The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Major fire in Transport Nagar
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Aug 26 — Hosiery and woollen goods, besides machinery and the building, worth over Rs one crore were destroyed in a major fire that broke out in the Transport Nagar area here in the wee hours today.

The fire reportedly broke out around 2 am in the morning in Khurana Woollen and Spinning Mills. Electric short circuit is believed to be the cause of the fire. Though the fire brigade reached immediately after receiving the message, not much could be saved in the factory, as the goods lying inside took no time in catching fire. However, no loss of life was reported.

According to Mr Jagdish Bajaj, one of the friends of the owners, about six workers were working at one of the two units of the factory. Quoting the workers, he said, while the unit was on, some sparks emerged from an electric point with woollen and synthetic fabric all around, the fire did not take much time to spread. Within no time, the entire factory was in flames. However, all the workers managed to escape.

Mr Bajaj said since the owner of the factory, Mr Santokh Singh Bajaj, was in Amritsar, he reached the factory around 3.45 am. Ruling out any foul play, he maintained that it appeared that the fire was caused by electric short circuit.

He put total losses at around Rs 1.5 crore. Besides the machinery, the building and the goods were damaged. The building was razed to the ground. It took fire brigade personnel several hours to put out the fire.

Heavy showers lash city
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Aug 26 — Heavy showers lashed several parts of the city here today afternoon, bringing life to a halt.

While the showers brought cheers from the recent rise in mercury, the flooding of streets made moving out impossible for about two hours around noon. The accumulated water on the roads troubled commuters and vehicles were stranded at several places.

The water-logging once again exposed the improper drainage system of the city. While the MC has to face the music for choked drains, the people of the city will also have to share the blame for constructing houses over several natural rivulets and drains.

The areas worst affected by today’s downpour were Domorhia Bridge, Dholewal Chowk, Sundar Nagar, Ghumar Mandi, College Road, Habbowal and other low-lying areas. Water was over-flowing, several vehicles developed snags. Scooter and car mechanics had a field day.

The residents living around Industrial and Miller Gunj complained of the collection of rain water in their area whenever showers lashed the city. They said they had complained to the MC several times, but no solution of the problem has been found so far.

Finance panel retrograde: FM
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Aug 26 — The Punjab Finance Minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh, has termed the cuts imposed by 11th Finance Commission on 18 states as a retrograde step which will retard the development of these states as most of them will have to cut down their plan size at the crucial stage of implementation.

The minister, who had just returned from Delhi after attending a meeting of the 13 affected states, convened by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Chandra Babu Naidu, told mediapersons here on Wednesday that going by the new devolution formula evolved by the Finance Commission, the state of Punjab stood to lose a staggering Rs 1550 crore over a period of five years.

Elaborating further, he explained that the allocation of funds on the basis of ‘distance in income’, now being followed by the Finance Commission would result in certain chronically mismanaged states getting more funds while those with better fiscal management would be punished. The commission had also reduced the share of states in central funds like grant-in-aid, calamity relief fund from the prevailing 44 per cent to 37.5 per cent while the Centre would get 62.5 per cent against its present share of 56 per cent.

He was upset that in the face of increasing demand for more fiscal economy by a large number of states, the Finance Commission had put the entire process in the reverse gear by taking a stand which was regressive and discriminatory against the states. “On the one hand the Union Government is following the policies of opening up the economy to MNC’s, globalisation , infra-structure development and information technology development to compete with the developed countries, but on the other, the progressive and developing states are being denied much needed funds from central allocation.”

The Finance Minister said the Chief Ministers of 13 states, after the meeting in Delhi, had met the Prime Minister, the Chairman of as Planning Commission and the Union Finance Minister, who had assured that the final report of the Finance Commission was yet to come by the end of this month and the commission was likely to compensate the states with better financial management under its ‘monitorable fiscal reforms’ system. He was confident that Punjab, with a series of fiscal reforms having been effected, would qualify for additional funds under this category.

Commenting that the mood in the country was that of ‘disappointment’, he observed that the treatment meted out to states like Punjab, had further strengthened the belief of the ruling SAD (B) that complete fiscal autonomy was the key to the prevailing crisis. The affected states, if not satisfied with the final report of the Finance Commission and not compensated by the Union Government in any manner, will meet again and take stock of the situation before taking any collective step to secure justice he added.

