The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

3 of a family killed as van falls into canal
Two-year-old boy among dead; 4 hurt
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, July 18 — Three members of a family, including a two-year-old boy, died when the van in which they were travelling fell into a canal near Harnampura village here this afternoon.

The deceased have been identified as Kiranpreet (22), her son Lovepreet Singh (2) and her sister-in-law Kamaljit Kaur (28). Four other members of the family were injured in the accident and they have been admitted to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. They are Satnam Singh, husband of deceased Kiranpreet Kaur, his mother Gurmail Kaur, son Lovedeep Singh (twin of the deceased Lovepreet) and daughter Navdeep Kaur (3).

While Satnam Singh and his mother, Gurmail Kaur were stated to be out of danger, Navdeep and Lovedeep were in a serious condition.

All seven persons were returning to Ludhiana from Naulari village near Khanna, when the van in which they were travelling skid into the canal at around 1.30 p.m this afternoon. Satnam Singh, his wife and children and his mother were all residents of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar. Kamaljit was married to Baldev Singh of Naulari village and her brother’s three children had reportedly gone to her village this morning to pick her up for the birthday celebrations of the twins tomorrow.

While talking to TNS in the hospital, Satnam Singh appeared to be a broken man. His voice brimming with emotion, he said that he was still in a state of shock and could not even recall the sequence of events leading to the accident. “All I know is that my wife, son and sister are now dead, “ he said.

It is learnt that when the van fell in the canal, three men who were also travelling on the road saw the accident and immediately came to the rescue of the family. One of the good Samaritans, Baljit Kumar of the Irrigation (Canals) Department, while talking to TNS said: “I was going for work when I heard the screams of the passengers in the van and immediately stopped to help. With the assistance of two other passersby, I managed to retrieve the two injured children and the old woman.”

Senior Superintendent Of Police Kuldeep Singh and SDM Manjit Brar had also rushed to the spot to oversee the rescue operation.

Residents accuse MC of discrimination
From Kuldip Bhatia

LUDHIANA, July 18 — Residents of many localities in the city are sore, not only over inadequate water supply and sewerage facilities, but also for the reason that even these basic facilities were being provided in a discriminatory manner by the MC authorities.

In some cases, the sewerage and water supply lines were laid in a particular colony but a few pockets or street were left out of the scheme, thus denying the facilities to a section of residents.

The general complaint of the people in the city is that the civic administration is unresponsive. While many residents feel that senior officers of the MC do listen to the genuine grievances, the same does not hold true for the lower level officials and the staff manning the zone offices or complaint centres.

Problems relating to the faulty sewerage system, choked main lines or snags in water supply are hardly entered in the complaint books and inordinate delay in dealing with the complaints is a rule rather than an exception.

In a classic case of gross discrimination in laying the water supply and sewerage lines, Street Numbers 5, 6 and 7 in New Janata Nagar on Gill Road in the city were left out of the project taken up in 1998. Residents of the area, while alleging that they were discriminated against at the instance of the councillor, took up the matter with the senior MC officials, including Commissioner S.S.Sandhu, without any success.

Angry and upset at being denied the basic facilities of sewerage and drinking water, which were available to those living in adjoining streets in the same locality, the residents approached the Principal Secretary, Local Self Government, Mr N.K.Arora, in November last year, who in a written communication, informed that the work for laying sewerage and water supply lines would be taken up soon and an estimate of Rs 26.69 lakh had already been prepared for this purpose but even after expiry of seven month, nothing seemed to have been done in this respect.

Mr Sher Singh, a retired railway employee, and many other residents of the area told Ludhiana Tribune that a truck load of sewerage pipes had been lying in one of the streets in the locality but the pipes were taken away to other street and no satisfactory reply was forthcoming when the residents asked the reason and even protested against the injustice being done to them.

Residents of New Madhopuri, Street No 7 are also a harassed lot for the choked and overflowing sewerage system in the locality has made their lives miserable. One of the affected residents told that even after a light shower, the sewerage starts backflowing and the contaminated water and sullage floods the street and at times, even enters some of the houses. The alleged that MC employees at zone no1 (Daresi Road), their superiors and even the two councillors — Mr Charanjit Kala and Mrs Nirmal Jain, representing the area, had failed to respond to their persistent demand for remedial action.

Mr S. S. Jandu5, Superintending Engineer (O and M) of the Municipal Corporation, when contacted, told Ludhiana Tribune that work on sewerage and water supply project in New Janata Nagar streets was still on and the allegations of any discrimination against a section of the residents were not true. While most of the streets in the locality were already covered under the project, the remaining streets would also get these facilities soon.

