 |
|
| Sunday, February
17, 2002,
Chandigarh, India
|
|
||||
|
Arrests fail to curb cricket betting Ludhiana, February 16 Earlier punters used to place bets according to their preferences for the teams. Now they place it according to the ability of the team to win a match. City punters put crores of rupees at stake during every cricket match. No matter which team plays against whom, they have their own calculations, and hence their own favourites. Even if the match is between India and Pakistan and Pakistan is the favourite, they will put their money on Pakistan and pray for the defeat of India. Only a few years back, they used to place money on India, as they used to be die-hard fans of Indian cricketers, even if it amounted to losing money. That is no longer the case now. Indians may continue to be their favourites, but when it comes to money, they will put it only for the team that is considered to be the favourite. That is how the punters put their money worth crores of rupees during matches. A punter recalled that he started placing bets on cricket matches only five years ago. “Like any other Indian, I would always place money for India and at times would lose. I would wonder as to how people would place bets for Pakistan even against India”, he said. Gradually nationalism seems to have given way to pure business, as betting has a daily turnover worth crores of rupees. Sources in betting circles revealed that while earlier it was only cricket fans who would place bets on the matches, now it seemed to have become full-time business. Hundreds of leading businessmen, with a huge annual turnover, do not mind placing a few petis (each amounting to Rs 1 lakh). A select few go even upto one khokha (which amounts to Rs 1 crore). There are a few people who put so much money at stake and it requires a lot of credibility and known paying capacity to get the stakes accepted. The betting business is operated from Mumbai and Delhi through local agents. It is there where the rates are settled at the opening of the match. During the course of the match, the rates keep on fluctuating, depending on which side is performing better at what stage. At the end of the day, a punter ends up investing at least Rs 20 lakh for a single match. |
|
Poll staff await postal ballot Ludhiana, February 16 Hoping against hope, a number of such persons, waiting for the ballots while talking to the Ludhiana Tribune, urged the commission and district election officers to arrange for the supply of ballots to them as under the norms they could cast their vote by post till February 24. Several of them have been waiting for weeks for the ballot papers even after they had formally applied for the same through specific forms provided by the Election Commission. A teacher with Punjab Agriculture University, wishing not be quoted said it had happened for the first time that they had not received the papers, despite a
formal request. ‘‘Normally, we get the papers in advance or on the day of polling, but this time none of this happened,’’ he said questioning the motive behind the lapse. The teacher said it was ironic that on the one hand political
analysts were unhappy at the relatively low turnout of voters, and on the other hand thousands like him who wanted to vote had been denied the same. A police Inspector in the city had a similar grievance to his utter dismay the after the polling day he learnt that someone had already cast his vote. He said he would complain to the Election Commission. District Returning Officer and Deputy Commissioner said he was unaware of the problem. He said he had not received any complaint in this regard, but assured to “check up and do whatever was possible” under the rules. The issue of non-supply of postal ballots is emerging as a major issue confronting the Election Commission, which is already facing the music for its inability to check “arbitrary” deleting of names from the voting lists. |
|
Yet another child abuse case Ludhiana, February 16 However, this time the Sarabha Nagar police has acted swiftly and arrested the accused Anil, an 18-year-old youth, who was known to the family of the victim and often frequented their house. The condition of the boy has improved. Yesterday, it was stated to be serious. The shocking incident took place last evening. Rajesh Kumar, a migrant labourer, resident of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, lived there with his family. His friend Anil Kumar lived near their house and took the younger son of Rajesh Kumar to his house. However, when the child did not return after some time, the child’s parents got anxious and went to the accused’s house. According to the statement given to the police by the child’s father, he received the shock of his life when he went to the accused’s house and saw him committing the unnatural act. The child’s mouth was gagged. When the father raised an alarm Anil pushed him aside and ran away. Rajesh informed the police and he, along with his other
neighbours, took the badly bleeding boy to a city hospital, where he was treated. The condition of the boy was stable now but he was in a state of shock. Later, raiding parties of the Sarabha Nagar police succeeded in tracking the accused and arrested him. He has been booked under Section 377, IPC. The doctors conducting a medical examination of the victim, have confirmed the sodomy charge. The accused would be presented in a district court tomorrow. |
|