Later, speaking at a function, organised in Guru Gobind Singh Nagar, in Simla Puri, to welcome Mrs Sukhwinder Kaur, councillor of ward No. 31, who has returned to the fold of SAD (B) leaving the Tohra faction, the minister claimed that the people of Punjab had never accepted those Akali leaders who had digressed from the main-stream of the Panth.

Lashing out at the Congress for its anti-Punjab policies, Capt Kanwaljit Singh said it had completely ruined the economy of the state and corrupted the whole administrative set up. The erstwhile ruling party was responsible for the massacre of thousands of Punjabi youths during the 15 years of terrorism besides the demolition of Sri Harmander Sahib and Akal Takht.

Referring to the achievements of SAD - BJP Government, he said with the introduction of better fiscal management, improvement in tax realisation and curtailment in government expenditure, the economy of the state had been brought back on the rails and a number of development projects and welfare programmes had been launched. He further said that there was no shortage of funds in the state and a special programme had been launched for strengthening and widening of main roads and construction of large bridges at cost of Rs 2700 crores in Punjab.

Responding to the demands made by the people of the area through their councillor, the Finance Minister announced the construction of a new bridge on canal near the Simla Puri locality, the provision of sewerage and water supply schemes in the area and the establishment of a government primary school in the colony.

Lack of transparency leads to corruption: Joginder Singh
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Aug 26 — Former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Mr Joginder Singh has sought total accountability and transparency in the functioning of the government in order to weed out corruption.

Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Joginder Singh suggested, "There is a need to throw open the entire government functioning for the public, except in matters of defence, home affairs and the annual budget". He pointed out that people had every right to know what was happening in the government and what was the rationale behind each decision.

The former CBI Director disclosed that he was soon going to bring out another book on Bofors called, Inside Bofors. He informed that it may go into print in the next three months and he was currently editing it. He claimed that many heads were going to roll after its publication.

Replying to a question about the right of a person to disclose official secrets, Mr Joginder Singh claimed, once the matter goes to court, there is nothing confidential about it. He emphasised more transparency in government functioning.

Mr Joginder Singh is already facing defamation charges by former Bihar Chief Minister, Dr Jagan Nath Mishra. Dr Mishra sued him in Delhi High Court for Rs one crore as Mr Joginder Singh had accused him of being involved in the multicrore fodder scam. These allegations figure in another book on the fodder scam. He said these charges had been made in the chargesheet which had already been presented in the court.

Charging the country's political establishment of corruption, He observed that the problem started from the top. He added that there were some exceptions. But, being party to corruption was also criminal and it was the political establishment which needed to purge itself. He said it was the common man who bore the brunt of poor governance.

Asked to suggest measures for purging the system, the former CBI director said there should be accountability and transparency in the functioning of the government. He said, in India, lack of accountability was the root cause of all the problems. "It hardly matters whether you are honest or dishonest", he pointed out, adding at the same time, "I do not mean that dishonest people should be rewarded, but they should not go unpunished".

Commenting on the criminalisation of politics in the country, Mr Joginder Singh remarked, "Veerapan has blotted the silverline, if there was any". He was highly critical of the handling of the Veerapan issue. He regretted that the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments had sanctioned Rs 10 crore for compensating those killed in the special task operations against Veerapan. He said, it would set a bad precedent for the rest of the country. Mr Singh, who belonged to the Karnataka cadre, asserted that Veerapan could not harm Rajkumar, who is being held as a hostage for the past few weeks. He suggested that the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments should not give in to his demands.

Mr Joginder Singh said he was quite satisfied with the functioning of the CBI. He suggested that it needed to be strengthened. He also supported the Supreme Court observation that there should be a fixed tenure of two years for the CBI director. He observed that similar arrangements should be there for the Directors General of Police and the Chief Secretaries of states. This, he pointed out, would prevent politcisation of the agency.

Asked whether he planned to join politics, "In due course of time" was Mr Jogincder Singh's reply.

