Ludhiana, October 12
Coming down hard on parking area violations by owners of commercial buildings in the city, municipal corporation officials today sealed a large power generator and a portion of an upmarket commercial complex on Mall Road. Its owners were charged with use of the building’s rear parking area for purposes other than that designated and creating obstruction in the side passage by putting huge generators for power backup.

In the course of disposal of a civil writ petition, the Punjab & Haryana High Court had directed the civic body to remove encroachments and structures in the designated parking area and passage in a time bound manner.

According to assistant town planner (zone D) SS Bindra, who led the sealing operations, the building’s owners had erected a makeshift enclosure for installing power generators in the rear parking area while another big generator had been placed in the side passage that caused obstruction of movement.

Though some shopkeepers in the building put up mild resistance while the MC staff was sealing the generator and the enclosure in the rear parking area, better sense prevailed and the civic officials persuaded them not to stand in the way of execution of the high court order.

Bindra later told The Tribune the court’s directions had been carried out and action against other violators of building bylaws was also in the offing.

Commercial space being at a high premium in the state’s industrial hub, the menace of misuse of designated parking spaces, especially at the rear of buildings, by owners of commercial complexes is rampant with little or no enforcement in most of the cases. There are several brazen cases where the builders have used the entire parking space, originally shown in the building plans, to construct shops, showrooms or storerooms even in the city’s most congested areas.

"We’ve identified quite a few violations where either the entire parking space or parts of it are being used for other than designated purpose. However, in a majority of such cases the owners either bring political or bureaucratic pressure to evade action, or else go into litigation to hamper the process of enforcement," said a senior MC official, requesting anonymity.

Ludhiana, October 12
A mechanical fault in the diesel engine of a goods train on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur line near Shastri Nagar led to the closure of level-crossing between the Pakhowal road and Model Town Extension for more than an hour today, with traffic chaos prevailing all around.

Thousands of vehicles on the Pakhowal road, Sarabha Nagar, Shastri Nagar, Model Town and Model Town Extension remained caught in the traffic jam.

According to railway officials, as a Moga-bound goods train departed from the Ludhiana railway station at 3.15 pm, its diesel engine developed a mechanical fault.

However, with the train coming to a halt due to engine failure, watchman chose not to open the Shastri Nagar level-crossing till officials arrived at the spot.

Divisional traffic manager of the Northern Railways Parminder Singh said on receiving the information, engineers from the diesel shed rushed to the site, where the engine had stalled, to rectify the fault and make the train resume its journey, which took nearly an hour.

In the meanwhile, traffic chaos showered on Model Town Extension and Sarabha Nagar, as serpentine queues of vehicles could be seen on both sides of the level-crossing. The wait for motorists was frustrating due to complete uncertainty and confusion over the closure of the level-crossing.

An exasperated businessman Jagmohan Gill, caught in the traffic snarl for about 50 minutes, and having missed an appointment, blamed the railway officials for their apathetic attitude towards the plight of public.

“The railway officials could have opened the level-crossing for traffic during the period the railway engine was being repaired. But they decided otherwise and thousands of people were made to suffer.”

Ludhiana, October 12
As residents continues to grapple with vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue, the city with a population of over three million has only one malaria inspector to supervise the task entrusted to the municipal corporation’s health branch to combat the disease.

As if this fact itself was not shocking enough, the inspector, Nirmal Kumar, has been assigned to - of all places - the MC’s accounts branch for the past couple of years, virtually leaving the position vacant. Though the reasons for this "undue favour" done to him are best known to the civic administration, sources hinted at his “political connections”.

Though MC health officer Dr Charanjit Uppal admitted the malaria inspector was working in the MC’s accounts branch, he feigned ignorance about the reasons behind this strange situation. He, however, claimed the civic body’s efforts to eradicate mosquitoes and prevent malaria was not at all suffering on this account.