Nisha becomes local celebrity Raikot (Ludhiana), February 16 Denying reports doing the rounds that some officials from the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) and the district administration had threatened the girl’s father, Varinder Kaura, a junior engineer with the PSEB, Nisha and her father told Ludhiana Tribune that some friends had “cautioned” them but not “threatened” them. The courageous father-daughter duo, asserted they had indeed complained to the state Lok Pal regarding the alleged irregularities conducted in the selection of JBT and B.Ed teachers by the Punjab Government. This correspondent met the family a couple of days ago while covering polling in Raikot. “The girl took a very bold step”, said a local journalist. He said thousands of youth had applied for the post, but due to alleged corruption those with less marks had got the job. “All of them sat back, but Nisha raised her voice.” After passing B.Ed scoring high percentage, she was confident of getting a job. She topped the M.Sc examination in Chemistry from Panjab
University. But to her utter shock, when she applied for a teacher’s job, several persons with less marks were
appointed, whereas she was denied the same. |
|
Club may repeal ‘irksome’ clause Ludhiana, February 16 Sources said that there was a consensus among the members on this issue and the final decision was likely to be taken within a few days. The Satluj Club is one of the premier clubs of Ludhiana with about 3000 members. |
Vanishing tribe of iron vessel fixers Ludhiana, February 16 Earlier when plastic buckets and steel utensils were not in much use, most of the householders used iron buckets and iron ‘karahis and pans’ for cooking. Iron was used as the people felt that using iron in the vessels would provide the necessary iron needed in the body. Plastic buckets were frowned upon and when they made their appearance, they were used only by the urbanites. The
ruralites still prefer to use iron buckets for their own personal purposes like bathing and washing clothes. The buckets are also used in their dairies to feed water to the cattle and iron troughs for storing water for cattle. Constant use of water reacting with iron rusts the base of the buckets, which then becomes useless. It is a sheer wastage of otherwise good and solid iron bucket but in this case, members of nomadic tribe belonging to the Maharana Pratap’s lineage (or so they claim) come handy, who have adopted the profession of cutting iron bottoms from iron pieces that they pick up from roadside. Using primitive ways which their forefathers have been using for centuries, Maru too, uses logs of wood, again collected from roadside, and lights them. With the help of this rustic furnace, he cuts the iron and shapes it to the size of the diameter of the bucket and with his skill fixes the bottom to the otherwise a good but useless bucket and the bucket can be used again. The customer is happy and the nomads are able to earn their livelihood and subsist on their meagre income. Maru and his other tribesmen had camped at Pakhowal
village. They carry their worldly belongings in a beautifully carved iron and
woodcart. Since they claim to belong to Rana Pratap’s tribe they have sworn to remain nomads as Maharana Pratap had to lead a nomadic life. He had taken a vow that unless he defeated
Akbar, he would continue to live out in the open. They follow his dictum. The nomadic women dressed in colourful clothes, make the rounds of the villages selling iron tongs, ‘chimtas’, pokers etc. At the same time they collect the vessels to be fixed. The menfolk do the repair and womenfolk return the finished product and with the money earned they buy their meals. They exist from hand to mouth as the villagers are also switching over to plastic buckets. The women cook in the open fire under the sky. The children of all ages and sizes, roll in the mud or pick up little quarrels. Education has bypassed them. Nothing seemed to have changed for them. Ludhiana Tribune spoke to these nomads. The leader said that no government had bothered about them. He said, “We have no facilities for education or medical facilities. We fall sick and try our home-made remedies. If the patient is lucky, he/ she survives. We cremate our dead and move on. The children get borne on the way. Some die in the child-birth whereas few others survive. We take it as ‘will of God’ but in reality the mother and children die due to lack of medical care and malnutrition. Our lives are just the same as of our forefathers only the circumstances to survive are more difficult for us. We can no longer camp in the city as there is no place for us to set up our camps and no business. We have to go to the villages. The villagers have not much capacity to pay. The money we earn is not even enough for a decent living. No one bothers even if we are wiped from the face of earth. Unless the government comes to our aid, we will become extinct,” he adds sadly. |
|
Daggers drawn on DYC presidentship Ludhiana, February 16 Mr Mehta claimed that the order of the appointment of Mr Pawan Dewan as the DYC President had been issued without prior approval and it had been cancelled by the Permanent Secretary in the Indian Youth Congress, Mr Nitin Sharma. On the other hand, Mr Dewan, who had been appointed President of the District Youth Congress only a few days before the elections, claimed that Mr Sharma had not been properly informed about the decision. He claimed that there was some communication gap which was being removed. Mr Dewan and Mr Mehta had been bitter rivals, with both having remained claimants to the DYC President’s post. Mr Mehta had been appointed President of the DYC reportedly at the behest of a senior Congress leader, Mr Arjun Singh, in 2000. Mr Dewan had been removed unceremoniously at that time. |
|
Atwal pooh-poohs
poll surveys Machhiwara, February 16 Mr Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, party candidate from Koomkalan, also expressed his gratitude. Others who addressed included Mr Ujagar Singh, Mr Sushil Luthra (both councillors), Mr Gurcharan Singh Mitheral, Chairman Market Committee, Machhiwara, Mr Pritam Singh Makkar, former sarpanch Gurdial Singh Kotala, youth leader Kulwinder Singh Bhatti, Mr Santa Singh Umaidpuri, Chairman, Market Committee, Sahnewal, Mr Harjit Singh Sherian, circle jathedar, Machhiwara, and Baba Jagroop Singh, circle jathedar, Sahnewal. |
|
