Jalandhar, November 12
With Jalandhar Tribune highlighting the mismanagement and choking of the Wariana garbage dump with the implementation of the first phase of the solid waste management project in the city for the last few days, a team of officials from the Punjab State Water Supply and Sewerage Board, led by AS Dhariwal, Chief Engineer-cum-nodal officer of the solid waste management project, visited the area today.

A team of the Municipal Corporation at the Wariana dump in Jalandhar on Wednesday. A Tribune Photograph

It decided to install a sewerage network here that will solve the water-logging problem and also reduce soil pollution in the area.

According to Dhariwal, the network will be connected to the sewerage line at the Kala Sanghia drain. The existing sewerage drain is connected to the 50 MLD Sewerage Treatment plant at Basti Peer Daad and the line will be put at an estimated budget of around Rs 25 lakh and will reduce soil pollution and extreme water logging during monsoons at the dumping site, said Dhariwal. The Wariana garbage dump has been fully exhausted to its maximum capacity after continuously absorbing the litter of the entire city for the last 35 to 40 years.

Even while Jindal Infrastructure, a solid waste management company, has commenced its operations in the city for over a week, the district administration failed to provide it space to set up a waste management processing plant. Finding no option, the company has to dump the entire garbage at Wariana where already another soild waste management company was running a waste to compost processing plant. Due to this, the space got hugely choked, even causing a compactor vehicle of Jindal Infrastructure to go turtle due to the bad condition of the approach road.

Although the MC is making efforts to streamline the project, it has challenges that need to be accepted with promptness. According to Gurpreet Singh Khehra, Municipal Commissioner, the priority is to repair the approach road through which the compactors of Jindal Infotech could easily enter and move inside the dumping site. I am in consultation with some earthmover experts from Ludhiana who are finding the possibility to widen the approach road by pushing huge piles of garbage a little away from the road side. said Khehra.

According to sources, the MC has also called off the proposed land deal of buying 3 acres near Wariana to extend the dumping site due to the mutation controversy surrounding the land. Also, with stiff opposition from Pargat Singh, MLA, Jalandhar Cantt, the MC seems to have lost hope to set up the waste management plant at Jamsher. With no choice left for alternative land, it seems to have decided to upgrade the lone dumping site in the city.

PGIMR report on Wariana in 2008

A random survey was conducted for 150 persons in Wariana village. This village is about 5 km from the Wariana dumping site and composting plant. In this village, 3.5 per cent people had malaria, 90 per cent had fever and 95 per cent had loose motions.

Jalandhar, November 12
It’s the onset of yet another week for the prevention of child labour in the city, but again the Labour Department is carrying out the operations without the essential task force.

During the ongoing week for the prevention of child labour in the district, the department has rescued as many as 17 children. During the inspections carried out under the week today, the department carried out as many as 106 inspections.

Even though as per the Juvenile Justice Act, it is essential for the police to accompany the Labour Department team and register FIRs against owners found employing children, the drives – much like previous years – have so far been progressing without the involvement of the police and the owners are only being challaned.

Meanwhile, none of the children rescued have been presented before the task force either.

Assistant Labour Commissioner Sukhjinder Sara, while talking to The Tribune, said, “All children rescued so far are from the district have their guardians residing here. That is why they haven’t been presented in front of the committee since they don’t need rehabilitation. However, if any more cases come up in which the intervention of the committee is needed, they shall be presented before it.”

Notably, this year, the labour week has been conspicuous by the absence of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) teams which are currently associated with the taskforce of Ludhiana. While activists of the NGO, the founder of which bagged a Nobel this year, had made requests for them to be made part of the district task force officially, the same wasn’t granted.

The BBA is, however, highly critical of the fact that neither first information reports (FIRs) are being lodged against owners of establishments supporting child labour nor is the proper rehabilitation of children taking place.

No FIRs lodged

Notably, this year, the labour week has been conspicuous by the absence of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) teams which are currently associated with the taskforce of Ludhiana. While activists of the NGO, the founder of which bagged a Nobel this year, had made requests for them to be made part of the district task force officially, the same wasn’t granted. The BBA is, however, highly critical of the fact that neither FIRs are being lodged against owners of establishments supporting child labour nor is the proper rehabilitation of children taking place

Jalandhar, November 12
Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Avinash Chander lashed out at media as he appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today. He claimed that he had met state BJP chief Kamal Sharma and offered to quit, but the latter had refused to entertain his plea.

The CPS arrived at the ED office at 10.50 am. Turning to mediapersons gathered there, he said: “I have already faced huge losses because of you and may face more losses in future too.” He then went inside but returned mid-way. “How did you know about my appearance at the ED office today? I will talk to the ED about it,” he said in anger.

