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October 26, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
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SGPC poll ‘undemocratic’ Ludhiana, October 25 The Akali leadership had created an avoidable controversy of ‘Amritdhari’ vs ‘Sehajdhari’ just to avoid the general elections and to maintain their religious tender with the result that the issue of elections of a new general house wa pushed to the bak burner. Dr Ranu said the Akali leadership was taking undue advantage of Section 51 of the Sikh Gurdwara Act 1925 which provided for a term of five years for members from the date of the constitution of the house. However the provision further allowed the members to continue till the new house was constituted. The SSF president alleged that the functionaries of different Akali groups were enjoying the control on their posts even after the expiry of their terms solely due to overt and covert support of the Union Government. “Rather than holding fresh general elections of the SGPC, which are due since last year, the elections for the post of president and members of executive
committee are being held in blatant violations of the relevant provisions of the law because the term of existing members having expired, they have no locus standi to vote and elect
office-bearers for another term.” Dr Ranu further remarked that the hue and cry by the Akali leadership
regarding political interference in the religious matters was quite astonishing and infact misleading as they had realised the fact only after being thrown out of power. Was the ‘slip system’ for electing the office-bearers of the SGPC adopted by the same Akali leaders in the past religious or democratic, he asked. He said by making wild and baseless accusations, the Akali leadership was trying to create confusion among the masses. Ridiculing the demand by Akali leaders to keep politics away from religion, Dr Ranu maintained that during the regime of SAD, violation of hukamnamas (edicts) and change of Akal Takht Jathedars at will had become a routine rather than an exception. “Orders in defiance of Akal Takht edicts were issued by the then Akali rulers while sitting in government rest houses and elections to the post of SGPC president were held on the basis of ‘slip’ issued by the then Chief Minister” The SSF president said his party believed that it was the Akalis themselves who first resorted to political interference in the religious affairs and now that the shoe was on the other foot, they were blaming the present government for meddling with the Sikh religious affairs which was nothing else but a result of frustration and fear of losing the battle. He urged the union government to order fresh general elections of the SGPC and not to become a party to continuation of the present general house, which has exhausted its term since last year. It would be unfair on the part of the government to send observers for the undemocratic presidential poll. He further demanded that those involved in criminal activities and facing charges of murder of their daughters should be kept away from gurdwara politics through legislative measures. |
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Land fraud unearthed Ludhiana, October 25 The development comes close on the heels of the arrest of Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, a former minister and MLA, whose name was being associated with some land-grabbers. An inquiry conducted by SDM Bhawna Garg unveiled the conspiracy hatched by Phula Singh to grab about 320 square yards of government land situated in Mahal Killa in connivance with officials of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation. Phula Singh claimed to be an allottee of this land through the Wakf Board in 1986 and then procured a TS-1 certificate regarding his possession from officials of the municipal corporation. Then he moved the civil court against the corporation, without making the state government, the actual owner of the property, a party. After the inquiry, the fraud was unearthed and on the basis of the opinion of the District Attorney, the SSP has been asked to lodge an FIR against the accused under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468 and 120-B of the IPC and also to arrest the accused. Sources revealed that Phula Singh was just one link in the case who allegedly grabbed a piece of prime land at the behest of certain influential persons. |
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Durga to promote classical music Ludhiana, October 25 The dusky beauty from Mumbai said music was in her blood. “My mother is the daughter of V. Shantaram and father is a classical singer. I can also sing pretty well but now I am totally dedicated to my music company- Art and Artist which has been launched to promote good music”, said Durga. Durga complained that unfortunately there was no magazine or music channel, which promoted classical style of singing. “The young generation is not aware of this style, something interesting should be done so that they start enjoy listening to good Indian traditional music. Music should be presented with decent visuals so that the interest in young blood is automatically generated”, suggested Durga. Durga is also the Editorial Consultant to the music magazine ‘Rave’, that talks of music and culture. “I want to do every possible effort to promote our culture and traditions. We have also directed 26 special episodes of Utsav, a programme dedicated to Indian music, for Star Plus. The star anchors of these episodes will be Pandit Jasraj, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia and Ustad Zakir Hussain. The episodes will be telecast in near future”, said Durga Jasraj. “These episodes have been picturised in such a manner that people from all walks of life will like them”, claimed Durga. Though Durga is very attached to her mother, who gets upset when Durga does something that her mother doesn’t like, but she shares a close bond with her father. “Of course, I fight a lot with my father but we understand each other very well”, maintained Durga. A lot of film offers have been given to Durga but she has politely declined them. In free times, Durga likes to watch cricket, lawn tennis and other good sports. She likes to eat Punjabi and different kinds of food. About her marriage plans, she