A passion that led him to collect over 1 lakh songs
From Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, July 18 — Tejinder Miglani has a rare passion for music. A passion that led to him collect over one lakh Hindi songs. Most of these songs are recorded on gramophone discs. Ask for any number he has it. From K.L. Sehgal, K.C. Dey, C.H. Atma Ram, Mukesh, Rafi, Kishore, Manna Dey, Hemant Kumar, Shamshad Begum, Lata Mangeshkar, Suraiyya, Begum Akhtar to Mallika Pukhraj, Mehdi Hassan and Ghulam Ali. The list is long and seemingly endless.

Basically, Miglani was a banker. However, he started his own business. But the passion for music did not die. In spite of having little time, he continued to feed his passion. His collections do not include only what was released. There are hundreds of songs, which were recorded, but could not be filmed. In fact, he has a few songs from Pakiza, that were recorded but were not included in the film. There are hundreds of such songs lying in his library.

Miglani possesses over 4000 gramophone records and about 2000 audio cassettes. However, he has stopped collecting songs since the ’90s. “The quality of music has come down”, he says. There is nothing worth maintaining for the future, he regrets. Now he collects only old records, if he comes across any.

Collection of 2000 audio cassettes may not be a difficult job, but, collecting about 4000 gramophone records is definitely a Herculean task. He started collecting these records about 30 years back. He did have an innate interest in music. A request by a teacher to get him a collection of Sehgal songs recorded from Radio Ceylon way back in the 60s fired his passion. His interest became an integral part of his life. As time went by, his interest deepened.

Miglani takes some time out to listen to the soft soothing music of Sehgal. He has almost all the songs of Sehgal in his library, most of them on gramophone records only. He likes to get lost in the melodious world of music. But, he admits, it is very difficult to get away from the mundane tasks. It is not just music, but poetry as well, that has caught his imagination. He had read “Dewan-e-Ghalib” when he was studying in the ninth class.

S.D. Burman, Naushad, Madan Mohan, Shanker Jaikishen and Khayyam are his favourites. But Ghulam Mohamad, the famous music director of Pakiza has a special attraction for Miglani. There is an unparalleled and haunting rhythm in this music. Anybody who has listened to the film’s songs cannot afford to disagree.

In the absence of good new productions, Miglani does not engage himself too much in collecting records now. Gramophone recording has already stopped, because there are hardly any buyers. But the moment he comes to know about any record lying with anybody anywhere in the country, Miglani wastes no time in fetching it. He recalls, how he went around, a number of villages in Uttar Pradesh to get some records which were not available anywhere else.

According to Miglani, he may have travelled thousands of kilometres all these years across the country to make his library. There are about 40 people, who have a fascination for gramophone records like Miglani. All of them are in regular touch with each other. They also share their records. In fact some of the records with Miglani have been collected from the Gulf countries, Pakistan and UK. The only thing needed was the information that such-and-such record lies at such-and-such place. He would contact his friends and ensure that he got the record at whatever cost.

Miglani at the same time cannot and does not underplay the contribution of his friend Anil Anand in helping him to keep alive his passion. He always accompanied him to his tours for collecting the records.

Obviously such collections have connoiseurs too. Miglani has received hundreds of offers from such people. They offer fabulous prices for his precious collections.

LUDHIANA CALLING

Cool dudes and swinging babes. Where will you find them in Ludhiana....anywhere and everywhere. By cool dudes, we mean the guys who wear funky clothes, chunky jewellery, have one ear pierced, wear brand names, flaunt their latest Samsung or Nokia mobiles and zip about in their swanky cars of the latest models. They sport the most expensive watches and wear ‘phoren’ shoes. They look like the V.J’s of M.TV or Channel V. Or they look like the boys shown dancing in the videos of the latest songs.

The swinging babes wear the latest designer clothes, may be tight jeans, or tighter pants with brief tops. Since it is summer season, the babes are wearing strappy tops with interesting logos printed on them like ‘Come here, I won’t bite’. They wear the latest lipstick shades, brighten their eyes with mascara and liner, and colouring their hair, auburn or golden.

Where can you find them? They can be found hanging in Sarabha Nagar and Model Town market, in the pubs, but mostly at private parties with a D.J. in attendence playing the latest, liveliest music. The cool dudes and swinging babes guzzle pintfuls of fruit punches laced with gin. Their energy is then inexhaustible and they can dance till the wee hours of the morning. Their parties may have a theme like “denim, grey and silver” or “on a shipwreck and other such like.”

