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| Monday, July 17, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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Two killed in armed dacoity at Raikot LUDHIANA It is learnt that Joginder Yadav and Ram Dev were staying at the residence of Mr Mohinder Pal Singh, while he was away to Indore on a business trip. The robbers reportedly broke open the main door of the house around midnight with an iron beam and entered the house. It is learnt that they then shot dead the two persons and later fled in Mohinder Pal Singh’s white Indica car with registration number PB-10- AN-2230. The killings came to light when the milkman came to the house to supply milk at around 10:30 a.m. On entering the house, he found the place ransacked and two bodies lying in a pool of blood. He then informed about the incident to Mr Mohinder Pal Singh’s brother who was living nearby. Later, he summoned the police. It may be noted that this is the third armed dacoity in the Jagraon police district during the past fortnight. Earlier, in an attack on the house of a relative of former Chief Minister Beant Singh, dacoits killed two members of the family and injured four members of the household, including a domestic help. Three days after this incident, dacoits struck again at three houses in a village in Raikot and four members of a single family were seriously injured. |
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Traders,
PSEB on the warpath LUDHIANA More and more industrial federations, particularly those belonging to the small-scale sector, have come out vehemently against the Punjab Government’s decision to increase the power tariff in the state. The Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association today announced its agitational programme opposing the hike. The federation plans to organise a rally on July 20 against the tariff hike. On the other hand several other industrial organisations under the banner of the Industry and Trade Forum have already announced a separate agitational programmes. The forum will gherao the office of the chairman of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) at Patiala on July 21. However, an influential section of the industry representing the Confederation of Indian Industry, (CII), the Punjab, Haryana and Delhi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) and the All-India Steel Furnaces Association has been openly supporting the hike. According to Mr V. P. Chopra, president of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Associations, the recent unwarranted and unjustified hefty increase in power tariff has given a severe blow to all sections of society in Punjab, especially the trade and small industry. He said the industry felt shaken and great unrest was simmering in Punjab as the government had shown little concern and utter neglect towards these sectors despite the fact that major portion of the state revenue accrues from them only. The small industry representatives were particularly feeling betrayed by the four “big industrialists”. Mr Chopra pointed out the steep hike has been imposed by the government after taking into confidence only the four representatives of the sub-committee in which three were from large sectors and one representative from the government. He said the Punjab Government had intentionally avoided to include any representatives from small scale-sector and the trade from Punjab. “The increase in electricity tariff by 19 paise for small, 36 paise for medium and 31 paise for large supply has no logic and basis and it proves that the medium supply has been unduly and illogically burdened even more than the large supply consumers”, he elaborated. He said it was
unprecedented and never had such a practice been adopted by any government in the past. The federation, which is a representative of various small-scale industrial organisations, feels that the hike will sound death blow to the small industry as the government had been influenced by the opinion of the big industrialists only. Mr Chopra pointed out the sub-committee had earlier agreed to the increase of 24 paise per unit for all the three categories of the consumers. However, he regretted that the four members changed their stand and agreed to the average increase of 28 paise per unit. He regretted that the government and the board had increased the tariff much more than the agreed hike by the sub-committee members. The other representatives of the small-scale sector, including Mr Vinod Thapar and Mr Nairnder Miglani, president and the general secretary,