"We’ve assigned the work (prevention of malaria) to sanitary inspectors in each of the four zones in the city. Adequate steps to destroy mosquitoes and prevent malaria and dengue are being taken," Uppal asserted.

MC Commissioner AK Sinha told The Tribune he was not aware Kumar was working in the accounts department or the reason for his having been shifted there. "We shall look into the matter and assign him the duty that he is supposed to perform”, he added.

Meanwhile, the function of the health department and, specifically fumigation operations to kill mosquitoes in the city, have come under a cloud following audit objections and adverse remarks by the civic body’s finance department on consumption of petrol, diesel and pyrethrine (medicine used to kill mosquitoes).

Information obtained by a city-based NGO, the Anti-Corruption & Crime Investigation Cell, under the Right to Information Act reveals the MC’s audit branch had questioned the consumption of fuel for the vehicles carrying fumigation machines and medicine shown to have been used for anti-mosquito operations saying the consumption pattern did not match with the log books of the MC vehicles.

"Based on the audit objections the MC’s finance department has directed supervisory officials of the health branch to fix responsibility of the erring staff and initiate recovery proceedings against the drivers for bogus consumption of petrol, diesel and pyrethrine," the details provided by the civic body to the NGO stated.

Mullanpur Dakha, October 12
A group of at least a dozen men armed with sharp-edged weapons killed a woman at a Gujjar ‘dera’ situated on the outskirts of Hissewal village near here and injured two others seriously.

Sources said the group attacked the ‘dera’ inhabitants with the intention to rob them. However, they took away less than Rs 200 in cash from the dera. The men, suspected to be members of some other dera, did not take away valuables and ornaments.

The police has begun investigations after filing an FIR under section 460 of IPC against unidentified suspects.

Ilman, head woman of the Gujjar clan living at the temporary ‘dera’ was killed and her sister-in-law, Janno, and daughter, Baani, were seriously hurt when the robbers attacked the ‘dera’ at about midnight yesterday. All the male members of the ‘dera’ fled from the scene when they saw the group approaching them. The suspects, said to be members of another 'dera', did not take away valuables. Ilman’s family members told the police the deceased had Rs 200 with her two days ago and she could have spent a part of this amount for some domestic needs.

Investigations by a police team med by SHO Jangjit Singh revealed the suspects challenged the ‘dera’ occupants before attacking them. Presuming it to be an attack by a rival group, Ilman managed to convince the clan’s male members to leave the 'dera' immediately. They reportedly took shelter at their old ‘dera’ in Malikpur.

Before the male members returned with their relatives, the suspects had fled from the scene and the three women were lying in pools of blood. They were taken to a Ludhiana hospital where doctors declared Ilman brought dead. The condition of Janno and Baani was stated to be serious.

Though it appears to be a case of robbery, intergang rivalry cannot be ruled out. 

Ludhiana, October 12
“A good actor is the one who keeps on struggling. It is only through hard work and struggle that an actor achieves a position in the film industry,” said Moga-based actor Sonu Sood, who was in the city today. Going down the memory lane, Sonu said he was an engineer when he started modelling and finally landed up in the tinsel town.

“I have toiled hard to be at a position where I am today. It is easy to earn name and fame if you have a strong backing, but being entirely new to the field needs great courage and hard work,” said Sood.

“Doing a film in my mother tongue is a wish unfulfilled,” he said. He is dying to do a film in Punjabi, but has not found a suitable script as yet. “I have read nearly three-four scripts, but nothing really impressed me. I wanted to do a film with a social message. Punjabi youth is facing many problems like brain drain and drug menace. Even in my town, Moga, a lot of youngsters are hooked to drugs. I want to do a film, which will show a ray of hope or a new path to the young brigade,” he added.

He further pitched in that portraying a good character and delivering a bold performance is more important than concentrating whether the role is negative or positive. “I have done negative roles in a majority of the films I have done. Being a great performer is what counts and not the label of positive or negative,” signs off Sonu.

