Jalandhar, March 30
The Truck Operators Sabha in the city has demanded a Vigilance probe into the alleged role of Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar Varun Roojam in the sand mafia row.

The Sabha has accused the DC of encouraging the sand mafia in the district through his recently drafted "patronising" policy on the sale of sand from 11 different locations in the city.

The district administration had recently fixed the rates of sand transportation in the district at Rs 22 per foot. Although the DC has claimed that the rates had been fixed to break the sand mafia nexus in the district, truckers have claimed that the whole thing had been planned to patronise a single company owned by Avtar Singh from Barnala, having the patronage of the ruling state government.

“The Deputy Commissioner is patronising the sand mafia in the district. He has allocated the sand and gravel selling rights to a single contractor without inviting tenders for the same. Although we were selling sand at the rate of Rs 21 per foot, the administration fixed the charges at the rate of Rs 22 per foot. We only came to know about the deal once the company took charge of the sale point at Buta Mandi on February 26. Now, we cannot do any selling inside the district and this has directly affected around 3,000 families who instantly become jobless due to this patronising policy implemented by the DC,” alleged Vishnu Joshi, president, Truck Operator Sabha, Jalandhar.

The Sabha also alleged that four years ago in 2010, the truck owners were paying Rs 1,200 per truck as royalty charges and Rs 600 as loading charges in Hoshairpur. “Although the loading charges have only increased to Rs 900, the royalty charges have shot up to Rs 8,000. Over and above, mining contractor is also charging ‘goonda tax’ of Rs 400 through his men employed as labourers,” said Damanjeet Singh, another operator. He also said that since 800 trucks get loaded every day, the mining contractors are earning around Rs 70 lakh per day as royalty charges only in connivance with the ruling government.

Although all private truckers engaged in the business of ferrying sand and gravel from mines in the areas of Pathankot and Hoshiarpur have been on strike since March 14, the company allocated the rate contract at Buta Mandi could be seen entering the city ferrying sand on their trucks in broad daylight, which is a clear violation of the Motor Vehicles Act that restricts the ban of heavy vehicles in the city areas during the daytime.

Also, suppliers at the Buta Mandi revealed that due to private truckers on strike, the rates of sand have again started fluctuating due to its shortage. “Since around 3,000 trucks are presently parked due to the strike, a huge gap has occurred between the demand and supply. The labourers are also getting affected due to this, as they have no work nowadays,” said Harji, a sand supplier at Buta Mandi.

Refuting all charges, Varun Roojam said it were the private truck operators who were actually supporting the sand mafias in the district. “I have not allotted any contract and have only awarded the rate contract to the contractor who quoted the minimum price. So far, we have only fixed the rate of sand transportation in the district. Since the private truckers were charging around Rs 20,000 to 30,000 per truck we, on a trial basis, have fixed the charges for one of the 11 sale points in the district at Rs 22 per ft. Also, no restriction has been imposed on the truckers that prevents them from selling sand at any of the sale points except the fact that they have to sell it at Rs 22 per ft only,” said Roojam.

Denying this, the operators said that presently the DC has allowed them to continue the sale only due to elections. “If he has not put any ban on us, why he has not issued any written orders till date? He is just passing time due to elections and after that, he will issue written directions banning us completely to operate inside the district,” claimed Joshi.

While both Deputy Commissioner and Truck operators are at loggerheads for the past 17 days over the sand selling issue, people are definitely going to witness some real digging happening in the days to come.

Charges by truck operators and reply by Deputy Commissioner

* Contract has been awarded to a party without inviting tenders for the same and without publishing any advertisement in daily newspapers

Ans: I have only granted rate contract after fixing the transportation charges of sand at Rs 21 per ft in the district and the contract has been awarded after advertising for the same in leading dailies

* The rate has been fixed for all 11 sale points in the district and the contract of all points has been given to a single contractor only

Ans: The contract has been given and the rate has been fixed for the Buta Mandi sale point only. If it works, we will implement the same at rest of the sale points as well

* We are not allowed to sell sand in the district nor are we allowed to park our vehicles at these points

Ans: They are most welcome to operate at the sale points provided they sell the sand at Rs 21 per ft as fixed by the district administration.