Lakshmi eludes Saraswati sculptors Ludhiana, February 16 The trio from Jodhpur have sculpted masterpieces out of plaster of Paris. Size is of no problem to them. The idols are two-and-a-half feet to six-and-a-half feet in size. Had these idols been placed in a swanky showroom, these would have come with a big price tag. These artisans live on Ferozepore Road and create these idols on the roads. These are moderately priced, starting from Rs 250. The three have been working against time to get the idols ready as these are taken by various temples for ‘Saraswati Vandana’. Idols of goddess Saraswati have to be immersed in water on the next day of Basant. Mohan says, “We think it is a divine and privileged job to create the idols. We do it with great regard and reverence, but when we think that our work of art will be immersed in water, we feel depressed. Whatever cannot be cured has to be endured. It is not easy to play with wet plaster of Paris in the cold winds, yet we do it cheerfully as we think we are the ‘chosen ones’. My wife paints the idols, and my son helps me in moulding and smoothening these before painting.” He adds, “These days our traditional festivals are being forgotten and western celebrations like Valentine’s Day are gaining importance. Youngsters as well as the elderly used to buy different types of kites in dozens. Kite competitions were keen. The sky of the old city was full of kites. Drums used to be beaten to show happiness when some kite was cut. There was an air of excitement. It used to begin a week earlier. Now youngsters think kite flying is passe. A dyer, Sidhuram feels that hardly anyone bothers to get their clothes dyed in ‘Basanti colour’. “Earlier everyone was more enthusiastic about wearing yellow ensembles. Now for most of the people it is just like any other day. People used to make yellow-coloured sweet rice on the festival. Gradually all rituals attached with this beautiful spring festival are fading away,” he states. |
|
Moving house, no movers Ludhiana, February 16 They hired the services of a ‘professional firm from Chandigarh. Ashish said, “Since my company was paying for it, we tried to find a company of professional movers and packers, but to our surprise, there was not even one such firm in Ludhiana. The packers came and brought everything required for packing. They had a carpenter and an electrician and the only thing we had to do was to make the inventory of our belongings. The job was over in two days”. Nishu said, “We just drove down with our two suitcases. We feel it has helped us a lot. When we heard of our transfer orders, we were very nervous about packing, but professional packers really solved our headache”. Many persons Ludhiana Tribune spoke to said that they would prefer to have the services of professionals when shifting in case of a transfer. |
Three arrested on theft charge Ludhiana, February 16 Eve-teasers beat couple Mr Raj Kumar (25), a resident of Tajpur Road, and his wife were beaten by some eve-teasers who first teased the wife on Thursday and later beat both of them when her husband accosted them and asked for an
explanation. The injured woman has been admitted to the Civil Hospital. According to a report lodged with the police by Mr Raj Kumar, his wife was returning home after a visit to her brother’s house at around 8 pm. on Thursday when some youths of the locality misbehaved with her. She told him about the eve-teasers on reaching home but when he wanted to seek an explanation from the youths both husband and wife were beaten up by the hooligans who even followed them to the Civil Hospital. But following intervention by certain people at the hospital, the hooligans escaped leaving behind a scooter which was handed over to the police.
Beaten up The division number two police has registered a case of beating on a complaint of Mr Raju, a resident of Amarpura mohalla, against Pandit, Dara, Dhammu Sodhi and Raju. According to the complainant, the accused beat him up and threatened him before escaping. The division number five police has registered a similar case under Sections 341, 323 and 34 of the IPC on a complaint of Mr Lakshman Singh, a resident of Dhulkot village, against Varinder Pal Singh and Sardar Singh, both residents of Model Town . The complainant had alleged that both the accused beat him up and injured him before escaping.
Arrested The Jodhewal police on Thursday arrested Neeraj Kumar, a resident of Kashmir Nagar mohalla, and booked him under Section 279 of the IPC. The accused was driving his motor cycle in a rash manner while it did not bear any registration number plate.
DORAHA Killed A tractor-trolley driver died on the spot when the trolley was hit by a truck at the Doraha flyover early morning. He was identified as Maghar Singh of Bhammaddi village. While crossing the Doraha flyover, his trolley was hit by a truck coming from the rear. The truck driver fled in the truck from the spot. A case was registered at the Payal police station on the statement of Gurmeet Singh of Bhammaddi village.
Attacked A man was reportedly attacked, as a result of which he was injured and hospitalised. Mr Jagan Singh of Rorian village, on whose complaint the FIR was lodged at the local police station, was
reportedly attacked by Jagdish Singh and Paramvir Singh of the same village with sharp weapons. He was later admitted to a hospital at Maloud. A case was registered.
Injured A man was injured over the issue of an outlet from their fields. Mr Nirmal Singh of Lehal village complained that Bhinder Singh, Ajmer Singh, Baldev Singh and Harbans Singh attacked him with sharp weapons and injured him, following which he was hospitalised at Maloud. A case was registered.
One hurt A scooterist was reportedly injured at Sahnewal when he was hit by a car yesterday. Mr Ramandeep Singh Dugri was reported to be injured by a car (PB 10 W-8260). The car driver absconded. A case was registered against him. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