Ludhiana, October 12
Following the Excise and Taxation department’s strict vigil in and around the Ludhiana railway station, peti mafia has made its way to the small railway stations.

Now, consignments without bills are received and sent to other stations through these small railways stations. Tightening the noose around the peti mafia, the department had launched a special drive to keep a check on the illegal trade, but the peti mafia has found slip routes to escape from the watchful eyes of the department, say sources.

The department is finding it difficult to keep a check on these railway stations since some of them come under Ambala division. Sources said the peti mafia was using railway stations at Jagraon, Malerkotla, Phillaur, Ladowal and Gill to upload and receive the delivery without bills. Malerkotla and Gill railway stations fall under the Ambala division and the department has to take a special permission from the Ambala headquarters before conducting raids.

According to sources, boxes of consignment are made to reach these small stations during night. The illegal consignment is then sent towards Ludhiana from these stations. After the consignment reaches the Ludhiana railway station, it is booked and sent to its actual destination through leased bogies, sources added.

Recently, the department got a major success when it conducted raids at godowns of peti mafia at Peepal wali gali near the railway station. Goods without bill amounting to Rs 35 lakh were confiscated from four godowns. The owners of the godowns were made to deposit Rs 10 lakh as penalty.

After the incident, the peti mafia has become overcautious and has now stated using slip routes in the form of small railway stations to receive and send consignments without bill.

When contacted, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Parampal Singh said the department was aware that of the diversion of route by the peti mafia. “We are taking the help of the mobile wing of the department and will be making a combined effort to curb this practice. So far, we have not faced any problem at any of the railway stations,” he said. 

Doraha, October 12
As per the decision of the Gas Pipeline Virodhi Sangarsh Committee, Punjab, farmers of Ludhiana district will stage a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office, Ludhiana, on October 20.

Stating this in a press release, sangarsh committee convener Gurcharan Singh Laparan said the dharna would be staged against the government for making an insensible decision of providing such a route to the gas pipeline, which he said would cause a big loss to the fertile lands of the farmers.

“Our demand to GAIL India Pipeline Limited is to get the route of the gas pipeline shifted along the banks of canals, drains, roads, railway lines and through barren lands,” Lapran added. Members of the sangarsh committee, Mohinder Singh Selon, Rajinder Singh, Rajvir Singh Doburji, Bahal Singh Bagali, Pawan Kumar Kaushal, Doraha, Rachpal Singh Chawa and Jagdev Singh Bhomaddi under the leadership of convener Laparan are arranging the meetings of the affected farmers in Bhutta, Lapran, Doburji, Raul, Bowani, Deep Nagar, Bhomaddi, Gagar Majra, Harbanspura, Chawa, Bagli Kalan, Bomb, Nagra villages, etc.

The farmers are being exhorted to raise their voice against the injustice and make the dharna a grand success. There is great resentment among the farmers against the dictatorial attitude of GAIL authorities and the state government.

Ludhiana, October 12
In a prelude to the forthcoming assembly elections in the state, the Congress has started making efforts to revive its defunct students’ organisation, the National Students Union of India (NSUI) in Punjab.

As part of this drive, NSUI general secretary Amrita Dhawan today visited the city colleges to kick start membership enrolment campaign in the city. The drive is aimed at electing student leaders at the district and state level and will continue till October 31.

Dhawan also addressed a meeting of the Ludhiana wing at the Congress Bhawan.

“We got an overwhelming response from students during our visit to the city colleges,” Dhawan said.

She added that NSUI’s students’ wings are active in 21 states and functioning well with a considerable number of members. “But we have to revive the wings in the rest of the cities and also increase membership in the present cities,” she said.

Questioned if the sudden spurt of activity in the state had a close connection with the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections, Dhawan said, “It will definitely prove helpful to the Congress if the youth is mobilised,” she said.