respectively, of the Knitwear Club revealed that the balance sheet of the PSEB in no manner justified the increase in the tariff. In fact, the PSEB needed to set its own house in order. They asserted that the inefficiency of the board should not be burdened on the consumers who were already being subjected to great inconvenience due to undeclared but frequent power cuts. Moreover free supply of power was also “an uncalled for drain on the revenue of the board and wastage of electricity is being allowed only to appease the particular vote bank”. They said the other sectors also constituted a big vote bank and deserved to be taken into account. Charging the state government of being indifferent and apathetic towards the problems of the trade and industry, the federation revealed that Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal had agreed to withdraw the notification of filing of purchase return in a meeting with its representatives on September 29, 1999 in the Circuit House at Amritsar, which had not been affected so far and the Sales Tax department has started issuing show-cause notices. The federation leaders said this state of affairs in Punjab had compelled the industry and trade to adopt an agitational path. Under the same programme a rally would be organised on July 20 at Vishwakarma Chowk and a memorandum would be submitted to the Deputy Commissioner. In case the government did not withdraw its order, the agitation would be extended to other parts of the state in the form of dharnas and demonstrations involving all sections of people. |
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Touching
farewell to martyr NATHEWAL (LUDHIANA) A large number of people of Raikot area participated in the funeral procession led by a contingent of armymen to the cremation ground from his house. He was cremated with full military honours. Mr S.K.Sandhu, Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, Jathedar Jagdev Singh Talwandi, Senior Vice-President, Shiromani Akali Dal, Mr I.P.S. Kahlon, SDM, Mr R.S. Sandhu, SP, Jagraon ,Capt Rohit Dass on behalf of Commandant 45 ADA, Capt Nikhal Sharma, Subedar Mathew P.J., Wing Com H.S.Randawa, Deputy Director, Sainik Welfare, Major Pritpal Singh, Major Gurdev Singh and Mr Parkash Singh, district president, Bahujan Samaj Party and several others laid the wreathes on the body of the martyr before the cremation and paid their last respects to him. The mrtyr’s elder
brother Bikar Singh and father Pritam singh lit the pyre. The valiant soldier attained the martyrdom, when a bullet from the Pakistan army hit his left part of the chest. He has left behind his wife Mandip Kaur, two sons Ravinder Pal Singh (9) and Veerpal Singh (6). Jathedar Jagdev Singh Talwandi, while consoling his father and other family members. The Deputy Commissioner, while expressing his sympathy with the family members, assured that the government would always take care of their welfare. He informed that an ex gratia grant of Rs 2 lakh, a plot or Rs 5 lakh and service to one eligible member of the family as per the government policy would be provided to the family at the earliest. Naik Kuldeep
Singh is the third soldier of Raikot subdivision who laid down his life since the Kargil conflict. Earlier, Naik Surinder Singh of Bassian village and Lance Naik Nirmal Singh of Johlan village also attained the martyrdom, while safeguarding the country’s borders in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir. |
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Confusion
over sales tax payment LUDHIANA Mr Mangal Sain Grover, president, Sales Tax Bar Association, Ashok Juneja, convener Sales Tax Advisory Committee of the Chamber of Industry and Commercial Undertaking (CICU) and Mr Avtar Singh secretary CICU in a joint statement said that only four days were left for the filing of sales tax returns but nobody knows how to deposit cess on tax and under what head and in what manner it is to be paid. Legally additional tax-cum-surcharge on sales tax is not payable with effect from April 11, 2000, since it has been replaced by cess. Now additional tax on sales tax at the rate of 10 per cent is payable up to April 10, 2000 whereas from April 11, 2000 to June 30, 2000, it is to be paid in the shape of cess. However, specific guidelines are still awaited from the government regarding the manner of depositing it. Further they said that the Department of Legal and Legislative Affairs on April 11, 2000, had wrongly notified that 10 per cent cess was payable on all sales and purchases made under the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, whereas the words required are it is payable at 10 per cent rate on tax on sales. It has been demanded that immediate clarification be issued to avoid future complications at the time of assessments. In a separate statement, the vice-president of the District Taxation Bar Association, Mr Satish Aggarwal, said the government of Punjab had imposed cess on all sales purchases at 10 per cent, which amounts to double taxation and moreover, instead of tax at 10 per cent on the tax payable they had levied cess at 10 per cent on all sales and purchases in addition to sales tax, which is already being levied under the Punjab General Sales Act 1948 and by Punjab Act No 10 of 2000 additional tax had been abolished. The sales tax returns for the quarter ending June 30, 2000, is due to be filed on or before July 2, 2000. He said, keeping in view this situation, the government should immediately make the position clear to avoid the revenue loss of state and unnecessary litigations. |
