Ludhiana, June 21
Alleging discrimination at the hands of Congress-led government in the state, four MLAs and and Member Parliament, Ludhiana, belonging to the Shiromani Akali Dal walked out of the meeting of the District Planning and Development Board (DPDB) chaired by Mr Lal Singh Rural Development and Panchayat, Irrigation and Power Minister, here today.

While staging the walkout the MP and four Akali MLAs of the Ludhiana Assembly segment, including Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, Mr Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, Mr Bhag Singh Mallah and Mr Ranjit Singh Talwandi, said the government was not releasing Rs 3 crore towards the MPLAD Fund to MP, Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, for the past one year and they would not participate in the meeting of the commission.

‘‘When they do not want to release the funds due to our constituency why should be sit in the planning board meeting? When we air our gerivance they keep telling us that it would be done. When there is no money what is the fun of planning without it? ’’ said Mr Dhillon, while talking to TNS today.

He said that Rs 1 crore was due from the government for the past year and not even a single penny was released for this year fund also. He added that a file was lying with the Deputy Commissioner for the past eight months and whenever he went to inquire about it he was told that the work was getting expedited.

‘‘They want to tarnish our reputation in the public making the people feel that they had elected us and we could not do anything to help our areas. This is what their aim is, ’’ said Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, MLA of Kila Raipur constituency.

He added that they had also demanded that various grants from the government should be distributed in respective constituencies by some government officials and not by the Congress leaders who were not even in power.

He alleged, ‘‘A Congress leader, who is very close to the Chief Minister was distributing governments grants to people in Kila Raipur and other villages. When he was not an elected representative why was he allowed to do that? He should distribute his own money if he wanted to tell people that he was doing so much for the area,’’ said Mr Garcha. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 21
The Sudhar police has nabbed five members of a notorious gang involved in snatching valuables from crowded areas of Ludhiana city, while the kingpin escaped. Jewellery and mobile phones worth Rs 1.5 lakh have been recovered from the gangsters.

According to Mr Vijay Kumar Sharma, SP (D) Gurjinder Singh, alias, Ghoga, Bhawjit Singh, alias, Bablu, Mohan Singh, Jagtar Singh, Mandip Singh and Lakhbir Singh, residents of Chaminda village in Ludhiana district were nabbed by a police party led by Jangjit Singh Randhawa, SHO, Sudhar, yesterday on the basis of information provided by a social worker of the area.

Mr Nidhan Singh in charge Jodhan had received information that a group of the youths between 20 and 30 age group were standing at Main Chowk near Sehzad village on the highway. ‘‘They were discussing about disposing off some Jewellery and other valuables they had stolen from some where,” told the informer to the police.

On receiving information a police party led by Mr Jagjeet Singh raided the said place and rounded up the accused while Gurpreet Singh, alias Golu, of Chaminda ran away on his motor cycle.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused belonged to well to do families. Addiction and lust for expensive mobiles had led them to the world of crime, disclosed the police.

Meanwhile Mr R K Jaiswal, SSP, Jagraon, claimed that he had discussed the case with his counterpart in Ludhiana district. ‘‘We have sent the interrogation report to Mr Amardeep Rai, SSP, Ludhiana, so that he could get the other victims identified,” said Mr Jaiswal. Six victims have been identified while an equal number of other victims targeted by absconding miscreant were expected to be identified, claimed Mr Jaiswal. 

Ludhiana, June 21
The wait of residents of colonies near Gill Bridge over Sidhwan Canal to get the collapsed bridge reconstructed is finally over with Mr Lal Singh, Rural Development and Panchayat, Irrigation and Power Minister, Punjab, laying the foundation stones of two new bridges here today.

The new bridges would come up at two different points at Sidhwan Canal, including the one at Gill Road worth Rs 92 lakh and another near Ishar Nagar at a cost of Rs 1.24 crore at Shimla Puri.

Taking a dig at the Akalis while addressing the gathering, Mr Lal Singh while refuting the claim of Mr Parkash Singh Badal of anti-government voting said that during the coming elections people would show the SAD leaders their right place.

He said Mr Badal would not be able to play with the emotions of the people on the cards of farmers and Panth, as the people of the state were now fully aware that the Congress government had substantially benefited the farmers and served the Sikh Panth in a better way than them.

Mr Badal, he said during his rule had never done anything for the farmers or the state. He said the interests of the farmers had been fully watched by Captain Amarinder Singh and the government had ensured the smooth lifting of all the crops of the farmers, where as, during the Badal’s regime, they had to spend several nights in the mandis and forced to pay bribes to sell their produce.

