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June 23, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Nature wreaks havoc,
two killed Ludhiana, June 22 Radhe Shyam, a labourer from Uttar Pradesh, was killed on the spot and three of his colleagues were injured when the makeshift living room, constructed on the premises of an under-construction factory in Phase VIII of the Focal Point area, gave way under the impact of the high-velocity winds. While the body of Radhe Shyam still lay among the rubble, the injured were awaiting help in another room of the factory. The owner of the factory was expected to reach later as none of the labourers had his telephone number. Rajinder, one of the injured, said while he had received minor injuries, Jhurria, lying with severe pain, had probably suffered a fracture somewhere on the back and feet and 14-year-old Sunil Kumar had got a bone dislocation in his right hand. After the structure fell on them in the middle of the night, they started crying loudly for help, but nobody came to their rescue. People in the area said they heard loud cries, but they dared not venture out of their quarters in the furious and hostile weather. In another accident in the same area, a five-year-old boy, Vikram, died due to head injury when the wall, along which a thatched hut had been erected, fell on the sleeping family of a migrant from Bihar. Rangali, the father of the deceased child, had left for Sutlej yesterday to bring some fish for the family. A man had been sent to fetch him and the wailing mother of the dead child was waiting for her husband before cremating the body. The surviving children were clinging to their mother for comfort. Several incidents of falling of single-brick walls were also reported. Tin sheds put up at higher levels were flown away by the high-velocity winds. Signboards could also be seen among the litter on the roads this morning. Birds were also greatly affected by the hailstorm. Flocks could be seen flying around, looking for a new haven. The strong winds proved a boon for hundreds of migrants, who flocked to the roads to carry away whatever wood they could for cooking purposes. Most of them were pruning the branches and loading the rickshaw-rehras with wood. Yesterday was a hot and humid day, with the sky being cloudless. It was well past 9 p.m. when a slight breeze gave some relief, but it was around 11.30 pm that a cool west wind started blowing over the city and surrounding areas The wind soon gathered momentum and the accompanying hailstorm sent people sleeping on the roofs indoors. The wind was
so ferocious that it uprooted and broke hundreds of trees. The worst hit was perhaps the Focal Point area. Roads were blocked at several places. The fury of the wind subsided after about half an hour. Electricity wires were snapped by broken trees at several places. The supply of power which was interrupted soon after the strong wind started blowing had not been fully restored. Normal life was thrown out of gear as the city was lashed by heavy showers this morning. Though the sky was partly cloudy this morning, the rain which began at 11 a.m., caught the residents unaware. The fury of the rain subsided after half an hour, but a steady downpour continued almost throughout the day, as a result of which low- lying areas of the city were water-logged. |
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PAU faculty member penalised for private
practice Ludhiana, June 22 The process of penalising such persons started today when Dr Prabhjot Singh, an Assistant Scientist in the Department of Surgery, College of Veterinary Sciences, was “punished” for working privately during office hours. Citing the case as a warning, Dr K.S. Aulakh, the Vice-Chancellor, in a circular issued to all teachers here today, said that all teachers should refrain from private practice lest they should also be dealt with strongly. Sources close to university authorities revealed to Ludhiana Tribune today that Dr Prabhjot Singh was penalised by the new Vice-Chancellor, as he had proved to have been performing surgery on an animal at a private clinic in November last, during the tenure of the then Vice-Chancellor, Dr G.S. Kalkat. Sources disclosed that Dr Kalkat had received a phone call complaining against him. Following the complaint, Dr Kalkat had ordered an inquiry into the matter and an Assistant Director Research of PAU, Dr T.P. Gupta was assigned the job. The report of the inquiry was submitted within a few days but no action was taken against him till date. Dr Prabhjot Singh, when contacted said that he was being “falsely” implicated in the case. He said that he would appeal to the authorities to reconsider his case as there was no proof of his performing the surgery in a private clinic. He said that he had written to the authorities that he had not performed any surgery and even the owner of the private clinic in question had written to the authorities that he never performed a surgery there. The action against him is taken as per the provisions of the clauses 16 and 17 of the statutes regarding the condition of service of officers, teachers and employees. It states,”
