The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Special team arrives to probe dengue
No cause for panic, says Civil Surgeon
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 9 — Following the outbreak of dengue in the city which has so far claimed one life, a special team from the Directorate of the National Anti-Malaria Programme (NAMP), Ministry of Health, Government of India, arrived here today to study and investigate the reasons for the outbreak of disease in the city. The team will take samples of mosquito larvae, the main carriers of the dengue virus.

The five-member team will stay here for three days and visit various localities from where dengue cases have been reported. All five members are field workers who are associated with the NAMP for quite some time.

The Civil Surgeon, Dr Rajinder Kaur, today confirmed the death of one person due to dengue. She said 27 cases of dengue had been reported so far in various hospitals of the city. She stated that of the 27 suspected cases of dengue 10 were confirmed positive after the serology tests.

The deceased has been identified as Paramjit Singh of Jammu and Kashmir, who breathed his last at Christian Medical College and Hospital here yesterday.

The Civil Surgeon sought to allay the fears of dengue epidemic in the city. She said these were sporadic cases only and there was no cause to feel panic about. However, she advised caution and said that people should ensure that water was not allowed to accumulate or stagnate anywhere as it became a breeding ground for the mosquitoes.

She informed that the situation was being continuously monitored and 27 anti-larva teams had been set up. The teams had been deputed to various localities. They were advising people about preventive measures in these areas. Besides, various private hospitals in the city had been regularly keeping the Civil Surgeon's office informed about the fresh cases.

She said that all the facilities for treatment of dengue patients were available at the Civil Hospital. Platelet separator was also working in the hospital.

In the dengue infection, the platelet count of the patient gets drastically low. The average normal count of platelets is 2.5 to 3 lakh per cc of blood. However, a patient is kept under observation in case the count comes down to 50,000 per cc of blood.

She said the patient "can be saved even if the count comes to 10,000 provided the patient is brought to the hospital in time.

She pointed out as the reduction in platelet counts lead to clotting, the patient could suffer haemorrhage in any organ of the body. She said the Civil Hospital, besides CMC and DMC had the facility of separating the platelets from the blood.

While the health authorities are being blamed for not taking adequate measures, the Municipal Corporation has also been found wanting in its job of maintaining cleanliness in the city. Heaps of garbage are frequently seen at most places, particularly the congested areas in the old city. The health authorities pointed out that while there had been some cases of dengue, but the disease had been kept under perfect control. So far, the Health Department has confirmed 27 cases. The last year the number of dengue cases had crossed 1000.

The health authorities have sough the cooperation of people in preventing the disease. They have advised people to ensure that water is not allowed to accumulate anywhere. Moreover, the health authorities have been particular in asking people to ensure that no water remains in the air coolers as that becomes the best breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Rules bent to favour individual?
By Surbhi Bhalla

LUDHIANA, Oct 9 — An employee of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has been on deputation with an American multinational company for the past 11 years allegedly in violation of the varsity rules and regulations.

Not content with his 11-year-long stint with the American multinational, he has applied and secured another extension in his term of deputation for a further period of two years. It is being alleged that the beneficiary is being favoured repeatedly because of his proximity to powers-that-be in the university.

It is important to note that Dr Hari Singh Sohi, who joined PAU as assistant plant pathologist on December 19, 1989, was relieved by the Head of the Department of Horticulture on September 22, 1989, to enable him to take up an assignment with Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (PAIC), Chandigarh on deputation for one year. However, after just six months the PAIC lent its services to Pepsi Food Pvt. Ltd. (PFPL) and informed PAU that any further correspondence regarding Dr Sohi should be done with PFPL.

According to the authoritative sources, well versed with Punjab Civil Services rules, PAU cannot send any employee on deputation to a private concern. However, instead of raising any objection to PAIC’s proposal, the PAU authorities agreed without demur.

When PFPL requested PAU to allow Dr Sohi to work with them on the existing terms and conditions of deputation for two years more, the university authorities gave their consent unhesitatingly. Subsequently the authorities allowed further extension of two years that is up to September ‘94 to let Dr Sohi work with the PFPL on deputation.

