged that a surgeon at the said hospital had operated on the left kidney of teenage girl Meena by mistake whereas she had been diagnosed for a cortical calculus in the right kidney .The surgeon had planted a stent in the left ureter to justify his error.
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Shortage of scrap: industry in panic as steel prices shoot up
Ludhiana, October 11 The current scenario is going to
adversely affect entire exports and not merely industry based on scrap, said Mr Satish
Dhanda, past chairman, Engineering Export Promotion Council of India. He said exports depended on availability of containers and if scrap stopped coming to the dry port, it would affect availability of containers for other items as well. “It is primarily be because of scrap that one manages to get containers at anything between Rs 4000 and Rs 5,000 a container. But if there is no scrap coming here, it would mean that for exporting other items as well, one has to arrange for a separate container from Delhi or Mumbai which would mean an expenditure of Rs 18,000 for a 20-feet container and Rs 38,000 for a 40-feet container. The government must reconsider its policy.” Mr K.K. Seth, general secretary, Ludhiana Engineering Industry, said the government had now permitted import of scrap in shredded form. “However, machines for shredding are not available with may of the exporting countries like Africa, which would mean no imports from there.” Market sources revealed that prices per tonne for rounds today were recorded at Rs 25,800 which is Rs 2,300 more than what prevailed around 15 days ago (Rs 23,500 per tonne). Market observers said the panic situation could lead the steel prices to a high of even Rs 30,000 in a short span. Industry representatives also said that the goverment should employ agencies like
SGS, a swiss agency, which checked the scrap for safety. This would ensure that the scrap which arrived here was safe, said Mr Seth, adding, “We will not able to meet our export requirements at all if the present situation continues”. Mr
P.D. Sharma, President, Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that in face of the Ghaziabad incident, the government had stated that imported scrap would be permitted in compacted form only. “In the case of HMS, import can be carried out only trough major ports and inland container depot at
Tughlakabad, New Delhi, and HMS scrap originating from West Asia East region will not be permitted from rail movement or any other port. This policy will cause acute shortage of scrap in the country.” Stating that the “ban” should be limited to war affected countries only, he said the government should have taken care to identify and notify international inspection agencies. “Scrap should be inspected at the time of loading,” he said.
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No explosive, bombs anywhere, claims SSP
Ludhiana, October 11 The team arrived at the instance of the city police as the Army authorities have expressed their unavailability to help in the matter. Meanwhile, joining hands to tackle the scrap bombs issue and end the panic among the industrialists and residents, the city police, Customs Department and scrap importers today decided to launch three-tier scrap filtration system to minimise the threat of an explosion and loss to life and property in the city. No explosive has been found so far from anywhere in the city. City SSP Narinderpal Singh and Joint Commissioner Customs , Amit Goyal scotched all rumours that claimed that nearly 3000 live bombs were found. There were other rumours that hundreds of cartridges were found from a canal and another thousands of bombs were from in fields at Raikot. All this have been found to be false. At an emergency meeting held at single window police conference hall today the police, customs officials and the importers decided that an international agency would be hired in Dubai which would examine and certify all scrap coming to the dry port. The agency, SSG would ensure that no explosive material remained in the consignment. The second filtration would be done jointly by the Customs Department and the warehouse agency authorities. They had been told to employ ex-servicemen having good knowledge of explosives to examine the scrap arriving here. The industrialists would conduct the third filtration. They had been specifically directed to inform the police if some explosive material was found instead of dumping it in canals or far away fields. The industrialist would be prosecuted if they would not inform the police. Interestingly, no representative of the district administration took part at the meeting. The police and the district administration seems to be a loggerheads over the issue. While Deputy Commissioner Anurag Verma had claimed yesterday that nobody from the Army or the city police attended a meeting convened by him to sort out the matter, the police today claimed that it had written nine letters to the Deputy Commissioner about seeking the help of the Army or taking some other measure but still the matter was not resolved. SSP Narinderpal Singh said he had written several letters to the Army authorities at Baddowal. He was informed that the Army was unavailable for the job. He said he had written to the state Home Department to take up the matter with the army authorities.
