The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Suicide or triple murder?
Were mother, daughter killed before being burnt?
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 31 — The mysterious death of a pregnant woman and her eight-month-old baby at the residence of her husband in New Janakpuri here on October 28 has turned out to be a case of triple murder for dowry.

According to the local police, the pregnant woman, Shama, and her baby were killed, allegedly by Shama’s husband, father-in-law, mother-in-law and two brothers-in-law. She was burnt to death on October 28. The police suspects that the mother and daughter were first stranguled or poisoned and then burnt.

A visit to the New Janakpuri area here today showed how angry residents of the area were because of the incident. They alleged that the triple murder had followed after Shama’s family had failed to fulfill the endless dowry demands of her husband, Rajiv, and his family.

Mr Satpal Lamba, a resident of the locality, said, “The mother and daughter were probably murdered before their bodies were burnt to create an impression of accidental deaths. This is a congested locality. If the family had tried to burn the mother and daughter before killing them, neighbours would surely have heard their cries. However, even the washerman who was standing outside the house, did not hear any cry. The family did not point out the fire in Shama’s room, but neighbours did. Even after this, the family members were trying to save the household items and not Shama and her daughter.”

He also said, “Even when the neighbours rushed into the house of Sehgals for putting out the fire, the family members did not tell them that Shama and her daughter were inside the room. When a cousin of the victim, Vipin Bedi, who lives nearby, came there and broke open the door to rescue his sister, the family members did not try to help him.”

Residents of the locality said when they had reached the house, they could smell kerosene all around. They said, “When buckets full of water were thrown inside the room to extinguish the flames, a layer of kerosene oil came out floating on the water.”

Shama’s father, Ramesh Kumar, was too shocked to say anything. However, Shama’s mother, Darshana Kumari, said her daughter often used to be pressed for bringing more dowry from her parents. “Her in-laws had recently demanded a scooter. Also, after the birth of a girl, the in-laws were unhappy. Shama had come to visit me in Amritsar for a few days sometime ago. She had then told me of her woes. She had been tense for a while, but we had never thought that things would get this bad,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Earlier, the police was working on the theory that the mother and daughter had committed suicide to escape physical and mental harassment by the in-laws. After this, a case under Section 304-B of the IPC was registered. However, Shama’s parents and neighbours of Sehgals in New Janakpuri alleged that the deaths were actually murders.

As the bodies burnt down completely, even the post-mortem examinations could not reveal the exact cause of death or establish that Shama was pregnant.

Meanwhile, the police has so far been unable to arrest the main accused, Rajiv Sehgal, his father Dharam Chand and the two brothers of Rajiv. Shama’s mother-in-law, Swadesh Kumari, is learnt to have been rounded up by the police. Sources say that although she has not confessed to committing the triple murder, the truth will emerge after the arrest of the other accused.

Meanwhile, hundreds of residents of New Janakpuri today gathered outside the house of the Sehgal family. A team of police officials led by the SP (City II), Mr Parmod Ban, and the DSP (Sadar), Mr Harmohan Sandhu, also visited the spot. Irate residents, most of them with tears in their eyes, raised slogans against the police and demanded that action should be taken against the accused soon.

Mr Ban assured them that the police would soon arrest the accused and bring the truth to light.

Decline in defence supplies hits SSI units
From Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 31— Scores of small scale industrial units in Ludhiana have either been closed down or are on the verge of closure with the steep fall in the supplies to defence services. Until recent Ludhiana was a major supplier of hosiery, woollens and fabrics to the defence services. But for the past eight years, the trend has reversed, hitting about a half of the two lakh persons who were directly or indirectly involved with the industry.

Supplies were primarily hit in the early nineties when the government of India changed the policy of purchase for various ministries. Earlier, supplies were made by the Ministry of Supplies under the supervision of the Director General, Supplies and Disposals. But supplies were later decentralised and each ministry was authorised to make purchases of its own.

According to Mr Balraj Kumar Bhasin, Chairman of the Uniform Equipment Manufacturers Association (UEMA), the defence ministry stopped most of the purchases that were made directly. Since the ministry had no experience, it led to poor quality goods being supplied to defence establishments. He pointed out that wrong contracts were placed resulting in delay in supplies at crucial moments, besides being supplied at inflated rates.

The defence services were now making most of their purchases from the Defence Ordnance Factories located at Shahjahanpur and Kanpur. Mr Bhasin claimed that since Ludhiana was the main centre for hosiery and woollen goods, there could not be better supplies from other places. This is because ordnance factories DO not have skilled workers.