“Punjab did not have any NSUI president for many years, despite repeated efforts. But, this time, the response from young boys and girls in the state is overwhelming,” she said, adding that Punjab has been divided into three zones - Patiala, Bathinda and Jalandhar. “NSUI is the first students’ organisation with a democratic set up where students elect the leader through the electoral system. Our aim is to motivate the students to come forward and actively participate in youth politics,” Dhawan remarked.

Dhawan revealed that all regular degree college students below the age of 27 years could get enrolled as members.

“They can download the membership forms from the NSUI website www.nsui.in/Punjab and submit the same to the PROs concerned before October 31, along with a photograph, Rs 10 as membership fee and college ID proof,” she informed.

Ludhiana, October 12
The All-India Association of Central Excise Gazetted Executive Officers, Chandigarh zone, organised a blood donation camp at the Central Excise House, Rishi Nagar, Ludhiana.

AK Sharma, president of the association, said, “As per estimates, it is known that India needs six million units of blood per year and the present status of availability is three million units only.”

He added that the association had composed a directory (Sampark Nidhi) of superintendents of Chandigarh zone, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir.

“The directory contains name, e-mail address, phone number and blood group of superintendents of Chandigarh zone,” he said.

Member of Parliament Manish Tewari inaugurated the camp, which was attended by PK Sirohi, Chief Commissioner, Customs and Central Excise, Chandigarh zone.

Around 200 people donated blood. Dr Amarjeet Kaur, professor and head of the blood bank of Dayanand Medical College, along with her team, collected the blood.

Pawan Dewan, Satish Sharma, Jagmohan Sharma, Ashwani Kumar, Sushil Malhotra, Raman Kumar, AK Sharma, Buta Singh, Charanjit Singh, Subhash Batra and others were present on the occasion.

Ludhiana, October 12
“The health department is doing its best to combat dengue fever. We have made provision of free kits for needy patients in Jalandhar. The Civil Hospital in the city, too, is well equipped to deal with the emergency situation, but people should realise the responsibility of keeping their surroundings clean,” said Punjab Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla.

The Minister was in Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, to attend a national campaign on yoga and naturopathy for holistic health. The Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy, New Delhi, and the department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, had organised the function.

Dr Supreet Singh, director, Pracheen Nature Cure Centre, Lakhowal (Ludhiana), while speaking on the occasion called upon the Minister to look into the organisation’s demand to declare October 2 as “Naturopathy Day” in Punjab as has been done in Rajasthan. It will be a tribute to the Father of the Nation, who endorsed the science of naturopathy. He said naturopathy should be introduced as a compulsory subject in the curriculum of the schools in Punjab.

PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Manjit Singh Kang while referring to the popularity of yoga and naturopathy in the US said, “Being an Indian, I was expected to know yoga and many a times I was approached by people who wanted to learn yoga.” Speaking on the contribution of the PAU to the science of naturopathy, Dr Kang said the university experts were imparting training to farmers in organic farming. — TNS

Ludhiana, October 12
The farmer rest house of Raikot mandi owned by the Punjab State Mandi Board has failed to provide solace to farmers from adjoining areas as the same has been rented out to the DSP and the SDM offices in the sub-division since 1994.

Absurd but true, the DSP and SDM office has failed to set up their respective offices in the premises despite having taken the rest house on rent. Also, mandi board has failed to get a single penny in the form of rent from these offices.

Being a sub-division, Raikot is an important centre and a large number of farmers from surrounding areas come to the mandi to sell their produce. Rued Hakam Singh from Bhaini village: "The mandi board should take back the place from the DSP and SDM office so as to provide facility of a retiring place to farmers.”

A group of farmers from Bassian and Talwandi Rai villages said there was no provision of drinking water at the mandi site. "The makeshift toilets are also unhygienic. The water of the handpumps that the mandi officers claim to be potable is actually unfit for consumption," alleged farmers. There is no provision of a toilet or tents in "kachi mandis" operational in the fields.