It is learnt that after Dr Sohi’ s term of deputation expired, there was no request for further extension for over a year. The Director Research, on the recommendation of Head of the Department, Horticulture, wrote to the vice-president PFPL on March 1, 1996, that Dr Sohi should be relieved immediately, “In the interest of the university work.” However, subsequently due to the pressure, allegedly exerted by his patron in PAU, the Vice-Chancellor issued orders granting extension in deputation by three years up to September 1997 with retrospective effect. It was followed by a further extention of three years up to September 22, 2000.

Informed sources in the university revealed on condition of anonymity that before laying down the charge of the office of the Vice-Chancellor in October, Dr K.S. Aulakh had extended Dr Sohi’s deputation with PFPL for another two years. It is important to mention here that according to the university rules when an employee proceeds on deputation, he is entitled to all benefits of service such as promotion, annual increments, provident fund, pension etc.

Dr Sohis case, many scientists of the university have pointed out, is unprecedented. No one, they claim has ever been allowed to remain on deputation for a protracted period of 13 years. Some staff members have disclosed that a number of employees such as Mr K.K. Dheer, Mr G.L. Arora, Mr P.K. Sharma and a few others were allowed to take up assignments in government/semi-government organisations on deputation but after the expiry of the term of their deputation , they were told to either report back for duty or resign their posts. Thus, these employees eventually put in their papers or got premature retirement from the university.

When this correspondent sought the views of the Vice Chancellor, Dr G.S. Kalkat on the subject, he quipped that the university was not losing anything by lending Dr Sohi’s services to PFPL. He also said, “We shall call him back immediately when the university will need his services.” He said it was within the powers of the VC to extend the deputation period beyond two years. He maintained that the borrowing agency was depositing the required contribution of leave salary, gratuity, PF, pension etc regularly.

The Registrar, Mr Alok Shekhar, however, declined to go on record, saying the university rules were quite clear on the subject of deputation. According to the statutes of the university concerning service conditions of the teachers/employees, an employee who proceeds on deputation can retain his lien on the post for two years, “unless otherwise decided by the Vice-Chancellor.’’

An official, who is an authority on the Punjab Civil Services Rules said that a person could go on deputation, for a period of 5 years according to PCS rules. He maintained that Dr Sohi, could take up the assignment with PFPL after getting extraordinary leave from the university. The rules regarding such an outside assignment are clearly laid down in the PAU calendar which reads.” He should be granted only extraordinary leave during the period of such outside assignment and that also for a maximum period of three years in one spell extendable up to 5 years by the board of management. Dr Sohi’s case, however, has never been referred to the board of management.

Dot coms prepare for Divali
By Deepkamal Kaur

LUDHIANA, Oct 9 — This Divali Ludhianvis are not only receiving Divali greetings. They are in fact, getting puja thalis, set of divas, candles, crackers, all kinds of sweets, dry fruits and cakes from their NRI relatives and friends. This has been made possible by various website companies which are offering services of sending various kinds of gifts to NRIs’ relatives here and helping them maintain their bonds of love and affection.

Several websites have displayed a long list of Divali gifts which they send across along with their pictures and their charges. At apnimarket.com, there are various kinds of special Divali hampers like divas with sohan papri, all kinds of sweets, puja thali, dry fruit packs, fruit champagne and silverware. The site sends a free Divali card and a phuljhari pack with all gifts. In addition, the usual items like barbie doll, soft toys, flowers and chocolates are also available.

Says Mr Preet Pal Singh of apnimarket.com, ‘‘With several orders coming right now, I am very optimistic about getting a good response this Divali. We are receiving orders from countries like North America, UK, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. Last week I was in the USA for marketing of my website. Maximum orders are coming for Divali thalis. Shortly, we will also be introducing the option to send butter chicken through our site. Greetings in Punjabi and Hindi will also be made available by next week.’’

Even through eindiamart.com, several NRIs are placing orders for sending Divali gifts to their relatives in Punjab and Delhi. The site offers the facility to send tandoori chicken to Ludhianvis within 45 minutes. ‘‘I am receiving most of the orders from people in Southall, Toronto and Vancouver. I have noticed that the hit rate of the site has increased manifold foe the past few days because of the ongoing festival season,’’ says Mr Swaroop Singh, director, eindiamart.com.