An employee shall devote his whole time to the service of the university and shall not, without express permission of the competent authority, engage directly in any trade or business whatsoever, or any other work which in the opinion of the competent authority, may interfere with the proper discharge of his duties.” Dr K.S. Aulakh, when
contacted, said that he was in the process of shortlisting such persons who were running their parallel businesses and action was on the cards against them. He said that he had penalised Dr Prabhjot Singh as he had been found “guilty” as per the inquiry report. Dr Aulakh further said that the government was giving Rs 1500 as non practicing allowance to veterinarians every month but if they practised privately even then it was a serious crime. He said that in such cases severe action was called for. It should be recalled here that last month, the Vice-Chancellor had issued a circular to all the employees and teachers through their respective heads, warning them of indulging in private work against the rules of PAU. The vice-chancellor, at that time, had said that the circular was the first step in removing this practice being followed by some employees and teachers for years. He had also said that it would be followed by identification of such people and strong action would be taken against them. The authorities had come across many complaints that many employees as well as teachers were running their own businesses and were found absent from duty due to pre-occupation with personal work. |
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Musharraf urged to visit Golden Temple Ludhiana , June 22 The two organisations have also urged the Pakistan President to visit the Golden Temple to further strengthen the Sikh-Muslim brotherhood. The SLI and the IHRO have also hailed the decision of the Pakistan government to form the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC) and the offer to provide one kilometre corridor to link Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak on the Indian side with Gurdwara Kartarpur on the Pakistan side. Hoping that the Agra summit will prove a milestone in the development of good relations between the two neighbours, the league president, Mr D.S. Gill and the IHRO general secretary, Mr Mohinder Singh Grewal, in a joint statement here today, called upon the top leaders of the summit meet to unconditionally release all political detainees, including POWs (Prisoners of War) in Pakistan and Indian jails as a goodwill gesture before the summit. They observed that “mere face-saving tricks to counter the international pressure for holding talks” would prove to be counter-productive rather than solving the problem, while adding that though, this time, the summit leaders seem to have the will to make a breakthrough in the otherwise dead-locked conflict since 1947. |
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Capt Amarinder Singh to remain PCC chief Ludhiana, June 22 According to the DCC president Mr Surinder Dawer, the Congress high command has done the best thing by clarifying that Capt Amarinder is going to stay as the PCC chief at least till the forthcoming assembly elections. Mr Dawer observed that the announcement made by Mr Motilal Vohra, Congress treasurer would also make it clear to those who have been trying to raise the banner of revolt. This is the high time dissidents fall in line, he remarked. However, dissidents are sore over the development. They had also led a protest on April 11 when the district Congress organised a massive rally here against the tehelka. com exposures. The dissidents had raised slogans against the PCC president, which had led to a scuffle at the rally. The dissident group is now worried over the distribution of tickets. A senior local Congress leader, refusing to come on record, observed that the high command should ensure that ticket distribution was fair enough based on the merit of the candidate and not the loyalty to one leader or the other. But Mr Dawer has been arguing that loyalty to the leadership will remain an important criteria during the distribution of tickets. “If the candidate is not loyal to the party leader, how can he be trusted in the elections?”, he asked. He said, while ‘winnability’ of the candidate is important, but loyalty to the party programme and party leadership is more important. Hectic activity has already started in the Congress for lobbying for the tickets. While there are great expectations among the young and new faces, the veterans have also activated themselves. Mr Dawer believes that the young candidates with a clean and honest record have a better chances of getting ticket since the Congress wants to fight on the issue of corruption in the state and at the Centre. |
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Phone cable thefts