The disillusioned spy
From Shivani Bhakoo

LUDHIANA, Aug 26 — Lachman Singh, an Indian spy based in Pakistan for more than 18 years, is now an unknown identity, jobless and homeless, living a life where he has to die several times each day. And that too, after he gave his all — life, youth and health — for his country.

The adage ‘Ask not what your country has done for you, but what you can do for your country’ certainly sounds very appealing and ideal, but ask this man, in the dusk of his life, and the disillusionment is writ large on his face.

“They say that laying down one’s life is the supreme sacrifice for the country. I, however, feel that it is living life as death in the captivity of the enemy and still not succumbing to the pressures and the incentives in store on conceding to the demands of the enemy, which is the ultimate sacrifice.”

Lachman Singh joined the Indian Army in 1943. He was posted at Sialkot, and in 1947, he was retired from the army; but he never got his pension. He later joined the Health Department at Ferozepore and in the year 1959, he was appointed to serve as an Indian spy on the recommendation of Gurbax Singh, a police officer of Mehna Thana.

He recalls, “I was sent to Pakistan for a trial visit and came back after 15 days. I was thoroughly trained by the Indian intelligence agency on how to write secret letters, about the use of secret ink and wireless. I even had to become a pakka muslim and was given a new identity as Mohammad Bashir. I was sent to Pakistan in 1959 and was all set to meet the new challenges in my new avtaar. During my stay there, I visited Lyalpur, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Islamabad. In 1965, I provided vital information regarding Pakistani movement and plans of various raids and information regarding the Patton tanks used by the enemy.”

His services were appreciated and he was given a sum of Rs 1,000 as a reward. In the meantime, he came to India to attend his daughter’s wedding in 1968, but even before the wedding, he was ordered to go back and was promised financial help by the Indian Government. However, no monetary help was given to him.

Lachman Singh, in keeping with his line of duty, even got married to a Pakistani girl, Basheeran, who was ignorant about her husband’s work till the time she got arrested by the Pakistani Army. Lachman, however, managed to escape and reached India. Here he was labelled a traitor. After two months he again went to Pakistan in search of his second wife and brought her to India, but his first wife refused to accept her. He left Basheeran with her maternal uncle and he was again sent back to Pakistan.

On April 12, 1975 he got arrested and had to undergo inhuman torture at the hands of the Pakistani Army every day. As he recalls, “They used to sprinkle salt and chilly powder on my wounds.” He showed the scars on his body which were still prominent after fifteen years of his release.

In 1977, he was awarded a death sentence. He says, “I was waiting for my end to come, when the superintendent received a call regarding the halting of my hanging and I was released in 1987. The Indian Government refused to acknowledge my work and sent me to Amritsar jail .”

He then decided to make Ludhiana his home. But Lachman Singh quite unhappy with his life, says, “I have no land, no house of my own. Inspite of so many assurances by the government I am penniless. I do not have money for getting myself treated for my ailments. Sometimes I feel that my sacrifices has been in vain.”

Sepoy cremated with military honours
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Aug 26 — The mortal remains of Sepoy Jaspal Singh of 6- Sikh Light Infantry Regiment, who sacrificed his life in an exchange of mortar firing with the enemy on LoC in Akhnoor Sector in J & K on the night of August 24 in a bid to save his fellow soldiers who were in the enemy’s trap was cremated with full military honours at his native village, Johlan, in Jagroan tehsil, here today

Mr Sukhwinder Singh, his younger brother, lit the pyre. Sepoy Jaspal Singh is survived by his widow, Gurmail Kaur, two daughters, a son, father, mother, younger brother and sister.

Earlier, the body of Jaspal Singh was taken in a large funeral procession, led by an Aarmy contingent, in which thousands of people from the area, shouting patriotic slogans, bid adieu to a great son of the country. The body, wrapped in the tricolour, was brought to his house late last night.