Jalandhar, March 30
A massive fire that broke out at a thermocol factory located near Jalandhar Kunj on the Kapurthala road here this morning damaged property worth several lakhs. Fire tenders took over four hours to douse the flames.

The owner of Thermocol Packers Pardeep Aggarwal told the police that a huge stock of finished goods and manufacturing equipment were gutted, but the exact loss could be ascertained only after verifying the exact state of stock and machinery.

The police said no loss of life was reported due to the fire. Three women factory workers were also reportedly residing inside the factory but they managed to escape after noticing the fire.

The women factory workers were called to the police station for questioning to inquire the cause of the fire, the police said.

Rajinder Sharma, fire officer, said they received fire call on the Fire Brigade’s control number around 11.50 am and immediately four fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Fire officials claimed that as the fire was of huge intensity, fire tenders had to be repeatedly filled to douse the flames.

About the cause of the fire, Sharma said fire took place due to a spark during the manufacturing of thermocol.

The factory owner refused to entertain media queries and only said that the loss could be of several lakhs.

Jalandhar, March 30
Reacting on the lack of awareness about the victim compensation scheme of the state government, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Jasbir Singh has said that the scheme needs to be propagated among the masses so that a crime victim can take the required compensation.

Jasbir was here to inaugurate the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) centre at the District Courts. He was also accompanied by Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice RK Garg.

Sources said to separate the working of the ADR, a separate building of the ADR centre was coming up at the District Courts complex. Sources said the Rs 1.66-crore project would be completed within six months and the construction work had already been started.

The building will house offices of Secretary ADR, office of free legal aid services, lok adalats, arbitration office and a mediation centre.

“There is a dire need to propagate the accident victim compensation scheme among the masses. It will help the crime victim to get compensation,” Singh said, adding that judiciary was also doing its best to publicise the scheme among people at large.

Sources said to promote the scheme, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) had also decided to install hoardings and banners at public places to sensitise people about the scheme.

The state government had reportedly increased the compensation for many crime victims like rape, road accident, murder and others, but the DLSA is yet to get any application. At present, under his scheme, a crime victim is offered ex gratia from Rs 40,000 to Rs 4 lakh under Section 357-A of the Cr PC. Under this scheme, any victim of the violent crime can approach the DLSA for compensation.

Asked about the recent plans of the DLSA to shift matrimonial dispute cases from women police stations to the Mediation centre at the District Courts for redress, the Judge said efforts were on to bring consensus in the plan, but as of now, the plan was yet to be materialised.

Sources confirmed that to give wings to the initiative, a high-level meeting was recently held in Jalandhar which was attended by Secretary, District Legal Services Authority-cum-Chief Judicial Magistrate, Tajinder Bir Singh, Police Commissioner, Jalandhar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Jalandhar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), DPRO, Jalandhar, President, District Bar Association (DBA), District Attorney and some judicial officers.

The Judge urged the public at large to take the benefit of free legal aid at the District Legal Services Authority.

Meanwhile, the Judge also launched the website www.dbajalandhar.com of the District Bar Association (DBA), from where any person could get information about lawyers and other judicial officers.

Jalandhar, March 30
Gaurav Khanna, deputy manager (marketing) of a leading national daily here, died in a road mishap after his Activa scooter was hit by a speeding truck from behind on the Maqsudan flyover last night.

He died in a hospital. The deceased was a resident of Amardas Nagar.

Sources said Gaurav was heading home from office around 10 pm last night when the accident took place. After the collision, the victim’s scooter collided with a divider on the road, leaving him seriously injured.

Noticing Gaurav lying in a pool of blood, passersby rushed him to a private hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Gaurav is survived by his wife, who is government employee. His father Baldev Raj Khanna is a retired employee of New India Insurance Company.

Jalandhar, March 30
What it takes to lead a healthier and comfortable life? Is it a lot of money, luxury cars or big mansions? Probably the answer is no. What it takes is fresh air, clean water, and hygienic food. Even the Article 21 of Constitution says that everyone has the right to get clean air and water. Yet there are some parts of the city which have been deprived of the same, owing to air and water pollution caused by the industrial units.

The city has industrial units including finishing leather and leather goods, hand tools, rubber goods, pipe fittings, sanitary fitting, auto parts, surgical good, electric goods, ice factory and many others. Some of these units shed hazardous gases, smoke and untreated water. Many such units are being run from semi and full residential areas.