Through the sites, all NRIs who have international credit cards like American Express, Visa Card and Master Card can send their gifts to their relatives and friends here. Payment is made online and security is ensured as the system gets locked at the time when credit card number is typed. The system automatically checks that the account of the user and payment process is complete in no time. The gifts which are ordered are bought, packed and sent through courier within 48 hours any where in Punjab, even to the remote parts of the state. ‘‘We make sure that the items sent by our website are of good quality and remain fresh by the time they reach our customers. Timely delivery is another guarantee that we give,’’ said Mr Swaroop and Mr Preet.

Cinema halls face bleak future
By Manoj Kumar
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 9 — In this month of festivals when all the industries are doing brisk business, the cinema houses are not finding too many viewers. In fact, the cinema industry of Punjab is passing through a very critical phase and the future seems rather dismal. The reason being the government's greed to get all the golden eggs by killing the hen, the high taxes, the indifferent attitude of the local administration, the power shortages and of course, the lack of imaginative leadership in the cinema industry. Consequently, some of the cinema houses in Jalandhar have closed down and other cinema house owners in the state are seriously thinking about other alternatives.

A visit to the leading cinema houses of Ludhiana is sufficient to prove the point. There are more than 20 cinema houses in the city. But the general public thinks twice before entering the theatres. It is mostly the migrant labourers, who do not have any other source of entertainment, who go there. Mr Manav Bhatia, a cinema house employee says, “Except one or two theatres most of them lack basic facilities like neat and clean toilets, good picture quality and proper management of the halls. They show old, third rate, obscene movies that no family person likes to see. There is neither adequate security nor sufficient parking space."

Ms Anuja Dogra, a homemaker, says, “In most of the theatres the seats are in a bad shape and AC's are mostly non-functional. The movie halls presents a very filthy appearance, with paan stains all over the walls.’’ While watching a most engrossing scene, one screams as a rat scampers over one's foot, adds another viewer.

However, it is not that the owners just want to fleece the public. Most of them feel that they are over taxed and over regulated by the government. Mr Bhupender Singh Malhotra, president of the Ludhiana Exhibitors' Association is depressive about the present scenario. He says, ‘‘The government's policy of lump-sum tax has almost killed the cinema industry. Earlier the tax was charged per ticket sold. According to the new policy we have to pay the taxes whether there are any persons in the hall or not. Secondly, the large number of theatres in the city has also resulted in exploitation by the distributors. They sell the movie rights to more than one house. It results in less business for both.’’

Mr Jasbeer Singh, owner of the Nolakha theatre and secretary of the association, says, ‘‘I used to pay about Rs 50-55,000 per month as entertainment tax on an average under the previous policy. Now, I have to pay Rs 84,000 every fortnight. On the other hand, the mushrooming cable channels have also affected our business. When one can see the latest movie on the cable network, which is actually illegal, then who would like to come to the theatre.’’

Mr Rajinder Kaura, manager of Society theatre , one of the oldest theatres in the city, says, ‘‘We concentrate on old movies which are cost effective and quite new for the labour class. We cannot charge high rates for the new ones which are very costly to buy in a competetive market. Our customers are mostly interested in sex and violence related movies. The adminstration, however, creates problems for us, whereas they are generally silent in other matters.’’ The modern changes like new music systems and better seating arrangements are neither affordable nor appreciated by the customers, he adds.

No doubt, some new theatres are coming up in the new localities, but the old players are of the view that it is almost impossible to get reasonable profits in the prevailing circumstances. The distributors are also aware about the helplessness of the owners. They try to get maximum profits by exploiting the competition among different theatres. What a paradoxical situation that the viewers are ready to pay 'a little extra' for the additional facilities but the cinema owners cannot increase the ticket charges under the rules!