Illustrating his argument, he pointed out that a jersey which would be supplied to the defence services in Ludhiana for Rs 200 is now available for not less than Rs 300. Similarly, a pair of socks, which would cost about Rs 30 in Ludhiana is now supplied at a cost of Rs 70 to 80.

Local industrialists who were associated with supplies earlier had during emergencies, given goods on credit also. However, during peace time, the defence authorities had been making most of the purchases from ordnance factories only. The Directorate General Quality Assurance Cell has also reportedly not expressed satisfaction with the quality being supplied from ordnance factories.

Earlier, the Government of India had reserved the supply of hosiery and fabrics to defence services for the small scale industrial units. However, the change of policy has resulted in the closure of a number of such units in Ludhiana alone.

‘High interest rates hitting Punjab economy’
By Manoj Kumar
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 31 — The economy of Punjab is facing an ironical situation. On the one hand, the savings in the banks and small saving schemes are increasing every year, on the other hand, sufficient demand for credit is not picking up.

The state government may accuse the financial institutions’ indiscriminate attitude for this phenomenon, but the matter of fact is that the interest rates are considered very high by entrepreneurs of the state, especially by industrialists of Ludhiana, says Mr V. J . Matto , AGM, International Banking Branch of the Punjab National Bank. He claims this is the single branch of the bank in the city dealing solely with the export-import business.

‘‘Ours is a specialised banking branch, established in 1993, providing services to the exporters and importers of this mega industrial city. We have been awarded ISO 9002 in 1998 for providing standard banking services to the customers,’’ he says proudly.

Regarding the business of the branch, Mr Matto says. “Our annual export-import turnover has reached about Rs 850 crore. Export turnover has increased by more than 20 per cent and import turnover by more than 50 per cent. By September 30, 2000, the branch has earned about Rs 6 crore profit, about 20 per cent higher as compared to the previous year.’’

He agrees that due to high interest rates which are governed by the RBI, the advances have been lower than the target of Rs 300 crore. By March 31, 2000, the bank has advanced about Rs 220 crore. There is no shortage of credit for viable projects. But the exporters want credit at international rates, which are substantially lower than our rates. In the European market, for example, the rates are between 2-3 per cent. Even in the neighbouring country, Pakistan the interest rates are substantially lower than ours, he adds.

The recent devaluation of the rupee might have helped the exporters to increase their exports but the cost of imported raw material and machinery have also increased, he says.

Mr Matto informs since their branch is one of the four branches of PNB in the country, having SPO facility, so they are able to give best rates of foreign exchange to their customers. This facility enables them to have a hot line connection and satellite link with the floating market rates. Consequently, they are providing higher rates as compared to other banks who are used to provide the exchange rates fixed by their offices.

Mr V.J. Matto joined the branch in June, 1999, after serving for four- and a-half years in Calcutta. About his experiences with the customers, he opined the entrepreneurs of Ludhiana were more dynamic and hard working , and many of them were quite cash-rich , thus having no need for loans.

Regarding the changes introduced, he says: ‘‘Besides improving the sitting arrangements and other facilities, we have ensured the services are provided in a stipulated time period that have been displayed on the notice board. For this purpose in-service orientation programmes have been introduced for the staff and officials.’’

Commenting on the functioning of the bank, Mr N.K. Vector, a charted accountant of Aarti International Limited, said: ‘‘The bank was providing good service as compared to other banks. However, its limitation is that it deals with only exporters and importers. There is further need to cut the time taken for clearing the proposals and providing cash. The queries should be promptly answered.’’

Quackery thrives as govt keeps eyes shut
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, Oct 31— Thousands of quacks are doing good business in different parts of Punjab with the government keeping its eyes closed. If the figures compiled by the Indian Medical Association are to be believed, there are about 1.5 lakh unqualified medical practitioners in the state, obviously posing a risk to the public health.

The state government is already facing contempt charges in the Punjab and Haryana High Court for not implementing its directions in regard to taking action against all unauthorised practitioners.

The IMA has also been taking up the issue. According to estimates, there are about 1.5 lakh unqualified medical practitioners in the state. The quacks are active not only in the countryside, but also in urban areas. The IMA has categorised quackery in various forms.

Most of the quacks have been found to be practising ayurveda or homoeopathy without being duly qualified for it. None of them possesses a degree recognised by the Medical Council of India.

In 1997 the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the state government to take action against all the practitioners who were practising allopathy without a valid degree recognised by the Medical Council of India as all of them were liable to be punished under Section 15(3) of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.

The directions also related not only to the unqualified practitioners but also the qualified practitioners of other systems who were practising allopathy, although none of the degrees of ayurveda or homoeopathy was recognised by the MCI.