Ludhiana, October 12
Slamming the municipal corporation (MC) for continuing to be in a deep slumber even after five deaths under the corporation's trucks in a row, the vice-chairman of the Punjab State Road Safety Council has asked the MC to act so that no more lives are lost.

In a letter to the Commissioner of the MC, Ajoy K. Sinha, Dr Kamaljit Soi, a traffic expert and the vice-chairman said that the death of the doctor after an MC garbage truck crushed him yesterday had put the MC in a spot. It was shocking that the civic body did not take any appropriate steps to set its house in order.

‘‘Just a month and a half ago, a teenager was crushed to death. Now a doctor got crushed to death under an MC tipper.”

He added that rash driving had brought a bad name to India worldwide. With chilling statistics been laid out in the Global Status Report on Road Safety by the World Health Organisation, it has been seen that at least 14 people die every hour in our country owing to road mishaps, which takes an annual toll about 1,40,000.

In fact, India has surpassed China, which had its annual death toll by road accidents estimated to be 89,455. Ludhiana in India is 16th in the country(as per NCRB2008) in road accidental deaths.

‘‘What is leading Ludhiana to such alarming horrors? Speeding, drunk driving and use of mobile phones seem to be common factors prevalent in people driving MC vehicles which is exposing people on the city roads to avoidable but irreversible consequences,’’ he said.

Hawkers on pavements often force pedestrians to walk on roads to fall prey to MC trucks. Widespread recklessness and carelessness among drivers of MC vehicles only adds to road mishaps, he opined.

Dr Soi said they were ready to organise the workshops, medical camps, compulsory regular drivers check-ups for the drivers of the MC if it gave green light to them. ‘‘We want to do it so that precious lives are not lost like that.’’ 

Ludhiana, October 12
To give an impetus to diagnostics, a networking of diagnostics be created so that benefits of rapid and precise diagnosis should reach the ultimate user, who is in the need of this facility.

The views were shared by Dr VK Taneja, Vice-Chancellor, GADVASU, at the inauguration ceremony of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)-sponsored 21-day long winter school on “Recent concepts in veterinary laboratory diagnostics”.

Dr Taneja inaugurated the function and Dr Vinita Malhotra, head pathology, DMC, Ludhiana, was the guest of honour.

Further, Dr Taneja was of the firm view that laboratory staff be also imparted training on these aspects of diagnostics, so that they become adept and astute technicians, who are must, as backbone of any diagnostic unit.

Dr Malhotra emphasised on the need of conjoint research projects, especially on cancer biology, genetics, causation and its remedial measures, especially in the wake of high incidence of cancer in certain parts of Punjab.

Dr NK Sood, head, department of veterinary pathology, gave an overview of the ongoing winter school, where emphasis has been given on generation of human resource manpower with up-to-date knowledge on recent concepts of diagnostics.

For that, the faculty of the department has an expertise to disseminate knowledge and impart training for keeping the participants abreast with the latest know-how of diagnostics and how it can be made applicable at the field level for rapid and precise diagnosis of emerging and reemerging diseases, zoonotic and trans-boundary diseases between animals and humans coupled with threats of bio-terrorism.

Dr HS Banga and Dr Amarjit Singh, course directors of the training programme, opined that this 21-day winter school would be a great practical learning experience for acquiring new diagnostic techniques for future collaborative and inter-disciplinary research work.

A panorama of 25 delegates from 11 states is participating to brush up their skills in the field of diagnostics. The delegates will be given hands-on training on haematology, urine analysis, other body fluids examination and their interpretations.

The training on necropsy examination, diagnostic cytology, diagnostic histopathology, diagnostic insitu hybridisation, diagnostic immuno-histochemistry, diagnostic ultra-structural pathology and nanotechnology and other recent biomolecular diagnostics approaches, etc. will be a key feature, besides training on current trends in the diagnosis of rabies will also be given.

Dr SS Singh, dean, College of Veterinary Science, emphasised on the importance of organising such training programmes, as they bring together scientists from diverse fields together and making available a platform for learning new ideas.

