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Drug don arrested
Ludhiana, November 29 The police also detained three schoolchildren who were addicted to smack and were among the hundreds of customers of the gang. These children were being questioned to find out how widely the drug network was spread in the city. Addressing a press conference, SSP Narinderpal Singh said drug peddlers had been arrested earlier too, but it was for the first time that a mafia don had been arrested. The SSP said narcotics smugglers had caused an alarming situation in the state with minor boys and girls of affluent families becoming their regular customers. The gang members nabbed by the police included a woman distributor, Sona, alias Sony, who had adolescents as “retail distributors”. Two 10+2 students who were part of the gang since they were in Class VIII had also been arrested. While the woman belonged to Jalandhar, the students were from Ludhiana. Sona was the key person of the gang in Ludhiana. She identified customers and also lured them into supplying drugs. The police recovered over 1 kg of smack, valued at Rs 3 lakh in the market. A country-made pistol was also seized. The SSP revealed that the smugglers had been operating from the city for more than the past two years. They mostly put up at a hotel near Chaurra Bazar under fictitious names and addresses. The police was questioning the hotel owner also as he had not reported that the same persons were checking in under different names. The police said that Rajinder Sharma used to pass on the drugs to Sona after mixing these with certain chemicals to increase the quantity. They used to earn Rs 3,000-4,000 for every 50 gm of smack. The police was also on the lookout for Banarasi Dass, another active member of the gang. His son Binder and son-in-law Sachin were also involved in the business. While Binder had been arrested, the other two had absconded. The mobile phone belonging to Sona, which had been seized by the police, was still receiving calls from schoolchildren demanding drugs. The police could reach many such students by tracing the calls. Sona’s sister, Kalo, also assisted her in the racket and was wanted by the police.
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Councillor-contractor nexus under probe
Ludhiana, November 29 Even as the municipal officials are tight-lipped in this regard, sources in the corporation told Ludhiana Tribune that the Department of Local Government had sought a report on the nexus between contractors and councillors as well as details of relatives of councillors working as contractors for the corporation in violation of the rules of empanelment. The sources said that some of the councillors named in the report were using influence to stall the submission of the report to the government. According to senior civic officials, the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, provides for action to the extent of disqualification of the guilty councillor and cancellation of the his enlistment if it is established that the contractor is a blood relation of an elected representative. Based on reports of such malpractices being rampant in the city, a couple of months ago the Department of Local Government had issued a letter to the corporation to probe the relationships between the enlisted contractors and councillors and to seek fresh affidavits from both the councillors and the contractors in this regard. However, under pressure from councillors likely to be affected, action on these instructions was dropped. The government is also said to have taken serious note of “business relationships” and “benami” partnerships between councillors and contractors. In this regard, the record of development projects executed by certain contractors in some of the wards is being scrutinised to see whether the councillors concerned had vested interests.
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Doctors leaving city for greener pastures
Ludhiana, November 29 Doctors have migrated from Christian Medical College and Hospital, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital and some other private institutions. The exodus has been encouraged by relaxed norms adopted recently by Canada, England, Australia and even the USA. No wonder, even elderly persons can be seen sitting for the IELTS and IDP exams, most of them doctors. Recently, the UK Government announced preference for post-graduate doctors with three years’ experience in a teaching institution. As a result, a number of senior faculty members from reputed institutions like CMC and DMC have either migrated or are in the process. A leading doctor of the city disclosed that besides lack of facilities in India, hostile atmosphere is also one of the reasons for the migration. Last year during the “kidney scam” some leading doctors were harassed by the government, he alleged. A leading doctor couple were harassed by small-time politicians, with the result that they got fed up and decided to migrate to Australia. The USA has also relaxed norms for fresh medical graduates. After the US-authorised agency Caplan started conducting the USMLE tests in India, about half of the fresh graduates have started taking the test. Earlier, the candidates had to appear in either Pakistan or Singapore, but now they can take the test in Delhi. Admitting the steady exodus of doctors from here, the national vice-president of the IMA, who also heads the local chapter of the association, stressed the need for discouraging doctors from going abroad. He said there was a sense of alienation among the doctors that forced them to opt for emigration.
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123 farmers begin fast
in jail
Ludhiana, November 29 The Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta) said in a press statement that the joint front of farmers of the union and the Kisan Sangharsh Committee went on a hunger strike in the jail to demand the medical check-up of the five farmers from a private nursing home as directed by a court recently. The press note, which was released by Mr Surjit Singh Gill, Mr Sudagar Singh Ghudani and Mr Sawinder Singh Chutala, said arms of 12 farmers had been fractured in the incident These farmers were now undergoing treatment in the jail hospital. The union leaders alleged that in spite of the court orders to get five of these farmers examined by a private doctor , the jail administration had been dilly-dallying on the matter and not doing anything in this regard. The leaders further stated that the hunger strike would continue till the five injured farmers were examined at a private clinic. They also demanded the release of all agitating farmers at the earliest.