When the CPS came out of the office after 25 minutes, he looked composed. “Do I look corrupt to you,” he asked. Questioned in a drug racket case, Avinash Chander’s name has not been cleared by the ED yet. He reportedly submitted some documents with the ED officials today.

Besides the CPS, former SAD minister and Kartarpur MLA Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Jalandhar MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh and former NRI Sabha president and hotelier Kamaljit Singh Hayer have been questioned by the ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after their names figured in Goraya-based businessman Chuni Lal Gaba’s diary. It is suspected that they may have received money from Gaba. The latter is believed to be part of the drug racket.

Jalandhar, November 12
The NRI police station today arrested a proclaimed offender (PO) who had allegedly absconded after grabbing the properties of a UK-based NRI. Charanjit Kumar, AIG, NRI, Jalandhar, and Inspector Dalbir Singh, SHO, NRI Police Station, said the accused, Makhan Singh, from Kang Arayian village in Phillaur was arrested today.

An FIR (No. 192) had been lodged against him on July 20, 2013, under Sections 420, 406, 120-B of the IPC at Phillaur.

The AIG said the FIR had been lodged on a complaint of UK-based NRI Karam Singh, originally a resident of Garha, Phillaur. The complainant had taken up the matter with IG NRI Gurpreet Deo, who got the matter shifted to the NRI police station in Jalandhar. During the inquiry, it was found that the accused had usurped the properties of the NRI, including his house in Nawanshahr, 4 acres in Rehpa village and 4 kanal land in Garha village by befooling him and entering into an agreement with him on November 26, 2010, regarding his four shops in Apra, which were not even owned by him.

The policemen also found that while the properties of the NRI had been undervalued at Rs 46.25 lakh, the shops had been pegged at Rs 86 lakh. The police also nominated more persons in the case, including Nawal Kishore, alias Sodhi, his son Harish Kumar, alias Sunny, of Panj Dheran village in Phillaur, Baljinder Singh Gill and his wife Kamaljit Kaur of Indra Colony and Kamaljit Kaur, wife of arrested accused Makhan Singh, and Sharanjit Singh Aujla of Boparai Kalan of Nakodar for their involvement in the matter. While the main accused has been arrested, the others have got interim bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Jalandhar, November 12
The Commissionerate Police today arrested two persons in separate nakas, recovered 4 kg of charas and booked them under the NDPS Act.

The police had laid a naka on Patel Chowk when they found that a person coming from the Sain Dass School side was carrying a heavy black polybag. The cops nabbed him and checked his bag and found 3 kg of charas from his possession.

The accused was identified as Arun Kumar of the Nivi Chakki locality. He was booked under Sections 20, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act at the Division No. 2 police station.

Policemen arrested another accused from near DAV College and arrested one Abhilash of Sikri Kanpur village of Uttar Pradesh and recovered 1 kg of charas from his possession and booked him under the NDPS Act at the Division No. 1 police station. — TNS

Jalandhar, November 12
It is quite a paradox that despite being ruled by the BJP, Punjab is among the states which tops the list of those exceedingly indulging in the smuggling of cows and beef to other parts of the country. BJP leaders and cow lovers are peeved with the ruling Akali-BJP combine for allowing cow smugglers and mafia to get away with reckless butchering of cows in the state, a trend which has drastically increased for the past few years.

Ironically, the people on the forefront of raising a voice against these activities, too, are members of the party. However, their protestations haven't resulted in any specific action at least so far.

About 100 FIRs have been lodged in cases of illegal smuggling of cows/cow meat out of the state, of which over 30 have been lodged in the Jalandhar district alone, but so far the owner of not a single establishment carrying out these activities has been nabbed by the police.

Despite several acts in place like - the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976; Punjab Animals Slaughter Control Act 1963; Punjab prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955; Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Slaughter House) Rules, 2001 - in place the butchering and sale of beef goes on.

Just two days ago, a vehicle carrying two quintals of beef out of the city was intercepted and before that, hundreds of cows had been found butchered by gau sewa activists at a village near Mansa.

The vehicle interctepted in Jalandhar with beef found stacked in bags in it - few days ago - has been known to be coming from Ferozepur and it was going towards Kazi mandi locality in the city.

Mandeep Bakshi, president of the Gau Vansh Vikas Prakosht, said: "Presently, Punjab is one of the leading states in slaughter of cows. We have lodged a number of FIRs at Nakodar, Jalandhar city and other areas but the response from police is lukewarm. Big charges aren't filed. In most of the cases they tell us that investigations are on and slowly cases are closed. There has never been a major haul by the police. In fact since we had been intercepting a lot of trucks, now these guys have also changed their modus operandi and are transporting three or four cows through pick up trucks to a place outside the city where the cows are butchered and then transported outside the city."

