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| Tuesday,
June 12, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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With PSEB firm on meters, cops struggle for
power Ludhiana, June 11 The Punjab State Electricity Board wants to install one meter for all these houses and each house will have a sub-meter. It will be easy for the board to collect power-supply bills from the Police Department than from individuals. With one meter guarded by the security staff of the PSEB, the theft of power can also be checked. However, the Police Department is adamant on getting individual connections for all its flats. Its officials say that, if one meter is installed for all houses, the department will have to collect the bills from each resident, which will be a cumbersome process. They say that they don’t have time, resources and manpower for this job. While this tussle is on, most residents of the police colonies are living without power, while the others have resorted to stealing power through ‘kundi’ connections. Mr Ajit Singh, Subdivisional Officer of the PSEB, said the colonies — one in Police Lines and the second behind the DIG’s office — had not received individual connections due to a policy decision of the board. He said, past year, the board had raided several police colonies and unearthed several cases of power theft. He also said, “A large number of bills are pending against police personnel. Though most of the fine for the power theft has been paid, the board has decided to give a bulk connection as a precaution. The PSEB will collect the payment from the Police Department and the department will charge residents according to the individual consumption of power shown by their sub-meters.” He said residents of the police colonies at Patiala, Rajpura and a few other places had accepted this proposal, but the local Police Department was not accepting it. Mr Naunihal Singh, Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), said the stand of the PSEB was unacceptable because it would put an unnecessary burden of collecting bills on the department. He said, “After past year’s incidents, the board should have given us time to take corrective action.” The power theft by policemen was an open secret and a number of raiding parties of the PSEB had been chased away before the final operation with the assistance of the state government. The defaulters included even some DSPs. |
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Railway station a haven for
criminals Ludhiana, June 11 The wide road along the park on the GT road side, which is hard to traverse on foot because of the all-pervasive nauseating smell, is dotted with some rickshaw-pullers , idlers, nearly half a dozen saffron clad “babas’ , roadside gamblers and some migrants. None of them is decently dressed. A truck is parked at the far end of the road. The hoarding at its back proclaims “Enjoy”. No doubt, everyone present around seems to be enjoying the moment in his own way. Some people are playing cards, possibly with stakes and a couple of saffron clad “babas” appear to be in serious confabulation over something Godly or not-so-Godly. Nearly a dozen of rickshaw-pullers, seated on their vehicles, are enjoying their biris and exchanging jokes and abuses. Some of them, by the glazed look in their eyes, seem to be quite high on drugs. Indeed, a scene worth capturing. But just when I train my camera, a cop springs into sight from behind the parked truck. He comes running towards a group of idlers sitting on the concrete road divider. But before his baton could make contact with anyone, they had taken to their heels and taken shelter near a wall close to the GT Road. The cop proceeds to disperse another such group sitting a little further. “ You bloody pick-pockets’ shouts the cop as he swings his baton around. A man standing nearby grumbles. Everyone is not a pick-pocket. As a result of the brief operation, carried out by the lonely cop, the scene underwent a change in that the place became more open. Obviously all of the pickpockets had not fled at the sight of the cop. The cleverer of the lot manage to stay back. Scene two: A bit later, a couple of migrants, with little gunny bags around their shoulders, emerge from the railway station and halt by the concrete divider looking around with a bewildered look on their faces. Another migrant, most probably one of the permanent residents of the place, advances towards the wonderstruck newcomers to the city. “ Kahan jana hai?” he asks them . The newcomers, obviously adopting a cautious approach, shake their heads. The man retreats. He does not pester them anymore. For he is not alone. There is whole gang of
them. Another gang member comes on the scene and starts trying his wiles on the illiterate migrants who are obviously complete strangers to the city. These permanent residents of this open stretch outside the main building of the railway station, who hold a sway over the area, are criminal elements involved in robbing newcomers to the city. The cop tells me that while most of these idlers hanging around the place are pick-pockets others were engaged in looting unsuspecting migrants and other passengers after drugging them. Only a month ago or so, nearly a dozen migrants, who had come to the city after harvesting wheat somewhere else in the state, were found in an unconscious condition at two different places in the Focal Point area where they had been ‘off-loaded’ after the looting operation carried out with the help of chloroform. Obviously, the victims had been targeted soon after they