Some of the owners have found their own solutions to the problem. They charge less than the official rates to attract customers, which is again detrimental to the overall interests of the industry. Mr Abinash Singh, owner of Laxmi theatre and the vice-president of the association has urged the government to review its policy of high lump-sum taxes, to save the industry. He said, like in Delhi and other states, there should be no limit on ticket charges. According to the quality of movie and facilities provided, the theatres should be allowed to charge from customers. Atleast the government can follow the policy of the Chandigarh Administration where taxes are about 50 per cent. Incase these steps are not taken soon, the future of the Punjab cinema industry is very bleak, he adds.

PAGE FROM HISTORY
Yaudheys first inhabitants of city
By Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 9 — From a small village called Mir Hota in the 15th century, the city has come a long way to attain the character of a metro-polis.Though little is known about what the place was in ancient period due to the dearth of material, it is accepted by the historians that not many districts in Punjab have as great a historical significance as Ludhiana.

It would not be wrong to term it as the ‘gateway to the erstwhile province of Hindustan’. Punjab has always been a border state. Once across the Sutlej, an invader had nothing to stop him from reaching Delhi. Some historians have duly termed the city as the ‘cockpit’ of struggle between the rising Sikh power and the muslim government of the day.

Though antiquarian research has established that places like Sunet, Tihara, Machhiwara and Bahlopur were inhabited much earlier than Ludhiana, it has yet to be established by the historians whether the present city came into being in the mid-15th century or there existed a large city even before that as is suggested by some British researchers.

The Yaudheys, believed to be the descendants of King Yudhistra, are supposed to be the first inhabitants of the place linking the city to the Mahabharta era. The tribe existed in the first century AD and reigned till the fourth century.

Not much material is available about the immediate successors of the Yaudheyas and the next reference found is of the Rajputs. Probably in the 12th century the Rajputs immigrated here and the ancestors of the present agrarian population are traced to these immigrants. Some passing references about immigration from Turks or Afghans are also found.

It is only from the mid 15th century that the proper historical record is available. The people inhabiting the city during this time belonged to a small tribe of Biluchis who were being plundered by marauding Mohammadan and Khokhar invaders from Afghanistan and Central Asia. The tribe requested none other than Alexander for help who send two of his Lodhi chiefs Yusuf Khan and Nihang Khan with an army.

While Yusuf Khan crossed the Sutlej to check the Khokhars, Nihang Khan remained at Mir Hota and soon a city started developing here. Initially called Lodhiana after the Lodhi ruler, the name changed with use and is now famous as Ludhiana.

Nihang Khan’s grandson Jalal Khan brought further development and built the fort of Ludhiana out of the bricks found at Sunet. The Lodhis were later overthrown by the army of Mughal king, Babar. The Mughals reigned till the early 18th century when the Sikhs grew in power.

It was the improvement of the rail and road network by the British that attracted people from different areas to this town which soon began expanding in all directions. The city is growing rapidly for the past 100 years and has now earned the epithet of the Manchester of India thanks to an ever expanding hosiery industry here.

Trauma of today’s child

‘Lovers commit suicide’ ‘Teenagers run away from home’ ‘Sons leave parents on roadside’. These are headlines one often sees in newspapers these days.

“Who is to balme, parents, children or society? Since we are all part of society, we only reflect the chaos pervading it”, says Mr Pratap, a parent of two well-settled children. According to him parents do not take sufficient care of their children at a time — the pre-school and the early school days — when they require it most. At a time when children can imbibe right values working couples are too busy earning their bread and butter. Children are left at creches or to the care of servants. In such a situation, how can they learn correct values. Even housewives prefer to leave children to the care of servants. If the husband is a drunkard, the future of the whole family is ruined.

Pooja says, “Sometimes my mother slaps me for annoying her. I hate her when she raises her hand on me. I start sulking. It takes me days to have loving feelings towards her once again.”

Karan (4) is often beaten up by his parents for being obstinate. they scold him often. He has become disillusioned and rebellious. He wets his bed and is beaten for it. they have not bothered to find out why he behaves like this.

First parents spoil their children by meeting all their demands. When such demands become unreasonable, they refuse to fulfil them sometimes with disastrous results.