up Ludhiana, June 22 Theft of underground telephone cable from January 1, 2001
Mar, 10
June, 10
The telecom officials of the Ludhiana division of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited are at their wits’ ends for the past six months as how to stop the activities of such thieves. The failure of the district police to arrest even a single person for the thefts has not helped matters. Eleven major incidents, in which at least 25 meters of telephone cable has been stolen each time from different parts of the city, have occurred in the first half of this year. There are scores of minor cases, in which few meters of wire has been stolen. More than 7000 pairs of cable have been stolen in all, which roughly translates into rendering similar number of telephones dead in separate incidents. The latest incident took place at Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar last week. A 350-m cable connecting it with Sarabha Nagar was stolen. About 400 telephones remained dead for over a week. Due to the theft, the department is facing problems on two counts. First, it has to suffer criticism from the public and the media for disruption in services. Secondly, it suffers financial losses in form of stealing of the material and its replacement and also loss of revenue as the lines remain dead. The aim of the thieves is to extract copper from the cables and then sell it off. According to an estimate, every 35 meters of wire fetches about Rs 700. The department is also baffled at the act. According to an official, the amount fetched through the sale of copper is a meagre one in comparison to the danger involved. The department sources
believe that as the cables need to be cut from two or more places or have to be dug out from the underground duct, the number of persons involved must be three or more. The officials fail to understand what amount each of them get out of it. The officials suspect the involvement of rag-pickers or drug addicts in the theft, though no one has been caught in the act. The General Manager of the local division of the BSNL said after informing the police several times in the past about the cable theft, he had written a letter to the Deputy Commissioner, seeking his help. The GM said the department, on an average, earns a revenue of about Rs 750 per telephone per month. The department loses revenue as long as the telephones remain dead. The department had complained each theft to the police and cases in different police stations were registered. |
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Knitwear industry wants tax
relief Ludhiana, June 22 Mr Sanjeev Gupta, president, Apparel Exporters Association of Ludhiana (APPEAL), says, ‘‘The marketing agents of the hosiery units have already left for different markets to book orders for the coming winter, but the initial response of the market is not, too, enthusiastic. The stocks of the last year has not been cleared. The retailers are also reluctant to give big orders for hosiery products as compared to shirts and jackets.’’ The industrialists are not only facing decrease in demand but are also facing problems in getting their payments for the material supplied to the dealers during the past one year. The retailers have complained that their stocks have not been cleared. Some of the industrialists are still expecting that the recession is temporary and the conditions will improve in the next few days. However, the big units have realised that this phase will continue for a long
period. They are trying to devise new strategies to beat the crisis that has hit them hard. Industry associations has presented a memorandum to Mr Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, Minister for Excise and Taxation, urging him to provide some tax relief as a measure to face the recession. One of the demands included to rationalise the tax structure on yarn by bringing it in line with the tax structure of other states. Mr Narinder Miglani, one of the industry representatives, says, ‘‘The tax on yarn should be reduced to 2 per cent from the present level of 4 per cent to bring it in consistency with other states. Due to the high rate of tax on yarn in Punjab, other states are enjoying undue advantage. The government can help by sanctioning the research and development (R&D) centre for the industry that we are demanding for a long period’’. It may be pointed out that the state government has also setup a committee to study the feasibility and the plan to set up the R&D centre for the hosiery sector. The committee will be headed by the Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Industry) and the other members would include the Principal Secretary, Industry and Commerce, the Director of Industries and Commerce, Punjab, the Director, Technical Education, the Managing Director, Punjab State Electronics Corporation, and the Managing Director, Knitwear Development Corporation. The industry sources feel that the setting up the R& D centre is a long-term measure, what they