Phagwara, January 21
Two children were killed, while six others injured when a dilapidated wall near the quarters of the Labour Colony of the Bone Mill, GT Road, Chaheru, collapsed this morning. 
Those killed in the wall collapse were eight-month-old Priya and six-year-old Shebby, both daughters of Ram Kishan, a supervisor in the mill.

It was learnt that a bulldozer was removing the ash piled up near the dilapidated wall when the wall collapsed. Children playing near the wall were buried under it. Though the colony residents managed to rescue some children, they could not save Priya and Shebby. It is being alleged that the wall that was already weak collapsed due to the vibrations of the machine.

Those injured included Ram Kishan’s third daughter Seema, and Soni (5) and Suman (15), daughters of another labourer Brij Lal, Aarti (6), daughter of Raghu Lal, Gudiya (7), daughter of Ram Hari, and Suman (16), daughter of Ram Bharat. They have been admitted to the local Civil Hospital. Senior Medical Officer, Phagwara, Dr Yash Mitra, told The Tribune that the injured were out of danger.

Heart-rending cries of the parents of the dead children were witnessed at the accident site. Deputy Commissioner, Kapurthala, Mr Sameer Kumar, who visited the site, has ordered a magisterial enquiry into the incident.

It has been learnt that the mill management and the affected parties have reached an agreement on the issue of compensation and the police has had to treat the case as “settled” to mutual satisfaction. Punjab Agro Foods Ltd Chairman, Mr Joginder Singh Mann, along with Deputy Commissioner Kapurthala, Naib Tehsildar, Mr Mulkh Raj, and ASP, Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill, visited the spot and offered their condolences to the bereaved family. Mr Mann announced a grant of Rs 50,000 each for the family of both children, and free medical treatment for the injured. He demanded a “stringent action” against the mill management for “not taking proper care of the dilapidated structure”.

Meanwhile, it has been learnt that Kapurthala DC “summoned” the mill owner, Mr Rohit Khanna, at a local rest house in connection with the accident.

Mr Khanna announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each for the family of the two deceased children, and Rs 5,000 each for the injured. The DC also instructed the mill management to repair and strengthen the wall within one week.

The bodies of the children were brought to the Civil Hospital here for postmortem.

Bootan (Kapurthala), January 21
With a population of more than 10,000, this village is notorious for bootlegging of liquor and poppy husk in the region. Having small holdings of land, most of the villagers depend upon the illegal activity of manufacturing illicit liquor in the village.

According to the police, more than 13 lakh milli-litres of illicit liquor and around 200 kg of poppy husk were recovered in 2005 from this Bootan village, situated on the Kapurthala-Subhanpur Road.

Over 100 cases were also registered against the bootleggers in the last year.

“In the absence of any development and lack of education in the area, the people of Bootan and the neighbouring villages have been indulging in bootlegging and thefts in the region for a long time,” informed Mr Sarwan Singh Bal, SHO, Subhanpur.

“Now after the strict measures being implemented by the police and the laying of the road by Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal along the bank of the Kali Bein, it has become difficult for the bootleggers to continue with their illegal activities,” he added.

The bootleggers used to manufacture the liquor on the banks of the Bein earlier, taking the advantage of inaccessibility to the place.

They also used the place for storing their stocks whenever the police raided their hideouts.

“After the construction of a road on the banks of the Bein, their activities have been restricted to a great extent,” Mr Bal said.

However, some residents of the village, on the condition of anonymity, said the business of bootlegging of liquor and poppy husk was continuing uninterruptedly with the “connivance” of the police.

The change in this illicit trade was restricted only to its monopolisation by an influential family of the village, they said.

According to sources, this family has “grabbed” the work of manufacturing illicit liquor and smuggling the poppy husk by threatening others and asking them to stop their operations.

This influential family has also allegedly encroached upon a major chunk of the 95 acres of the panchayat land, sources said.

Mr Rajeev Ahir, SSP, Kapurthala, said that he viewed the problem as a social and economic one rather than that of law and order.

“The people in the village are not much educated and have no other source of livelihood. So they hesitate to shift to other trades from bootlegging of liquor, and thefts. Their ancestors, too, indulged in all this,” said the SSP.

“We have planned to educate the youth in the region about the negative consequences of this illegal trade. We are impressing upon them that these illegal activities would have a negative bearing on the coming generations too,” Mr Ahir added.

The village is perceptibly backward so far as education is concerned. The female literacy rate is abysmally low. Among the males, too, education is not a priority.

There are not more than 100 youths in the village who have completed their school education.

An elementary school situated in the village does not have any metalled road.

No grants for the village have been disbursed for a long time.

“Though Rs 1 lakh has been granted for the laying of roads and sewerage in the village, it is grossly insufficient to meet the existing demand. At least Rs 20 lakh are required for the construction of concrete roads only,” rued Mr Swaran Singh, the sarpanch of the village.

“The village is also facing the problem of fresh water supply,” he added.

As most of the families in the village are poor, they cannot make lavatories at their homes.

Jalandhar, January 21
To lodge their protest against the recent implementation of the 85th Constitutional Amendment in Punjab, hundreds of members of the General Categories’ Welfare Federation, Punjab, burnt an effigy of the state government and broke as many as 21 pitchers at the dharna organised by them in front of the Company Bagh here today.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Iqbal Singh Maan, Mr Arun Kumar Anchal, and Mr Nirmal Singh, the senior office-bearers of the federation, alleged that the implementation of the Amendment was a direct attack on the rights of about 76 per cent employees belonging to general and backward class categories. They alleged that the previous BJP-led Central government had effected the amendment after putting aside a Punjab government decision.

“The implementation would not fetch any benefit for the state government. The government should revoke its notification regarding the implementation of the Amendment,” said Mr R.K. Chaudhary, another senior office-bearer of the federation.

The protestors also wore black cloaks and organised a protest march apart from breaking 21 pitchers as part of their agitation.

Phagwara, January 21
A simple stroll in the evening became a nightmarish experience for a Behram village family when a father-son duo was literally chased and attacked by honeybees. The two could be saved only after passersby rushed to their aid and threw jute bags on them.

Parshottam Das (48) left his house for an evening walk with son Sumesh (10) around 4.45 pm on Friday. When they reached near the Phagwara-Behram check-post, a swarm of bees suddenly surrounded them.

Before they had a chance, the bees were all over the two stinging them on the face, hands and other exposed body parts. Luckily for them, not many parts were exposed as they were wearing woollen clothes because of the cold.

A labourer, who was passing by, was also stung by bees all over the body. The bees, apparently upset over being dislocated from a hive on the road side, then entered a shop and attacked the shopkeeper, Daljit Singh.

The injured were rushed to a private hospital at Phagwara. Daljit Singh said it was not the first time that the honeybees had attacked people.

Parshottam Das, a businessman, suffered injuries on head and back. A visibly-shaken Parshottam told The Tribune that he was totally oblivious of the beehive. The shopkeeper, who was also attacked, suffered injuries on his eyes and mouth.

Phagwara, January 21
Members of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union continued their “two periods prime time strike” on the third day today. The union is organising “Protest Week.”

The former district presidents of the PCCTU, Prof Jasbir Singh Johal and Prof Satnam Singh Dhaliwal, said campus rallies and dharnas were also held as part of the week-long agitation programme.

The union leaders criticised the Punjab government for “reneging” on its poll promises of granting pension cum gratuity and maintaining the level of grant-in-aid scheme at 95 per cent.

The government also drew flak for its “discrimination” against the college teachers by not merging 50 per cent DA with the basic pay.