Ludhiana, June 21
The city police today put on hold the arrest of all six accused, including four senior advocates, in the Bala Mittal suicide case and directed SP City-I Rakesh Aggarwal to conduct an inquiry into the allegations levelled against the accused in the suicide note.

The institution of police inquiry was made on the plea of the accused who had claimed that the woman had named them out of frustration whereas they were not responsible for the problems in her life.

The woman’s former husband Ashok Mittal, a senior advocate, was meanwhile admitted in Hero DMC heart institute after he suffered some heart problem.

SSP A.S. Rai said told Ludhiana Tribune that he had ordered the inquiry and stayed the arrest till the inquiry is completed after a delegation of senior advocates of the city met him and filed an application claiming the suicide note was based on truth.

Interestingly, no close relative of the woman is alive to follow up the case on her bahalf of SSP A.S. Rai, however sought to allay fears in this regard claiming the police would hold impartial inquiry.

The badly decomposed body of Bala Mittal was recovered from house no. 227-I, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar on Monday evening. She was found hanging from the ceiling fan.

All six accused, including her husband Ashok Mittal, were booked under Section 306 of the IPC in Sarabha Nagar police station.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 21
Ten years after she vowed to become an Army officer on the death of her father in an ambush by the Bodo terrorists, Ms Shashi Singh got commission as a Lieutenant and assumed charge as Administrative Officer in 3 Punjab Battalion of NCC at Ludhiana. Star wearing ceremony was performed at the local Anand Isher Senior Secondary School on Tuesday.

In order to achieve her target Lt Shashi Singh had to resist pressure from within her family as her mother, Ms Rajeshwari Singh, wanted her to continue service as a teacher. "I knew that my joining the armed forces would upset my mother and kin, but my soul would have haunted me if I chose an easy going life to serve the nation on the border," exclaimed Lt Singh, while talking to Ludhiana Tribune after receiving the commission.

Recollecting sequence of events Lt Singh said her father had been killed by Bodo activists in 1996. "When my brother was giving pyre to body of my proud father, Hukam Singh, Commanding Officer in PAC in UP, I had vowed to become an Army officer so that I could taken revenge of my father's death," sighed Lt Singh.

After doing her graduation and degree in education she became a school teacher in JNV, Rewa (MP). She had been selected for the assignment as CDPO also, but she preferred trying her luck in Army through competition examination conducted by UPSC and ultimately succeeded in achieving her goal.

Though initially she was disappointed to be posted away from the border, now she undersands that serving in the interior of the country was equally important. 

Ludhiana, June 21
Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats, Irrigation and Power, Punjab, Lal Singh today directed the officials of Drainage Department to immediately start the work on the desilting of Buddah Nullah.

The minister took serious notice of unutilised grants and directed the officers either to immediately utilise these and submit the utilisation certificates or recover the same from the panchayats as soon as possible.

He was chairing the meeting of the District Grievance Redressal Committee after the meeting of the District Planning and Development Board (DPDB) at Bachat Bhavan, here today.

The issue of Buddah Nullah was raised in the meeting to which the Executive Engineer, Drainage, replied that the desilting would be started within a week as the state government had sanctioned Rs 15 lakh for the project.

On another complaint regarding the decreasing level of groundwater in the city, Mr S.K. Sharma, Commissioner, stated that the Sewerage Board had executed three treatment plants at Balloke, Bhattian and Jamalpur, which would clean the sullage and recharge groundwater. The minister asked the members of the Grievances Committee to submit written complaints, so that these could be amicably sorted out in the meetings.

Earlier, the minister asserted that strict vigilance would be exercised to ensure efficient utilisation of grants amounting to Rs 500 crore released under the Punjab Nirmal Program in the state. All Deputy Commissioners have been asked to direct the officers concerned to make regular checking of the ongoing development works. They were warned that stringent action would be taken against those found unnecessarily delaying the implementation.

The Development Minister also asked the MLAs and members of the District Planning and Development Board (DPDB) to check the progress and quality of the ongoing works in their areas. He said in case of any lapse it should be brought to his notice.

He said the government launched a comprehensive development program, under which funds amounting to more than Rs 5,000 crore had been made available for the development projects, both in urban and rural areas.

Referring to the grants being disbursed through the DPDB in Ludhiana district, Mr Lal Singh stated that till date Rs 49.80 crore had been released under the Punjab Nirman Program to various departments. He said during 2005-06 Rs 23.28 crore were spent under this program and Rs 37.35 crore would be spent in the current financial year.