Suchendu, a Class X student, was scolded by his mother and grandmother for slapping his sister and damaging the family’s new scooter. He was not used to being scolded as he was the only son and was doted on. He swallowed an insecticide and committed suicide.

Gauri, a teenager, is often beaten over small mistakes. “I am fed up. I think I am going to run away from home. Most of the times, it is my brother’s fault, but I am the one who is punished. Either such parents were treated equally harshly when they were children and have developed warped personalities or they are too busy fighting the battles of life and have no patience for the children. Puneet goes and thrashes younger children in his locality after he is beaten by his parents. The vicious circle continues.

Fifteen-year-old Tinku says: “My parents are frustrated with each other. They never got along well. My father keeps abusing my mother. My mother takes out her frustration on me by hitting me. When I cry, my father gives me a thrashing. How beastly can parents be? So long as children are helpless toddlers, parents shower their love and affection on them, but once they start asserting their will, parents do not know how to handle them.

The solution lies in spending time with children during their formative years and becoming role models for them. One good mother is worth a hundred teachers. As Mahatma Gandhi said,” Educate a woman, and you educate the whole family.” — AA

Roadside entrepreneur
He plays key role in our lives

One has often lost the keys of one's scooter, car, almirah and even of the door. What does one do then ? It is difficult to break the locks and replacement of locks cost a lots of money. So the next best thing is to find a person who makes duplicate keys that can open your locks. One can find they are becoming a rare specie these days. Yet one has to look for them.

Once one finds them, one can save a lot of money as he only charges Rs 5 for making a duplicate key otherwise one will have to spend Rs 60-70 for a new lock.

His list of trades are simple. He just has a wooden box and on top of it he has a plier, a file, a heavy piece of iron and a hammer. Balbir Singh says," I have many keys that fit ordinary locks. When some one has lost the key of the lock, I insert the dummy key, and later, take out the impressions of the grooves. Next I take the key, chisel it to match the grooves and with the hammer I thin it out. So I need this thick, solid piece of iron. I have been making keys for the past 15 years."

To the question whether he made home visits, in case someone lost the key of the door or almirah, he replied: "Yes we go, but we charge around Rs 25-30 only. People bring their vehicles and do lake us home."

He said ,"I start my work at 9 a.m. and finish by 7 p.m. I just make Rs 70-80 per day."

About Godrej locks, he explained that "Godrej locks are generally broken and new ones have to be fixed . I can even repair the locks. People, these days hate to spend money so when the repairs of locks and keys costs a nominal Rs 5 to 10, they prefer to bring their locks and keys to us. "

Another key maker had an iron machine which he called 'bang'. Pointing towards the machine he said, "I insert the standard key into it and get the impressions. Then I revolve the handle of the machine. (The machine looks like an ordinary masala grinder one but is made of solid iron). He had another plier- type thick iron contraption which helps him to turn the grooves to enable them to fit into the lock.

"I charge Rs 20-25 for a home visit. I can make a Godrej key too. I have been making keys for past 15 years. I hardly make Rs 70 to 80 daily. I have five children to support," he said.

When asked how he managed with this income, he shot back: "Do the beggars have any choice? I do not see any movies. I only go to gurdwaras."

These people work in the bazaars, but there are many who go to the peoples' houses as per their routine.

These people really are an asset to society as they come to the aid of stranded people who are 'lost' without keys. They work very hard yet they just barely make their two ends meet. — AA

When guarantees fail in ties

Ashima fought with her parents so that she could marry Arvind lyenger, a boy from another caste. She was a kayasth from North India and he, a Brahmin from the South. The parents of both opposed the match. They said their language and culture were different. Even the marriage ceremonies were different. “How can you get married? The very idea is a non-starter. Within a year or two, we are sure you will be divorced,” they said.

Parents opposing their children in such situations to save them from what they think would be a disastrous relationship is a common happening. The children think they are grown up enough to know what they are doing and feel that their parents are making much ado about nothing. Ashima told her parents, “I will ensure that my marriage to Arvind is a success,” and Arvind said more or less the same thing to his parents.

