The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

MC POLL
First-time voters show great enthusiasm
Kanchan Vasdev
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 19
It was a mixed experience for those who turned up primming with enthusiasm to vote for the first time at the various polling booths of the city.

These youngsters, most barely 18, voiced various views about the entire polling process in the country. While many of them were all praise for the model code of conduct and the democratic way of electioneering, some of them were cynical about the way democracy suffered at the hands of certain vested interests. The day started on a bad note for some who were not allowed to vote due to one reason or the another.

Suresh Kondal, a youth from New Chandar Nagar, who was casting his vote for the first time, said that he was quite enthusiastic as he was also being considered as a responsible person whose opinion mattered in selecting the right candidates.

He was happy that this time some well-educated candidates were in the fray which meant that the politics was no more left to the ruffians. Calling it a good trend he said such people should be encouraged, as they would help in steering the nation in the right direction.

Sonia Verma said that it was a great feeling voting to choose representatives of the people. “I will vote for the candidate who is really concerned for the commoners and their problems. Moreover I am going for the candidate who I think is fighting for certain issues that are rocking the nation.”

In her opinion, every single vote makes a difference, and all of us must use this constitutional right.

Ravi Chauhan said that the youngsters must surely vote as it is the new generation who are going to do any good to the country. He said this generation should understand its responsibility and vow to choose only those candidates who were deserving. All young voters that he knew of were voting on the basis of the performance of the candidate and he expressed satisfaction over the fact.

Similar views were aired by Pooja, a young girl from Pritam Nagar, who said that voting for a particular candidate was her decision, and was not carried away by any ‘gimmicks’ as far as casting her vote was concerned. Stating that the successive governments after freedom had disappointed people, she said, “I hope from now onwards there would be a change in scenario. This time I am seeing that people of the city are not voting at least on the basis of religion, which they had been doing for years. I think this is a change for the positive.”

Poonam Rana, a resident of PAU, who was included in the voter’s list for the first time too, said that she did not use her right to franchise because she was disillusioned with the voting system as well as politicians. She said that she never saw any of the candidates during the past many years, but when it was a time to seek votes they used to make a beeline for the voters’ houses.

Poll staff rue unavailability of postal ballots
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 19
Thousands of police personnel, hundreds of teachers and other government employees who were on poll duty here today in the city are sore with the District Election officers for not providing them postal ballots to cast their votes.

Hoping against hope, a number of such persons, waiting for the ballots have urged the State Election Commission and the District Election officers to supply ballots to them as under norms they are entitled to cast their votes by post.

However, they don’t have much hope of getting a chance to cast their votes as several of them had not got ballot papers even after formally applying for these through specific forms provided by the Election Commission.

A faculty member of a local college said it was for the first time that they had not received ballot papers despite making a formal request. ‘‘Normally, we get papers in advance or on the day of polling itself, but this time this has not happened ’’, he said. It was ironic that on the one hand political analysts were unhappy over the relatively low turnout of voters and on the other hand thousands of people like him had been denied their right, he said.

A police Inspector in the city had a similar grievance. He said he wanted to vote and was waiting for the ballot paper, but to no avail. To his dismay, he learnt after the poll duty that someone had already cast his vote. He said he would complain about it to the Election Commission.

The cases of these two officials epitomise the sentiments of several of their colleagues, who have been denied the voting rights similarly.

The issue of non-supply of postal ballots is emerging as a major issue confronting the District Election officers, who were already facing criticism for their inability to check the alleged arbitrary deletion of names of many persons from voter lists.

NGOs to the aid of AIDS victims
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 19
Gyano (name changed), a 26-year-old woman and mother of two children, developed weakness, night sweats, proneness to infections and lost weight rapidly. On diagnosis, it was found she was HIV positive. Her husband, a truck driver, had taken a tour via Rajasthan and Gujarat to Mumbai. She discovered later that her husband had earlier died of AIDS. Without a social support system, any skills to support her two small kids and herself, Gyano was living in a penurious state till some NGO took her in. Gyano and many others like her in the age group of 20 to 30 years, infected with AIDS are being looked after by various NGOs. But the scene is from Delhi.