emerged from the railway station by a specialist gang. The question is if the police knows very well what these elements are really upto , why are they being allowed to come back to their ‘adda’ ? Chasing them away from the scene now and then is no solution. It may be worth mentioning here that after Ludhiana Tribune carried a story on the presence of criminals and other shady characters on the various platforms of the railway station in September last year, a meeting of the Railways Advisory Committee was held and it was decided to cleanse the railway station of all such elements. Some other decisions regarding sanitation etc were also taken at the meeting. Mr. Ved Parkash, Additional SHO, was entrusted with the task of cleansing the railway station premises of all bad and doubtful elements. Under the drive and vigil against these elements, all ‘babas’, pick-pockets and a large number of unauthorised tea vendors who have been using the platforms as permanent homes for years, were made to run for their lives. Vigil was stepped up to ensure that these unwelcome people did not return to their old home. But it is apparent now that these people have now started operating their respective rackets in the immediate vicinity of the railway station, at a stone’s throw from the ticket windows. Maybe it is time for another cleansing operation outside the station as well. |
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Excise Dept sitting on duty evasion
case Ludhiana, June 11 According to sources, the premises of the company were raided on July 10, 2000, after a secret information was conveyed to the Central Excise Department which was recorded. Sources disclosed that the company in question was evading excise duty as it used to obtain duty-free import licenses for the import of acrylic fibres from various countries, including Japan, Malaysia and other countries for the use of said fibres for processing in spinning mills. These fibres were then used for hosiery goods. The raided firm owned by the kin of a retired Excise Department official, did not pay any central excise duty as it did not manufacture any yarn or was engaged in spinning before 1998-99. It was further alleged that the firm got fictitious bill books printed in the name of several other firms whose bills were accounted for in its book of accounts. According to sources, the said firm had evaded more than Rs 98 lakh in the form of excise duty. But even after 11 months of raid no action has been initiated against the firm. Even the complainant who had informed the department of duty evasion with documentary proofs was promised an award but he had not been given anything till date. Sources disclosed that the department had issued a showcause notice to the owner of the firm asking him to give reason why action should not be initiated against the company for evasion of excise duty and why penalty should not be imposed on him for the same. The Superintendent of the department, Mr R.S Multani, under whose leadership the firm was raided, declined to comment on the matter. He said he was not authorised to speak to the press as all information that was available with the department related to any raid was
a guarded secret. He asked Ludhiana Tribune to speak to the Deputy Commissioner, Excise, Mr Jagir Singh. Mr Jagir Singh, when contacted, said that he was not authorised to comment on the situation but such delays were routine with the department. He said such decisions required time. Moreover, the case was sent to the Commissioner’s office at Chandigarh. He also suggested to contact Mr V.K. Sharma, Commissioner, Excise Department, for further details. |
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Factory owner
shoots self
in office Ludhiana, June 11 Sub Inspector Ramandeep Singh, Station House Officer of the Sadar police station, said a relative of the man, Mr Sukhdev Singh Brar, and some of the workers of the factory, had found the body in the office this morning. They had to scale a wall to enter the factory as the man had locked all gates and doors before shooting himself. He had even sent security guards and the gatekeeper on leave yesterday. The police said the man had been an Amritdhari Sikh who had strained relations with one of his sons who had settled abroad. The police has found his licenced .32 bore revolver that he had used to shoot himself. |
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Musical tribute to cassette
king Ludhiana, June 11 The lead singer of the evening was Micky of who set the mood by singing the ever green melody “Yeh Sham Mastani”. In spite of the humid atmosphere, people thronged the Kendra. Saniya from Amritsar danced on the tune of “Madhumati” and Tulika performed a very lively dance on “Mujhe randg de, mujhe rang de.” Pardeep Sharma crooned in his melodious voice. The artists for the evening had come as far as from Mumbai. Suman Joshi from Ahmedgarh sang “Peete peete kahin” and Namrita rendered a few popular numbers. Abdul of Jhankar Group, Ludhiana, did a take off on the famous comedian Mehar Mittal. Mr Darshan Kumar’s
emissary speaking on the occasion said that in July they will again invite talented singers for audition to either Noida or Mumbai. The programme was culmination of hard and dedicated efforts of Mr. Pardeep Sharma. from Jalandhar. In the daytime he is busy in the mundane job of working in the DTO’s office and during his leisure time, he and Micky are recording a pop album. Among the audience were present Mr Vijay Kumar Chopra and Mr Chander
Shekhar. |
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A novel experiment to help