For its failure to implement these directions the state government is facing contempt proceedings in the High Court.

According to details made available by the IMA, there are about 1.5 lakh unqualified medical practitioners in the state. Besides, there are said to be about one lakh qualified ayurveda and homoeopathy practitioners, some of whom are practising allopathy.

The IMA has also raised other issues which it maintains are of paramount concern to the public. These include sale of medicines by retailers and wholesale dealers without due prescription and issuing of licence to unqualified pharmacists. Most of the pharmacists, who have been issued licences, are reportedly not even matriculates.

While on one hand the IMA has urged the government to ensure that quackery is not allowed to thrive in the state, at the same time it has exhorted the medical community to stick to the medical code of ethics.

LUDHIANA CALLING

The night was scorning at darkness and refusing to get dark as the sky was set ablaze to mark the Divali celebrations. The night was not only devoid of darkness but also without the usual calm and quiet with crackers being burst for the entire night. Ludhianvis have their own style which they never shy away from exhibiting.

It was not just the blaze and blast that made the dead night alive, but the colourful sparks that spread in the horizon making it like glowing multicolour canvass. The ''million stars'' rockets that were launched in the sky in thousands of numbers made the stars literally to shy away and hide themselves behind the smoke. In fact the stars became invisible in the light and glow that was created in the horizon.

As the colourful rockets pierced deep into the sky with each one chasing and crossing the other, soaring great heights and dispersing in the horizon like a bunch of colourful petals that fell in a pattern. The blaze of the night in the sky could only be matched by the blasts on the ground. The crackers bursting into high decibel blasts kept the night alive. The seconds could not be broken even into the micro seconds to feel a short break from the blasting sound allaround. There was no stop to the blasts till late in the night.

It was the night when hundreds of thousands of crackers were blazed and blasted into the sky, announcing and proclaiming the victory of good over evil and the return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana, the personification of evil.

Although the preceding days before Divali did not present a usual look, primarily due to the economic recession and the paddy glut, but on Divali all worries were set aside and concerns forgotten with people celebrating the festival with all the available resources.

In Ludhiana there is a tradition of exchanging gifts. Goods worth millions were exchanged as gifts by people. Hardly there would be a family which may not have distributed and received a score of gifts ranging from ordinary set of glasses to costly jewellery, depending on the resources. There was a sad end note to all this. Several people suffered burn injuries, while two children died on the bright night.

Elephant as demigod

While on the one hand the elephant tribe is on the vanishing course, on the other, their demand is becoming more and more as they assume divine importance. Elephant is believed to symbolise Lord Ganesha. And Lord Ganesha is one of the most venerated gods in the Hindu pantheon. His idols are found in almost every home as it is believed that elephants too bring good fortune.

It may be an irony that with the spread of more scientific knowledge the superstitions have not vanished, rather they are getting popular and widely accepted in the name of faith. Rather educated people are as superstitious, if not more, as the illiterate ones. Worshiping of serpents, trees and other such things is not uncommon.

As the elephants are scarcely available, anyone owning an elephant, literally owns a fortune. There is a mad race among people nowadays to showcase elephants on auspicious occasions. Those who can afford keep a couple of elephants on the entry on marriages. Others who cannot take an earth from under an elephant's feet for good luck.

The mahauts too have well understood the feelings of people and they say hathi ke panv mein sabka panv, the mitti from under an elephant's feet is now sold in packets and one packet usually costs around Rs 20 or so. People carry these bags as they believe that these packets are the symbol of good fortune and happiness. (see picture)

Whether the people who resort to all the rituals are blessed with good luck or not is difficult to probe as the matter concerns the faith actually. But the person who owns the elephant definitely is lucky. He may look like a destitute, but he makes a good earning. And guess what he calls his elephant, Bhagwan Ganesh. Probably aware of his commercial worth, he does not allow even to photograph his elephant without getting paid for it, for he has every right on his elephant: of faith and also photographic.

Friend among ‘foes’

Medical profession is no longer deemed to be a missionary service. Over the years it has become a lucrative industry, at least in Ludhiana. Obviously, the medical professionals cannot escape the ever-prying eyes of the ubiquitous taxmen who are always there in search of some prospective and prolific targets. And they did try their luck with half a dozen city doctors and nursing homes.

While the duty makes these taxmen to keep quiet about the seizures, the rumour-mongers had their day. Crores of rupees were claimed to have been seized, a figure which could not and may never be confirmed. Plus it was reported that in one scan centre, the taxmen had hit upon the list of about 500 doctors with addresses who would refer their patients to that particular centre for various tests and get a handsome commission called "cut". This obviously sent shivers among so many of those who knew that their name could also be among the targeted 500. To add to their fears, the taxmen declared that they would be verifying the returns of all these 500 to check whether they had mentioned their commission money in the income tax returns or not.