Before the cremation, Mr S.R. Kaler, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, Mr Jagjit Singh Talwandi, Chairman, PSIEC, Mr Jaskaran Singh, SSP, Jagraon, Mr Harmohinder Singh, MLA, Capt Rohit Das, Lt S.K. Raju (both from 45 ADA Brigade), Naib Subedar Parshotam Das from 103 T.A. Sikh LI, Mr I.S. Kahlon, SDM Jagraon, and Wing Commander M.S. Randhawa, Deputy Director, Sainik Welfare, laid wreaths on the body of the martyr. Mr Kaler informed that all the financial incentives declared by the state government for Kargil martyrs would be given to the family including an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh, a plot for house or Rs 5 lakh, service to one member of the family and suitable memorial in the village.

THE ANCHOR
No borders and barriers for Net pals
From Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Aug 26 — Notwithstanding the frequent skirmishes along the border and a war of propaganda and counter-propaganda at the national and international level by leaders of their countries, 19-year-old Karachi girl Humera and 21-year old Ludhiana boy Abhinav are "close friends". They chat on the Net for long hours, daily.

For the past six months or so, Humera and Abhinav have hardly missed any day when they did not chat. They also exchange greetings on festivals and birthdays, not only their own, but of their relatives also. The two have also exchanged their photographs on the e-mail.

Abhinav says that his friendship with Humera started while he was surfing the Net and looking at the chat sites. He found Humera's address and logged in. The chat started with anonymity, as most chats start. In fact, their friendship had an initial shadow of the strained relationship between the two countries.

For several days, they continued to chat without revealing each other's identity. But when Abhinav disclosed to Humera that he was from India, she turned a little reluctant. Abhinav recalls, Humera would go to the extent of saying that she would not like to make friends, not even on the Net, with anyone from India. However, Abhinav insisted, arguing that the political differences among the leaders of the two countries should not come in their way.

Despite deep "intimacy" between the two, Humera has not disclosed her postal or correspondence address to Abhinav as yet, lest she gets into trouble. She is a student of computer science in a Karachi college and her father is a businessman. Humera belongs to a Muhajir family. Her grandparents had migrated from Delhi in 1948. When Abhinav asked her whether they feel safe and happy there in view of the general alienation among Muhajirs, she claimed that all of them were happy in Pakistan which is their country.

Abhinav has several other Net friends in Pakistan. They chat for long hours and the discussion centres more on cricket than politics. Particularly, after the revelations regarding the involvement of some top players from both the countries in match fixing, the friends across the borders appear to have found a common cause against their star heroes.

And guess what they chat about on the Net. No politics, no war, nothing of this sort. They talk about their college, films, music and more often than not about their girlfriends. They appear to become unmindful of the things that go on the top level of political leadership in the two countries. A new generation of friends across the borders and barriers is already born.

WTO agreement — doom for agriculture: CPI (M)
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Aug 26 — The Communist Party of India (Marxist) state committee secretary, Mr Balwant Singh, has observed that the coming into effect of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement will spell doom for agriculture in the country and will result in frustration among the farming community.

Addressing a seminar on Detrimental effects of WTO on our agriculture, organised by the district unit of the CPI-M at Punjabi Bhawan here, he said the policies of globalisation and privatisation, were showing their adverse effects and the ailing agricultural economy, in which the farmers were forced to commit suicides, would reach a point of no return if a strong voice of protest was not raised now.

While appreciating the struggle of the working classes against the anti-people and anti-farmer policies of the government, Mr Balwant Singh remarked that self-reliance of the peasantry was closely linked to self-reliance of the nation, which was the backbone of our sovereign republic and if the self-reliance of the nation was put in jeopardy, the countrymen might have to fight another battle for independence.

The CPI(M) state secretary rued that even after 55 years of independence of the country, the successive governments of the predominantly agricultural nation, had failed to frame a long-term farm policy. The draft of the policy prepared now, had nothing new in it and the basic issues had been left untouched. Even the state governments had been persistently neglecting agriculture, which was a state subject.

COMMUNITY

Confessions of a filmstar’s wife
From A Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Aug 26 — Erum Ali, wife of famous film star Abbas Ali, is a fun-loving and secure woman.

Born in Ludhiana, Erum was a small city girl, happy and satisfied with her job in Max Page as Commercial Relations Executive.