said, "Marriage can not be planned, it just happens. Till the time I get a person of my choice, I will not marry and I am happy with the life I am leading”. |
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Strange
ways of education board! Ludhiana, October 25 Rajiv Kumar son of Ram
While he was studying in the next class, to his utter shock and surprise he received a letter from the board on September 11 that he had failed in one of the subjects and he was supposed to reappear in that subject, for which the exam was to be conducted the same month. First he tried to argue it out with the officials concerned, trying to convince them that he had already cleared the exams as was certified by the marksheet. Then he pointed out that it was difficult for him to appear for the exam in the same month as only a few days had been left for the exam. Even those protests failed. Left with no option, he ultimately decided to fill up the form with the late fees under the registration number 184033. After a lot of hard work, he went to appear in the examination. But again to his shock he did not find his name in the examination centre. Some other name had been mentioned against his registration number and he could not appear in the exam. Rajiv Kumar said, he tried to meet many board officials trying to convince them about the “injustice” meted out to him by the board. “First I was made to file the form for the compartment, although I had already been declared pass in the marksheet, and when I got myself prepared for the reappear exam after a lot of hard work, I could not appear for the exam”, he protested, while asking, “who should be blamed...I am being punished for no fault of mine”. Rajiv Kumar also showed the photo copies of the marksheet, registration number and the list of the candidates for the examination centre without his name to The Tribune. “I feel desperate and helpless,” he regretted. |
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4 hurt in
roof collapse Ludhiana, October 25 According to one of the injured, five of them were sleeping in the rented accommodation
when the roof came crashing down. While four of them were injured, one escaped unhurt. The injured — Kuldeep Singh, Ujinder Singh, Narain Singh and Dhiraj Singh — were taken to the Civil Hospital. They are stated to be out of danger. Two of the injured had come from New Delhi yesterday. Residents of the area said the house was quite old and needed repairs. They said the dilapidated house also posed danger to those living nearby and passers-by also. |
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YC men burn Togadia’s effigy Ludhiana, October 25 The Congress activists took out a procession, which started from the Congress office and concluded in a protest rally at the Clock Tower. A resolution was moved by the Dakha MLA, Mr Milkiat Singh Dakha, condemning Mr Togadia’s remarks and demanding his arrest. The protesters were shouting slogans against the VHP leader and demanding his arrest. They alleged that the VHP leaders like Mr Togadia, were spreading communal venom in the country and provoking people to react. Addressing the rally, Mr Pawan Dewan claimed that Ms Sonia Gandhi had been accepted by the people of the country as their leader. He pointed out, under her leadership the Congress had stormed to power in 14 states and was definitely going to rule at the Centre. Seeing the writing on the wall and frustrated over the popularity of Ms Gandhi, the VHP leaders had started a malicious campaign against her, which will not be tolerated by the secular people of the country. Mr Bawa warned the National Democratic Alliance government at the centre, to rein in people like Mr Togadia, who were trying to fan the communal fire in the country. |
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A cold
drink with ‘telling’ effects Ludhiana, October 25 The sealed bottle of the cold drink, which an agitated Mr Sood brought to the office of Ludhiana Tribune here, contained a large chunk of foreign matter, which looked like a lump of fungus or a dead insect and also had some ants, clinging to it. The foreign matter, almost one-and-a-half-inch in length, floating in the bottle, was easily visible to the naked eye as the bottle was held against light. According to Mr Sood, he had purchased the bottle of cold drink, which bore the date of packing as 31-3-2002 from a shop near his office in the Old District Courts here on September 27. As he was about to open the bottle to pour the soft drink in a glass, the floating lump of foreign matter caught his eye and he did not open the bottle. “Had I opened the bottle and consumed the contaminated soft drink without having a look, as happens in routine, I might have been in deep trouble”. While the written complaints, addressed both to the bottling company and the district health officials a couple of days back, failed to elicit any positive response so far, Mr Sood had served a legal notice on the bottling company, charging them with negligence, deficient service and working in unhygienic conditions. Raising a demand for compensation of Rs 1 lakh upon the company, he said he would take the matter to its logical conclusion.
