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June 15, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Bimla was murdered, admits police Ludhiana, June 14 With this development, some of the doubts regarding the infamous Bimla abduction and murder case, which has witnessed several twists in the past couple of months, have been removed. Earlier, it was not clear whether Bimla had died in an accident or was murdered. The registration of the case also confirms that the police has no doubt about the identity of the body, as earlier there were chances, though remote, that the body may not be of Bimla. Incidentally, besides the statement of certain undisclosed persons a picture of the deceased published in Ludhiana Tribune also helped the police in establishing her identity. According to DSP Mullanpur Dakha Paramjit Singh Goraya the registration followed a 10-day investigation into the case and the opinion of doctors on the nature of injuries on the body. The investigation was started after the Dehlon police received an affidavit from Sant Ram Dagri, an alleged second husband of the deceased, that the woman, abducted on February 28 from Ludhiana was
murdered on March 17 at Kila Raipur and was cremated as unidentified by the police then. The police later sought opinion of doctors on the nature of injuries found on the woman’s body. The doctors have, in the report submitted to the police, concluded that the injuries on the body could not have been got in an accident, and seemed to have be inflicted by some sharp-edged weapon. The DSP said that the police was working on several theories and it was not possible for him to make comment on these as it may hamper the police investigations. He added that the involvement of almost all persons in the case — whether the accused or the complainant — was suspect. It would be pertinent to recall here that the woman, Bimla Devi, disappeared on February 28 from Ludhiana. A writ petition was filed by her husband Chanderpal in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, accusing the Ludhiana police of inaction in the case. He also alleged that city-based financier Parmod Goyal had given him a loan of Rs 70,000, but as he was unable to repay him, the financier had abducted his wife. Later Jagjit Singh Chawla a hosiery trader, in a complaint against Parmod Goyal had also accused him of having beaten him up. He also alleged that the financier had told him that he had forcibly married off Bimla to one Sant Ram Dagri, a labourer as Bimla’s husband had not returned his loan. He had threatened Jagjit Chawla with similar consequences. Later, Chanderpal also went missing and now the discovery about the woman’s murder has been made. The case remained shrouded in mystery since then. However, 10 days ago the Dehlon police received an affidavit from Lucknow carrying thumb impression of Sant Ram Dagri that the abducted woman was, in fact, murdered by the financier on March 17 at Kila Raipur and the police, taking her body to be a train accident death case cremated it under section 174 CrPc. However, the financier, on his own, went to the police claiming that he was being
implicated. The police is then learnt to have traced Sant Ram Dagri and carried out its investigation. |
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Baddowal
controversy: two bureaucrats under cloud Ludhiana, June 14 Although the role of the bureaucracy and the police had come under serious criticism from the High Court, there was no mention of the role of the army commanders posted from time to time at Baddowal, during whose tenure the marriage palaces came up. One of the commanders, during whose tenure most of the palaces came up, is reportedly facing court martial. The two bureaucrats were posted in influential positions in the district when the marriage palaces came up. While one of them is now posted as Deputy Commissioner of an important district of Punjab, the other holds a senior position in the state government. He is believed to be quite close to the Chief Minister's family. It is the same bureaucrat who is suspected of having tried to strike a deal with the government and owners of the marriage palaces for a certain sum of money. "It was his proximity (whether real or perceived) that prompted the owners of the marriage palaces to try his influence for the settlement of the issue," a source told Ludhiana Tribune. The sources disclosed that it was not also clear whether the bureaucrat was acting of his own or at the behest of the powers that be. Both the inquiries ordered by the High Court and the Chief Minister and being conducted by the Chief Secretary do not include the role of the army officials posted at Baddowal. The High Court order, however, does mention that the repeated communications sent by the army authorities to the district and police administration to initiate action against