But at the same time there was another lot of doctors who seemed to derive a sadistic consolation from these raids which needs no mention. And still another lot envied the raids for obvious reasons. This lot belonged to the ayurveda practitioners who seem to be far behind in accumulating wealth in comparison to their allopathic counterparts. They had their explanations as one of them claimed, “This reflects poorly on our economic plight.”

On the birth anniversary of Lord Dhanwantry, the founder of ayurveda, a private drugs manufacturing company organised a function which was attended by leading ayurveda practitioners. And probably to make up their place in the envied lot, guess whom did the ayurvedacharyas made the chief guest, the Income Tax Commissioner, Mr G. Saran. Self-explanatory! One ayurvedacharya had a cryptic remark, “The Commissioner was not invited out of fear, but to convey to him that we do not like to be ignored as it conveys different impression...that we do not earn much because we do not know much!'' Wise indeed.

No civic sense

Though Ludhiana is very affluent and is the most upcoming city of Punjab, yet it lags behind tremendously as far as civic sense is concerned. The whole city is littered with rubbish. While walking down the District Courts, senses are outraged at the filth, dirt and squalor that strikes the eyes. The structures are made of wood and bricks in a haphazard way. This asymmetry also is an eyesore. One cannot imagine that the intelligentsia of society, the lawyers, can work in such unclean surroundings. There are hardly any decent roads. The small lanes and bylanes are dusty and it seems one is walking in the Desert of Thar, only the desert will be much cleaner. The toilets emit a stench foul enough to assail the nostrils of a passerby. One wonders why the educated lawyers prefer to work in such inconducive surroundings and cannot take the trouble of keeping the court premises clean. A welfare fund is collected from every lawyer so why cannot some safai karamcharis be employed to keep the court premises tidy and pleasant. One is sure that nice and beautiful surroundings will be appreciated by the clients who come from far-flung areas and sometimes have to stay the entire day in the court. Something ought to be done by the lawyer fraternity to improve the cleanliness of the court premises for let us not forget an old adage ''that cleanliness is next to godliness.''

What’s in a name

The Municipal Corporation is on a name changing spree. The names of many roads, parks and chowks are proposed to be changed on one pretext or another. Many resolutions were adopted to this effect at the last general house meeting of the civic body. However, the councillors belonging to different parties, who more often than not remain at dagger's drawn towards each other even on vital issues concerning welfare of public at large, took a supportive stance.

The reason behind the sudden turnaround was not hard to find because a majority of the councillors had vested interests in the name-changing exercise. The roads which will be rechristened, if the MC proposal goes through, are Cemetery Road, Pakhowal Road, Maharani Jhansi Road, Link Road between Ferozepore Road and Rajpura Road and Haibowal locality. The move might please those few who want the roads and chowks renamed to perpetuate the memory of their near and dear ones, but past experience has repeatedly proved that common usage seldom changes and the public does not take kindly to such misplaced and eccentric ideas.

Craze for junk food

With loads of money in their pockets, with throbbing powerful motorbikes under them, or steering the fast sleek cars, young girls and boys can be seen going round the city exploring the new eating joints. Knowing the tastes of Ludhianvis, many smart entrepreneurs are always coming out with new eatables like biryanis, kababs and usual paav bhaji and dosas, noodles, spring rolls, pizza joints, ham burgers, pastries and icecream joints. These are always their favourite haunts. The parents do not seem to object to their nocturnal activities. Neither do they seem much concerned about the wrong type of food the youngsters are eating or drinking. All the soft drinks give false calories and taken with fast food lead to amassing of calories. Wrong eating leads to obesity among youngster which, in turn, could lead to diabetes, blood pressure and even heart diseases. Beware of falling a prey to the habit of eating food which supplies all the wrong calories.