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Gurdwara chief murdered LUDHIANA According to information, there had been the tussle between the present incumbent, Deedar Singh, and his nephew, Fauja Singh. It is learnt that Fauja Singh, Sukhwant Singh, Jarnail Singh, Milkha Singh and Ranjit Singh went to the gurdwara around 8:30 am and allegedly demanded the keys of the langar hall and the cash box from Deedar Singh. When the latter reportedly refused, a scuffle ensued between the accused and Deedar Singh, who was accompanied by his two other nephews, Kulbir Singh and Balwant Singh. The accused then took out their kirpans and allegedly attacked them, killing Deedar Singh on the spot. While three of the accused, Milkha Singh, Ranjit Singh and Fauja Singh, have been arrested, the police is on the look out for Sukhwant Singh and Jarnail Singh. A case under Sections 302, 323, 324, 148 and 149 of the IPC has been registered at the Focal Point police station. |
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Paper sought on PSEB losses LUDHIANA, July 16 — Mr Balvinder Singh Bains, President, Youth Wing, Shiromani Akali Dal (A), today demanded a white paper on the losses being suffered by the Punjab State Electricity Board. Mr Bains, who was addressing a meeting of party workers here, said it was amazing that neither the Punjab Government nor the PSEB had ever made public its audit report or explained the reasons for the losses being suffered by the PSEB. He said continuous rise in the power tariff was detrimental to the industry and commerce alike. Mr Bains also castigated the state government for not formulating any sound policy regarding 16 lakh unemployed youth in the state. The present Akali-BJP combine was a total failure on the economic front, he said. He ridiculed the BJP President, Mr Rinwa’s statement that the next Punjab Chief Minister should be a BJP man. Mr Charan Singh Luhara, general secretary, blamed the Congress for ignoring the interests of Punjabis. He said people had high hopes from the Akali-BJP government but because of a weak leadership, the present government had failed to meet their expectations. Others who addressed the gathering were Mr Kulwant Singh Heran, Dr Harinder Singh Mann, Mr Gurmeet Singh Bhogal, Mr Ajit Singh Ajit, Dr Gurpreet Singh, Mr Kuldeep Singh Kadwal, Mr Lachhman Singh, Mr Karnail Singh and Mr Major Singh Brar.
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Slush, filth abound vegetable market LUDHIANA:
Imagine that the vegetables you eat, coming from a place which is full of slush, mud and filth. Knee-deep of black mud everywhere. The vegetable market is ‘Narak’ as one of the commission agents said. Whether it is an arhtiya or a vendor or a person auctioning vegetables, all are unanimous in their opinion that, the mandi is filthy. When I asked them how could they ply their business in such filthy conditions, Mr Jagbir Singh, a commission agent, replied, “There is no other choice. We have made a committee to look after the welfare and cleanliness of this mandi. We pay them 4% and yet the results are before you. During the rains, the things become worse as the drainage is blocked.” Just imagine the scene. The black slushy road with sacks of raw mangoes, plastic crates of tomatoes one upon the other on either side, a big mound of slush in the centre, making it difficult for pedestrians to move. Right in the middle of the road, the auction of mangoes and tomatoes is going on. When I asked a vendor about the dirty conditions prevailing around him, he looked nonchalantly and said, “Daso fir ki kariye aasi?” I asked him whether they had written letters to the Municipal Commissioner. “Dozens of them,” replied he. According to him the place given to them is very inadequate. They need a bigger place. Unless they get a bigger place, the situation will not improve.” The safai karamcharis do clean the area, but they just put all rubbish in the sewerage lines with the result that sewerage lines get choked. Everyone agreed that rains had worsened the matters. There are people who are engaged to clean the market, but with so many people, vegetables and vehicles around it is impossible to maintain cleanliness. However, one thing is sure in the market that one can save money if one is courageous enough to trudge in the mud. Vegetable prices in this market are lower compared to prices obtaining in other markets. —
Asha Ahuja |
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City