the illegal and unauthorised constructions went unheeded. While the Chief Minister ordered an inquiry into the case yesterday, the Chief Secretary is already on the job for the past two months under the instructions of the High Court. Immediately after the High Court directive, Mr Arora had started the inquiry examining various aspects of the case, including the role of the two bureaucrats. He visited Ludhiana on May 18 in connection with the same case. He also carried out and on-the-spot assessment around the Baddowal ammunition depot. On the same day, he had reportedly met the army authorities posted at Baddowal. The Chief Secretary is supposed to submit the inquiry report by September 30 and also file the action-taken report before the High Court by October 8. The inquiry ordered by the Chief Minister yesterday has only widened the scope Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary is already on the job and has started examining the revenue records related to the construction of marriage palaces around the ammunition depot. He disclosed that he had already held two meetings in this regard. He said, he would be submitting his report to the High Court on time. The Chief Secretary also confirmed that he had received orders from the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal to inquire about the role of certain bureaucrats posted in Ludhiana at the time of the construction of marriage palaces, who had allegedly demanded bribe to settle the issue. He said he was looking into the matter and was soon going to submit the report to the Chief Minister. |
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DC orders probe into sale
of PUDA plots Ludhiana, June 14 In his report on the inquiry, marked by the Deputy Commissioner, the Estate Officer, PUDA, reported that the receipts and allotment letters given to Mrs Shakuntla Devi by the said Ram Lal, at the time of the sale of the plots, were false and serial numbers shown on the receipts, did not match with the original receipt book of PUDA, which he produced at the sangat darshan. He further said the allotment letter was also fabricated, as it was not issued from the PUDA office. Mrs Shakuntla Devi had submitted in her complaint that she had purchased the said plots in 1989 from Mr Ram Lal and had now realised, on the production of original receipts, that she had been cheated. She pleaded for justice and action against the culprits. The Deputy Commissioner, sympathising with the complainant, assured that her money would be got refunded from the culprits after their arrest. He also asked the complainant to cooperate with police to get the accused arrested and punished. In today’s sangat darshan program, another woman, Mrs Vimla Rani, who was also cheated by being sold plot on the basis of such false receipts and allotment letter, produced the forged documents. Fearing a fraud of selling property through forged documents, by an organised gang, the Deputy Commissioner asked the SP (Operations) to arrest the culprits after registering a case against them immediately and make a detailed inquiry to find about the fraud committed by the culprits. In today’s sangat darshan program, 102 complaints were taken up, out of which 48 were disposed of while about other complaints, the officers concerned were asked to submit their inquiry reports at the next sangat darshan program. Since the inquiry officer, the Block Development Officer, Sidhwan Bet, had established the allegations levelled by Mr Bhag Singh, Sarpanch of Fathegarh Sibian village, regarding the illegal encroachment by some people on the panchayat passage in the village, the Deputy Commissioner asked the sarpanch to procure the required orders passed from the DDPO by filing a case and get
the The Deputy Commissioner, disposing of a complaint of Mr Ram Lal of Shimla Puri, regarding pollution being caused by a plastic moulding factory, which was also substantiated in an inquiry, directed the Executive Engineer, Pollution Control Board, to positively ensure the shifting of the unit by July 30, 2001, as committed by the owner of the unit. On the complaint of Mr Gurbachan Singh of Dewatwal village, regarding the encroachment along the panchayat passage, which was established during the BDPO’s inquiry, Mr. Sandhu directed naib tehsildar of Mullanpur and the BDPO to execute the demarcation on next Sunday positively, in the presence of the parties concerned and remove the encroachment. The Deputy Commissioner directed the officers of all departments to accord top priority to redress the complaints of the public in routine also, so that for the minor complaints, the people need not have to come to the sangat darshan programmes. Among others, present at the sangat darshan included Mr S.R.
Kaler, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Harsuhinder Pal Singh, Assistant Commissioner (G), Mr S.S.