Abbas is Erum’s first cousin and lives in Bangalore. Whenever the two met, Abbas treated Erum as a friend and confessed to her about his various affairs. A cousin mediated to help blossom the love Erum felt for Abbas. Abbas was floored when he got to know that Erum was interested in him. The parents were unaware of their love affair. The father was furious when he got to know about this affair. He got Erum engaged to another person.

Finally, the father decided to get Erum and Abbas married. Now Mr S H Khan, Deputy Librarian, Punjab Extension Library, says, “I am proud to be associated with Abbas.” The mother, Ms Farhad Khan, the principal of a school, also says, “It was my mother’s desire to get Erum and Abbas married.

Erum said, “When we got married, we were very young. The first year was full of friction. Abbas had a set of friends that I could not get along. Moreover, I had no friends in Chennai. I would tag with him to the shootings, much to the annoyance of the producers and directors. They would feel nervous, when Abbas had to do some intimate scenes with heroines.”

Abbas mostly acts in Tamil films. His first film — Kadal Desam — with Tabu was a runaway hit. It was dubbed in Hindi was titled Duniya Dilwalon Ki, but it sank in the North without a ripple. Abbas appeared in ten videos for Ye hai Prem by Rajshri Productions.

Erum confesses, “Being a filmstar’s wife can prove quite stressful. There are guests and visitors all the time, story writers, directors, producers, fans — there is no privacy at all. Sometimes, it becomes very irksome. Fans and their antics upset me. They write letters with their blood. Some girls send their photos and their messages through videos. He gets offers of friendship from gays, which are disturbing. On my birthday, our children’s birthday and Abbas’ birthday, the fans regularly send greetings. One is touched by their affection, but one cannot be friends with each one of them.”

Erum says, “I think he had sowed all his wild oats before marriage. I have warned him that if he dares to have an affair, I will go back to Ludhiana”. But most of the filmi husbands make such promises and then go and have an affair. “Let him have one and then see what I will do. But Abbas is loving and takes me abroad whenever he goes shooting. Then we have a nice holiday.”

At the moment, Abbas is on top of the world, for his latest film, starring Aishwarya, Tabu and Mamooty, is a hit. Titled Kandun Kondein Kondein, it has been released in Mumbai with subtitles in English.

Decline in reading habits
From Asha Ahuja

LUDHIANA, Aug 26— Do you know that out of a total population of more than 30 lakh, only two to three per cent of people read general books? By general books one means books on fiction, philosophy, autobiographies, spirituality, body fitness, cookery, so on and so forth. Let us consider that 40 per cent of the population is illiterate; still it is shocking to know of people's lassitude and lack of interest in reading.

'Reading maketh a man' said Francis Bacon. Does no one want to become erudite and knowledgeable anymore? Have the books lost their magic of transporting a person, sitting in his chair, to different worlds and also of having a peak into the minds of various characters? The answer to both these questions is, sadly, "Yes".

The culprit, to a large extent, is the mushrooming of TV channels which are forever telecasting movies, soaps and musical programmes, so that people do not feel the need to read.

Though the prices of foreign books have become very steep, yet Kalyani Publishers has taken rights from American and English publishing houses to reprint some very popular classics like David Copperfield, Emma and the likes of famous authors, and has priced them at Rs 50 only. Then too, no buyers.

What is the general populace buying? A book which prescribes home remedies and titled 'Swadeshi Chikitsa' by Ajit Mehta, 'Acupunctre' by Attar Singh, 'Health in your Hands' by Devindra Vora are the best sellers. And why not? Afterall, health is wealth.

Indian authors are being read too. Deepak Chopra's 'Ageless body, Timeless Mind', Shiv Khera's ' You can Win' are selling well.

According to Mr Raj Kumar, the owner of a very old and prestigious book shop, the steady decline in the number of readers is depressing. He said, "In my father's time, Sunder Das Ji, Manmohan Singh, M.S.Gill, N.N.Vohra, Ashwani Kumar and other students of Government College would come and browse. My father had failed in his class X exam but he had a fantastic memory. He remembered the names of authors and their books and would encourage the students to read them. He was glad that all the people mentioned above came to our shop and spent a good number of hours browsing through the books."