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BKU seeks release of farmers
Ludhiana, November 29 Leaders of the farmers said the cotton farmers had been given a raw deal as the going price in Punjab was only between Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 while it was Rs 2,000 or higher in other states. This has resulted in distress selling and has ruined the farmers who were already under debt. In addition to this, the government had also not released the arrears of the sugarcane farmers who had been running from pillar to post to get their due, they pointed out. Ironically, the government was buying sugarcane for Rs 125 per quintal from the farmers and was selling the molasses to the private distilleries at Rs 900 per quintal, they said. Not only this, the government in its largesse had forgotten about the dues of the farmers amounting to Rs 100 crore but had waived excise duty of Rs 190 crore for five big liquor groups operating in the state, they added. They demanded that the government should roll back its decision and use the excise amount so realised to clear the dues of the farmers. The leaders said the failure of the government to clear the dues of the farmers had resulted in reduction in the area under sugarcane cultivation, thereby, giving a serious jolt to the diversification programme of the state.
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‘Veer-Zaara’ now tax free
Ludhiana, November 29 Hence, Yash Chopra and Yash Raj Films Pvt Ltd are highly grateful to Capt Amarinder Singh for the entertainment tax exemption on the movie, ‘Veer Zaara’ in Punjab. On November 18, in Chandigarh, Capt Amarinder Singh had honoured film director and producer Yash Chopra for his outstanding contribution towards the promotion of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat through his film. Yash Chopra in a press note said he was also grateful to Mr D.S. Jaspal, Principal Secretary, Public Relations, Punjab, and Mr Harpreet Sandhu, Senior Deputy Advocate-General, Punjab, for their cooperation and guidance to build up the relationship of the Bollywood film industry with the Government of Punjab.
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PUDA session leaves residents fuming
Ludhiana, November 29 Various complaints regarding roads, parks and pending power connections came up at the session. Additional Chief Administrator, PUDA, Ms Alakh Nanda, directed Vikas House Building Corporation to provide all amenities. The worst affected were the residents who were not given electricity connections by the PSEB due to non-payment of dues by the colonisers. Another problem highlighter was an unapproved colony set up on 350 acres in South City. Ms Nanda told the colonisers that they would face penal action. PUDA had marked an inquiry in this regard last year. The complainants, Capt Joginder Singh Kullar, a former Director, Small-Scale Industries, and Mr S.L. Vig, a former Additional Director of Employment, Punjab, had lodged a complaint against the company. They alleged that Vikas Housing Building Company had sold off around 350 acres of undeveloped land without obtaining a licence from PUDA.
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Raikot police station goes online
Raikot, November 29 Speaking on the occasion, Mr Ahir claimed that the investigating officers would be able to devote more time to issues which were usually referred to various courts for adjudication. Besides expediting the process of giving justice, it would also save the time of the courts and labour and money of the parties concerned. “Increase in operational efficiency will further improve law and order situation in the area as the policemen would be freed from heavy and tiring paper work,” said Mr Ahir. Regarding extension of the facility to other police stations in the district, Mr Ahir said the department wanted all police stations to own computers but the resources did not allow this. “However, the police stations of the district will be interconnected with other stations of Indian cities soon as the district has already been chosen to be connected under Pol-net scheme,” claimed the SSP.
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BJP gears up for protest rally in Delhi
Ludhiana, November 29 Dr Verma said the respective mandal presidents, office-bearers of the district unit and heads of mahila morcha, yuva morcha and other wings were giving final touches to the arrangements. Workers led by party leaders would leave for Delhi on the night of November 30. Ms Prem Rani Bhatia, president of the Mahila Morcha, Mr Sanjay Kapoor, president of the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Dr Sudama Tiwari, president of the Poorvanchal Morcha, and Dr Gurdev Chand, president of the SC/ST wing, would lead their respective workers to Delhi, who would assemble in the Ram Lila grounds. Launching a scathing attack on the Congress-led UPA government, the BJP chief remarked that repeated hikes in the prices of petroleum products had proved that the government had failed in curbing the price rise and essential commodities had virtually gone out of the reach of a common man in the country.
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Development officers to
surrender vehicles
Ludhiana, November 29 Alleging that the management had changed service conditions that would render many employees jobless, the development officers condemned the cut in their benefits and said they had resorted to non-cooperation with the management and work to rule. They said the management policies were “anti-marketing” as a result of which the LIC was losing its market share. “the LIC has already lost 6 per cent of the market to private players,” said the president, National Federation of Insurance Field Workers of India, Mr Ashwini Puri, in a press statement today. The union said a further erosion in the LIC share was likely if the present policies continued.
