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| Sunday,
March 25, 2001, Chandigarh, India |
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Sops on cards to woo
voters Ludhiana, March 24 The city Mayor, Mr Apinder Singh Grewal, is on record, saying that the MC will not propose any new tax in the budget that is likely to be approved by the House on March 27. With councillors trying to woo voters, Ludhianvis can look forward to getting some concessions. While the Finance and Contracts Committee (F and CC) of the MC has already approved the budget estimates for the next year, a coordination committee of the ruling BJP-SAD combine had a discussion on the MC finances. The councillors called for a reduction in the water tariff, besides free water supply for widows and destitute women. The ruling-party councillors wanted that rickshawpullers and ‘rehriwalas’ should get licence plates free of cost. The leader of the BJP councillors, Mr Pran Bhatia said, in its election manifesto, the ruling combine had promised to reduce water tariff. However, this was raised subsequently. The expenditure on providing rickshawpullers and ‘rehriwalas’ with licence plates was also more than the actual receipts, making the exercise economically unviable. Their political differences notwithstanding, councillors of the other parties, too, will not be averse to appeasing voters by offering such concessions. The MC is again going for an ambitious budget target that will be difficult to meet, if the performance in the previous year is any indication. Against the previous year’s budgeted income of Rs 270 crore, the MC could net only Rs 160 crore till the end of February. There was such a big gap between the budgeted revenue and the actual receipts that estimates under almost all heads were slashed by 10 per cent to 80 per cent. In the MC budget proposals for the next year, the income from octroi remains the biggest source of revenue at Rs 130 crore. This is followed by Rs 40 crore from land and building tax, Rs 12 crore from octroi on electricity, Rs 15 crore from additional excise duty, Rs 10 crore from sale of properties and Rs 4 crore from rental income. A Rs-35-crore-loan from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) for augmentation of water supply and sewerage facilities has also been included in the budget under the income head. As far as the performance of the MC in the current year is concerned, it can only be described as dismal. The income from octroi in the year was expected to be about Rs 112 crore against the budgeted figure of Rs 125 crore. The land and house tax yielded Rs 30 crore — a 25 per cent reduction, octroi on electricity supply netted Rs 9 crore — a 25 per cent fall again. The MC suffered major setbacks in case of income from the advertisement tax, license fees and ‘tehbazari’ fees that fell by 80 per cent, 50 per cent and 55 percent, respectively, than the budget estimates. The MC also fared badly in disposing of properties, as it made an income of just Rs 4 crore against the projected Rs 10 crore. |
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Master swindler arrested Ludhiana, March 24 An inquiry conducted by the Ludhiana Central Co-operative Bank and later investigation conducted by the Economic Offences (EO) Wing of the city police, however, finally ended the series of alleged swindling and cheating done by Rajinderpal Singh alias Kaka, a junior clerk employed with the bank .The arrest seems to have taken the lid off a fake degree racket being run in the university. According to police sources, the university has already started an inquiry into the connivance of its employees in issuing such fake degrees and later trying to help the alleged culprit by handing him over the correspondence sent by the bank here, to inquire about the veracity of the degrees. According to information available here no head has rolled in the university so far. Narrating the interesting tale of the alleged cheating and frauds committed by the accused, police sources revealed that 43-year-old Rajinder was employed with the bank since 1990. During the last 10 years he allegedly committed some embezzlement of funds in the bank. Due to his alleged shady dealings, the bank decided to inquire deeply into all his assets. During the investigation, the bank got a clue that the clerk did not even have real education degrees on the basis of which he got employment with the bank. To verify, the bank sent two letters to the university requesting them to verify the veracity of the graduation degree issued by the university. However, sources said that the accused somehow got wind of the inquiry and reached the university immediately. With the alleged help of certain university employees, he laid his hand on the letters before they could reach the right persons. The accused then replied himself to the letters stating that the degrees were true. According to the sources, the bank was not satisfied and decided to sent a senior official to inquire personally into the matter. The matter was also handed over to the Economic Offences wing. The police and a Deputy Manager of the bank who had gone to Lucknow traced the whole racket. When contacted DSP (EO wing) Satish Malhotra added that the police was astonished at the cleverness of the swindler. He revealed that the police was inquiring further into the swindling. He also informed that the man has been arrested and is presently under police remand. A case under sections 420, 467,468 and 471 of the IPC has been registered against the accused. |