This old rambling bookshop, Lyall Book Shop, had at any given time 1,75, 000 books on display, making it probably the largest bookshop in the whole of India.

The planks creak, and the wooden stairs and roof bear testimony to the fact that no change has swept this book shop; yet it stocks the maximum number of books on all the subject being taught in schools and colleges.

The shop buzzes with activity once the colleges reopen. Mr Rajkumar says, "There is not much margin of profit in text books. Out of 15 per cent margin we have to sell to students at subsidised rates, which leaves us a profit margin of only 5per cent. The general books have more profit margin but they do not sell."

What is done with the old books? Mr Rajkumar said that they have to sell them as raddi. Even if they put up a sale, there are hardly any buyers.

"People get to know of some foreign books through book reviews and they come and buy those books even if they are expensive. To name a few- 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families' by Stephen R Covey , 'Harry Potter by J.K.Rowling, '6th Bowl of Chicken Soup for the Soul' by Jack Canfield are selling well. In fact, right now we do not have any copy of Harry Potter left."

People are buying to 'show off' too. In Ludhiana, some people will a bookshelf in the living room where expensive books will be stocked to impress visitors.

On the other hand, people are getting fond of spiritual books like 'The Essence of Gita' by Sri Aurobindo, and 'The Gospel of the Guru Granth Sahib'. Cookery books by Tarla Dalal and Sanjeev Kapoor go well with the ladies. They also buy books on knitting, crocheting etc. Books on astrology like 'Lal Kitab' and books of Krishna Murthy are very popular too.

Out of the magazines, 'India Today' sells the most followed by 'Outlook', Stardust is a very popular"filmi" magazine.

Mr Raj Kumar feels that if more libraries would open, probably the residents of localities would start reading. The Municipal Corporation Library has not bought a new book for years. Punjab University Extension Library is not sufficient to cater to the needs of the readers.

There are no lending libraries. There was an Indira Gandhi Mobile Library which would go to different localities, but is not seen these day.

"The school libraries should stock good books and encourage the students to read. Parents, too, should encourage the habit of reading, or else, the present generation will be deprived of the pleasures of reading," said Mr. Raj Kumar

CRIME

Man making fake degrees held
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Aug 26 — With the arrest of a local printer by the CIA staff here yesterday on charges of making fake degrees and certificates, the police claims to have achieved a major success.

Karanjit Singh, a printer in the Kochar market here, was arrested by the police party led by SI Gurpreet Singh and ten marksheets and two degrees of Bachelors of Engineering, Bangalore University, were recovered from him. He has been booked under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC.

The accused had made all these fake marksheets and certificates in his own press and on a computer. All these certificates and degrees were in the name of Madanjit Singh and Parminderjit Singh. He is also learnt to have taken Rs 22,000 from the two persons for making these certificates.

According to the information available, Madanjit Singh and Parminderjit Singh were previously students of engineering in Bangalore and after reportedly being unsuccessful in passing out the examinations, took recourse to getting fake degrees and marksheets made from the accused.

The accused was getting the stamps made from behind the books market and from the Ahluwalia street near Vishwakarma chowk. SI Gurpreet Singh said since the stamp manufacturers did not ask for any authority letter while making government stamps, it was not difficult to get the stamps made and to make fake certificates, degrees, licences, challans etc.

Directors of finance company caught
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Aug 26 — The economic offences wing of the Ludhiana police has arrested three directors of a finance company that had duped hundreds of persons of their hard-earned money.

The Deputy Superintendent of Police, Economic Offences Wing, Mr Satish Malhotra, informed that they had succeeded in nabbing Rajinder Kumar Sharma, resident of Panchkula, Surinder Pal Verma and Tatvinder Singh, both residents of Chandigarh, last evening.

He informed that all these accused directors, as well as the owner of the finance investment company, Rajesh Sayal, had been booked in two separate cases of breach of trust, cheating and fraud in Ludhiana. The owner, Rajesh Sayal, is in Burain jail.

All the accused persons had started four companies — Alpine Floritech, Marigold Finance, Marigold Housing and Panchshika Tourist Resort, and a large number of investors from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh had been duped by these companies.