farmers Ludhiana, June 11 Aided by a company, these farmers are making use of gap of 40 days between wheat harvesting and paddy transplanting to sow a leguminous crop to provide green manuring to the fields. Ten farmers of villages, including Burundi, Rasheen, Meherna Kalan, Meherna Khurd, Sihar, Ghudani Kalan, Jartoli, Asi Kalan and Guram have sown a legume crop in an area of 10 acres each on an experimental basis. The legume crop, which is scientifically known to enhance the fertility of land due to its roots-sheltering nitrogen- synthesising bacteria, sown on their land is being incorporated in the fields which are being prepared for paddy transplantation. Under project “Sahayog” which has been started by a weedicide manufacturing company, these farmers are cultivating PR-114 variety of paddy and transplanting it after June 15 in accordance with the recommendations of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) experts. According to project officer Dr Hundal, the experiment is all set to provide many benefits to the farmers, besides being beneficial to them. According to him, the legume crop is sown just after the harvesting of wheat. “Even the wheat stubble that is usually burnt is left as it is in the fields and the seeds of the green manure crop are dropped. The crop requires water once or twice and it grows into a full plant after 35 to 40 days. The farmers are forced to wait for the crop to mature and then transplant the paddy which falls usually after June 10. This way they go by the recommendations of the experts by delaying the transplantation, protect environment by not setting straw on fire and provide extra nutrition to the soil.” A survey by Ludhiana Tribune revealed that the farmers were feeling happy and preparing for paddy transplantation well in time. Mr Jagtar Singh of Burundi village who was chosen by the company for the experiment said that he was aware that the nitrogen content of the legume crop was beneficial for the health of soil and this would save extra expenditure on urea fertiliser. He said,”Many farmers of my village are keenly observing what I am doing. They are also set to follow me the next year. While almost all farmers of the village have transplanted paddy I have to start the process. But I know my fields are getting ready for the next crop. In the international market I hope my produce will be accepted due to its better quality.” Similar views were echoed by Bhagwant Singh of Jartoli village. Mr Sher Singh of Rasheen village said that he had listened to whatever the project officer had said and he and his villagers were expecting good results. He said,”We used to practise the cultivation of this crop some 10 to 15 years ago but then everybody started cultivating paddy in advance. Then its cultivation was automatically stopped as there was not much time left.” Dr R.N. Sandhikar, regional manager of the company, said that the project was started in all those villages whose location was such that they formed a circle of 50 km radius. “This way these villages will be able to disseminate the information in many places.” |
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Ghalib honoured Ludhiana, June 11 Admitting that the Dalits had been alienated from the Congress because of some wrong policies of the party, Mr Ghalib said Dalits constituted the backbone of the party without which it was bound to become weak. Launching a frontal attack on the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, he said Mr Badal was concerned about the future of his son only and had no time for the people. He said all sections of society including traders, government employees and Dalits had nothing to expect from the Akali-BJP government. Corruption and crime were on the rise and the law and order had deteriorated. Mr Ghalib announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh for the Valmiki Dharamshala, Shahi Mohalla, from his discretionary fund. |
‘50 p.c. population denied basic needs’ Ludhiana, June 11 The matter of lack of basic amenities in the city has been taken in hand by the PSHRC in response to a complaint filed by Mr Rashpal Singh Gill, district president, Nationalist Congress Party. In his complaint to the commission, Mr Gill had said that the basic amenities like clean drinking water, sewerage and streetlights were not available to almost 50 per cent of the city population, which was a clear case of discrimination and violation of human rights. He further observed that in such a scenario, projects like the elevated road, estimated to cost a staggering Rs 38 crore, though very much needed as a part of the long-term planning, should not have precedence over the basic needs of the people. The Municipal Corporation should, therefore, be directed to first of all extend coverage of water supply and sewerage to the entire population in the city and only then other development projects should be taken in hand. Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Mr Gill said, in principle, his party was in favour of the elevated road project, which would ease the chaotic traffic conditions in the city to a great extent. But the priorities have to be fixed when resources were limited and extravagant projects could wait a little longer till the people were provided with the bare minimums. He said the BJP agitation against the city Mayor on the issue of elevated road a political stunt. The coalition partner (BJP), in the MC as well as the state government, did not do anything in the last four years to mitigate the sufferings of the people and now, when the assembly and civic elections were at hand, it had suddenly started raising hue and cry over denial of civic amenities to the people in the city. It was ironical that most of the outer wards, where civic amenities were either non-existent or lacking, were represented by the councillors belonging to the ruling alliance — the SAD and the BJP, Mr Gill lamented. |