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Sukhdev’s home to be national monument Ludhiana, March 24 Speaking on the occasion Mr Babbar demanded that chairs should be established in all the universities of the state in memory of the martyrs and research work should be done on their lives. He said, this was necessary for keeping alive their memory and also for imbibing a spirit of nationalism among the students. The film star regretted the indifference among people towards the national heroes. He pointed out, while the markets get deserted to watch the tehelka-like exposures on the TV sets, but not many people appear to be bothered about attending the functions organised to pay homage to the great martyrs. He said portraits of the martyrs had not been put up in Parliament. Lala Lajpat Rai announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh for the Sukhdev memorial and said he would be contributing for the memorial from time to time. |
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Speculation on for PAU Pro-VC Ludhiana, March 24 While the campus is abuzz with discussions on this issue, persons vying for the post and the lobbyists are preferring to adopt a wait and watch policy. All eyes are set on March 29, the day of next hearing of a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court opposing the very existence of this post. Dr Aulakh has already submitted his resignation to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr G.S. Kalkat, whom Dr Aulakh will be replacing on April 1. The resignation has been accepted by the Vice-Chancellor, but no new appointment has yet been made. It is worthwhile to recall that the post of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor was created in PAU in November, 1999, by the university board and Dr Aulakh was given the charge. A certain group of teachers had opposed the move. They alleged that the post was created specially to accommodate Dr Aulakh whose closeness to Dr Kalkat was well known. The opposing group had also said that there was no need of a Pro-Vice-Chancellor. They had said that it was unstatutory and was not in accordance with the university rules. Moreover all the 30 agricultural universities in the country had no such post. The VC had at that time said that he was keeping busy in interacting with the government about the agricultural policies so a Pro-VC was required who could devote time to education, research and extension of education by the varsity. Subsequently a petition was filed in the High Court demanding cancellation of the post as the statute had no provision for any such post. With this background, sources close to the university authorities informed that the post was unlikely to be filled till the case was decided. The university faculty is divided over the issue of existence of the post. Sources said that the authorities had not yet decided on any name as they too, were waiting for the court’s decision. They said that if the post was filled and later the court decided to abolish it then the appointment would become a cause of embarrassment for the university as well as for the incumbent. Dr K.S. Aulakh also confirmed that the university was waiting for the court orders and the future course of action would be decided after March 29. |
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Grapes turn sour after chemical
overdose Ludhiana, March 24 According to fruit traders of New Subzi Mandi, the grapes and the other fruits are sprayed with preservative chemicals. The entire lot of grapes that arrived here recently was reportedly sprayed with a heavy dose of chemicals. Even after washing and keeping the grapes in water for full day, the bitter taste remained. As traders did not withdraw the bad stock from the market, complaints kept on increasing. Mr P.N. Kakkar, a local resident, bought a 2 kg pack of grapes recently, but these turned out to be sour. He said this had happened twice even after he had kept the fruit in water for a full day on both occasions. Though he brought it to the notice of the retailers, they said they could do nothing about it as they had