Scan THERE is no absolute loss: the loss of one results in the gain of another. Loss of west Punjab due to the Partition contributed to the making of a new Punjab and a bigger and newer New Delhi. Similarly, the loss of Lahore, in particular, provided the building material for the raising of post-Partition Ludhiana, in addition to several cities, including Chandigarh, bearing the epithet City Beautiful. Ludhiana is not what its image projects. Ludhiana merits a serious study. One such effort was made by Mr O.P. Bhardwaj, who through his multi-layered and poly-dimensional study, concluded that the very name Ludhiana is a linguistic variation of pre-epic name Aldhana. It did pass through the Lodhi period, but so did a large number of villages and towns. Moreover, words, including names, undergo changes through use, misuse or abuse. Language obeys its own formative rules and not pre-made grammar or laws. The historically and commercially well-demarcated and popularly accepted Sher Shah Suri Road never touched Ludhiana. It linked Doraha, Noor Mahal, Sultanpur Lodhi, etc. Doraha had a link with Rahon, Jaijon, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, etc. A hamlet of middle ages got the golden key due to the British settlement. Missionary work, printing press, western medicines became its elements of growth. The Railways ushered in the new era, a stroke of luck through new engineering. It is Khushwant Singh, the living legend of journalism, who has till date lambasted its roads, corporation, insanitation by the railway track, etc., the most. He made fun of Green Revolution linking the movement of bowel with the movement of wheels of the running trains. While he appreciated the quantum of gold, he derided its wearers. Our Khushy uncle knows our Sahir, Sahir Ludhianvi. In 1942, he was made to leave his college. Till date, no other product of his alma mater has broken his record in glorification. In 1947, he nearly left India, came back home, lived and died as Sahir Ludhianvi. He lives on as Sahir Ludhianvi. The city has its magic, Sahir is its magician. It is strange how people emotionally attached to the city miss what the city actually has. We take pride in purchasing and brandishing our cars, we display them with great pride to the dislike of most who know more and understand better. In Punjab, Ludhiana ranks at the top by the count of its slums, despite serious practical steps by the Municipal Corporation. At the same time, the city has finest colonies, some of whom rank at par with the best in any Indian city. |
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Painful memories of PoW days THIS is a true story. We were roughly 2,000 prisoners of war taken out of Tripoli (Libya) PoW camp and marched to the docks on October, 1942. Destination not known. By evening we reached the seaport of Tripoli. After a long wait, we were herded into a freighter which seemed to have been hurriedly converted into passenger ship but sans any passenger facilities. We were led into its belly through improvised wooden but fragile ladders. It was all a hush-hush affair. The Italian guards were harsh, or so we felt as we did not understand a bit of their spoken words. Only gesticulation and grunts could be mentally decoded and acted accordingly. We were just like a lifeless cargo though breathing but could not dare to move on our own accord. We could not venture over the board of the ship as each lander was guarded. Germans considered Italians low- rate fighters and the latter were assigned second-line jobs in North Africa. The clumsy freighter left the dock at midnight on 8th of October, 1942. But after a few hours of sailing, it turned back and redocked itself in the harbour. Below the deck in the belly of the ship it is hard to make out whether the ship is sailing and in which direction. We used to get bits of information from the sentries as some of them were vocal and they involuntarily bragged and took pride to show that they are well informed. We came to know that Mediterranean, the land-locked sea, had been saturated by British submarines and destructive boats. Earlier, a ship carrying more than 3000 PoWs was sunk below the heel of Italy and not a single soul survived. Later on when I was in Germany, I heard tales of woe of an Indian PoW who survived by clinging to a big wooden plank and was picked up after 14 days of ordeal. The freighter again left the dock on 9th at midnight. We could perceive that its course was northern. It means that it is crossing the dreaded Mediterranean. After hours of sailing we could feel the morning sea breeze venturing into our cargo compartments. But our destination was still shrouded in mystery. When in misery, meditation is the course left for human beings. So Indians — Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs in their separate groups preferred to listen to their wise men. Mohammed Shafi whom we used to call Hafiz, was busy in his group and a Pandit in the next compartment and so also Giani Rattan Singh addressing our group. We, in these discourses, felt secure and safe as if we have fortified ourselves from all external dangers. We could perceive that the sun had travelled over and was ascending. The evening was approaching fast. At about 1700 hrs on 10th Oct 1942, there was an ear-splitting bang. And no sooner we recovered from its shock, we saw sea water gushing into the compartments. The throb of the giant engines of the freighter was no more. Confusion and fear gripped every body. I ran towards the ladder and with swift movements climbed and landed on the deck. No guards, as if they had evaporated into the thin air. Down below in the compartments there was