In Punjab, AIDS awareness is negligible and the AIDS’ patients do not due to social taboo come out in the open. A five-member team comprising doctors and volunteers of Aas Kiran, a leading de-addiction centre in Ludhiana, discovered during their visit to the National Institute of Social Defence, Ministry of Social Justice and Emprovement, Government of India, learnt that of the total 40 million persons suffering from AIDS, every tenth is an Indian. Which means 4 million cases of AIDS are listed officially. The first case of AIDS was discovered in Tamil Nadu in 1986. Though AIDS rampant in Punjab, the Punjab government sadly refuses to acknowledge the problem.

The team discovered that NGOs in Delhi were more actively involved, and better informed for sensitising people towards the steps to be taken for the prevention of the disease. Moreover, patients are told that AIDS is not the end of life. With care, AIDS patients have lived up to 20 years after contracting the disease. They are also told of their rights at work places.

The five-member team of Aas Kiran that visited Delhi comprised Sarabjit Singh, Director, Social and Health Directorate, Dr Deepinder Singh, Medical Officer, Jasbir Singh, Project Director, Rawail Singh, senior counsellor, and Navdeep Singh, AIDS worker. Jasbir Singh said the task of spreading AIDS awareness is daunting but the basic thing is to involve as many agencies as possible in the prevention of AIDS by educating them about it. The steps to be taken are motivating the members of NGOs to attend courses of five days to one-month duration at the Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses —Regional Resource Training Centre, to set up voluntary camps to educate people to develop harmonious relationships within the family so that the male does not, go out for outside sex, safer sex, use of condoms, injectable drug users to be weaned away from drugs, and preventing vertical transmission i.e when the disease passes from mother to the child. The problem arises during delivery when due to intermingling of the mother’s and child’s blood, the child contracts AIDS too. More care to be taken during delivery as one in five women die due to pregnancy-related complications and counselling to AIDS patients before and after tests is essential. Making the patient realised that though he has AIDS, he still can improve his quality of life and making him aware of his rights at work places, also goes a long way in improving his self-esteem.

Dr Deepinder says a UN AIDS team had visited Punjab recently. They have identified groups susceptible to AIDS. Those vulnerable are truck drivers, young people who are on injectable drugs and sex workers. Aas Kiran held meetings with Truck Unions at Transport Nagar along with UN workers.

They were keen for the societies to set up clinics for VD (Venereal Diseases and Sexually Transmitted Diseases) in that area. Some of the truck drivers said that their nature of work offers them no comforts, no proper rest periods and when sex workers beckon them on highways they succumbed to temptation. Quacks in Transport Nagar too, were fleecing sick drivers, diagnosing a VD or STD as AIDS.

The UN aid Workers also briefed 9 NGOs doing de-addiction counselling to also counsel them about how to educate masses about AIDS prevention. Aas Kiran through its summer camps is to provide sex education to both girls and boys since rising. Teenage pregnancies are a cause of concern. Those with the institute feel government and others media, schools, colleges, and all NGOs should work on a war footing to eradicate AIDS, else a time could come when the young population between their 20’s and 40’s would be wiped away as had been happening in some African countries.

Fake Vigilance Inspector arrested
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 19
Alert residents of Mullanpur Dakha last evening thwarted an attempt by a trickster who sought to cash in on the ongoing vigilance activism in the state by posing as a Vigilance Inspector. The accused, who is now cooling his heels in police custody, even tried to influence the Jagraon police by falsely claiming that he was an OSD of political leader Balwant Singh Ramoowalia.

His assumed identity was easily exposed once he was questioned by the police. He was identified as Charanjit Singh, a tenant of house number 63 at Barrewal village, situated just outside the municipal limit of this city.

Mr Balkar Singh Sandhu, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jagraon, told Ludhiana Tribune that the accused had been booked under sections 170, 211, 06, 420 and 511 of the IPC.

According to the FIR, the accused went to the office of the manager of Deol Road Carrier Private Limited. in Mullanpur Dakha at about 10 p.m. five days ago, claiming he was a vigilance inspector and had come to inquire about the financial deals and assets of the company. He said this to a security guard of the company when no other worker of the company was present at the office at such a late hour. The guard grew suspicious and refused to open the office. The “Vigilance Inspector” went away, saying he will return with a police party. He, however, did not come back.

Yesterday, the accused again came to the office and demanded money by saying that he was a Vigilance Inspector and would book them in a criminal case. The owners, who had been briefed about his earlier visit, were already suspicious and called the police. The “Inspector” was meanwhile seated comfortably in the office of the transport company and was served drinks and snacks.