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Public fairs, mandis in rural areas Ludhiana, October 25 This was revealed by Mr P. Ram, secretary of the department, after inspecting the newly stated mid-day meal for students of primary schools at Government Primary School, Ayali Kalan, today. He stressed upon the need to generate more employment opportunities for unemployed youth and to encourage them to bring their produce to these public fairs and mandis and sell it to the customers directly. This way they will learn handsome without involving profits. Referring to the newly started Sarb Sikhiya Abhiyan and the mid-day meal programme in the state, Mr Ram informed that the village level Education Development Committees
(EDC) consisting of representatives from the village panchayat, ex-servicemen, women and other sections of society, would shoulder the responsibility for all developmental works relating to the village schools, including construction of rooms, purchase of furniture and handling of the mid-day meal programme. He said all grants sanctioned by the government would be handed over these committees directly to ensure optimum utilisation. Mr Ram informed that the mid-day meal scheme had been started in one block of each district as a test case for 50 days and after the success of programme, it would be extended to the other blocks. He exhorted the members of the village education development committees to properly handle the mid-day meal programme and provide fully nutritious meal to the students. Later, he also visited government schools in Bains, Detwal and Ghaur villages and discussed the progress of scheme with the members of the committees. Mr Anurag Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner, informed that in all 61 government primary schools of Ludhiana-I, more than 10, 000 students would be provided with cooked food at a cost of Rs 3.50 per student daily and to ensure the proper utilisation of the funds under this scheme. Representatives from the village have been inducted into each
EDC. These included the head teacher, two panchayat members, two members of parent teachers association, one ex-servicemen, a retired teacher and a philanthropist. He said these committees would be entrusted with the entire amount and they would arrange, at local level, the preparation of the food from 15 items suggested by nutrition experts — paushtik ahar, paustik ladoos, panjeeri, nutritious pulao, moong dal khichri, olan rice, dal soyabean khichri, halwa to the children studying in government primary schools, so the students could be motivated for regular attendance besides getting a balanced and nutritious diet. |
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Defacement
of property continues unabated Ludhiana, October 25 Although the administration had taken action against certain violators for pasting posters on martyrs’ statues in Bharat Nagar Chowk last year and got them cleaned, many statues in the city are again defaced with the posters carrying advertisements. A statue of martyr Kartar Singh Sarabha in Ghanta Ghar Chowk is all covered with posters. It carries religious posters, advertisements of a pharmacy and posters of movies. Not even an inch of the podium of the statue has been spared by the advertisers. Although the statue has been defaced for the past many days, no action has been taken against the violators. Even today the entire city was “decorated” with posters to welcome Mr H.S.
Hanspal, president of the Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee, who was scheduled to open an exhibition at Welcome Palace. The roundabouts on the entire stretch of the Ferozepore road today were donning posters, colourful flags and flickers in view of the visit of the Congress leader. Under provisions of the Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 1997, the defacement of private property invites strict punishment for violators, but disgusted with the way the legal system works, most people prefer to spend a little money to undo the defacement rather than lodge a complaint. Even those who lodged protests in the assembly elections drew flak. “Why antagonise the man who will become your councillor in a few days”, said Mr Bharat Kumar, a city resident, who prefers to spend a little money to get the mess cleaned up rather than confront the offenders. According to provisions of the law, no one can put up posters, banners, slogans, etc without the written permission of the owner of the building — whether private or public. The party concerned, association, body, candidate, person is liable to be prosecuted and proceeded against under the law and charged with causing wilful damage to the property of others. Though there is a lot of resentment in the city over the acts of pasting of posters by politicians and their supporters, there are not many people to come forward to take on politicians. The problem seems to be serious in the walled city as well as in relatively posh areas. A notification which was issued by the administration during the assembly elections in February aimed at informing the city residents on the issue. Under the Act, the defacement of the properties included interfering with the appearance or beauty, damaging, disfiguring, spoiling or injuring in any other way, whatsoever, and the property included any land, building, hut, structure, wall, tree, fence, post, pole or any other installations. Similarly, fixing of posters on the power and telephone poles or putting up banners on poles on the roadsides was punishable under the provisions of the Act. Violations under the said Act are cognizable, punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to six months or with fine up to Rs 1000 or with both. Under provisions of Sections 3 of the Act, the government is competent to take such steps as may be necessary for erasing any writing, removing any defacement or any mark from any property. |
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Motor cycles more popular in South Ludhiana, October 25 Inaugurating a company outlet in the city, Mr Jhamb said that Yamaha as it exists in India today is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Yamaha of Japan and did not have any collaboration with Escorts. He said that the marketing strategy of the company included producing at least two new models every year. |