received the stock from outside. There are about 10 commission agents in Ludhiana who trade in grapes only. About 50,000 kg of grapes are consumed here daily, most of which come from places in Maharashtra like Nasik, Pune and Sanghli. Grapes that are sold between January and March have to be sprayed with preservative chemicals. After March, fresh grapes are not available in the market. Mr Balbir Singh, a leading trader of grapes, said, a few days ago, an entire lot of grapes that arrived here from Maharashtra had turned out to be bad because of overspraying. He said the matter had been brought to the notice of suppliers in Maharashtra and now things were improving. He said the grapes that were being sold now were good. |
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15-year-old girl alleges police
torture Ludhiana, March 24 A senior police official admitted that the girl had been picked, but denied that she was tortured. He said in fact, on the information provided by her, the police succeeded in arresting a man, suspectedly connected with the robbery. The girl’s father Paramjit Singh in a press conference at Jagraon yesterday, had alleged that the Sarabha Nagar Police, in connivance with the influential DDPO, had illegally detained, and physically and mentally tortured his 15-year-old daughter, who was employed as a maid servant in the official’s house. The man said that in January, the house of the DDPO was robbed and the suspicion had fallen on his daughter, due to which she had been arrested |
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Case registered for dowry harassment Sahnewal, March 24 According to the FIR, Harpreet Kaur, the complainant, was married to Avtar Singh of Doraha Bhaini Sahib (Koom Kalan), six months ago. In her statement, she said that her husband had eversince been torturing her for not bringing enough dowry. A case has been registered against the husband, Avtar Singh, father-in-law, Gurcharan Singh, sister-in-law, Swaran Kaur, grandmother-in-law, Sahni, grandfather-in-law, Harbans Singh under Sections 498A, 323 and 34 of IPC. She has also alleged that they not only beat her but also tried to forcibly abort her baby by forcing her to take ‘wrong medicine’. |
Sant Samaj chief flays ‘panthic govt’ Ludhiana, March 24 He observed that the government, headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had been denigrating the ‘Sikh sidhant and sansthan’ (principles and institutions) while the ‘Panth and the Granth’ (community and holy book) had been made a matter of controversy. The Sant Samaj chief was speaking at a function in Gurdwara Kalgidhar here last night, to mark the release of a Punjabi book Ujaro Deepa, written by former head priest of Akal Takht, Prof Darshan Singh. In his first book, published by Sikh Foundation, Delhi, Prof Darshan Singh, who has twice held the above-mentioned office between 1986 and 1990, has focussed on ‘gurmat sidhant’ and ‘manmat’ (the denigrators). Lashing the SAD(B) leadership for damaging the institution of Akal Takht for their political and personal interests, Baba Bedi rued that the Sikh community had not really been able to identify persons, who could provide the right kind of leadership and guide them towards a position of ‘traditional glory’. Speaking at the occasion, Prof Darshan Singh said that he was about to finish an autobiography in Punjabi, which would be published in the next 3-4 months. “The book will make several sensational disclosures relating to senior leaders and would also unfold several behind-the-curtain deals and activities,” he said. |
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Sacrilege flayed Ludhiana, March 24 Addressing a conference here today, Mr Charan Singh Lohara, general secretary of the party, announced that led by Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, president, SAD (A), the party workers will hold a protest at Mini Secretariat here on March 29. |
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Shifting of post offices affects
many Ludhiana, March 24 Satish Tiwari, who works in a Ghumar Mandi office, said, “Earlier it was convenient for us to deposit our telephone bills here, but now, we have to go to the Main Post Office. The queues in that post office have become longer now. The government should find a place in Ghumar Mandi for collecting bills.” Migrant workers like Deenu, Bheeku and Ganesh also find it exhausting to stand in a queue to send money orders back home. They said, “it now takes a day to send a money order, which means that we have to take a day off and lose our salary for that day. Poor persons like us are being inconvenienced for no fault of ours. Before closing the post office at Ghumar Mandi, officials should have found an alternative place nearby.” The Department of Posts is sitting pretty for it is not the one who is losing time and money. Residents deposit their telephone bills at banks these days to save time. |