mob-like scramble. Bunches of PoWs clung to the ladders. Some of the improvised and thin ladders broke with the result the men stood trapped in the compartments and sea water rising from their ankles to knee and above. On the far corner of the deck, I found Italians who had abandoned their arms falling one over the other to grab life saving belts. We headed for the store. There was hand-to-hand fight to grab that precious life saving item. Having acquired one, I managed to duck back through the knees of the struggling crowd. I hitched the life belt through the head on to my chest and back and strung it at the waist. A wave of fear and fortitude was having a relentless fight within me. The saying which I do not remember as to who said, that “afflictions come to the afflicted” stared in my face. What am I doing as a PoW? The thought crossed my mind like so many others whose limbs were mutilated in war or those like Napolean who also died in captivity of British and French while lying on his bed suffering from cancer. He used to say he wished that he would have been killed along with his horse on the battle field.” I also rue the day when I was captured alive. I was in my most violent phase . Such a state of mind is reached when there is fear of death, fear of injury and deep wounds and only then is the battle fought with violent passion, hatred, rage and urge to kill before the enemy in front kills you. But here the whole role is passive. To succeed in such dreadful scenario, a man requires tremendous will power to live through the death . I ran to the front and cut through a small crowd of PoWs and jumped into the sea. So many bodies fell over me like boulders rolling from hillock. I extricated myself with great difficulty from non-swimmers who were clinging to me. After swimming for a while I saw Hafiz and an Italian struggling to possess a splinter of a plank about 3 ft by 2 ft. I dashed to the spot and caught hold of the derelict plank and the Italian swam away leaving the plank to us. At this point, we are roughly 150 yards from the sinking ship. I could see the structure of the freighter lurching crazily side ways, then slowly, ponderously whole massive body of it toppled majestically into the darkness of the sea. Its boiler chimneys sinking, making the sea water steamy. I saw heads bobbing up and then down and no more. Now the sea which was moments back calm and placid had become violently rough as if some thing had stirred its bottom. Suddenly the winds were raging and four to six feet wall-like waves tumbled us up and down with terrible force. We tenaciously clung to our lifeline, the dear derelict plank. One big wave split Hafiz from the plank and he disappeared and I could see him no more. I felt like losing my own kin. My life belt had become loose and its cork which was very hard was hitting my lower chin bone which swelled and pained. The daylight was now gone. Darkness was descending over the vast stretch of sea. Far away, I could see flashing lights. Not one but several of them. Now I could hear the sound of engines too. They must be rescue boats, I hoped. They must have spotted me as one was heading towards
me. As the boat neared I saw a chap throwing a lashing in my direction. It was so accurate that the end of rope dropped behind my back. I held the lashing with right hand and so also my dear plank with my left. I was totally exhausted and was alive due to sheer tenacity and fortitude. I mustered my last ounce of energy as they pulled me nearer to the boat. One man stretched his hands standing on the gunvale of the boat and pulled me out of water. He threw me on the boat. They poured some heady brew in my mouth and wrapped me in blankets. In the morning when I woke up I was in a hospital in the Island of Sicly but still a PoW in the hands of Italians. |
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Mama don’t preach
LUDHIANA: If you have been a regular viewer of “Saans” and
"Family Number 1," you would know what is going to follow next. In both the serials the two young girls are in their
teens. They are wanting to break away from their parents nest and soar away breaking all the shackles. On the other hand, the parents consider their daughters to be very naive and innocent and who need to be saved from big bad wolves. Why do the girls as well as boys alienate themselves from their mothers and as a matter of fact from their fathers too. What happens to adorable, pig-tailed ,cute
girls? The girls who are mama’s delight and father’s apple of the eye- where have they gone leaving behind sulky and fretful person? The mother’s have to understand that the nature has to take its own course. At the onset of puberty, physical changes are bound to
occur. There are a lot of hormonal changes taking place in the body. All these changes bring about a lot of change in the personality of the girl too. A 13-year- old girl will never like a frock or a dress bought by her mother. She is convinced that her mother is not aware of the latest fashions. You would have observed in both the serials that both the girls are very attached to their mothers earlier, but the moment a boyfriend appears on the scene, the girl’s attitude undergoes change. Meethi of ‘Saans” not only defies her mother, but her father too. The mother thinks of her as a little baby, where as pubescent thinks she is grown up enough to take all decision on her