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SAD always for Panthic unity:
Badal Ludhiana, June 11 When his attention was drawn towards the increasing faction fight and squabbling between the two major contenders to the post and the feeling among the party functionaries that the matter needed to be decided without further loss of time, Mr Badal brushed away the question, saying, “ho jayega jaldi” (It will be sorted out soon). To the ongoing fight for oneupmanship to the two groups, both owing allegiance to the Chief Minister, he quipped, “Waheguru unhan nu summat bakshe” (May God grant them wisdom). Talking to media persons at Maharaja Agarsain Community Centre in Aggar Nagar here late last evening, Mr Badal asserted that SAD-B always stood for Panthic unity and if someone put up a proposal with sincerity, we shall be receptive to it. However, he made it clear that there could be no unity between different Akali factions on whimsical conditions. Without naming Mr Tohra, his long-time friend-turned foe, the Chief Minister said some Akali leaders wanted him (Mr Badal) to appear before Sri Akal Takht. “Why should I do that ? What crime have I committed,” he asked. He claimed with confidence that those making such ridiculous demands were hand in glove with the Congress and their sole purpose was to provide political benefit to the Congress in the coming elections. Claiming that the government had always been trying to safeguard the interests of the public at large, he said the issue of shifting of Army ammunition dump at Baddowal, on the outskirts of the city had been taken up with the Union Defence Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh. He, however, added that the matter was pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the government had to keep that angle also in view. He scoffed at a question on the government stand over the forthcoming visit of Dr Jagjit Singh Chauhan, the ideologue of the separatist movement, to India during next couple of days. Mr Badal claimed that the issue (of Khalistan) was dead and every single citizen of Punjab had rejected the idea. In such a situation, what is the importance of Dr Chauhan’s visit, and it needed to be ignored altogether. The Chief Minister also advised the media to have a positive attitude and not to focus on such frivolous and dead issues. |
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501 prominent persons join SAD Ludhiana, June 11 Earlier, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of the Maharaja Agarsain subway which would connect parts A and B of Aggar Nagar along Ferozepore Road. The subway will be constructed at a cost of Rs 81.34 lakh by the Municipal Corporation. Addressing the meeting, Mr Badal said that it was a historic day for the Shiromani Akali Dal when prominent leaders from different shades of society had joined the party in such large number. "This is a vindication of the policies and programmes of the SAD for the welfare of all sections of society." He said that our Gurus and saints had propounded the path of tolerance, service to the needy people and to treat each human being as equal. Lambasting the Congress, which ruled the country for 45 years, the Chief Minister charged it with pursuing the policy of divide and rule. The congress, with the motive of grabbing power, never hesitated to create serious dissensions among different sections of the people in the name of caste, religion and region. He also blamed the congress for destroying the economy of the state by adopting anti-Punjab and anti-farmer policies.
Mr Badal claimed that the SAD had always struggled to strengthen democracy in the country and had made enormous sacrifices by launching a morcha against the Emergency. The Chief Minister said that under the peaceful environment the state was on the fast track of development and prosperity. The friendly NDA government at the Centre had always been sympathetic towards Punjab. Commenting upon the achievements of his government during the past four years, Mr Badal claimed that his government had overtaken the serious financial crisis inherited from the Congress government. During the current financial year, the state would witness fast development as the government had planned to spend funds amounting to Rs 2,235 crore for strengthening of infrastructural facilities. He called upon the people to give a befitting reply to the nefarious designs of anti-Punjab forces. Appreciating the contribution of Mr Chiranji Lal
Garg, Cabinet minister, for broadening the base of the SAD, Mr Badal said that Mr Garg had always been putting in efforts to promote unity and brotherhood among the different sections. Mr Garg said that the SAD was the only party in Punjab which could safeguard the interests of the people. Prominent among those who joined the SAD were Mr Surinder Kumar Gupta, president, Mr Jinder Pal Gupta, vice-president, Mr
D.J. Jain, cashier, Mr Amrit Lal Aggarwal, director, Ludhiana Aggarwala Cooperative House Building Society, Mr Ved Parkash Gupta, secretary of the Aggarwal
Sabha, Punjab, Mr D.K. Gupta, secretary of the Ludhiana Dharamshala,
Chintpurni, and Mr Vijay Verma, vice-president of the District Bar
Association. Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, Technical Education Minister, Mr Apinder Singh