need at present is to set up an expert committee with industry participation to suggest specific measures. The government should provide one-year tax exemption for a year. The capital subsidies promised by the government at the time of starting of the units should be immediately released. The government has to pay about Rs 500 crore capital subsidy to all types of industrial units set up in the state in the backward regions and other areas demarcated. Due to lack of business, a few units have opted to shift to the Ladowal Industrial Complex, proposed by the state government. They say that though the state government has drastically reduced the rates of the industrial plots, but one of the reasons of their hesitation is that they have not the required cash. |
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AT THE CROSS ROADS The way of life and beyond The proper way of life is an enigma. Everybody has his own viewpoint and he lives accordingly. It is futile to advise somebody to adopt a particular path. Still there have been suggestions, which at times touch the chords of the human heart. Some persons know the art of living. Others find themselves adrift on a plank in the ocean of life. The destination is known but when, where and how are clouded in mystery. One cannot choose the time or the place or the manner of one’s departure from the stage of life. All this is perhaps preordained, else it is an interplay of coincidences. Lately there have been attempts at being intimate with death. Some days ago, Ishar Singh Sobti’s book ‘Kiven
Marnain” (How to die?) was released in a club of the city. There can be some sort of understanding with the inscrutable force that eclipses the sun. This is like embracing the other part of one’s being. It is a big step towards nothingness. It is a conscious resolve to abandon consciousness. The concept of the style of death is now uppermost in the human mind. If life can acquire a style, why can death not be stylish. To me it is the life that matters. To be alive and kicking is the expression of joy. The primary concern can only be purposeful living. It is a continuing and continuous process. Selfishness is a stage that ultimately gives way to selflessness. To rise above personal needs and establish contact with the otherness of one’s being creates a sense of belonging. This sense of belonging is, above all, the ultimate gain of life. Since death is a certainty, no amount of planning can alter its course. There should neither be retreat nor advance when one is face-to-face with it. Acceptance of death like a long lost friend is the only art that one can acquire during one’s life. This art ultimately makes one conscious of the artlessness of one’s existence. |
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Blame the rains for faulty phones Ludhiana, June 22 The telephone services were disrupted in the area falling under this exchange since yesterday afternoon. Either the lines remained perpetually engaged or there was the monotone “All lines of this route are busy, please try after some time”. This has affected business severely as most of the area falls in the commercial category. Till the filing of this report only a few telephone lines had been restored. While the fault in the Mata Rani Chowk telephone exchange was said to be due to overloading, the storm which lashed the city today also played havoc with the telephone services, giving a tough time to the technical staff of the BSNL. The worst-affected areas included Atam Nagar, Model Town, Civil Lines, Bhadaur House, Mata Rani Chowk, Model Town Extension and some parts of Gurdev Nagar, Sarabha Nagar and Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar. The areas falling in the periphery of the city were equally hit. The BSNL subscribers had a tough time as their phones remained ‘dead’. There was no dial tone in the phones but a repeated recorded message “sorry for interruption, only emergency services are available at present”. This continued for an entire day. At several places, while the people could receive calls, they were not able to make outgoing ones. Mr V.S.Srivastava, General Manager, Telecom, while talking to Ludhiana Tribune, said, “The problem has occurred due to overloading of the telephone lines since last evening, in the Mata Rani Exchange. We have been trying to rectify the problem. It will take only a few hours time now”. But till 4 p.m. in the afternoon, most of the telephones continued to remain out-of-order. |
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Hindi weekly tenders