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Medal for city
policeman Ludhiana, March 24 Amritsar’s SP, (CID), Mr Sukhdev Singh, was given a medal for distinguished service, while several others received medals for meritorious service. Twenty one other policemen, including five SPs and three constables, were given the President’s Medal for meritorious services. They are Mr Balbir Singh, IPS, Commdt,75th Bn, PAP, Jalandhar Cantt; Mr Ishwar Chander, IPS, SP, CID, Zonal, Jalandhar; Mr N.S. Dhillon IPS, SP, Litigation, Punjab, Chandigarh; Mr Gurdev Singh PPS, SP, ISTC, Kapurthala; Mr Dharam Singh, PPS, SP, Hqs, Mukatsar; Mr Harbhajan Saroop, Inspector, SHO, city, Phagwara; Mr Bachittar Singh, Sub Inspector 7th Bn PAP, Jalandhar Cantt; Mr Satwant Singh, Sub Inspector, PRTC, Jahan Khelan; Mr Piara Singh, Sub Inspector, PPA, Phillaur; Mr Om Parkash ASI, PPA, Phillaur; Mr Charanjit Singh, ASI, Mukatsar; Mr Jagmohan Singh, ASI; Mr Swaran Singh, ASI , Talwara; Mr Faqir Chand, ASI, Jalandhar; Mr Gopal Singh, ASI; Mr Gian Singh, Head Constable; Mr Pal Singh, Head Constable; Mr Ajit Singh, head Constable; Mr Malkiat Singh, Constable, PAP, Jalandhar Cantt; Mr Surjit Singh, Constable, Bathinda and Mr Sarabjit Singh, Constable, Jalandhar. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said the academy was doing a lot for the entire country as far as training policemen was concerned. Calling it as the number one academy of its kind in the country, the Chief Minister disclosed that efforts were on to obtain university status for the academy. The stadium was full of people who wanted to witness the impressive passing out parade by eight in the morning. Among the main attractions of the ceremony were the shooting skills displayed by Mr N.S. Dhillon, the gatka and the dog show, which entertained the spectators. |
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Fire in councillor’s factory Ludhiana, March 24 According to fire brigade sources, tenders from the focal Point fire station as also from other stations, including the headquarters near Mata Rani chowk were rushed to the spot, immediately after receiving information at 6.45 am. While Mr Sunil Mehra has blamed the delay by firemen to reach the spot for the ‘ extensive loss to yarn and machines running into lakhs of rupees, fire brigade sources affirmed today that there was no delay on their part. The tenders from Mata Rani chowk wasted no time before rushing to the spot, said the fire brigade sources. They said it was unfortunate that a councillor was blaming them while he should have taken into account the time factor also. They pointed out that only on Thursday, they had averted a possible catastrophe in Model Town when called to douse the flames in a printing press unit in Model Town. The firemen had to literally break open a door and control the flames inside. Had they been late by five minutes or so, the flames would have reached a couple of gas cylinders and caused much havoc in the area. |
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ACHIEVERS Ludhiana, March 24 Ninder Gill has been an auditor in a number of government offices and his last posting was in the PAU. In Ludhiana, the naxalite movement in Punjab moved him to write a book titled ‘Mauldi Rut Da Nayak’, that traced the rise and expansion of the students’ revolutionary movement. Later on, the division in the naxalite groups made him write another book, ‘Pal Pal Marna; in Punjabi. The riots of 1984 forced him to write another book, ‘Chonn Halka Payal’, which was a story of Beant Singh’s election, reflecting groupism and corruption in politics. ‘Dehshet De Dina Wich’ exposed the problems that the people had faced during the days of terrorism. The problems of exploitation of minority communities by political parties are the subject of his book ‘Dastan Daltan Di’. He also wrote a book on the condition of the Muslim minority and sorrows of families split between India and Pakistan. He went to Sweden as his wife had settled there, where he found that in spite of being a highly industrialised country, Sweden was slowing down. During his four-year stay in Sweden, Ninder learnt Swedish language so that he could understand the problems of that country. His book titled ‘Gir Raya Graph’, was well received there. To help Punjabis who have settled there, he is writing a Punjabi-Swedish dictionary. He has won a number of literary awards. The personality of Panchi, too, has been moulded by circumstances. At the time of the Bengal famine, he was in class V, but, the sufferings of the people moved him to write a poem. Along with his friends, he used to recite this poem to collect money for the relief effort. After migrating to India after the partition, he was put