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57-year wait for land’s possession
Ludhiana, October 11 Mr Satnam Singh, now a resident of Atam Nagar in Ludhiana, was allotted 26 kanals and eight marlas of land at Machhian Kalan village in the mid-1970s as compensation for his evacuee property. He got the allotment after intervention of Indira Gandhi. He had to struggle from 1948 to 1979 to get the record of his land from the Pakistan government which did not oblige him. It was only after Indira Gandhi took up his case that he was given the record. Even after fighting his battle for so many years, Mr Satnam Singh is awaiting the possession of the land. Sick of knocking at various doors, Mr Satnam Singh, who is an angina patient, had written a letter to the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who had referred the case to the Chief Secretary, Punjab, on August 20. The Chief Secretary sent his file to the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, and asked for action in the case. Mr Satnam Singh said the Deputy Commissioner sent his papers to his staff for further action but they did not pay any heed to Mr Satnam’s requests and even humiliated him, he alleged. In his letter to the Chief Secretary, he claimed that the office of the DC, Ludhiana, had been harassing him for the past 28-29 years by submitting different reports to the higher authorities regarding the land. He said in 1999, the patwari concerned reported that out of total land of 26 kanals and eight marlas comprising khasra numbers 2//21, 3//24/1, 24/2, 4//17, 2//24, 3//14/7 had been sold to some other party. He claimed that in 2001 the same office had reported that only four kanals had been sold and 22 kanals were yet to be allotted. Furthermore, the said office had reported to the Human Rights Commission that 12 kanals had been sold and 14 kanals awaited possession. “It is clear that the office of the Deputy Commissioner is harassing me without any reason.” he alleged, adding that he was suffering from a chronic heart ailment. “I want that the land is allotted to me in my lifetime. My wife has already died seeing me struggle for the possession,” he said.
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Fire in a factory, four injured
Ludhiana, October 11 The fire broke out at 3 p.m. and spread very fast as the factory stored yarn for manufacturing monkey caps. It took the fire department three hours to control it. Surprisingly heavy downpour did not help them douse it. At least 10 fire engines were used to finally control it. The residents of the area alleged that the employees of the Fire Department took a long time to reach the place. Mr Ashok Bagga, husband of the area Councillor, said that had it reached in time the fire would have been controlled soon. He said that there was a school in the vicinity of the factory and it could have led to a tragedy. He added that it was the massive rescue operation started by the area residents themselves that there was no loss of life. |
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Youth Congress, Khalsa Panchayat condemn Modi’s statement
Ludhiana, October 11 The Youth Congress activists, while condemning the Gujarat Chief Minister, alleged that he was speaking from the Sangh mindset and had no
respect for the minority community. They regretted that the Gujarat Chief Minister had neither showed the grace nor the respect for the Prime Minister who was being respected by everybody. The Youth Congress activists demanded the dismissal of the Modi government as he had “crossed all the limits”. They pointed out, Mr Modi was already facing charges of inciting violence against the minority and had now made a high condemnable remark against the Prime Minister. The Khalsa Panchayat has also condemned the Gujarat Chief Minister for his remarks against Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. They alleged that the remarks made by Mr Modi only betrayed his minority mindset. The panchayat observed that such remarks would only lead to resentment of the entire community against Mr Modi. The Khalsa Panchayat accused the BJP and its leaders of encouraging anti-minority feeling in the country. It said that the BJP should rein the Chief Minister and the Government of India should also contemplate some action against Mr Modi for his shameful remarks against a Prime Minister, whose integrity, honesty, efficiency and commitment was being acknowledged everywhere. The Khalsa Panchayat has appealed all right-minded people to condemn Mr Modi as he had not only shown disrespect to the chair of the Prime Minister, but an entire community.