Sandhu, S.P. (Operations), Mr Ram Singh, S.P. Khanna and all SDMs. |
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Students, teachers for centralised admissions Ludhiana, June 14 The students feel that they would be saved from the hassles of taking forms for three to four colleges, appearing for counselling on different dates, waiting for the results and finally choosing one college for taking admission. The lecturers are also pleased with the decision as they expect more transparency and least malpractices during the admissions. The university has decided to conduct the admissions to the courses for the city colleges from July 7 to July 11 at Khalsa College for Women and June 26 has been fixed as the last date of submission of forms. The students have been asked to fill the names of the colleges preference-wise and the students would be given admission on the basis of their marks scored in the Class XII examination. Talking about the scheme, Ms Harinder Dhillon, Principal, Khalsa College for Women, said it had been planned to the safeguard the interest of the students. Since the number of candidates applying for the courses is expected to be quite high, elaborate arrangements would be made to make sure that no mismanagement takes place, she said. Mr Satish Sharma, PU Senator and lecturer, Arya College, said that the scheme was much beneficial and the only need would be to ensure that the process of admissions goes smooth and students do not have to wait for long on that day. It may be mentioned that a similar process of admission to B.Com for all the affiliated colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh was started in 1994. The Government College for Women was the first centre which was later shifted to Ramgarhia College for Women and Kamla Lohtia Sanatan Dharam College. Entrance tests used to be held and students got admission according to their attempt and their preference for a particular college. However, it is learnt that there used to be tussles between the lecturers of different colleges to grab the meritorious students. Colleges in the rural areas had their own grouse as very few students opted for admissions there. Later, the practice of conducting entrance test was stopped and colleges started conducting individual admissions. This once again resulted in variable fee for admission forms in different colleges, variable fee and funds and donation collection in one form or the other. Certain colleges started distributing ‘‘welcome slips’’ priced at Rs 500, mandatory for taking admission in the college. Still others fixed their last date of fee collection even before the results of government colleges were declared so that fee could be collected from the average students who were also seeking admissions in government colleges. Mr Satish Sharma said that looking into such malpractices and after receiving innumerable complaints from students as well as the parents, the university decided to once again start the process of centralised admissions. However, the process of admissions would be quite cumbersome for Ludhiana as the number of colleges is maximum in the city. At one centre, admission to B.Com for nearly 12 city colleges, admission to BCA for six city colleges and admission to BBA for two colleges would be held. In contrast, load would be quite less in other cities as the number of colleges is quite less. Admission for just three colleges of Moga, three of Hoshiarpur and six of Chandigarh would have to be held at a centre. Talking about ways to streamline the process, Professor K.B.S. Sodhi, President, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union, said, “Looking at the total number of colleges in the city and the large number of students seeking admissions, there seems to be a need to have two centres for admissions. Transparency would be ensured and at the same time the process of admission would run more smoothly.”  |
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Mystery
over CMC intern’s suicide deepens Ludhiana, June 14 On June 6, resident doctor, Sheetal Franklin, hailing from Dehradun, allegedly committed suicide in her hostel room under mysterious circumstances. She did not leave any suicide note. In the post-mortem report, it was mentioned that some kind of poison was cause of her death. The mystery surrounding the death thickened when the mother of the doctor Sarojini Fish and brother Samuel J.F. Fish alleged that one Subhash, a hotelier, from Dehradun, was trying to grab their property in Dehradun and frequently used to threaten the family. On March 24, they had reported the matter to the SSP and Lakhi Bhai Chowki had assigned a security guard to the family. The SSP had assured them to look into the matter. Sarojini further alleged that Subhash continued to threaten them and also tried to ruin her character by claiming that she was his wife. On April 10, he had sent a message which read that he wanted to speak to her and had given a phone number. He had promised that he would not contact