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Consumer alleges cheating
by BSNL
Ludhiana, November 29 According to a scheme of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), any consumer who has a telephone bill of Rs 2,000 or more is entitled to an ITC card worth Rs 200 for free till November 30. When the resident, Mr Manjit Inder Singh Johal, deposited a bill of Rs 2,116 and asked for the ITC card, an employee at the cash counter expressed ignorance about any such scheme. When she was shown a brochure announcing the scheme pasted on the notice board, she directed him to another staff member at the ITC counter. When Mr Johal contacted him, he said the scheme had expired. When he was shown that the last date was November 30, he directed Mr Johal to go to the SDO concerned at Sudhar and get in writing that he did not owe any money to the department. The official said he was not sure if any bill was pending in his case or not. “I came back only to save time and energy as such records are available only with the TRA office at Jagraon. For Rs 200, I can’t waste my day travelling from Mullanpur to Sudhar and then to Jagraon. It is ironical that while the department claims that all cash counters are online, it expects consumers to run around to get old bill records. Why can’t they check the balance on a computer themselves?” he wondered. He said people were preferring connections of private telecom companies due to the uncooperative attitude of BSNL employees. He said if the authorities were serious in making the scheme attractive, they should have publicised it better. Pasting a notice on the board, that too in English, did not make any difference, he added. “Neither the cashier nor any other official tells us about schemes. I came across this one by chance. Bills are also deposited at post offices and banks. How would consumers learn about the scheme there? Many customers would have gone back without availing the benefit while in records the ITC cards might be shown as issued to customers,” he said, adding that it might turn out to be a big scam if the matter was probed. Dr Jagjit Singh Jwanda of Shanker village said the district BSNL office had stopped advertising the khula darbar organised to redress the grievances of consumers for the past year and a half. Other districts were advertising such darbars in newspapers, he added.
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BSNL employees hold rally
Ludhiana, November 29 The union also demanded a minimum of five promotions in the entire service, and perks and allowances on a par with MTNL and change of the designation of TTA to
JE, said Mr Balwinder Singh, district secretary.
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Bharat Vikas Parishad to get award
Ludhiana, November 29 Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Mr R.N. Gupta, honorary manager, said four persons of the parishad, Mr Yaspal Gupta, finance secretary; Mr J.P. Gupta, president; Mr Pawan Aggarwal, secretary; and Ms Neelam Gupta, convener, will go to Delhi to receive
the award. Mr Gupta said 34 of the 47 employees of the parishad were severely handicapped. Some of them were making candles, while others were making “Vikas foot” on the pattern of the Jaipur foot, artificial limbs, paper envelopes, blackboard dusters, chalks, doing embroidery and stitching and were repairing refrigerators
and televisions. Most of them were affected by polio while some were accident victims. The things produced by these people were put on sale, Mr Gupta said. A couple, Jhagoo Ram and his wife Rajkumari, had come to the parishad from Bihar asking
for tricycles. On counselling, they both agreed to quit begging, which they had been indulging in till then, and were now making envelopes and lived a life of dignity on the premises of the parishad. The trust supplied at least five artificial limbs made by handicapped people daily to needy persons. While the trust did get some aid from the government, philanthropists also contributed, Mr Gupta said. Donors could help a handicapped person work by giving Rs 3,000, enable someone to work with both arms for only Rs 1,500 and provide callipers to a polio-afflicted person by donating
Rs 1,000. Mr Gupta said schools should admit physically handicapped children and cinema halls, shopping malls, railway stations, etc, should have ramps for wheelchairs.
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Seminar on regionalism begins
Ludhiana, November 29 It was inaugurated by the president of the college, Mr Gurbir Singh. Dr Charanjit Mahal, Principal, welcomed the speaker, Dr Jagroop Singh Sekhon, Head, Department of Political Science, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. She spoke on the divisive politics of regionalism being played by politicians and others. Dr Sekhon presented his views on “Regionalism and separatist: Punjab experience”. He unveiled causes behind the separatist movement of Punjab. Scholars, resource persons, delegates and students from various institutions participated in the seminar. The seminar was followed by an exhibition of various models, maps, charts and other creative items prepared by students of the college on regionalism.
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Book of stories released
Ludhiana, November 29 The function was organised by the Sahit Sabha and the Sirjan Dhara. Karamjit Singh Aujla, president and Kulwant Jagraon, general secretary, Sirjan Dhara, respectively, introduced the writer and complimented her on the depth of the stories. Mr Harpreet Singh and Mr Inderpal presented critical analysis of the stories. Prof M. S. Cheema called her 'Princess of Words'. Prof N. S. Tasneem, another noted columnist and writer paid her compliments on her writings. The writer said, "The stories are not merely stories but it is the call of sensitive heart that has suffered in life.”
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DTF for lifting ban on recruitments
Ludhiana, November 29 The DPI assured them that the vacancies would be filled soon. The DPI (City), Mr Gian Singh, was also present to address the head masters of several schools.
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One killed in mishap
Jagraon, November 29 Four booked:
Baljinder Singh, Lakhbir Singh, Balbir Singh and Harbans Kaur of Cheema village were booked on charges of assaulting Baldev Singh of the same village. The police has registered a case. Mandi Ahmedgarh:
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‘Exempt’ industrial
activities from service tax
Ludhiana, November 29 According to the chamber, some industrial processes are under focus for the levy of service tax under the head of auxiliary business service. Electroplating, zinc plating and other job works are intended to be covered under service tax whereas the industry contests this contention of the department, said Mr Sharma. The chamber has urged the Excise Department to exempt all industrial activities from service tax and announce a decision immediately. The chamber also recommended that the last date for registration under service tax be extended.
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