own. She feels she has the right to choose her own life partner. This
decision of the darling daughter throws them off balance, and their world is shattered. Thus the conflict begins. The pubescents feel they are grown up to take control of their life where as mothers think of them as young girls who cuddled to them whenever they are afraid, or needed something. At this stage the influence fades away and the peers ‘ influence takes over much to the consternation of the mother. What is to be done then? Patience has to be practised. The mother has to learn to ignore certain things, for the moment the mother says anything the girl will say,” Mama don’t Preach.” The mother and the daughter are at loggerheads all time for mother is scared by the attention given to her by the
boys. The mother and the daughter are on a very fast roller- coaster ride. Thank God, the ride smoothens after two years or may be more or may be less. The mother has to be understanding as the lack of understanding will make your daughter a passive communicator. She will stop talking or only show negative attitude. This is not good for either party. So like Neena Gupta who is flustered by her daughter’s behaviour. She still excercises patience and caution. This kind of behaviour will surely bring the mother and daughter close together once again and the agonising past will fade away from their memory as a bad dream. So Mama don’t preach. — Asha Ahuja
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FLAVOUR OF THE WEEK Jhoom jhoom ke aayee badaria. Badaria was there but not much of rain. The nimbus clouds contrasted beautifully with verdant, deep green, bottle green leaves of the freshly washed trees. The tender shoots of apple green colour really were a pleasure to behold. It is coincidental that Ludhiana had rain showers on Saturday again. The only sore point is bushes of congress grass which really are growing wild and causing allergies to many people of Ludhiana. The contaminated water caused many water-borne diseases and doctor's clinics had long queues of patients. The doctors advise to drink boiled water. Nature in its disciplined way, moved imperceptibly bringing in subtle changes, likes of which most of the people would not notice. For example, the days are shortening every day and humidity is on the rise. Mangoes — banarsi, langra, dussheri, chausa — still lend colour to the markets. The varieties offered of green raw mangoes both for chutney and pickles have been
increasing. The fruits arranged in rows, red Kandahari anars contrasted by green pears and red and yellow peaches and blood red plums with their tangy flavour were hot favourites. Bicchoo, a copy of a western movie, The Professionals, would not compete with Refugee. Abhishek Bachchan was liked by some and others found him brooding too much, whereas Kareena made a good impact on the audience. Many anxious students of B.A. are still awaiting their results with their hearts in their mouth. Even plus two results are not out. Why should the students suffer so much of anxiety ? The successful students of CET and PMT are busy attending counselling sections. The not so successful ones are really in a quandary and are wondering - "what to do now?" A big exhibition of bone china displaying 18,000 items of porcelain has evoked a good response and the beauty of pottery has been very aethestically satisfying. Gang wars between two colonies of the city are causing a lot of unrest and tension. The police is on alert. Monochromatic colours grey, white and black are being preferred. Cool cottons are hot favourites. If you think cottons come cheap, think again. A cotton trousers of a particular brand name cost Rs1750 comparable to a Gucci trousers. Kurtas, both long and short, are being preferred. This month named after the Roman King Julias is liked by most as the rains bring in welcome relief, not withstanding, its many other discomforts. |
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Sawan begins with
a cool day LUDHIANA The sky had been overcast since late last night and continued to remain so throughout the day making it pleasant to be outdoors. The weather was humid but with a nice east breeze blowing across it was not as
sweaty. Today being Sunday, a lot of people could be seen on city roads. |
Action against SHO, car dealer demanded LUDHIANA Addressing mediapersons here today, Mr Ahuja said that in this connection he had called upon the Ludhiana DIG, Mr Paramjit Singh Sandhu, along with Mr Darshan Arora, Chairman, Ludhiana Citizens Council, Mr Gurcharan Singh, President Gurdwara Shri Guru Kalgidhar, and Mr Jagdish Anand and Mr Kartar Singh, both secretaries of the Punjab Janta Dal (United). Even though Mr Sandhu had issued the necessary orders, he was neither given the car nor the money.