her. On May 2, Subhash reportedly gave the false news of Sheetal’s death to her mother. Interestingly, the news of Sheetal’s death was given on the phone number recorded on the pager. Sarojini said that she felt that the messages on the pager after April 10 were purposely erased. Sheetal had received a telephone call from Dehradun on June 5 and was asked to go back to Dehradun. The CMC authorities claim that they have no knowledge about any telephonic conversation. Apparently, Sheetal was very disturbed after the message and told her room-mate that she would take leave the next day. On the fateful day of June 6, she allegedly ended her life. The mother and the son were not allowed to visit Sheetal’s room when they arrived late at night. They were told that the police had sealed Sheetal’s room but they found Sheetal’s lock on the door. The room-mate of Sheetal had removed her personal belongings before the police had arrived. Subhash Ahuja was present at Sheetal’s burial and had tried to contact the mother and brother at the guest house at CMC. They both felt that Sheetal was forced to commit suicide due to harassment caused to her by Subhash and the fear for their lives too. |
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Roof collapses in court complex Ludhiana, June 14 It is worth mentioning here that the portion adjoining the verandah was already declared unsafe and unfit by the PWD authorities more than 20 years ago. In the adjoining rooms, earlier there was treasury office and the office of the Assistant District Attorney Legal, which had fallen more than a decade ago. In the year 1989, the roof of the court room where Mr Bhagwan Singh, the then Magistrate used to hold court, had collapsed at around 5.30 p.m. on a working day. Fortunately, the presiding officer of that court had finished work only minutes before, and his staff, litigants and lawyers had a narrow escape. Similarly, three courts in this very complex has also collapsed about 15 years ago. Meanwhile, the lawyers here have demanded expediting the work on the new judicial complex in the mini-secretariat. |
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2 children
missing for 10 days Ludhiana, June 14 Anxious parents say they have inquired from their relatives and friends but have not been able to trace the boys. The police said it has sent description of the boys to different police stations, but the whereabouts remain unknown. No ransom note or kidnapping threat has been received by the family. The missing children Tarlok Chand (13) and Anant Ram (11) study in Class VI in Secular Public School in the colony. According to Sohan Chand, a PAU employee and father of Tarlok , the two boys used to go together to the school. On June 5, they appeared in an examination in the school and later played cricket in the school ground. However, they have not returned since then. Sham Bihari, also a PAU employee and father of Anant Ram, said they had contacted all possible places where the children might have gone but they remained untraced. |
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Man shot at
in Khanna Ludhiana, June 14 Jaspinder Singh , the injured man, told reporters he was beaten by six persons with whom he was involved in a land dispute. He said he recognised the persons and had given their names to the police. |
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Dass visits
farm varsity today Ludhiana, June 14 A communique issued by the university here today said that he would hold a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor, Dr K.S. Aulakh, on issues of common concern. He would also visit the research farms and laboratories of the PAU for an on-the-spot study of various programmes and activities of the university. |
INTUC national President under fire Ludhiana, June 14 Addressing the office-bearers of the district council here yesterday, Mr Kapoor observed that during the tenure of the reigning national president, the Congress support for the working classes has weakened. Calling the party leadership to separate the AICC (Labour Cell) from INTUC, he alleged that the labour cell of the party had totally become defunct and Mr Reddy had completely failed to reorganise and rejuvenate it. The state president of INTUC further urged the party high command to allot atleast 25 per cent of assembly seats in forthcoming elections in Punjab to INTUC functionaries and activists of the workers movement. Mr Kapoor even went to the extent of saying that if the party leadership failed to give due representation to the INTUC and the working classes in allotment of party tickets, INTUC might field its own candidates at various places in the state. Criticising the state government for its failure to come to the rescue of the workers, the INTUC activists rued that labour laws were being flouted with impunity, particularly in the private sector and social justice and social security of the working classes was threatened. They further demanded that privatisation of public sector be stopped forthwith to check exploitation of labour. The INTUC leaders asked the Union Government not to go ahead with any amendment in Trade Unions Act, Industrial Disputes Act, Abolition of Contract Labour Act before the presentation of the report by National Commission on labour. |