"Of all the cases we have been filed, there has just been one summon which is up for hearing, in the rest we never heard back from cops," he said.

Notably the party activists have also complained to BJP state chief Kamal Sharma as well but action is yet to be initiated at the district or state level.

In the district, villages where widespread movement of vehicles ferrying cattle has been reported include Malsian, Malri and Chakmalani villages in Nakodar, villages near Bhogpur, Beas village near Kala Bakra, Buta Pind area in Jalandhar among others. Besides, we are also yet to hear back from the Nakodar police on the charges made there.

Cow meat is being smuggled to states like Maharashtra, UP (particularly Ghaziabad), Jammu and Kashmir but no action is being taken. Notably, it is said the mafia is Gurdaspur and Amritsar is said to be so powerful that the police is scared to pursue the issue.

Hardwari Yadav, state head of the Bhartiya Gau Raksha Samvardhan Parishad says, "When we know of people in the city who buy cattle corpses and supply their meat to people, won't police know? But nothing's been done about it. Beef is also being discreetly supplied to various hotels, but the administration is mum over the entire scenario."

Notably, for all this beef which is changing hands in the district, the state and beyond it, the basic step of health checks is being completely skipped. A legal establishment requires a thorough check-up of an animal before it is being killed - post-mortem, checking of organs, check for diseases and ensuring the animal was feel fed (food and water) are being given a convenient miss. In fact activists say underfed cows which have often ceased to give milk are the preferred choice of cattle to be butchered.

Meanwhile, the cow activists in the state have recently also threatened that they will gherao CM Parkash Singh Badal over the issue if action is not initiated promptly.

Jalandhar, November 12
Resuming action against the shopkeepers on Pathankot Road who had extensions of their shops in the 5m distance from the edges of the road, the Municipal Corporation team today pulled down 10 more shops.

The action began today on the side opposite to the 32 shops where demolition had been held earlier on November 3. After the previous drive, the shopkeepers on the remaining part of the encroached road had themselves started pulling down their extensions since they had seen that the action by the MC was causing more damage to their properties and items kept inside their shops. The demolition began from Reru Chowk side and only the frontal portions of those shops were pulled down which could not give their proof of being in place prior to 1995 since the implementation of the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act Act. Sham Sunder and Kamaljit from the Town Planning Department carried out the demolition drive. The owners of the shops who would submit their proof of occupying the land prior to 1995 too would have to withdraw their extensions but would get a compensation by the government for the same. —TNS

Jalandhar, November 12
Lodging their protest over the issue of delay in doling out old age pension and distributing blue cards to the beneficiaries of the atta-dal scheme, the Congress councillors and leaders today organised a massive protest in front of the office of Deputy Commissioner here today.

The protestors sat upon the road in front of the DC office and continued to lambast the state government for about an hour. Ward number 1 councillor Des Raj Jassal gave a 15-day ultimatum to the administration and the leaders of the ruling alliance to do the needful for the beneficiaries or else he said that they would go on a chain hunger strike in front of the district administrative complex.

Party leaders including District Congress chief Rajinder Beri, councillor Tarsem Lakhotra and former councillor Harkrishan Bawa said that only those cases were being approved for which a recommendation had been sent by the concerned MLAs of the SAD-BJP. They put up a huge bundle of files on a stretcher, covered it with white sheet and carried it along as they moved inside the complex to hand over a memorandum to SDM-1 Dr Rajat Oberoi.

Rise of junior Avtar Henry

The councillors repeatedly attacked CPS and BJP MLA KD Bhandari saying that he was very selective in getting the cases through and even the administration cleared only those cases recommended by him. At the same time, the party leaders repeatedly raised slogans in favour of former minister Avtar Henry. Ever since the election prospects of Henry have got downed owing to registration of a case against him under the Representation of People’s Act and his vote has been cancelled, his son Junior Avtar Henry or popularly called Bawa Henry has now emerged as the new face in party politics. Junior Henry was made to give concluding remarks at the fag end of the rally today and there was much sloganeering in his favour during the time he continued to speak. He is also being often seen taking his dad’s chair in their office and meeting public in the day so as to establish more contact with the masses.

Jalandhar, November 12
In order to review the maternity mortality rate in the district, a maternity death review committee yesterday held a meeting. It was presided over by RL Bassan, Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar.

The maternity deaths in September were reviewed in the meeting. A committee member said two deaths took place right after the delivery and one death took place while patient was shifted to the hospital. The reasons of the deaths were scrutinised in the meeting.

All the medical staff members, including doctors and paramedics were directed by the Civil Surgeon to start immediate medical help for pregnant women.