apology Ludhiana, June 22 A meeting of the BVDS, presided over by Mr Vijay Danav here last evening took stock of the situation, arising from publication of the derogatory article, which had sparked off widespread protests by Valmiki youth in Punjab and elsewhere, with copies of the magazine being burnt as a mark of protest. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Danav observed that better sense had prevailed and the apology tendered by the weekly would serve to soothe the hurt feelings of the community. Sounding a note of warning, Mr Danav, however, cautioned the mass media, film-makers, playwrights and others to desist from making any such derogatory reference to the deities of the community, which could hurt the religious sentiments of the people and disturb communal harmony. The community, would not only seek legal redress, but would resort to ‘direct action’ to deal with the sacrilegious acts. Among others Mr Lakshman Dravid, Mr Ashok Shudra, Mr Ashwani Sahota, Mr Mohan Vir Chauhan, Mr Netaji, Mr Surinder Bheel, Mr Dev Raj Asur, Mr Surinder Bali, Mr Vikram Chauhan, Mr Vikki Sahota, Mr Vinod Eklavya, Mr Madan Lal Bhumbak, Mr Surinder Atwal and Mr Aman Chand Kandiara were present in the meeting. |
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Protest rally against PSEB officials Ludhiana, June 22 Speakers at the rally, including the district President, Mr Charan Singh Lohara, alleged that a family concern of the National President of Youth Wing, Mr Balwinder Singh Bains, was being targeted for harassment by the PSEB officials on various pretexts. Despite the fact that PSEB employees had manhandled the factory staff on May 19, the PSEB officials, had lodged two criminal complaints against the owners of the factory, charging them with theft of power. A deputation of party functionaries, comprising Mr Lohara, Mr Balwinder Singh Bains, Mr Parmod Doabia, Mr Parminder Singh, Mr Tarlok Singh and Mr Jaswant Singh Cheema later submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner demanding immediate withdrawal of false police cases and bringing the defaulting PSEB officers to book. |
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Lack of basic amenities
resented Ludhiana, June 22 Residents of a number of colonies like Ravidas Pura, Guru Arjun Dev Nagar and Harbanspura in ward No. 12 and 15 have been living in miserable condition due to inadequate water supply and in some areas poor quality of tap water, which is unfit for human consumption. According to Mr Hardeep Singh, a resident of Ravidas Pura and president of the Commonman Welfare Council-I, “The matter of poor water supply and tap water contaminated with sewer discharge has been brought to the notice of the area councillors and the MC officials, but to no effect so far.” At several occasions, water samples, taken from these localities have failed laboratory test. Some other area residents alleged that the concerned councillors, Dr Parshottam Lal and Mr Manjit Singh Mundi, were unresponsive to their pressing problems for the simple reason that most of the inhabitants in these colonies were from weaker sections, backward classes and Scheduled Castes who did not have any clout. The residents further charged the MC employees with adopting partisan attitude. Occasionally, water supply in the area was made by water tankers, but certain MC employees did not permit ordinary residents to take water from the tankers, which was served only to some of the selective households having proximity to the councillors. The condition of residents in a number of colonies in Jamalpur area in ward No. 14 is no better. Most of the localities do not have proper sewerage and water supply. Consequently people were forced to use contaminated ground water drawn through hand pumps. Many of the colonies like Sarpanch Colony, Partap Colony, Bachittar Nagar, Guru Nanak Colony, Harjap Colony, Beant Colony, National Colony and Jyoti Colony were in a state of utter neglect and devoid of any basic amenities. The Ward Vikas
Samiti, headed by Mr Prem Pandey, has called upon the civic body to initiate necessary steps to provide drinking water and proper sewerage facilities in these localities. The samiti has also demanded streetlight installation, repair of the main road and Kullianwal Road, improved sanitary conditions, healthcare facilities and parks in the area. |
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Swarn Shatabdi losing
charm Ludhiana, June 22 At the car parking the attendant did not let one get out without paying Rs 10. Said Dr Shadangi, who had come to receive her daughter, “Why should this train be late? On the board displayed outside, no information about the delay of the train is given. The people at the enquiry counter are quite rude. Since my husband and I are doctors, we thought we would return to our clinic, but the car park attendant wanted Rs 10. We told him that we would return. He rudely replied that then we would have to pay money again. But what is our fault? First we have to waste our time and then money. There should be some provision so that the people do not have to pay again in case the train is late.” Just before the train was to arrive, it was announced that the train would arrive at plarform 3 instead of 1. Everyone moved fast, with the result that a woman twisted her ankle. Another woman who was using a crutch, who had to board the train for Amritsar, was almost in tears as she found it very hard to negotiate