They ape the western teenagers, which is fine, but they should also adopt their good attitudes, e.g. working to earn their pocket money. They should not tax their parents but live on their own income. They could also try and stick to some of our traditions and use their energy for good social causes.

Marriage palaces

With the “wedding season” round the corner, many of the marriage palaces in the city are gearing up. Since Ludhianavis are willing to spend any amount of money to be different from others, the marriage palaces are vying with each other to be one up on the other in variety and novelty.

Dhawan Palace is undergoing complete renovation. When it is ready, it will present a totally different look. Maharaja, too, is being given a new look. Malhar Greens is a new marriage palace near Baddowal and is getting ready to receive its first guest.

The marriage palaces beyond the chungi are not being renovated for they have taken a stay order from the High Court against demolition. The Municipal Corporation had ordered the demolition of five marriage palaces, and so the owners of these five marriage palaces do not want to undertake any renovations. They are under a lot of stress.

Mr Arun Goel, the former Deputy Commissioner, had forbidden parking of cars on Ferozepur Road. Now the Municipal Corporation will charge a fee for car parking on the road. There are so many cars that they are parked bumper to bumper the day the marriage palaces are booked. The city looks like Las Vegas by night only looks, as it does not have the capacity to manage the traffic and the huge rush of cars. On top of it, the traffic cops are also missing. If you are out on that day, God save you. You are going to be caught in a traffic jam, that is for sure. Will the authorities do something to ease the traffic and ensure its smooth and regular flow in the coming days?

An elderly catwalk

Cross cultural currents have created ripples worldwide. The world has shrunk too much and lifestyles have changed. Values have been redefined, changing the attitude of people towards life. Yesterday’s taboo is today’s craze. And if you do not put yourself into the new cultural mould, you will be counted obsolete and outdated.

Ludhiana, a progressive city of progressive people, has always welcomed change. Be it in the realm of entrepreneurship or adopting the latest technology, everything is welcome here. If in trade and business, why not in everyday life. It’s the same for everyday life as well, the young being particularly fascinated by change.

However, it is no longer restricted to the young in Ludhiana. The elderly rival the young if not in everything, definitely in fashion. The elderly women, no longer like themselves to be called so. For ageing is only a state of the mind, and If you think you are old, you are and vice versa. The elderly ladies here appear to have started not to think of themselves so.

That is what was precisely on show at a fashion workshop of a ladies club in a posh residential area along the Ferozepur Road. The ‘genteel’ ladies, some of them might have been well into their sixties, were keenly and attentively participating in a fashion workshop. The workshop was being conducted by a former second runner up Miss Punjab.

The workshop included, among other things make up, fashion, Dancing and singing. But one interesting thing above all was the ‘catwalk’. There was nothing unusual in watching young and slim girls performing the walk. However, it seemed to have provoked some envy among the elderly. Probably it did. Many of the elderly ladies, even their delicate make up not camouflaging the truth, jumped onto the ramp to perform the ‘cat walk’. It was a real contrast. Hefty old ladies against slim young girls gyrating on the ramp, some provoking delight and others laughter. What young can do the elderly can at least undo if not outdo.

Yours, newly appointed!

How long does the ‘newness’ of a new thing last? Not, at least, until the shine of its newness has not been fully utilised. Ludhianvis have a great fondness for celebrations. They do not celebrate just for the heck of it, but with purpose many times.

For the last two months, to be precise since May 1, when the ‘newly appointed’ Deputy Commissioner, Mr S K Sandhu, took over the reins of the industrial megacity, the elite clubs and organisations have got a cause to celebrate. It is almost every week that one club or organisation or the other organises a reception for the “newly appointed Deputy Commissioner”.

As for Mr Sandhu, refusing means disappointing. No matter how long the line of visitors outside his office, he is always composed and listens patiently. Whoever has a long list of woes, looses no time to organise a ‘reception’ to honour the DC.

There is always a long list of woes narrated to the minutest detail. The list of speakers is as long as the list of woes and all the speakers go on repeating the charter of demands, probably to ensure that it fixes itself in the ‘newly appointed’ DC’s mind. Instead of making repeated representations of their problems by repeated visits to his office, the organisers prefer to do it in a single go. And persistent pleadings seldom fall on deaf ears. So, as long as the list of woes exists, the persistence and perseverance of the reception organisers will continue and the DC will continue to be “newly appointed”.