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Jagannath
Rath yatra route Ludhiana, October 25 In order to ensure a smooth passage for the yatra, the organisers have decided to adopt a different route via the local
adda, Lakkar Bazar chowk, Kesar Ganj chowk, Girja Ghar chowk, Chaura Bazar, Chauri
Sarak, chowk Division number three and Khwaja Kothi. The yatra will culminate late in the evening at Shri Gyan Sthal Mandir. |
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Stir of BSNL staff enters 3rd day Ludhiana, October 25 A spokesman for the employees said the future course of action would be determined by the central leadership. |
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BSNL mobile services from tomorrow Ludhiana, October 25 While the BSNL cellular services were launched across the country a few days ago, in Ludhiana these were slightly delayed. However, the local sources said the basic infrastructure had been already laid and there should be no difficulty in providing connections. The modalities have already been finalised and these would be announced by the CMD on October 27 himself. It is learnt that unlike the basic services (the land services), the BSNL will be employing different agencies who will act as the BSNL agents. However, the services will be properly and regularly monitored by the BSNL officials themselves. There is no information about the number of connections to be provided by the BSNL in the first phase. The tariffs, sources disclosed, would remain same as elsewhere in the country. The BSNL cellular services were launched by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee in Lucknow on October 19. Ever since the announcement of the BSNL tariff, there has been great demand for the BSNL cellular services. The outgoing calls are believed to be the lowest at Rs 1.20 per 30 seconds and a quite low rental of Rs 225 per month. Besides the maximum charges for outgoing calls will be Rs 3 per minute while the lowest will be Rs 1.20 per minute during the peak hours between 8 a.m and 10 p.m.
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Beopar
mandal’s plea against VAT implementation Ludhiana, October 25 The PPBM state president, Mr Amrit Lal Jain said in a statement here today that despite the empowered committee of state Finance Ministers ruling in favour of going ahead with VAT from April there was lot of confusion about the issue, with various state governments coming out with their own rules and regulations. “In particular, the draft proposals of VAT, published by the Punjab Government contain provisions for imprisonment ranging between 15 days and two years and penalty up to Rs 50,000 even for petty and technical omissions.” Further, no mechanism appeared to have been devised from the resultant loss of revenue by the states after VAT was given effect. It was estimated that the states were expected to suffer a loss of around Rs12,000 to Rs14,000 crore once VAT was introduced and as things stood at present, the Union Government would not be in a position to compensate the states. The proposal by the centre to offset the loss of revenue up to 75 per cent in the first year, followed by 50 per cent and 25 per cent in the second and third year, respectively, also might not find favour with the states, who, in turn wanted to be allowed to tax certain services and impose VAT on some more commodities like sugar, textile and tobacco, which being subject to additional excise duty since 1957, were exempted from sales tax. Mr Jain observed that no modalities of the compensation fund, as suggested by the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, had been framed, nor any information was being made available on the fate of the Central Sales Tax (CST), entry tax, purchase tax and octroi, wherever applicable. He questioned the very need for the introduction of VAT, allegedly under pressure from WTO and the European community when the sales tax system was performing well in all the states and providing the desired revenue. The mandal chief urged the Union Government to tread the path towards VAT with an open mind lest the states as well as the Centre should drag their feet in the fire with thousands of crores worth revenue of the state governments being at stake and compensation from the centre being in doubt. |
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SSI problems discussed Ludhiana, October 25 The meeting was attended by Mr O P Jindal, Vinod Dhall, Harminder Singh, Rajan Gupta, Ashok Gupta, T R Mishra, Chabber Singh and Man Mohan Singh Ubhi, representing various industrial organisations. The leaders decried the order of the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Authority Commission dated September 3 for increase in tariff by 8 to 11 per cent for industrial consumers. Joginder Kumar, president of the federation, alleged that as per the data provided by the PSEB to the Regulatory Commission, the saleable cost comes to Rs 2.65 paise, including line losses, 12 per cent interest on investment plus 3 per cent profit. They flayed the imposition of Exim Form, which they said, is a futile attempt and would increase harassment and inconvenience. They also decried the entry tax on yarn and papers. |
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Vardhman’s Divali mela tomorrow Ludhiana, October 25 Giving details of the event, Mr V.K. Goyal, Chief Executive, Vardhman Spinning and General Mills Ltd, said the family-oriented extravaganza would provide reprieve to families of employees from the hustle and bustle of daily life. The function would include dance, music, fun games for children as well as adults, lucky draws and drinks, food and desserts, besides a lot of exciting gifts. He said Junior Shankar, a magician from Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, would perform at the function. A large number of food and consumer goods stalls would be put up during the function.
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