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| Wednesday,
June 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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SC stays demolition of 2 marriage
palaces Ludhiana, June 12 This was stated here today by Mrs Gurpreet Brar, one of the directors of Fifth Milestone, after receiving a telephonic communication from her counsel in Delhi. The owners of the two marriage palaces had moved the apex court following a 10-day notice issued to them by the local administration in pursuance of the March 19 orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, directing the district authorities to demolish all illegal and unauthorised structures falling within the 1000 yard radius of the Field Ammunition Depot Baddowal. The demolition notices were issued by the ADC Ludhiana on June 4. The owners of the two palaces had sought the intervention of the apex court after the local administration initiated the process by demolishing three marriage palaces on June 5. Notices had been issued to the owners of five other palaces, including Fifth Milestone, Four Aces, La Casabaron, City Gardens and Turning Point on June 4, asking them to demolish their buildings within 10 days. The deadline for the demolition was set June 14. The owners of the La Casabaron have reportedly approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking cancellation of the June 4 notification of the district administration. The case is said to come up for hearing tomorrow. While the news came as a great relief to the owners of Fifth Milestone and Four Aces, for those whose palaces were demolished on June 5, it was disappointing. They pointed out that they had pleaded with the district administration to wait till July 9, when the case would come up for hearing in the apex court. The owners had challenged the High Court orders and the case was listed for July 9. Mr Vijay Kumar, owner of Megha Resorts, which was demolished on June 5, said that Deputy Commissioner S.K. Sandhu had assured them that the administration will not go ahead with demolitions till July 9. However, the DC has denied having given any such assurance. He alleged that the administration favoured owners of some of the palaces under some political influence, while singling them out for the demolition. Charging the administration of partiality in implementing the court orders, he pointed out, “only we three were selectively targeted, despite clear orders from the court that all structures should be demolished, while the administration provided time to others to move to the apex court and two of them have already got the stay orders from there”. He asked, “Who will compensate our damages, as we have suffered losses to the tune of crores of rupees in demolitions and also lost business?” Additional Deputy Commissioner S.R. Kaler, under whose supervision the entire process is being carried out, said although he had also been intimated about the stay orders, he was yet to receive anything in black and white. |
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Punjab plunges into
darkness Ludhiana, June 12 According to sources close to the PSEB, one unit of the Lehra Mohabbat plant went out of generation yesterday following some serious snag. A similar snag developed in the Bathinda thermal plant. Engineers of BHEL are now engaged in setting the units in order and the authorities are hoping that everything will be streamlined within a day or so. Following the power crises, the PSEB authorities have resorted to power cut of four to five hours on urban feeders which has affected the industrial units as well as residential areas of the town. Even single phase supply to rural feeders has been affected. However, the authorities are maintaining eight-hour power supply to the tubewells in rural areas to facilitate paddy sowing. Power generation a Dehar has picked up to 145 lakh units daily following an increase in the water level, the Ranjit Sagar dam’s two units are generating 50 lakh units daily and other hydro generation plants are also working normally except the Pong dam which is facing the problem of low level of water. |
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43 city quacks face
action Ludhiana, June 12 Dr Rajinder Kaur told Ludhiana Tribune today that since the quacks had not stopped their illegal and unauthorised practice despite instructions from the department, the case had to be referred to the police for further action. The action by the administration follows a long process of litigation that included a case in the Punjab and Haryana High Court that finally ruled that all the clinics run by the quacks be closed down and a case be registered against all those flouting the rules. While thousands of quacks are said to be practising in different parts of the state, there are hundreds of quacks in different parts of Ludhiana city and also in the rural areas. It may be mentioned that the Director, Health Services, Dr G.S. Preet, had asked the civil surgeon to keep vigil on the growing number of quacks in the city in October last. The administration had also shown its concern over the increasing number of such self-styled doctors. Reportedly, about 100 such clinics are operating in the Dugri area and the Health Department had several times asked some of them to close these clinics. The civil surgeon said that the department had warned them several times that police help would be sought if they did not close clinics on their own. Hundreds of such clinics are still existing in Guru Nanak Colony, Baba Deep Singh Nagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Himmat Singh Nagar, Nirmal Nagar, Preet Nagar and Dugri rural. These self-styled doctors offer treatments for all kinds of diseases. There have been regular complaints by city doctors, members of the Indian Medical Association and patients against these quacks, but their business continues to flourish in the city. |
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Suresh Arora takes over as