the steps fast . Some good Samaritans almost lifted her and helped her board the train. She was visibly upset with the sudden announcement regarding change of platforms. Ms Radhika Gujral who travelled by the train, said the train had arrived at 4.20 pm from Chandigarh. She said, “Usually the doors of trains are closed, the train is cleaned and water is filled in toilet tanks. But as the train was late, barely had the passengers got down, that the travellers for Ludhiana pushed their way up . There was a lot of jostling and hot words were exchanged. It was a very unpleasant scene. There was no water in the toilets and the stench was unbearable. I fail to understand why such a prestigious train has to run late. After all, the ticket does burn a hole in the pocket.” Said Ms Surbhi Sharma, an entrepreneur, “The price cost of tickets has risen by almost 70 per cent. I am quite disillusioned with the facilities provided in the train. The quality of food is not maintained. We all feel that the Railways should be more bothered about the train running on time as one has commitments and on account of late running of trains, one misses the appointments and the whole visit is a waste. The proper sanitation and quality of food should be maintained.” |
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Villagers’ problems highlighted Fatehgarh Sahib, June 22 Mr Baldev Singh, sarpanch, Hussainpur, demanded the repair of the road from Sirhind to Chanarthal, which was in a bad shape. He also demanded that the regular presence of staff at the Chanarthal Hospital
should be ensured. Mr Raghbir Singh, sarpanch, pandrali village, alleged that some influential people of the village had encroached upon the gurdwara land and demanded that the encroachment should be immediately removed. He also demanded grant for the construction of drains, streets, boundary wall of the Harijan dharmshala and upgrading of the village school. |
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Delegation calls on nagar council
chief Samrala, June 22 The delegation also complained that many shopkeepers were charging a huge amount from the rehriwalas who stand in front of their shops. They wanted some charges to be recovered by the nagar council on account of the bazari fees as per municipal rules. The president of the nagar council assured the delegation that all their problems would be solved within four days. He issued instructions to the executive officer of the committee in this regard.
Khanna, June 22 According to sources, the gas probably leaked from a factory, though nothing could be establish with certainty. People living near the octroi post have demanded an enquiry into the leakage of gas. They have also demanded that the government should pay immediate attention towards the mills using ammonia and other dangerous gases, in order to avoid a major disaster in future. The Khanna police had neither taken any action nor informed senior officials about the incident till the filing of this report.
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Devotees take out procession Ludhiana, June 22 These idols were taken from Phagwara in a procession, in which about 60 industrialists from Ludhiana participated”.
There women kirtan jathas also participated during the journey. |
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Cop who aims to
be a singer Ludhiana, June 22 Satta came to his village on account of illness and with the help of his brother, joined the police. He got a chance to meet Parvez Khan, a descendant of Bhai Mardana. A fan of Ghulam Ali, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sardool Sikandar, Hans Raj Hans and Dinmad Akhtar, he aimed to be a good singer and was waiting for a break. |
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Tributes paid to
social worker Machhiwara, June 22 The ‘rasam pagri’ ceremony, held today in grain market, was attended by a large number of political leaders, singers and social workers.
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Fake DTO arrested Ludhiana, June 22 The police said the surprising part was that both had been into business for the past six to seven years. He said a person who had got a licence made from them approached the police suspecting the validity of the licence. The police later confirmed it from the District Transport Officer that it was fake. The police then raided the shop of the accused and arrested them. The accused have been identified as Kartar Singh, the fake DTO, and Narinder Singh. They used to charge Rs 1,000 for registration of a vehicle and Rs 150 for a licence. |
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One held for abetting suicide Samrala, June 22 The deceased allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance, yesterday. The wife of the deceased, Mrs Baljinder Kaur, in a complaint, submitted to the SSP Khanna had in the complaint, said that her husband had been compelled to commit suicide. |
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