On junk dealers

Vinod, a kabadiwala (42), is in the business of buying old newspapers, broken plastic and iron objects, generally called junk. From all appearances and purposes, junk dealers look to be very ordinary and one can't imagine them to be in possession of lakhs of rupees, leave alone spending lakhs in playing satta. That's what Vinod did, he lost Rs 5 lakh in gambling and again wants to gamble everything that he has earned. He says, "Generally all the junk dealers underweigh the raddi. They make a hollow space in the weights and stuff some iron in it. So when he puts one-kg weight, he is taking newspapers weighing 1.5 kg. So he takes 8 kg of newspapers and pays for only 6 kg. Even if he doesn't cheat in the weights, he is an expert in deftly tilting the scale in his favour. Then the paper is sorted out. Good paper goes to Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh for wrapping fruits, while the inferior goes to paper mills for recycling.
— Sentinel

No action against Jagir Kaur, says Vedanti
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Oct 31 — The Head Priest of akal Takht, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, has ruled out any immediate action against the SGPC President, Bibi Jagir Kaur, who has been booked by the CBI in the case of the death of her daughter, Harpreet Kaur. In an informal chat with mediapersons here late last evening, he categorically stated that Akal Takht would not intervene in the matter till the charges levelled against the SGPC chief were proved.

Jathedar Vedanti, who was in the city to inaugurate Bhai Gurdas Gurmat Missionary College set up by the management of Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran, observed that mere registration of a case against somebody did not warrant any action, at least for the time being. "Even the CBI is yet to interrogate Bibi Jagir Kaur. Until she was proved guilty, no action can be taken against her."

Expressing his concern over an increasing trend of misuse of religion by politicians for their personal motives, Jathedar Vedanti said as Head Priest of Akal Takht, he contemplated taking such steps to curb the tendency. While reiterating that as far the Sikh community was concerned, politics could not be separated from religion, he asserted that religion had to be above politics. "The Sikh sangat (masses) also have to play an important role in guarding against attempts of misuse of religion for political purposes."

Earlier, addressing a religious congregation to mark the opening of Bhai Gurdas Gurmat Missionary College, the Akal Takht Jathedar lauded the initiative taken by the managing committee of Gurdwara Dukh Nivaran and its President, Mr Pritpal Singh, and asked all religious organisations and gurdwara management committees to draw inspiration from such noble efforts. The dharam prachar (religious propagation) carried out by all Sikh religious bodies should be aimed at bringing the Sikh masses closer to bani (Gurbani) and bana (attire) and make them true followers of Guru Granth Sahib.

Jathedar Vedanti emphasised the need for setting up more and more missionary colleges both within the state and outside so that thoroughly trained Sikh missionaries could propagate religion and at the same time ensure correct and true recitation of Gurbani. Moreover, an intensive dharam prachar would also help in bringing those Sikhs, particularly youth, who had gone astray back to the religious fold.

Speaking on the occasion, the Punjab Technical Education Minister, Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, exhorted the gurdwara management committees to work for bringing the Sikh youth closer to the religion and heritage. The invasion of western culture and its increasing influence on the Sikh youth called for more serious efforts in this direction.

Welcoming the guest, the President of Gurdwara Akalgarh, Mr Pritpal Singh, who also heads the managing committee of the missionary college, observed that materialism and western culture had adversely hit the moral values and religious belief of the masses and only dedicated and selfless pracharaks (missionaries) could stem the rot.

Prominent among others, who attended the function, were Bhai Jasbir Singh Khalsa of Khanna, Sikh historian Sarup Singh Alag, and Mr Kulwant Singh Dukhia, councillor.

COMMUNITY

WEDDING DRESSES
Brides-to-be can economise
From Shivani Bhakoo

LUDHIANA, Oct 31 — Girls have always been crazy about their wedding dresses. If they find a particular dress appealing, they just coax and cajole their parents into buying one for them. The particular dress, to be worn on only one occasion, might cost the parents as much as Rs 50,000 and even more, but rich parents do not want to “hurt” their daughter’s feelings. But what about average middle-class families? Knowing the pulse of Ludhianvis, shopkeepers and the showroom owners have found out a solution to the problem. A craze in the city is that of wedding dresses on hire.

The wedding dresses include heavily worked sarees, lehangas and lachas, which are easily available at various shops in the city. Sanjay Sethi, a shopkeeper at the Ghumar Mandi informed,” We have a huge variety of lehangas and lachas. People have become quite smart these days. They think it foolish to spend thousands of rupees on one particular dress and that, too, for very few occasions.

These dresses have been aesthetically designed in various striking and soothing colours like maroon, red, orange, magenta, pink and purple. One can find a dress according to ones pocket. Mr Sethi said that the dresses range from a mere Rs 800 to Rs 5000 and even above depending on the work, the quality and the material used. A ‘light work’ lehanga is available in the market for Rs 700 - Rs 800. The ‘heavy worked’ lehangas have heavy embroidery, hand work of dabka, sippis, motis or nalis. These are made on velvets, satins, crepes and even on silks. The prices of these lehangas vary between Rs 2500 to Rs 4500, and above.