DIG Ludhiana, June 12 The 1982 batch IPS officer, who has served as police chief at Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Chandigarh, also specialises in counter-insurgency operations and VIP security and has done a special course on VIP security from the USA. He also has the distinction of having served as the DIG, security, with the three Chief Ministers of Punjab including Mr Parkash Singh Badal. In an interview with Ludhiana Tribune here today, the DIG listed his priorities. Keeping in mind the frequent visits of the VIPs to this industrial hub of the state, he has plans to evolve a system which would minimise inconvenience caused to the public and also put less pressure on the police. He would also make efforts to evolve a plan for controlling the menace of escort vehicles of the VIPs who have been involved in certain freak incidents in the city in the recent past, he added. Mr Arora said accessibility to the public and transparency in the police functioning would be the other thrust areas on which he would work. Talking about the city of having emerged as the crime centre of the state, Mr Arora said that since this was his first posting in the Ludhiana Range. He would like to study the problems and only after consulting the other police officials and the public, he would evolve a strategy to check the grown crime in the range. He said he was aware that certain cases were registered on basis of motivated complaints. With special reference to the misuse of the Dowry Act, he said it had been pointed out to him that there were instances when cases were not registered on flimsy grounds while at the same time some cases were registered instantly. In order to streamline the system, he said he would instruct the police to have free registration in crime against property which includes theft, robbery , snatching etc. |
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Row over wheat market fee Khanna, June 12 The secretary of the market committee, Khanna, informed that in the month of May, 24,000 quintals of wheat had reached the Khanna railway station from Shahjahanapur in UP, which was purchased by three local flour mills. One of the flour mills which had purchased only 2,900 quintals of wheat out of the total had deposited the market fee and RDF after being issued a notice, but the other two mills had not deposited the same. He added that the market committee had again served them notices for the fresh arrival of wheat. He said as per the minimum support price, 31,000 quintals wheat would cost approximately Rs 1,89,10,000, and if the market committee, Khanna, charged market fee and RDF at the rate of MSP, these would amount to around Rs 7.50 lakh. He said, “If we charge the fee and RDF at the rate of the actual purchase price, which must have been less than that in Punjab, it will be around Rs 6 lakh.” |
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Colleges to have more vocational
courses Ludhiana, June 12 This was decided at a meeting of college principals, lecturers, subject experts and educationists from the UGC. The meting was presided over by its joint secretary, Dr Gurbaksh Singh, at the UGC office in New Delhi. Four city colleges which participated in the meeting included GGN Khalsa College, the SDP College for Women, the Ramgarhia College for Women and the Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Gujarkhan Campus, Model Town. Each of the four colleges had applied for one additional vocational course other than those being already conducted by them. GGN Khalsa College had applied for vocation course in foreign trade practices and procedures, the Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women had sent application for functional English and both SDP College for Women and Ramgarhia College for Women had applied for vocational course in computer applications. Giving this information, Mr L.S. Bedi, coordinator, Department of Vocational Studies, GGN Khalsa College, said that applications for new courses forwarded by all four colleges were accepted by the UGC experts. He said the recommendations had been sent to the standing committee on vocational studies, UGC, for the final consent which would come out within a fortnight. Giving details of the meeting, Mr Bedi said all four colleges submitted annual performance reports of the existing courses conducted by them to the UGC experts. The reports gave complete details of number of students, classes conducted, on-the-job training and even job placements of the students. He further said that in their recommendations, the UGC experts had stated that the number of seats of the existing courses be increased from 30 to 40. Mr Bedi said that he was getting a good response from the three existing vocational courses in advertising, sales management and sales promotion, all of which are UGC supported. Another course in computer applications being conducted by the college without UGC assistance was also getting good response. He said that personal contacts with city industrialists and help from career and counselling centre at the college was helping students in seeking employment. Optimistic about getting recommendations for a new vocation course in computer applications, Ms S. Verma, Principal, SDP College for Women, said that the course would help the students acquire computer education at minimal charges in comparison to the rates in private centres of the city. Ms Verma said that the existing vocational course in functional Hindi was beneficial to the students as they were being taken for training in various media, including Doordarshan, All India Radio and various newspapers. Several students were also taking training in banks and LIC offices and recently two girls of the college were recruited in the LIC office after they took on-the-job training from its local office, she said. |
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Extortionist arrested Ludhiana, June 12 Disclosing this to the mediapersons here today afternoon, the DSP, Mr Parambir Singh Parmar, claimed that a police party led by sub-inspector Randhir Singh, SHO, Model Town, has arrested Krishan Murti, a resident of Gorakhpur district in Uttar Pradesh, on the charges of extorting Rs 3 lakh from Mr Deepak Chopra, a city-based businessman, by threatening to kill him and his family. According to the DSP, Mr Chopra received a threat letter on June 6 in