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Residents demand setting up of old-age home
Ludhiana, October 11 The committee observed that the land allocated by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust for the school in the E Block of the area was not sufficient for that purpose. Instead, they suggest that the trust should set up an old age home at that place. The area is surrounded by a large number of colonies and is also centrally located. The members appealed to the chairman of the trust, Mr Ashok Singh Garcha to start the process of allotting the land for the old age home which could of great benefit to the senior citizens. The members said, there was no special place for the senior citizens in the area and in case trust set up an old age home, it would be a great and noble gesture.
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‘Legislature, judiciary must complement each other’
Ludhiana, October 11 He observed that the issue had gained immense importance in recent times, particularly in the light of the changing socio-political scenario and increasing judicial activism. Mr Atwal said the Constitution did not crown the judiciary with unfettered superiority nor did it endow Parliament with unlimited sovereignty. Though the legislature was the repository of the constituent power, the judiciary at the same time had power to declare a law unconstitutional if beyond the competence of the legislature.
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Yatras need to be banned
I
congratulate the reporter who wrote the piece. “Why not ban all yatras?”
I entirely agree with him that rath yatras, prabhat pheris, shobha yatras and nagar kirtans are a constant source of inconvenience to the public of Ludhiana. As it is, Ludhiana is a congested city and these processions add to the problem, passing through crowded parts of the city. Besides choking traffic, the processions are also a big source of pollution. Thousands of litres of diesel is wasted by the vehicles used for “jhankis.” The route of the yatra gets filthy by leftovers and eatables thrown on the roadside. What is really achieved by these yatras? This is definitely not the way to please God.
The suggestion made by the reporter and a cross-section of residents for restricting these activities to an earmarked area of the city is really good and will be of help if followed. I would volunteer to be a part of any set-up of like-minded people who should be ready to make a joint request to the heads of various religious bodies to cooperate. I would request the district authorities to organise a meeting with some select residents of Ludhiana in this regard. The Press should also play its role in educating the public regarding the problems created by these processions. Lt Col S K Sood (retd).
Ludhiana Bitter experience An educational trip was organised by teachers of GNPS, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana, to the National Park at Ranthambore. I wish to relate a bitter experience of the team during its return journey at Madhopur Sawai station on the night of October 4 on Platform no. 1, (Train no. 2471, Swaraj Express). It was around 10.30 pm, and we were waiting for the train. I was shocked to see stray animals roaming freely on the platform and the poor upkeep of the station. The train reached platform no. 1 at 1.38 a.m. It was shocking that the numbers of coaches were not displayed. We were running about to inquire about our coaches when the train started leaving the station after only two minutes, though it was scheduled to halt there for six minutes. I ran after the train shouting at the top of my voice and urged passengers to pull the alarm chain. Eventually, someone pulled it causing the train to stop for a minute. Somebody jumped out of the train and ran to help me. He took my bag and helped me and my team members to board the train. But the person who helped us was beaten up by the policeman who was on duty in coach S-6. He not only misbehaved with one of my colleagues but also levelled allegations against her. It is painful that teachers, who are considered the builders of the nation, are not getting due respect in society. If I was helped by someone who pulled the chain and made the train to stop for a minute, what was the harm especially when it had started ahead of time. I am sure many passengers would have been stranded at the station. May good sense prevail in the Railway Department and among its staff so that they show some sense of responsibility. And god bless the Good Samaritans! Radha Shukla, ‘Negligent’ contractors I want to draw to the attention of the authorities concerned to the negligence of the contractors engaged in the construction of an overbridge opposite the railway station. On August 17 I was coming to my shop at 2.30 p.m. on a scooter. Just as I crossed the Luxmi cinema chowk towards the railway station, tin sheets fell on my scooter and I almost got buried under these. I was helped by nearby shopkeepers but suffered injuries on my face and knees and got my collar bone fractured. Now I am under treatment of a private doctor. If this bridge cannot be completed, at least such incidents can be prevented. Bharat Bhushan,
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98 bags of sugar recovered, 3 arrested
Jagraon, October 11 The informer had revealed that 98 stolen bags had been hidden in the house of Gurmit Kaur at Ragra village and some other places in Jagraon. The SSP said while Nachhattar Singh, Amar Nath and Som Nath were nabbed by the police, Harpal Singh managed to give the police the slip. Ninetyeight bags of sugar, worth around Rs 1.65 lakh, were recovered in different raids and a case under Sections 379, 411, 414 and 120-B of the IPC was registered at the Jagraon police station.