in a refugee camp and had to study, but one incident changed his life. One of his friends borrowed money to pay the school fees and he told him that studies were important, which motivated Panchi to resume his studies. He went on to get major honours in Hindi, Persian and Punjabi. As he was settled in Rai Bareilly, his peotry was influenced by the Lucknow style. One day, he returned home to discover that his servant had sold his manuscripts in junk. He had to write these again but his next six manuscripts were burnt. Still Panchi did not give up and shifted to Ludhiana and started writing again. ‘Suraj Ki Shakhein’ was written by him in Urdu and he translated it into Punjabi. He has written ‘Shiv-Ranjni and Shudh-Ragini’ — a compilation of his Hindi poems. He has penned lyrics for ‘Ek Chadder Maili Si’ and ‘Waris’. The subjects of his works are mostly poverty, illiteracy and cruelty to women. His ‘Adhoore Butt’ became popular like his ‘Shair Ka Paigam - Pakistani Doston Ke Naam’. Mr Nawaj Sharif and Mr I.K. Gujaral were presented copies of his poems and when he recited these poems to soldiers in Rajouri last year, the entire town came to listen to these. |
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‘Sales’ galore in
city Ludhiana, March 24 Needless to say, customers are tempted at such lucrative offers and buy needlessly even if they have no requirement of that particular item. Throughout the city, the “sale” is on, not only of woollens but of shoes, sandals, crockery and cutlery. How do shopkeepers manage to sell things during the “sales” at half price and yet do not lose money? Talking to a number of shopkeepers, it was found that shopkeepers have a fool-proof method of maintaining their profits. They say that they are in the business to make money and not lose it. Mr Amar Pal of a garment store said, “Since we are a franchisee unit, we can give 50 per cent off as the manufacturers are making things in bulk so the cost price is much reduced. They can afford to cut off the prices and they send us a list as to what discounts to offer on what articles. Since we have a wide range of things, so the discount offered is different. We are selling sweat shirts, originally priced at Rs 695, at half rates, which is very beneficial for the buyer as the sale is genuine. But that does not mean that we suffer a loss, only our profit margin goes down and a part of the loss of profit margin is borne by the manufacturers. Very rarely we go into loss but that also proves to be profitable as when we are able to sell all the stock, we collect money which we re-invest and can make more money in a new range of products.” According to him, the clothes with brand names offered genuine sales to the customers. The sale generally last for 25 days and are held twice a year at the change of the season. Mrs Manjula Jain, who is also a franchisee of a garment company, said that the sales do not result in losses for them. Since their company is nationally-based, they lift up the dead stock from one city and put up for sale in another where it is likely to be sold. They, too, offer discount ranging from 50 per cent to 30 per cent. Generally, our clientele is middle and upper middle class people. Our price tags never change. The discount is determined in the bill. Generally, the higher echelon of society do not pick up stuff at sale for they are fashion-conscious.” Rajan, another shopkeeper, confessed that they hold sales twice a year but they offer not only the old stuff but add new outfits too during the sale. Supposing a suit was priced at Rs 2000 at sale, it will go for Rs 1400. It does not mean that the shopkeeper will suffer a loss. Only his profit margin will go down. That he will compensate by volume of the sales during the sale period. Mr Amrit Arora, also a shopkeeper, was candid enough to admit that they were in the business to make money and not to lose it. |
Two dowry cases
registered Ludhiana, March 24 The police of division number six registered a case under Sections 406 and 498A of the IPC on the application of Baljit Kaur , wife of Kusdev Singh, daughter of Mr Karamjit Singh, resident of Guru Govind Singh, Nagar, Daba Lohara Road, against Kusdev Singh, Gurnam Kaur, Mohinder Kaur, Manjinder Singh, Shamsher Singh alias Raj Rani, residents of Bholu Wala Road. The complainant stated that the accused demanded more dowry from her. No arrest has been made so far. The other case was registered at the Focal Point police station under sections 406 and 498 A of the IPC on the statement of Sanjogta, alias Jasbir, daughter of Mr Kirpal Singh, resident of New Moti Nagar. The complainant stated that her husband, Parshottam Lal; father-in-law Kamal Lal; mother-in-law, Sita Rani and her husband’s brother and sister Darshan and Rani, harassed her for more dowry after her marriage on April 13,1997.