Talking about clientele, a shopkeeper at Chaura Bazaar informed that not only middle-class people prefer wearing these dresses, people of high-income group, too come and take the dresses on hire. Not only wedding dresses, but formal and party wear dresses in the form of lachas and suits are also available here. He said if the younger sister of the bride also wants to wear something heavy, she too can get it from us. Not only dresses, but latest in silver and gold-plated wedding jewellery is available in the markets. Though most shopkeepers claimed to have a “little margin” in the business, still they do for the great demand of it.

No action against Jagir Kaur, says Vedanti
From Our Correspondent

That the Akal Takht Head Priest did not take the press reports seriously was evident when he went on to add, "So many things appear in newspapers and many of them are either clarified or contradicted the next day." Expressing his concern over an increasing trend of misuse of religion by politicians for their personal motives, Jathedar Vedanti said as Head Priest of Akal Takht, he contemplated taking such steps to curb the tendency. While reiterating that as far the Sikh community was concerned, politics could not be separated from religion, he asserted that religion had to be above politics. "The Sikh sangat (masses) also have to play an important role in guarding against attempts of misuse of religion for political purposes."

Tributes paid to Indira Gandhi
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Oct 31 — Activists of the Congress and its youth wing paid tributes to Indira Gandhi in various functions organised here today on her 16th death anniversary. In Vikas Nagar, hundreds of YC workers garlanded the portrait of Indira Gandhi. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Pawan Diwan, Chairman of the Urban Development Wing of the Indian Youth Congress, said Indira’s dynamic leadership had made India a technological force in the region and a nuclear power.

Mr Diwan said, as a leader of the non-aligned movement, Indira Gandhi had made a good effort to bring lasting peace in the subcontinent. “To strengthen the national economy, she nationalised banks and launched 20-point programme,” he said. The Secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr Krishan Kumar Bawa, urged party activists to fight illiteracy, unemployment and poverty. “All workers of the Congress and its youth wing should safeguard the national interests like Indira Gandhi.”

A former Punjab minister, Mr Malkiat Singh Dakha, the District President of the Urban Development Cell of the Youth Congress, Mr Akshay Bhanot, Mr Nirmal Kaida, Mr Kara Kalia, Mr Raj Pal Gulati, Mr Palwinder Singh Taggar, Mr Avtar Singh Kanda and Mr Sukhdev Neeta were among those present on the occasion. The DYC President, Mr Parminder Mehta, and the other party activists observed the day as Prerna Diwas. At a function in the Sekhewal Road area here, he urged party activists to remember the sacrifice of Indira Gandhi and help in building the nation.

The District Congress Committee (Urban) President, Mr Surinder Dawar, paid tributes to Indira Gandhi at a function in Block Number 4 here. He said Indira had helped the nation in achieving self-sufficiency in food, introducing economic reforms and diffusing tension in the subcontinent. Those who attended the function included Mr Nahar Singh Gill, General Secretary of the PPCC, Mr Surjit Singh Ahluwalia, a councillor, Ms Baljinder Kaur, a councillor, Mr Mohan Lal, Mr Balwinder Singh Sandhu and the Block Congress Committee Presidents — Mr Rajan Shukla, Dr Amarjit Singh, Dr Pawan Mehta, Mr Chanchal Singh, Mr Baldev Sharma, Mr Vinod Bharti, Mr Subhash Kharbanda and Mr Jasbir Singh Chadha.

City gardens cry for attention
From Minna Zutshi

LUDHIANA, Oct 31 — Shrivelled trees, broken benches, unkempt grass — Gol Bagh that is adjacent to Rakh Bagh presents an ugly view of gardens in Ludhiana. Scattered leaves on the ground make the place appear even more unattractive. Dry, caked earth and leafless struggling trees are a pointer towards the scarcity of water.

An employee, whose job is looking after the garden, said water scarcity was acute. He informed that a water tanker comes twice a week and on those two days, water was available in abundance. But for the rest of the week, grass and flower-beds were watered with a hose that often fell short of length. Also, there was fixed timing for water supply. He added that the trees appeared lifeless, as inadequate moisture supply saps the life out of trees and plants.

Interestingly, there is supposed to be a tubewell in Gol Bagh. But instead of a tubewell, only a narrow elongated pipe was visible. One of the workers said on condition of anonymity that the tubewell was on paper only. Rakh Bagh is in a slightly better condition as compared to Gol Bagh. The trees look somewhat greener, though dust-laden. But dried leaves, paper bits and polythene sachets are an eye sore.

The part of Rakh Bagh that falls beyond the swimming pool is the dumping ground for refuge of all kinds. At this place, small trees have been planted so closely that these are sure to clog each other’s growth after some time.