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Pensioners
sore at govt apathy Ludhiana, June 14 According to Mr B.R. Kaushal, state president of the confederation, the Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, had announced in a state-level conference of the Punjab Government pensioners at Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib on April 25 that a major demand of pensioners for grant of 5 per cent and 10 per cent hike over basic pension on attaining the age of 65 and 75 years, respectively, against the earlier 70 and 80 years, had been accepted. The Finance Minister, he claimed, had also conceded the demand for celebration of pensioners day on Dec 17 every year at state expenses. However, no further action had been taken till date towards the implementation of these demands even one and a half month had passed. Several reminders had been sent to the government and the representatives of the pensioners had also personally met senior government officials. Mr Kaushal rued that he had met the Finance Minister in Chandigarh on May 23, with a written representation seeking issuance of the necessary government notification and further fixing the date for a meeting with pensioners’ representatives to sort out their grievances, but nothing had materialised so far. Lamenting the apathetic and indifferent attitude of the government, Mr Kaushal said it was a sad commentary on the assurances and promises of a welfare
state. |
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SSF wants
Kewal Singh to resign Ludhiana, June 14 In a press release here senior federation leaders, Paramjit Singh and Sukhjinder Singh Jaura, stated that if the Jathedar did not relinquish his office immediately he should be made to do so by Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Mr Jagdev Singh Talwandi for maintaining dignity of the Sikh panth. The federation leaders also lashed out at Prof Manjit Singh, Jathedar, Takht Keshgarh Sahib, against whom, they said, serious allegations of involvement in certain scams had been levelled. They said the initial leniency adopted by the Akali high command in respect of Giani Kewal Singh should not be repeated in Prof Manjit Singh’s case. |
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AT THE CROSSROADS SOMETIMES
I am asked to write about the days gone by. I start thinking on these lines but find myself in a predicament. The days passed have not gone anywhere but I find myself in a predicament. The days passed have not gone anywhere but are ensconced in the inner recesses of the mind. Not even that. Many a time they exist side by side with the present current of time. An image of childhood or an incident of young age may crop up in the mind of an old person now and then. It is like the picture of Kangaroo carrying the young ones in the fold of her flesh. This type of coexistence is not disturbing at all. Rather the mind seems to be assuaged fully in such a get-together. R.K. Narayan once observed in an interview:
‘‘When 50 years end, you find it just the same- the illusion of time, you know. We are what we are. Whether you grow older, more decrepit, inside, the sense of awareness, of being, is the same throughout. The chap inside is the same, unchanged.’’ This observation of the acclaimed author, who died recently at the age of 95, indicates the veracity of human situation. Robert Browning assured us a long time ago-‘‘Grow old along with me/the best is yet to be.’’ Still a part of the personality refuses to grow old. I am reminded of a poem by Akhtarul Iman, a famous Urdu Poet. In his poem ‘Woh Ladka,’ he says that the boy whom he had promised all joys of life encounters him at odd hours. In his advancing years, the poet has gone miles ahead of his boyhood dreams. In those days he had certain illusions and he was certain that the revolution was just round the corner. But this romantic revolution did not visit the land he treaded. He had compromised with the bitter realities of life and had carved out a niche for himself for providing comfort to his tired limbs. But he feels embarrassed when the adamant boy in him takes the form of his guilty conscience. It is true that the young persons look towards the future, whereas the old ones have a backward glance. This backward glance is like having a look at the flow of the traffic before crossing over to the other side. The journey is to continue and its direction is towards the future. Of course there is some difference in these two cases. The young persons find the image of the future fully reflected on the screen of their minds. There is no blurring of any sort. But there is super-imposition of images, past and future, on the minds of the old persons. When an idea strikes