which the alleged extortionist had demanded payment lest he will kill him and his family. The letter said the money stored in a bag should be kept in a bathroom of the businessman’s office at 9 p.m. on June 10. Mr Chopra did not inform the police and after arranging money from his friends, placed it at the scheduled place. However, no one came to pick it up. Mr Chopra thinking it to be some kind of a joke returned the money to his friends. But in the afternoon he received another threatening letter in which he was directed again to place the money at the same place. However, the businessman informed the police this time and the police laid a trap for him. While a camera was installed in the bathroom, police personnel in Mufti were posted at strategic places near the building. According to the police, the man came to pick up the bag at 4 a.m. today morning and the moment he picked up the bag he was nabbed by a police team. The police said the man has admitted his involvement in snatching cases of vehicles in the recent past and confessed he made this plan to earn large amount of money and leave the city. The police said it was verifying his involvement in other cases also. |
Award for DMCH doctor, PAU
scientists Ludhiana, June 12 Dr Rajinder Singh Brar, Associate Professor, Veterinary Pathology, Dr Harpal Singh Sandhu, Associate Professor, Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, Dr S.S. Randhawa, Professor-cum-Head, Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, and Dr G.S. Grewal, Professor-cum-Head, Department of Veterinary Pathology, all from PAU, and Dr Indu Verma, a bio-chemist in the DMCH, have been awarded by a body of veterinary professionals of the Indian Veterinary Association on national basis. Earlier Dr Rajinder Singh Brar and Dr Harpal Singh Sandhu have authored two books for veterinary graduates which have been well appreciated by professionals. Dr S.S. Randhawa has been decorated with the Fellowship of the National Academics of Agricultural Sciences. Dr G.S. Grewal is a known poultry pathologist of India. |
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Cong will make a comeback
in Punjab: Makwana Ludhiana, June 12 Dr Makwana, who had just completed a two-day exercise to interact with the party rank and file, office-bearers and prospective candidates at Circuit House here, told Ludhiana Tribune in an exclusive interview that the party leadership, including the AICC president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, was well aware of the ground situation and faction fighting in the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC). “It is towards making an assessment of the party prospects and trying to bring the warring factions together that the party leadership has embarked upon a comprehensive exercise of interacting with party functionaries at all levels.” While admitting that there were differences of opinion between senior party leaders in the PPCC and factionalism had percolated deep down to the district level on the same lines, he remarked that party leadership was making attempts at various levels to make the party a cohesive unit so that it could effectively fight the electoral battle ahead and emerge victorious. “A lot has been done towards this direction with positive signals and a lot more has to be done in future.” He disclosed that the state executive of the PPCC had been finalised and it would be announced in the next couple of days. Asked if all the groups had been taken into confidence for this purpose, he said that the party leadership had discussed the matter threadbare at various levels with the intention that adequate representation be given to all groups in the reorganised state unit. Dr Makwana ruled out the possibility of any truck with the Bahujan Samaj Party, whom he described as manipulators. However, he added, the Congress had been entering into some kind of electoral adjustment with the CPI and other Left parties in the past and such an arrangement could not be ruled out in the coming elections. Commenting on the ‘sangat darshan’ programmes being undertaken by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal all over the state, the AICC observer said indiscriminate distribution of funds from government exchequer could at the most give some short-term gains to the ruling combine, but the ruling party might offend more people than it would please by doling out sums in this manner. He questioned the modus operandi of distribution of development grants by the Chief Minister, saying there was a set procedure for this purpose, which was not being followed by the government. Dr
Makwana, who has already had a first round of interaction with party workers at Jalandhar and
Amritsar, would next visit Moga and Ferozepore. He would attend a meeting of the PPCC at Chandigarh on June 15 and, thereafter, interact with Congress functionaries at Muktsar (June 16), Bathinda (June 17) and Patiala (June 18). |
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One killed in
accident Khanna, June 12 Bachan Singh said that while coming from Gujarat, his truck collided with another truck laden with iron bars and parked on the road side. The driver of the parked truck fled after the accident. The police has registered a case. 5 BOOKED:
The police has booked five persons on the charge of abetment to suicide on the complaint of Pardeep Kumar, a brother of Rajani, who died after consuming some poisonous substance. A case has been registered against Inderjit Singh, Chaman Lal, Chatar Pal, Brij Pal and Narinder Pal under Section 306/34, IPC. AMLOH GAMBLING: The police arrested Raj Kumar, a resident of Khanna, and Charanjit Singh, resident of Ward No 19, Dharampura Mohalla, Khanna, under Sections 13-A, 3 and 67 of the Gambling Act on Monday. According to the FIR, the accused were involved in satta business. JAGRAON LIQUOR
SEIZED: Assistant sub-inspectors Jaswant Singh and Jasbir Singh, alongwith excise officials, arrested Avtar Singh alias Tari of Barsal village, while he was selling country made liquor in Jandi Rasulpur, and recovered 72 bottles of liquor from his possession. The police has registered a case against the accused under Sections 61, 1 and 14 of the Excise Act at Sidhwan Bet police station. |
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