Opium seized LUDHIANA In a press note issued by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Kuldeep Singh, a police party led by Inspector Rajeshwar Singh, SHO, Haibowal police station, had laid a naka at the Choorpur road and on suspicion asked Misri to stop. |
‘Investors have
little faith in city traders’ LUDHIANA, July 16 — Investors have been found to be lacking faith in entrepreneurs of Ludhiana. Nor do they believe the financial statements of companies. Stating this at a seminar here on corporate governance in Ludhiana, Mr V.P. Chhabra, Chairman of the Ludhiana Chapter of the Northern Indian Regional Council of the Institute of Company Secretaries, said about 98 per cent of the Ludhiana companies do not hold proper board meetings and prepare minutes only for the sake of formality to comply with the provisions of the Companies Act. He pointed out that this was the reason that the shares of Ludhiana-based companies were not much traded. He informed that according to a survey on corporate governance in India, only 36 per cent of directors maintain legal and ethical practices in companies, while 89 per cent directors do not come prepared for the board meetings. Mr Chhabra informed that recently stock exchanges had incorporated a new clause on corporate governance in listing agreement and some improvement shall come. However, he added, there are no parameters to measure the corporate governance. He has also developed a model for the measurement of corporate governance in companies. According to this model, most of the Ludhiana-based companies come under average corporate governance. To motivate the companies for good governance, he suggested that government, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and stock exchanges should constitute awards to be given to companies having excellent corporate governance. Speaking on the occasion, Mr V.N. Dhiri, President, Ludhiana Stock Exchange Association Limited, emphasised the need for transparency and accountability of management towards shareholders. He also sought curbs on bad corporate practices like issue of preferential shares to promoters at low prices and insider trading. He said that the companies should act proactively in following the international accounting standards and segment-wise reporting in financial statements. He also explained the main features of Kumaramanglam Committee report corporate governance. Prof Kiran C. Bothra from Calcutta spoke on the emerging scenario in the Indian corporate sector. he emphasised that liberalisation was a necessity. He said in the third industrial revolution based on Information Technology, India was the leader and predicted that by 2020, India will become super economic power. In his address, Mr H.S. Arora, managing director, Master Trust Limited, highlighted new techniques and new products emerging in the secondary market like online trading, dematerialisation of shares, depositories, automatic lending and borrowing money, rolling settlement, stock splits, derivatives trading. |
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Investors
told about depository services LUDHIANA It was stated that this depository had several advantages in terms of technology and charges. No custodial charges will be levied and transaction charges will be extremely competitive. Low cost of set up for a depository participants will increase the number of depositories giving investors a wider choice. Authorised banks, custodians of securities and stock brokers will act as depository participants. In Ludhiana, there are three depository participants, i.e., the State Bank of India, the Stock Holding Corporation and Aphipra Capital Ltd. It was also stated that CDS gives a unique 16-digit-account number with a check digit that can never be duplicated. The system is fool-proof, therefore, no investor can ever face a loss. Mr Madangopal Damani, senior founder director of CDS and former president, Bombay Stock Exchange, highlighted advantages of direct investor level accounting without routing securities through any in-transit account, thereby, eliminating the risk of erroneous transfer of securities and giving timely credit of securities into the investors account. |
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New fans introduced LUDHIANA Briefing reporters here today, the President of the Bajaj Electricals, Mr Ramakrishnan, said the Bajaj Electricals is having collaboration with the M D Fans Company of China, the largest producer of fans in the world. Besides being competitive from the point of view of pricing, the fans are also light in weight and have a better get-up Mr Ramakrishanan added. He said the metallic blades are powder-coated, which prevents rusting of the fans. Moreover, he claimed that the quantum of air delivered by these fans is much more than that of average fans available in the market. The fans have stretchable and flexible heads which can tilt in any direction. These are also equipped with motor overheat protection system, which saves the motor in case of excess electricity. Giving details about the future plans of the company, Mr Ramakrishnan said last year Bajaj Electricals Limited had a turnover of Rs 350 crore. The company has diversified itself in various fields including fans, lighting items, home appliances, water heaters and irons. He informed that the company had also introduced microwave ovens in the range of 16 to 28 litres. Bajaj Electricals has also ventured into producing power by wind energy. It has set up a power plant in Satara district of Maharashtra with an initial capacity of 5 MWs. The capacity of the plant will be augmented to 10 MWs very soon at a total cost of Rs 25 crore. Referring to other products of BEL, the president said it was making wide range of lamps and tubelights. The range included general lighting service (GLS), filament lamps, fluorescent tube lights (FTL), miniature lamps and special-purpose lamps. The luminaries division of BEL manufactures a comprehensive range of luminaries covering domestic, commercial, industrial, flood lighting, street lighting, post top lighting luminaries, besides special luminaries for flame proof and increased safety applications. |
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