Rainy Season

People of Ludhiana wait for monsoons anxiously,

For rains take away heat and are just lovely.

When the rain drops beat on the window-pane,

People relax and enjoy sitting in chairs of cane.

But soon the joy of falling rain vanishes,

For many houses fall down and many people perish.

The people living in ‘jhuggis’ are the worst affected,

Their houses crumble and they have to drink water infected.

Gastro diseases like cholera and dysentry are the order of the day,

People spend a lot money on cure, for there is no other way.

The streets and parks turn into minor rivers and lakes,

Rains, earlier desired, become every driver’s nightmare.

The stench that emanates from rubbish is most foul,

The smile vanishes from the face and is replaced by a scowl.

Sometimes it benefits the farmers and then again not,

for too much water makes the standing crops to it rot.

Monsoons bring to great joy to almost all kids,

They can play in the water and enjoy a skid.

But for most of the residents, rains are a nightmare,

For every one is stranded and life is thrown out of gear.

Live toys

The photo at the top of the page looks beautiful. The mauve colour constrasts with lime green, turquoise blue, golden yellow so beautifully that one wants to buy these little toy like things.

But these are not stuffed toys. In reality, they are chicks, a few days old, coloured with colours containing toxins. The vendors display them in the market. Needless to say their attractive colours tempt the buyers, specially the little ones. The children buy them as playthings.

They come cheap, only Rs 25 or Rs. 30 a couple. The child is very happy to possess a new plaything. Alas! the happiness of the child is short lived. The chicks die after a few days. In three or four days, the toxins have penetrated the chick’s body through the pores, and the poor innocent creature die for man’s lust of money.

Dr Sandeep Jain,President of People for Animal, Ludhiana, is shocked at the callousness of the people who indulge in such cruel practices. The PFA has decided to take up matter with the authorities and has demanded stern action against those who colour and sell the chicks.

Tailpiece

For once a senior Punjab Police officer has got a taste of his own medicine. Recently, at a position where his work entails imposing fines on people, he was himself fined, courtesy the Punjab State Electricity Board.

Last week, the PSEB while conducting a routine check against kundi connections in the Punjab Mata Nagar locality, detected a kundi connection made by the cop. It is alleged that when he was confronted by the PSEB officials, he resorted to the same tricks that the others play before him — denial, followed by defiance and then persuasion.

But the electricity board officials refused to relent and they not only removed the kundi connection, but also imposed a fine of Rs. 6,600/ on him.

—Sentinel

BUSINESS

Fiscal crunch hits consumer forum
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, July 18 — A piquant situation has arisen in the District Consumer Redressal Forum here as no summons or orders have been dispatched to the persons or parties concerned since May for want of funds.

According to norms, the forum has to sent the summons and orders to the parties involved in litigation through registered post and in no circumstances can the papers be hand delivered. The forum officials also cannot accept payment from the parties or their representatives in order to deliver the judgements or summons.

However, with no money to buy stamps, the orders and summons are piling up in the forum and even though the cases have been decided yet the beneficiaries have been awaiting compensation awarded to them.

The delay is causing heartburn to both forum employees and the persons who have won the cases but has proven to be a blessing in disguise for the parties losing the cases. According to most of the judgements, the party losing the case is liable to pay the compensation only within one or two months of the receipt of the order.

Apart from more than 100 orders, there is much higher number of summons awaiting delivery. The wait is delaying not only the cases at present but is sure to hit the forum’s working in future as well. Sources said last year too there was paucity of funds and work of more than an year had piled up. The forum had only recently stabilised the functioning but the less inflow of money has crippled the functioning.

A look at the funds given to the forum here speaks for themselves on the sorry state of affairs. The forum requires about Rs 10,000 per month for expenses on stamps only to deliver the papers through registered post. Each delivery costs about Rs 17 to Rs 20 on an average and most of the time same papers are to be delivered to five or more parties. The forum takes about 100 cases per month.

While the expenses are more than 10,000 per month on stamps only the annual budget of office expenses under which head the expense is covered is only Rs 18,000 which comes no where near the required amount. Further, the funds are released on quarterly basis only which further curtails the amount.

The paucity of funds faced by the forum can also be gauged by the budget of telephone and power bill payments. The annual earmarked budget for the telephone connections of the forum is Rs 5500, whereas if one calculates the rent only then it surpasses the budget. Same is the condition of the power bill budget as well.

According to the sources, the forum has send letters of demand for more funds to the state government and also highlighted their plight to the State Consumer Redressal Commission Chandigarh but the action is awaited.