The claims by the state government and Punjab Pollution Control Board to provide safe and healthy environment has been proven hollow as there are some densely-populated residential areas, which were later on converted into industrial zones. Meanwhile, people in such areas are forced to leave their cosy homes.

It has been nearly 10 years that the Gadaipur village came under the jurisdiction of Jalandhar Municipal Corporation (JMC). While entering the village one can smell the industrial smoke. The village adjoins the industrial focal point, which may be the reason that the industrial units started coming to the village. Besides battery units which shed lead, chemical factories, pipe and hand tool factories, are also violating the environmental laws.

Residents say that village was a residential area but later on converted into an industrial zone. Makhan Singh (33), a carpenter, said industrial unit started being installed around eight years back. “Following certain media reports around seven years back, PPCB took the water and air sample but no report has been provided as yet, which exhibit the way PPCB has been working”, Makhan said.

He said people have started vacating this locality following the rise of industrial units in the area. More than 25 families had been relocated and many others are planning to do the same.

Gudev Maahi (22) said, allergic, asthmatic and other breathing problems had been on the rise in the area. Apart from this there were nearly 20 cancer patients and around 15 heart patients in the village. The village has no access to clean water.

On the other hand untreated water is being discharged to small canal in the Industrial Focal Point. Despite the fact that the Laxmi Narayan Mandir area has been declared as an industrial area, yet it has been in the residential areas. The affected areas in this neighbourhood include Lathi Maar Mohala, Kailash Nagar, Lathi Nagar, Sodhal Road, Kali Mata Mandir, Dada Colony, Globe Colony. Auto mobile parts, rubber, hand tool and sports units in the area are violating the rules and regulations as solid wastage has been laid open in the streets. Apart from this, noise pollution is the other major problem for the residents.

A shopkeeper on condition of anonymity said it had already been a residential area. But industrial units were starting installed here gradually and later on converted into an industrial area with the connivance of the PPCB and JMC authorities. People had been complaining various ailments including breathing and asthma.

Harminder Singh Makkar of Anand Nagar,a Chartered Accountant by profession said, “The residents of his locality have been suffering from an ice factory for past more than 30 years. The factory has been putting the lives of thousands of residents at stake as it keeps on releasing foul smell. We complain to the PPCB in November 2013. However, the factory has been checked by PPCB officials in December 2013, who instructed the factory owner to relocate the factory within six months. The owner was asked to fix water leaking and check noise problem, but the problem still remains the same”.

Kala Sanghian Drain starts from Bullandpur village in Jalandhar and goes to Chiti Bein that connects with Sutlej at last. The practice of discharging domestic waste and untreated industrial effluents into drains continues unabated in Jalandhar and Kapurthala.

Apart from skin diseases, a number of cancer deaths have also been reported in many villages of the city. Consumption of polluted water is said to be the main cause behind rising number of cancer cases in these areas. Toxic chrome effluents are being discharged into Kala Sanghian Drain. Gazipur, Allowal, Badshapur, Mehmuwal Mahla, Kohar Kalan, Athola, Mandala Chana, Gidderpindi, Bahmania, Madala, Isewal and Namajepur villages in Jalandhar district are the worst-hit. Besides tumour and cancer cases, stomach, eye, skin and respiration problems are common among residents of Jalandhar villages that fall in the vicinity of Kala Sanghian Drain.

Though, the PPCB has tightened its noose around the tanneries at the Leather Complex and electroplating units in Jalandhar, the violation of anti-pollution norms continues.

When asked, why the industrial units were allowed to operate in the open in residential areas and later on converted into industrial areas? Why such areas were declared industrial areas, why didn’t the residents rehabilitate? A PPSB official on condition of anonymity said there had been flaws in the master plan of the city from the very beginning. And it is not the responsibility of the PPCB to prepare a master plan of the JMC.

Jalandhar, March 30
Various competitions and events were held at Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Cultural Fest of NITJ, ‘Utkansh 14’ yesterday. Dr SK Das, Director of the Institute, was the Chief Guest. Dr SJS Bedi, Dr SK Sinha, Dr BS Kaith, Dr Lakhwinder Singh and Dr Rizwan A Khan were also present besides faculty members.