Dr PD Juyal, Registrar, GADVASU, while proposing a vote of thanks, stressed on the need for bridging the gap between medical and veterinary fraternity for having better understanding and to plan joint ventures.

Doraha, October 12
With Big B making a comeback on Sony Entertainment channel and Salman Khan hosting this season’s Big Boss on Colors channel, viewers seem to be in a fix, as both prime time shows are running parallel to each other.

A cross section of people here aired their views regarding their preferences about the two celebrated shows.

A college student said ,“I have till date not missed even a single show of Big Boss. Even if it’s advertisement time, I don’t change the channel. When I came to know about the clash in timings of the two shows, it seemed difficult to make a choice between the two. But after seeing Amitabh Bachchan on the screen, I decided to watch KBC and sacrifice my favourite show.”

A shopkeeper had his own version,“TV channels must resolve the timings issue, as viewers are really disturbed over the clash. We have begun associating ourselves with the characters of Big Boss, their personal likes and dislikes, how they carry themselves in the show and their daily scuffles. It is the acquaintance with the characters that has made viewers to rethink, especially when it comes to making a choice between Big Boss and KBC.”

“I cannot leave either of them, therefore last night I ended up switching between the two channels. Rajiv Chauhan, a participant in the KBC, moved the audience when he said he was ready to do anything to see his brother at the top. One get to see such a bond rarely in today’s world,” said a youngster.

“On one channel, KBC was being aired and on the other Big Boss, I like the way Big B hosts the show, but when I learnt about the nomination of my favourite participant, who may have to leave the Big Boss house. I was taken aback and did not want to miss the show,” said another viewer.

A student said, “One gets to learn something from Amitabh’s show. I don’t understand how can people like shows, where participants are engrossed in scuffles and bitching.”

Ludhiana: The Arya Vidya Sabha organised a zonal-level youth festival at DAV Public School here today. Around 500 students participated in various competitions. The programme commenced with principal of the host school RS Patial welcoming guests and participants from various schools. The competition got underway with the recitation of Ved Mantras followed by light vocal music, solo and group devotional bhajans and shabad gayan. Among the dance items, solo dances were Kathak, Bharat Natyam and Odissi. Each dancer tried to outdo the other in excellence. There was a close competition between folk dancers, wherein students’ synchronisation was superb.

Ludhiana, October 12
Judicial Magistrate Yukti Goyal has convicted Bulle Shah, owner of Sawan Textiles, Shivpuri, in a cheque-bounce case of Rs 2 lakh.

He was sentenced to undergo two years of imprisonment. The court also ordered the accused to pay Rs 5,000 as fine.

The court pronounced the orders while deciding on the complaint moved by Romesh Chand Goel, owner of M/s Kiran Textiles, Naya Mohalla, Mochpura Bazar, Ludhiana.

The complainant had stated before the court that he was in the business of shawls. The accused had purchased shawls from him in April and July, 2005, on credit.

In order to make the payment, the accused issued two cheques of Rs 1 lakh each in December, 2005. It was assured at the time of handing over the cheques that the same would be encashed on its presentation to the bank.

But when the cheques were presented to a banker for encashment, they were dishonoured by the banker of the accused on May 8, 2006 with the remarks “account closed”.

A legal notice was sent to the accused, calling upon him to make the payment of the dishonoured cheques. But he failed to make the payment.

However, the accused pleaded not guilty. He stated that he used to do work of printing shawls. The complainant had got printed shawls from him. At the time of sending the material for printing, the complainant had taken two cheques of Rs 2 lakh as security with the plea that the same would be returned after the receipt of printing of shawls.

Instead of making the payment for the job work done by him, the complainant filed the complaint with false pleas in order to avoid making the payment.

However, he had already filed a civil suit for recovering the amount, added the accused.

But after appreciating the evidence on record, the court found him guilty and sentenced accordingly.