their mind, it is modified, rejected or accepted in the light of the past experiences. This nagging past, of course, hampers the old man’s forays into the future. The young persons find their vision clear and their conceptions of life irrevocable. Future is the target, whether you look at it straight or you look back before straightening yourself up towards it. The flow of time is always towards the future. It is still a mystery whether the flow is like a stream or it ultimately takes the cyclic form. Things go ahead as a matter of routine but at times they are caught in the whirlpool. That is the saddest part of one’s life. There is movement but no progress. The step forward does not necessarily cover any distance towards the future. It is the movement of a spiral, up and down. In the words of W.B. Yeats-‘‘Turning and turning the widening gyre.’’ There is, however, some relief in the couplet of Mirza Ghalib wherein he says Paate nahin raah to charh jaate hain naale, Rukti hai meri tabha to hoti hai rawan aur, (The streams swell when there are hurdles in the way. At times my mind is blocked but this thing ultimately results in more creativity.) |
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Generators
causing pollution Ludhiana, June 14 ‘‘Ludhiana
is the largest installed base of power generators for both residential
and industrial purposes, making the problem more acute’’, says Mr
Tulsi Ram, one of the generators dealer in the city. The industrial city has over two lakh small-scale units mainly in the areas like Daresi, Field Ganj, Basti Jodhewal, Industrial Area, Focal Point, Miller Ganj, Ghas Mandi, Chand Cinema, Chander Nagar, Deep Nagar, Shimla Puri and Civil Lines and except for a few, all small-scale entrepreneurs rely on generators for running their units. Mr
Varinder Aggarwal, a manufacturer in Focal Point area, said he and
others like him, were constrained to depend on generators and they
could do nothing about the air and noise pollution. ‘‘If we will
not make use of generators, there are lakhs of other units using the
generators. The noise and air pollution can not be controlled’’,
said Mr Aggarwal. There has been a sudden spurt in the cases of
respiratory ailments such as asthma, breathlessness, fever, chronic
cough and hearing problems. Residents and industrialists, using
inverters, are forced to bear the pollution. A Civil Lines resident,
Mr Kuldip Singh said, "It does not make much difference to me.
Even if I restrict myself to my home, there is so much noise around
from generators from other houses of the area’’, said the
irritated resident. Following the power crises, the PSEB authorities have resorted to imposing four to five hours power cut on urban feeder which has affected the industrial units as well as residential areas of the town. The generator users are not only causing harm to the health of others, but causing harm to themselves. The smoke let out by the generators leads to accumulation of carbon particles in the air, which is very dangerous for lungs. Despite
the fact that ‘silent generators’ are available in the market,
people opt for ‘cheaper’ generators causing noise and air
pollution. One of the industrialists from the Industrial Area said,
"Why waste so much money on silent generators? Once we are inside
the room, it does not matter how much noise is generated or pollution
caused’’. |
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Making a living out of junk Ludhiana, June 14 A large number of people have found self-employment in collecting all sorts of junk from houses of various localities of the city The ‘kabariwalas’, as they are usually known, go by cycles collecting things mentioned above. Interestingly, almost all the ‘mobile kabariwalas’ quote different rates for buying old newspapers and other things. Somehow the rates for vernacular newspapers are lower than English dailies. The empty bottles also fetch prices accordingly, whether they are beer bottles or juice, or sauce bottles. The ‘kabariwalas’ have big carts attached to cycles or carry the stuff in big oversized sacks on the cycles only. In every household junk gets collected over a period of time. Most of the people are
hoarders, and keep assimilating junk of all sorts , like fused bulbs, bottles, cans, tins, tyres and all defunct gadgets, or household things like broken furniture, refrigerators, models of obsolete washing machines. But finally they choose to get rid of the entire lot. The cleanliness freaks dispose of junk as soon as it gets collected. Thanks to the small accommodation, the junk stands out like a sore thumb and finally people do dispose it off after a lot of haggling from both the parties — the sellers and the buyers. Junk is big business’ as one can’t even imagine the magnitude of junk found not only in the houses but on the roadsides, market places ,factories, railway station and bus-stops. Infact everywhere, where human habitation is found rubbish heaps will be formed. The trucks can be seen transporting bundles and bundles of junk material to factories and wholesalers. A sizeable number of people are employed in this trade. The ‘kabariwalas’ next journey is to small dealers spread all over the city who buy junk from these petty collectors. Here again it is a specialised job. Some dealers buy only newspapers and cardboards. There are plenty of paper mills in Malerkotla, Dhuri and other parts of Punjab. There are only a handful of big wholesalers in the city and most of the small dealers give the newspapers to them from where used paper goes to paper mills. Similarly, the card-boards go to the mills to be recycled and to be used