Two satta operators held The sadar police, on a tip off , registered two different cases against two ‘satta’ operators in various parts of the city yesterday and booked them under relevant sections. A case was registered against Ashok Kumar, son of Mr Inder Singh, resident of Killa Mohalla. The other case was registered against Bakhtawar Singh alias Tori, son of Mr Sadhu Ram, resident of Lajpat Nagar. However, none of the accused has been arrested so far.
Pistol stolen The Focal Point police registered a case of theft under Section 379 of the IPC against an unidentified person for stealing a pistol. Mr Gurdeep Singh, son of Mr Hari Singh Jat, resident of Khara Jamal Pur complained that on October 5 last, he went to the DC office. His pistol number 32512, of 30 bore, was stolen from his bag there. No arrest has been made so far. |
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Two nabbed for killing truck-cleaner Mandi Gobindgarh, March 24 According to the police, on the complaint of Harpal Singh of Badouchi village, running B.S. Rehal Transport Company, on the Amloh road here, an FIR was lodged under Sections 406/407 of the IPC against the truck driver Shingara Singh and Avtar Singh, residents of Dalip Nagar, Mandi Gobindgarh, that they had hatched a conspiracy to hijack truck, numbered PUR-3743. The report further revealed that Vishal Bansal of Vijay Steel Corporation of Ludhiana had hired a truck from B.S. Rehal Transport Company on March 15 and loaded various items of iron and steel products purchased from different firms on March 16. Thereafter, he handed over the bills of the items to Shingara Singh, driver of the truck. When the truck did not reach the destination next day, he enquired from the transport company, which contacted Shingara Singh. The driver concocted a story that the truck was parked near the Bank of Allahabad there, and that he had entrusted it to his brother Mukhtiar Singh. But in the morning at 3, he reached the site but found the truck and his brother missing. Meanwhile, Avtar Singh was arrested from Ludhiana on March 20. He is now under judicial lock-up till April 5, during investigation, he revealed that the cleaner of the truck was strangulated at Mohanpur village, 4 km from Khanna on Ludhiana highway, and later on the empty truck was found parked in Grain Market, Mandi Gobindgarh. After investigation, the body of truck cleaner Mukhtiar Singh was recovered from the bushes near Mohanpur village. The police is investigating about the disposal of the goods loaded in the truck. |
LSE to file wind-up
petition against 15 firms Ludhiana, March 24 Mr H.S. Sidhu, General Manager, LSE, disclosed that the companies against whom winding-up petition will be filed have not paid the listing fees. These companies include Arihant Cotsyn Limited (Rs 3. 36 lakh), Asian Alloys Limited (Rs 2.18 lakh), AVI Exports India (Rs 2.52 lakh), Cepham Milk Specialities (Rs 2.24 lakh), Usha India (Rs 8.15 lakh). Some of the companies paid the fees after they were issued show-cause notices by the LSE. These include Oswal Chemical and Fertilisers, Oswal Spinning and weaving and Diamond Agro industires. Some other companies which have not paid the listing fee are Krishna Engineering Works, Majestic Inds, Mukerian Papers, Spic Organics and Rom Industries. Mr Tarvinder Dhingra, Vice-President, LSE, said, “The LSE has taken a serious note of the companies who are violating the agreement signed at the time of their listing. The LSE has already suspended the trading of 67 companies for the non-submission of pending post-listing documents, non-redressal of investors’ complaints and other reasons. Out of 67 companies, 59 are regional and the remaining are non-regional.” Mr Dhingra also informed that restrictions of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on the short-term trading and the crash in other exchanges have resulted in substantial decrease in the daily volume of LSE. |
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