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Six held for violating
DM’s order
Ludhiana, October 11 While four persons were arrested by the Kotwali police, another was arrested by the Sarabha Nagar police for the offence. Those arrested by the Kotwali police have been identified as Raj Kumar, who lives on the Shahpur Road, but had not registered the names of workers engaged at his shop near the Clock Tower, Bharat Bhushan, who lives in mohalla Fateh gahrh, who had not registered the names of servants employed at his tea shop near the Naulakha cinema, Ashok Kumaer, who lives in Harnam Nagar near Model Gram, who had failed to register the servants employed at his shop near the local bus stand and Tarsem Kumar, who lives in Nehru Nagar near Model Town, and had not informed the police the details about workers employed at his coffee house near Naulakha Cinema. The fifth accused was identified as Avtar Singh, who lives in Karnail Singh Nagar on the Pakhowal Road , who was arrested by the Sarabha Nagar police for not furnishing information about the tenants in his house. The sixth accused, who was arrested by the division number 4 police, was identified as Sarwan Singh, who lives in Basant Nagar. He had not informed the police about the tenant in his house. All accused were later bailed out, said the police this morning . Body recovered: The complainant had stated to the police that he owned a house in Basant Nagar and he had given some rooms on rent to various persons. He had rented a room to a gentleman in his mid -forties sometime ago. He had last seen the man on the night of October 8. On Sunday, he was informed by other tenants that foul smell was emanating from the room. When he entered his room , he found that the man had been murdered with sharp-edged weapons. No arrest has been made so far. Moped-rider killed: The complainant had stated that the accused, who was driving a tractor, had hit an aged man riding a moped near Udham Singh Nagar on Sunday and sped away. The moped- rider died on the spot, added the PCR cop. No arrest has been made so far. Gamblers
held: Bookies held: Another alleged bookie was arrested by the same police and booked under the Gambling Act. The accused, identified as Kapil Kumar Sapra, who lives in Phase-I at Dugri, was booking ‘dara’ and ‘satta’ bets under the bridge near the Bus stand and a sum of Rs 1,250 was recovered from his possession, said the police. Both the alleged bookies were later bailed out, added the police. Cases of assault: The complainant had stated that the accused barged into his shop in Dashmesh Nagar on Saturday night , beat him up and also threatened him. The accused also damaged his shop goods before going away, added the complainant. No arrest has been made so far. The Jodhewal police yesterday registered a case under Sections 347, 341, 323 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Mr. Pritipal Singh, who lives in street number 1 of Bhagat Charan Singh Nagar on the Rahon Road, against Balwinder Singh, his mother Balvir Kaur, a younger son of Balvir Kaur, her husband Dyal Singh, and Harwinder Singh, who live in street number 1 of Mohalla Meharban. The complainant had stated that the accused stopped him on the road and took him to their house where he was beaten by the accused on Sunday. The complainant further stated that because of the injuries sustained by him, he was admitted to the Civil Hospital. The reason for the attack was old enmity, added the complainant. Cop assaulted: The complainant had stated that the accused had a scuffle with Panjab Home guard Shrikant and tore up his uniform on the Barewal Road on Saturday night. The accused were arrested and bailed out.
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2 MC employees booked for fraud
Jagraon, October 11 Three booked:
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