again. The wholesalers have to give the credit for 60 days to the mill owners which is not feasible for small dealers. Talking to Ludhiana Tribune one dealer said: “It is a organised business. The dealers dealing in iron are based on Gill Road. They send the scrap to Mandi Gobindhgarh for reutilisation. The dealers in both plastic bags and broken plastic articles send the stuff to factories located in Hambran, Jalandhar byepass and Janta Nagar. They convert the plastic into’ dana’’ from which second quality plastic articles are made. Infact some factories at Focal Point, Hamir Khasa, also use some bottles whereas bulk of bottles go directly to breweries. In case the bottles break, we have to suffer the losses. Some years ago our profit margins were higher but these days too many shops of ‘junk dealers’ have come up. Many shops near Meena Bazaar were very active in collecting scraps of papers which were assiduously collected by poverty stricken migrant undernourished women. They are paid a measly sum of Rs. I.50 per kg and make about just Rs 15 to Rs 20 a day. The ‘lotus eaters’, the junkies survive on collecting the bottle lids, papers and similar things lying on the road Some more enterprising carry a magnet
and walk along the roadside and all the iron material, and small pieces get struck to the magnet which they sell later on. Surprisingly, the bottle lids fetch more money as they are made of
aluminium. Some shops only sell 16 kg oil tins in retail . Similarly the plastic cans of various capacity are sold in retail. Another shopkeeper sells big books to ‘bhelpui walas’ and other hawkers who need paper to sell ‘chat’ etc. |
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Memorandum
to CM against PSEB Ludhiana, June 14 The small-scale entrepreneurs also held a protest march holding placards in front of the office of the Chief Engineer. The protesters said that board had increased the rate of advance security deposit
(ASD) from 33 to 100 per cent on all categories of consumers. It had also raised the fuel surcharge by 11 paise per unit in phased manner during the past six months. It is pertinent to point out that recently the state government had set up a State Regulatory Authority Commission headed by Mr R. S.
Maan, to take effective decisions concerning any downward or upward revision in power tariff or levy of any other charges on the consumers after holding discussions with representatives of consumer organisations/associations. The members urged the commission to direct the board not only to withdraw the hike in advance security deposit and fuel surcharge but also not make any increase in tariff and other charges without consulting and taking prior permission of the commission. The memorandum demanded a CBI probe into the functioning of the board, while alleging that the board was “today reckoned as the most corrupt department of the state government.” |
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Stress on water conservation Ludhiana, June 14 In a study by Dr M. Sidhu and Dr R. Bakshi of the College of Home Science,
PAU, it has been stressed that water conservation is vital and ways to save water start at the individual level. There are cost-effective simple measures to save water, which are quite helpful in the long run. They have pointed out that more than 90 per cent of world’s supply of drinking water comes from below ground. This is being increasingly threatened by industrialisation, use of pesticides and fertilisers and even by the dumping of chemicals. They have suggested the use of rechargeable batteries instead of disposable ones. This is not only economical but also keeps cadmium, mercury, lead and other toxic metals out of groundwater. Dry cleaning solvents contain toxicants like carbon tetrachloride and
perchloroethlene, which. ultimately pollute water sources. Never flush garbage down the toilet. It will ultimately appear in rivers, lakes and other water sources. They have advised against the use of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides in garden, for these reach the ground water level. Instead resort to organic gardening, it has been mentioned. |
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Using govt land
for parking lot Jagraon, June 14 |
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Akali Dal rally Ludhiana, June 14 |
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