Ashima and Arvind got married in the face of opposition from their parents. They were deliriously happy. Two years passed like the twinkling of an eye. They were soon blessed with a son. They thanked God for giving them so much happiness. The grandparents also yielded and started doting on their grandchild. The couple could not have asked for more.

Then calamity struck. Arvind had to travel a lot as a senior executive. He died in an air crash during one of his trips. Ashima’s parents rallied behind her, but she could not come to terms with the loss of the sheet anchor of her life.

The episode only goes to show that as in the case of consumer durables, even in our relationships, we look for guarantees. Even in the most secure of relationships like that of a husband and a wife our hope for lasting security can be dashed by a sudden turn of events. If nothing worse, the husband or the wife may take a liking to another person and their world can come crashing down, when they discover their spouse’s unfaithfulness. In such a situation, insecurity dogs the betrayed person at every step." How could he or she do this to me? What am I to do? — These are the thoughts that run in the minds of the jilted spouses.

Mini, an adolescent, was snug in the safety of her house till she was raped by her uncle. All the guarantees of safety disappeared. She became a nervous wreck. She lost her appetite. Her studies took a downward trend. “Whom should I tell? What shall I do? Will anyone believe me?” She was in a quandary and there are thousands of young victims like her. “I was in a terrible depression and felt let down by my childhood friend who stole my husband. It was then that I realised that the guarantees we give are nothing but illusions”, said Mahima after suffering a terrible ordeal.

Then where to find security and safety? If you are asked to fly a plane, you will have cold sweat, but it you are asked to bake a cake, it may be the easiest thing for you to do. If we have confidence and faith we can cope with any situation and the need for safety and security will disappear,” says Ms Rukmini Sayal, who lost her husband after one year of marriage. After the initial shock and hardships, she has coped with the situation remarkably well.— AA

MAIL BOX
Tuitions hamper child’s creativity

This has reference to the article “Tuitions — a bane of education system”. The tuitions have become more of a fashion today than a necessity. Mushrooming of tuition seekers and tuition hunters leaves much to be desired. Little attempt is made to assess whether tuition is needed.

It has grown to be something of a status symbol or a regular feature, one still needs to ponder over it. When all is said and done about tuitions, just think about the plight of the child who goes in for tuitions, just think of his routine.

Regular school during the day, home for a quick bite, off for tuitions in different places for different subjects. Back home late in the evening, time for home work and preparation for weekly tests. With such a laborious regimen, the child has to sacrifice his other interests, hobbies, sports and doing things which kids of his age should do if only they have time, plus constant anxiety at home.

The teacher puts pressure on the child. The kids’ anxieties make for the parents nervousness, forcing them to nag the child further and home becomes a battle ground. Does not all this make the education of the child a farce? The daily rut and routine of the child is not at all conducive and congenial to make the child “The Complete Man” which Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, idolised and idealised in his “Selected Speeches”.

Vijay Sheel Jain
LUDHIANA

Loudspeaker menace

I am a resident of New Model Town, which is close to Kochher Market. There is a gurdwara and a temple close to each other on the main road here. They have put up five loudspeakers on the roofs of their respective buildings, which keep on playing at full volume from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m., and from 6.30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The residents of this area are restless and the students are the worst sufferers. One finds it difficult to stand here even for five minutes. Residents of the area had given a letter to the Deputy Commissioner, signed by various society members but no action has been taken so far.

Balwinder Kaur
LUDHIANA

CRIME

Cyber crime on rise in the city
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 9 — A case of cyber crime has recently come to light in the media. The police as well as citizens concerned are quite worried about the increasing cases of such crimes. Although the Information Technology Act, 2000, has come into force but rules and regulations for its implementation have yet to be finalised. Till now, neither the police officials nor judicial officers are adequately acquainted with the nature of crime or the provisions of the Act.

The characteristics of computer crime is that it is relatively easy to commit; difficult to detect and harder to prove. Regarding the nature of cyber crime, Mr Sanjeev Arora, executive business messaging, Satyam Infoway Limited, said: “Most of the computer users are not aware about the cyber crime. The most frequent crimes are in e- commerce, introducing some virus in the websites or by sending ‘junk mail’ to the users. The Internet service providers have no role in this phenomenon.”