A police party from the Mullanpur police station caught him in the office and demanded his identity card. The accused’s failure to produce it or give convincing answers to the questions of the real cops soon exposed him.

Not willing to give up, the accused, even after being exposed, dared the cops to arrest him. He said he was an officer on special duty with Mr Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, president, Lok Bhalai Party. However, police inquiries again proved that the man was trying to make a fool of them.

Mr Balkar Singh Sandhu said that the accused, besides demanding money, even sought a watch for a personal assistant of the political leader.

MP raises bicycle excise duty issue
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 19
Senior BJP leader and member of Rajya Sabha, Lala Lajpat Rai, has taken up the issue of exemption of central excise duty on cycle and cycle parts with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha.

While the government has withdrawn the duty on cycle parts, the duty continues to be levied on assembled bicycles. Mr Rai has been arguing that the decision would create confusion, since manufacturers usually supply bicycles in parts and these are assembled at the dealers level. So the benefit of exemption may go to the manufacturers only.

In a written communication duly acknowledged by the PM, Mr Rai, while thanking him for his intervention in getting the cycle parts, tyres and tubes exempted from excise duty, sought that assembled bicycles may also be exempted from the same.

Mr Rai pointed out that manufacturers never supplied assembled bicycles. These were assembled at the dealers level for sale. He said, this is likely to create problems in determining levying of excise duty, as for all practical purposes, the manufacturers will never show that they have supplied a bicycle, but will declare only the parts.

He apprehended that besides creating problems at the administrative level, the dual policy may have a negative fallout on the image of the government as the decision may be labelled anti-poor, since bicycles and cycle-rickshaws are used by the poor. Cycle-rickshaws especially, are the source of livelihood for millions of people in the country.

2-yr-old killed by dogs
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 19
In a shocking incident, a badly-mutilated body of a two-year-old girl, who had been missing since yesterday and suspected to be eaten up by dogs, was found partially buried under sand in a vacant plot in Makkar Colony today evening.

The post-mortem examination of the body would be conducted tomorrow but the Civil Hospital doctors and police sources said the condition of the body suggested that the victim had been killed and eaten up by dogs. The body bore scratch and bite marks of nails and teeth of animals.

A pall of gloom has meanwhile descended on the Makkar Colony where the victim lived. Her father, Bhavani Prashad Mishra, was employed with a soft drink factory in Krishna Nagar. He had one son and three daughters.

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, the father said the deceased girl, Antim, was the youngest of all children. He said she had gone missing last evening and all their efforts to find her had borne no fruit.

They had lodged a complaint with a local police station fearing someone had kidnapped her, as the child could barely walk and used to crawl.

Towing truck with teeth
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 19
Rajvinder Dhaliwal, a 27-year-old man, has every reason to be proud of the strength of his teeth. He can pull a truck with his teeth. No mean feat this.

Thousands saw him doing this feat at the Rural Olympics at Raikot. The then Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal had awarded him, and had promised him a job. But nothing materialised.

His next aim is to pull railway engine or an aeroplane with his teeth. “When I was nine, I could lift two water-filled buckets with my teeth. I clean my teeth the way our ancestors used to do — by chewing on a ‘neem datun’. I take exercise for one hour daily. I am unemployed, but yet I have a strong urge to do something unparalleled to enhance the glory of my country. I am a vegetarian, hence I take a plenty of milk and curd.”

Rajvinder won the first prize by pulling a Gypsy with his teeth in Faridkot. He is a also a good football player. In athletics too, he has been a champion at district level.

City trader booked for fraud
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 19
The Division No. 2 police has booked a leading city trader and financier on charges of fraud, cheating and criminal intimidation. A case was registered against V.K. Ohri of Tagore Nagar on Friday on the complaint of Mr Sushil Kumar of Mandi Ahmedgarh.

According to the police, Ohri has been booked under Sections 406, 428, 452, 341 and 506 of the IPC. The complainant alleged that the accused owed him Rs 20 lakh. Whenever he asked him to pay the money, the accused allegedly threatened him.

The complainant alleged that on May 16 the accused along with two others with some weapons followed him to his sister’s residence and threatened him against demanding the money.

Taking note of the complaint, the police has registered the case.