During the morning hours, Rakh Bagh and Gol Bagh become open-air bathrooms. Morning walkers throw datun spits on the grass and in the flower beds at their convenience. Even the water cooler becomes the teeth-washing spot for those cleaning their teeth the natural way!

Another problem is the presence of vagabonds and beggars. Mr Subash Bhandari, a regular visitor to the Rakh Bagh, said the beggars and vagabonds were a nuisance. Many times, they could be seen taking bath in the open. Also, the benches remained occupied with the dozing beggars.

A gardener working at Rakh Bagh said the place was teeming with rats. He added that many Ludhianivis brought caged rats from their homes and released these in the garden!

Young docs face uphill task

LUDHIANA: Deepak and Ashwani were batchmates in the MBBS course. After completing the course, Deepak qualified UCMLE and went to the USA for a three- year residency programme. During residency itself he was getting an annual stipend of about $ 25,000 to $ 30,000 and could live a fairly good life. After completing the residency, he joined a private hospital on an annual salary of $ 1 lakh, quite a significant amount even from US standards.

During the same period, Ashwani completed his MD course from Punjab in general medicine and started working in a private hospital in the city at a monthly salary of Rs 7000. As his wife is not doing any job, he finds it difficult to pull on. In the evening, he works in a dispensary to make Rs 4000. Every month, he has to ask for financial help from his parents.

Many young MD and MS doctors in the city are sulking in disgust and cursing their stars for joining the profession. After spending eight to nine hard years in medicine (five and half for mbbs and 3 years for md) and crossed 27-28 years of age, they have painfully realised that there are no takers in the city for their hard-earned degrees.

Ludhiana has about six major hospitals, many nursing homes, charitable dispensaries and small polyclinics, but jobs available in the private sector are hardly financially rewarding for the new postgraduate doctors. Most of the hospitals in the city pay between Rs 6000 to 10,000 per month for 8-12 hours job to an MD or MS doctor. Doctors are routinely called to attend to evening and night emergencies without any extra payment. Some charitable hospitals give incentive from private patients or procedures which may be about Rs 2000 to 5000 a month.

Leaving apart Christian Medical College and Kapoor Hospital, no hospital provides accommodation to doctors. Ludhiana being an expensive city, house rent alone takes away a substantial part of their salaries. Taking full advantage of unemployment among doctors, some charitable hospitals have started paying Rs 1000 for every hour of the duty for a month’s work. Working conditions are really pitiable in many such hospitals. Besides doing regular day duty, doctors are asked to do regular evening and night duty on the same salary. To make their both ends meet, many doctors are compelled to work in two shifts in different hospitals and in the process spoil their own health.

Mushrooming of medical colleges has not made the things any better for young doctors. Most of the new medical colleges are in private sector. In many private medical colleges parents have to make substantial investments to get admission of their children into MBBS and MD courses. Depending upon the college, expenses of getting training for these courses in a private college may run up to Rs 10 to 60 lakh. With fast shrinking financial returns in medicine, alarm bells have started ringing for many parents who question their wisdom of choosing medical career for their children. Many parents rightly think that medical profession is only left for the children of those doctors who have established practices or good running nursing homes.

No wonder that many postgraduate doctors after spending five to six years in small hospitals are getting frustrated and find themselves at the receiving end. A good number of them who want to come out of the mess seriously plan of migrating to the USA, New Zealand or Australia. Immigration to the USA for doctors is quite difficult and Indian MD/MS degrees are not recognised there, still many doctors do not mind doing again a three-year residency programme in the usa. There is already a surplus of doctors in many western countries and Indian doctors really have to pass through a difficult period before settling there.
— Dr Rajiv Gupta

Flowers — the loveliest creation of God
From Asha Ahuja

LUDHIANA, Oct 31 — Flowers speak the language of love. The sheer variety, the fabulous range of colours, the unique formation and pattern of flowers can only be created by the supreme artist — Nature. The beauty of flowers lies in this simple truth that man uses them to adorn a bride as well as a corpse. Flowers have been dear to a man’s heart right from times immemorial. Emperor Jehangir is always seen holding a rose. Even Shahjehan used to give his darling, Mumtaz Mahal, a rose as a token of his love.

In Ludhiana too, people are getting fond of flowers. In good old days, when the gardens of Ludhiana were well maintained, people could, while taking a walk, inhale the heavenly, heady perfume of motia, chameli,and harsingar. Moreover, their eyes could feast on rows and rows of desi gulab, vibrant coloured canna, and the ever popular chandani. Sadly enough gone are the days when flowers bloomed abundantly in the gardens. Now, the few gardens that Ludhiana has are in a state of decline, and there are no flowers to admire.