Mr Yoginder K. Pahuja of Cypher Infotech is of the view, “Once a hacker comes to know of one’s password, he can corrupt the files, can make purchases from the account. A number of users in the city have reported that their files have been opened up by competitors or just by those who enjoy breaching other’s privacy. Almost all of the users get junk mail quite often. Even during chatting on the internet the use of vulgar and offensive language is very common. All these are considered crimes under the law.”

Interestingly, in 1998-99 e-commerce transactions in our country were to the tune of only Rs 131 crore which increased to about Rs 450 crore against $ 43 billion in the USA in 1998. Last year our active Internet user base was 2,70,000 which is expected to go up to 9 million by 2003. All these users are prone to such crimes.

Mr P.D. Sharma, president of the Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Punjab) says, “The provisions of the Act regarding the copyright piracy and the use of website for pornographic intents are hazy. Clause 78 state that an ISP will not be liable for action for any third party information or data made available by it, if it is proved that the offence was committed without its knowledge. IT Act may have to undergo several changes because the technology in this field is changing very fast.”

Mr Sharma is also worried about the lack of preparedness on the part of the police. He says, “Our police is not technology savvy. A majority of them are unable to do anything against the offenders on the world wide web. On the other hand, police officials are empowered under the Act to search and arrest a person on a mere suspicion that a cyber crime is about to be committed.”

He warns the government to be careful especially from the separatist elements. The pro-Khalistani elements with the assistance of Pakistan’s ISI have already resorted to the use of Internet to propagate falsehood. He suggests that a special task force for this purpose, of IT experts, should be formed. Lawyers and police officials will have also to associate with the IT experts to deal with the changing nature of this crime.

BUSINESS

Sweets turn sour, dry fruits preferred
By Shivani Bhakoo

LUDHIANA, Oct 9 — Festival season seems to bring little cheer for the sweet-sellers as most people have been opting for dry fruits instead of sweets. Leading sweet-sellers in the city revealed that unlike the past, this year they had not received any advance orders so far.

In fact, the declining trend started a few years ago. The demand for sweets has been coming down with each passing year. "Earlier, we used to eagerly wait for the festival season and at least a month before we used to prepare ourselves for the festivals, as orders would start arriving much in advance. But this year we have not received a single order so far", revealed the owner of a leading sweet store.

Several reasons are being attributed to the decline in the sale of sweets. The people are getting health conscious and avoiding sweets has become a fashion statement. Also more and more people seem to have developed a taste for dry fruits. Besides, the overall market slump is also contributing to the woes of sweet-sellers. As the middle and affluent classes have mostly been avoiding sweets, it is on the labour class that the sweet-sellers depended. However, due to the economic recession, the arrival of labour has also slowed down. A sweet-seller at the Dandi Swami Road informed, "We used to book orders for the factory workers months before Diwali and Dasehra. This year the things are totally different. Almost the entire industrial work in the city has been mechanised. The labour class is slowly disappearing from the factories. We have booked no orders for Diwali till date".

Most of the sweet-sellers in the city said most of the middle and upper class people prefered dry fruits. They consider 'mithai' as old fashioned. The decline in the sale of sweets has led to a proportionate increase in the sale of dry fruits, with dry fruit traders receiving a good clientele. The karyana stores are flooded with a variety of dry fruits like almonds, cashew-nuts, walnuts and currants. As compared to sweets, the dry fruits are more expensive and yet they are more in demand.

A leading trader put the sale of dry fruits, in the festival season in Ludhiana, at around Rs 20 crore. He disclosed that California almonds were in maximum demand, followed by apricots, cashew nuts, walnuts and currants. He said, the sale had increased during the past few years. He pointed out that more and more provisional stores had been selling dry fruits now as there was a great demand for them.

He revealed that the almond kernels were selling at around Rs 300 per kg, while almonds were selling at around Rs 150 per kg. Similarly, cashew nuts were selling at around Rs 350 per kg as against good quality sweets which did not sell for more than Rs 200 per kg. Still people prefered dry fruits, as they have more shelf value besides being health friendly.