Grewal, Mayor, Mr Sadhu Singh Ghudani, MLA, Mr Raminder Singh, Additional Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Mr Sharanjit Singh
Dhillon, Youth Akali Dal leader, and Mr Pritpal Singh, president, Gurdwara Dukh
Niwaran, were also present. |
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Shiv
Sena to launch stir against beef products Ludhiana, June 11 Mr Neeraj Verma, an activist of the Sena, said that after the opening up of the economy, a lot of imported eating products had entered the country, which have beef content. The entry and sale of beef products in the country cannot be tolerated by nationalist forces. The memorandum mentioned that the eating of beef products was against Indian culture, but due to the ignorance of shopkeepers, multi-national companies had succeeded in flooding the Indian urban markets with these products. These products are now openly available in the different markets of the city. The delegation pointed out that leaders of the Shiv
Sena, after conducting a survey of the city markets, had found that these eating products were available in big quantity. Manufacturing companies had printed ‘Cola Pizza’ and ‘Pupy Dumpy Pizza’ on the packets. However, the contents included ‘beef
gelatine’ printed in English language. It’s simple meaning in Hindi was beef, claimed the members of the delegation. The delegation also presented some samples of these
food products, collected from various shops in the city. Such products had hurt the feelings of the Hindu community, it said. The Shiv Sena has appealed to all shopkeepers not to sell such products. Mr Saatinder
Verma, press secretary of the Hindu Shiv Sena (Punjab), announced, ‘‘The activists of the Sena will contact the shopkeepers to create awareness among them against such products till June 20. Later, we will initiate legal action and start a protest movement in the state for the ban on such products’’. Among others, Mr Sanjay
Gautam, Mr Manoj Bhatia, Mr Sandeep Thapar, Mr Manoj Dhiman and Mr Prem Chand participated in the delegation. |
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Army detains Star Plus crew Ludhiana, June 11 According to sources, cameraman Sanjiv Singh, correspondent Bhupinder Singh and others were detained by the Army officers when they approached them. The crew showed their identity cards, but this did not affect the Army officers. The equipment of the crew was also confiscated. Some shots captured by the crew were later removed from the film in the presence of the police before the team was allowed to leave. |
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Youth wing to highlight govt’s
achievements Fatehgarh Sahib, June 11 Mr Gurpreet Singh Bhatti, president, district Youth Akali Dal, called the workers’ meeting a preparation for the political conference to be held on June 26, which would be addressed by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Addressing the gathering, Mr Gurpreet Singh Bhatti said the decision of Mr Badal to give due representation to youths while allotting party tickets for the ensuing assembly elections has boosted the morale of the youths. He said workers of the youth wing would go to the grassroots level to highlight the achievements of the Akali government. Mr Swarn Singh Chanarthal, District president, SAD (B), said all differences among partymen had been sorted out. Mr R.S. Cheema, a former minister, said that it is a good sign that all leaders have come on one platform. Mr Didar Singh Bhatti, Rajesh Paul Singh Lalli, Kirpal Singh Sethi, Tejinder Singh Salana and Rakesh Mitter also addressed the meeting. |
2 scooterists killed in
mishaps Sahnewal, June 11 A case under Sections 279, 304-A and 427 of the IPC has been registered against the accused. DORAHA One person has been killed, while three others have been injured in road accidents in the past two days in and around Doraha. Gurinder Singh of Ludhiana’s Shastri Nagar was driving his LML Vespa scooter (PB-10-AN-9305) on Doraha-Neelon road at night, when another scooter (PB-10-N-0957) driven by Karam Singh of Neelon village banged into his vehicle. The accident occurred near Katani Kalan village, reportedly due to darkness, as a result of which, Gurinder Singh died on the spot. Karam Singh, who also sustained injuries, received first-aid at Doraha before he was admitted to Sidhu Hospital. In another incident, a scooter (PB-10-AB-5906) driven by Jagtar Singh of Jandiali village was hit by an unidentified vehicle at Kaddon Chowk, knocking him off. Timely help by ASI Harbans Singh and his team saved his life. Darshan Singh of Rampur village was also hit by an unidentified vehicle and had to be admitted to a hospital. |
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Murder mystery solved Jagraon, June 11 A case under Sections 302 and 459 of the IPC was registered with the local police. After investigations, ASI Sukhdev Singh arrested Parminder Singh, alias Sonu, son of Surjit Singh of the same village, in connection with the murder, and recovered a blood-stained sword allegedly used in the crime from him. Seeking his remand, the police stated that the accused was involved in many cases of railway theft and had also remained in jail in Dubai. |
Knitwear exhibition from June 15 Ludhiana, June 11 Mr K.K. Goyal, Finance Secretary of the club, in a press note issued here today, said the exhibition will feature works of students of design of the Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Gandhi Nagar centres of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and the National Institute of Design of Ahmedabad. |
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