But love for flowers has taken deep roots in the hearts of Ludhianavis. So more and more money is spent on growing common, as well as, exotic flowers. But people, somehow, don’t want to decorate their houses with home grown flowers. No wonder florists are in big demand, not only special days like Divali, Valentine Day and NewYear Day, but all through the year.

According to Nishant Jain of Surya Florist, people buy flowers on a monthly basis. He says, “People of the city have developed good aesthetic sense. So flower arrangements of all kinds are picked up from my shop every day. The bill is settled at the end of the month. Not only house-holders, but owners of fancy showrooms also like to display flower arrangements as it adds colour and lends charm to the place. Ladies, who have learnt the art of Ikebana, buy loose flowers and prefer to make their own arrangements. Most of the hotels and restaurants also like to keep fresh flowers on every table.”

On being asked about the kind of flowers generally preferred by people, Mr Jain said, “We stock roses, gladioli, carnations, tuberoses, exotic orchids, antherums, chrysanthemums and other seasonal flowers. We grow our own gladioli in Hoshiarpur and have a huge variety, almost 10 to 15 lakh bulbs of glads. We grow our own carnations in Himachal Pardesh and so have an uninterrupted supply through out the year. Carnations make excellent cut flowers as they last for a long time. Roses are all time favourites. Lovers choose long stemmed red roses as they symbolise love, friends give yellow roses. We sell a lot of bouquets as people find them beautiful and convenient presents. We have bouquets to suit all pockets. Similarly we have beautiful flower arrangements for the choosier clients. Prices vary according to the flowers used. The demand for flowers is growing, so the growing of flowers in Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur. We supply our own seeds on contract basis from Himachal Pradesh.”

Flowers are forever, for every occasion. They look good on the car carrying the bride and groom, as ornaments for the bride, as an offering to God, as tokens of love and respect and surprisingly as wreaths to honour the martyrs and the dear departed.

Need to arrest decline of soil organic matter
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Oct 31 — ‘‘Arresting the decline of soil organic matter is the most potent weapon in fighting against soil degradation and imperiled sustainability of agriculture in tropical regions, particularly those under the influence of arid, semi-arid and sub-humid climate. Improving soil organic carbon is therefore, crucial in sustenance of soil quality and future agricultural productivity’’. These views were expressed by Dr J.S. Katyal, Director, National Academy of Agricultural Research and Management, Hyderabad, while delivering 2nd Dr Narinder Singh Randhawa Memorial Lecture at Punjab Agricultural University, here today.

Dr Katyal emphasised that organic matter in the soil is the most important factor which determines the fertility status of the soil and also controls the availability of different nutrients to the crop. He explained while tillage results in organic matter break down; no tillage intensifies weed infestation. It also minimises water infiltration, particularly in surface crusting and hard setting soil.

He, therefore, suggested taht future research should design strategies on soil and organic matter management that reduce the need for tillage with minimum weed infestation and maximum rainwater infiltration. In order to enhance organic matter supply, he suggested increased use of cattle dung manure, exploring the potential of green manuring and incorporation of crop residues in the soil. He called to immediately stop the present practice of burning wheat and paddy straw as is prevalent in Punjab. ‘‘This practice depletes the soil organic matter and also pollutes the environment’’, added Dr Katyal.

Dr G.S. Kalkat, Vice-Chancellor, recalled his long association with Dr N.S. Randhawa whom he described as a great scientist, and a down to earth person. He said in order to maintain the high-level of production. the sustainability of soil fertility is of utmost importance. He said of the suggestions given by Dr Katyal could go a long way in this direction. He also said that the adoption of organic farming can greatly help in bringing down the cost of production and improving the quality of farm produce which are the two major challenges before us.

Earlier Dr B.R. Arora, Professor and Head of the Department of Soils, while welcoming the chief guest and the participants said Dr Narinder Singh Randhawa was the first teacher of PAU to rise to the coveted position of Director General of the ICAR and had the distinction of working with three Prime Minister. He appreciated his research contributions in the area of a micro nutrients.

Dr M.R. Chaudhary, President, Indian Society of Soil Science (Ludhiana chapter), said the work done by Dr Katyal during his stay at PAU from 1977 to 1985 is acclaimed all over the world. A book titled Nutritional Disorders in Field Crops written by Dr V.K. Nayyar and Dr I.M. Shibba was also released on this occasion.

The lecture was organised jointly by the Indian Society of Soil Science and the Department of Soils, PAU, and was attended by 200 faculty members and students.