The minister further said Rs 2.62 crore had been given for development to unanimously elected panchayats in the district. Funds amounting to Rs 5 crore had been released for the development projects, especially for Kila Raipur constituency.

At the meeting more grants of Rs 5.58 crore were sanctioned for development works, including Rs 4.97 crore to provide nutritious diet to the children up to the age of 6 years and lactating mothers, Rs 22.29 lakh for nutritious diet to adolescent girls of poor families through the Social Security Department, Rs 37.89 lakh for the Indira Awas Yojna and Rs 1.30 lakh for Swaran Jyanti Gram Rojgar Yojna during this year.

The minister said regular monthly meetings of the DPDB and the Grievances Committee would be organised on the first Thursday of every month in future.

Mr Ashok Kumar Gupta, Deputy Commissioner, while addressing the meeting said all SDMs had been directed to regularly check development projects in their areas. He directed the officers concerned to ensure the utilisation of grants. He said that ADC (D) would review the progress of works by holding fortnightly meetings.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 21
Students from various schools of Ludhiana and surrounding villages and wards of officials of the Indian Air Force Station, Halwara, interacted with residents of various localities during a trekking and camping session that concluded at the Officer’s Enclave today. The trekking groups were flagged of by AOC Anil Chopra and Ms Suman Chopra, chairperson, AFWWA, yesterday.

Majority of the trekkers were fascinated by the routine chores undertaken by women of the villages they visited. They appreciated the lifestyle of villagers whose coordinated work filled the grain bowl of the state.

Referring to information received from the trekkers, Ms Chopra claimed that for majority of them it was their maiden trekking camp. “Besides being a pleasure trip during vacation, the camp served as an adventurous and educative venture as they learnt certain technical affairs, including use of compass,” she added.

Trekkers were imparted knowledge in map reading, navigation, flight safety and civil defence. They were also made aware on personal hygiene, disposal of waste matter, preparation and storage of food, purification of water, vector-borne disease and vector control, heat stroke and first aid.

Ludhiana, June 21
The relative fall in the day temperature in the region appears to have no impact on Ludhianvis. Quite a number of them have already moved, or are planning to move, to chill out in the hills. With the result, most of the hotels in the hill stations in the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh and Uttranchal Pradesh are reportedly full with advance bookings. The rise in the incidents of violence in the Kashmir valley is believed to have also led to the diversion of tourists to Himachal Pradesh. Hence, additional pressure on the resources.

The pressure has already shown up here among travel and tour agents. Taxis are also not available and bookings have to be made much in advance. As the summer vacations are also coming to a close in the coming week, this appears to be the peak time for the outing. The travel agents said the hotel rooms are not available even on premium as people have made advance bookings. The most favourite places include Kasauli, Shimla, Manali and other places in Himachal Pradesh and quite a few in Uttranchal Pradesh like Mussoorie.

Ms Mona, who left for Chail with her husband and two kids today, said that there should always be a break from routine. “Being a working woman, I need to have a break and summer vacations are the best for holidaying when everyone is free. We had booked a cottage there well in advance so that we are not harassed with kids. Chail and Shimla have always been my favourite”, said Mona.

Another city-based couple, Kumar and Prabha, have plans to go to Manali for a week. Mr Kumar said: “Earlier we were planning to go to Srinagar but because of disturbance in the valley we changed our programme. We had to go in the second week of June but because of great rush in hotels and cottages in Manali, we had to postpone our trip. Now we will be going on June 28”.

Ritu, who returned from Kasauli two days back, said that they had not booked a room in advance. So they had to face difficulties. “But somehow we managed to be the paying guests of an old couple there. The days are reasonable but the evenings are too pleasant there”, she added.

Ludhiana, June 21
Kanganwal village-based financier-cum-politician Shambhu will be declared a history-sheeter for his alleged criminal activities just days after he had shared stage with PPCC president Shamsher Singh Dullo.

The SSP, A.S. Rai, told reporters after flagging off 13 new Bolero Jeeps for 13 police stations under a Union Home Ministry modernisation plan that the police was gathering Shambhu’s criminal record. He was answering a query on why he has not been arrested so far. The SP, Headquarters, Mr Amar Singh Chahal was also present.

The financier had been booked for allegedly rendering an aged couple of the village homeless early this month. The victims had to resort to a fast at the mini-secretariat for several days for getting a case registered.

On his part the accused had been claiming high political links. He had went on to share the stage with Mr Dullo even as the police was on his trail. But no police official present at the rally arrested him. The financier had allegedly went into hiding after the media exposure of his political links.

Meanwhile, the SSP also announced that PCR policemen had been given 70 wireless sets.