La Persona- the personality competition show was organised by Literature and Dramatics Socitey. Rajbhasha Samiti organised Antakshri and Patrakaar Babu-the reporter competition. Trend setter NITJ “Roadies”, which is all about the rowdy elegance and raw stardom, made engineers to perform challenging tasks to earn maximum money.

All Day DJ was an enjoyable event for all. For all those who had come to the fest for the love of art; exhibitions became their delicious ecstasy. Photography exhibition, hand painting,nukkad were also held. Live Counter Strike was also an interesting event for thrill lovers who enjoyed shooting out their rivals by laser guns.The words LOL and ROFL seemed small to express the laughter and applause in the hall during Hasya Kavi Sammelan. The prom eve with entry only for couples filled the atmosphere with love and romance.

Jalandhar, March 30
Bollywood stars Purab H Kohli, Saidah Jules, Yashpal Sharma, producer Puneet Singh and director Girish Malik of film ‘Jal’ reached LPU campus here yesterday. The stars interacted with the students of Journalism and Film Production. Students were happy to see among them the actors of a film which has competed at the Busan International Film Festival-one of the top five film festivals of the world.

Saidah Jules, actress of German origin, who is making her Bollywood debut with this film, remained the center of attraction. LPU Students of Performing Arts also learnt about special musical and lyrical compositions by Sonu Nigam and Bickram Ghosh.

Welcoming the stars, Dr Ramesh Kanwar, LPU Vice-Chancellor, said, “We are happy to note that the class-actors and the director shared their experiences gained during 
making of socially- important film with our students. This sharing will indeed help students to groom themselves in the allied fields.”

Girish Malik informed the students about the film.

Jalandhar, March 30
Within a day of the announcement of Rajesh Padam, a Valmiki community member - and reportedly still a Congressman - as the candidate of the AAP from the city, the party is mired in controversy.

On one hand, while the Congress claims he is still their man, the announcement of his candidature from the AAP has also drawn criticism from the party supporters in the city, who are questioning his credentials. With AAP’s chosen candidatures ditching them a day ahead of the nominations elsewhere as well (Ajmer’s AAP candidate withdrew his papers), the Jalandhar crisis is also affecting the party’s morale.

While the party-despite its secular image - played the Valmiki card from the city, the District Congress Committee claims he never left the party and still holds the position of the vice-chairman of the district SC cell of the party.

Rajinder Beri, president, District Congress (urban), said, “He is still very much the vice-chairman of the district SC Cell of the party. Until a day before his candidature was announced from the AAP, he was sitting with me, he is a friend. He also sat on a dharna with me on March 24. He hasn’t resigned from the party, nor informed us of the shift. We only came to know about switching his loyalty, the day his candidature was announced from the AAP. We have issued a notice to him.”

“He used to seek the ticket of the councillor from the Congress and in the AAP he is the Lok Sabha candidate,” he added.

Padam, however, said he had resigned from the Congress 20 days ago.

Jagdish Samrai,the Congress SC Cell president said he had personally inducted Padam as the member of the Congress SC Cell on the recommendations of a Valmiki leader about five months ago, but Padam did not give any information to the party before leaving.

Sources in the party said the move had left party workers demoralised and they had also brought the issue to the notice of the AAP Ludhiana candidate Advocate HS Phoolka who would take up the issue with party supremo Arvind Kejriwal.

Meanwhile, the internet is also rife with criticism about the AAP move to field such a weak candidate from the city. Some even alleging that the selection is owing to lobbying for Padam by other parties.

Workers say there are some who have even withdrawn donations following his nomination from Jalandhar asking for the candidate to be changed.

Dr Sawaran Singh, Lekh Raj Nayyar and former Anna movement activist Kamaljit Bhatti were previously being considered for Jalandhar LS seat. 

Jalandhar, March 30
The Seminar of Manuscripts organised by the National Mission for Manuscripts in collaboration with the DAV College concluded with lessons from guests and scholars here today.

Dr Om Gauri Dutt Sharma, Deputy Director General, DD Jalandhar, lauded the college for hosting the seminar. He exhorted students and staff to give special attention to priceless heritage which is a source of knowledge. He said North India had rich treasure of such manuscripts, which needed to be properly collected, catalogued and preserved, a task that the NMM had been intently pursuing ever since its inception. Sharma also took a look of the manuscripts displayed at the college. — TNS

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