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| Wednesday,
November 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
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Rs 2,550 cr for farm loans in 10th Plan Ludhiana, November 19 This was announced by Mr Tej Parkash Singh, Transport Minister, Punjab, while addressing a function of the
cooperators, organised by the Punjab State Cooperative Agriculture Development Bank to observe “Cooperative Urban and Rural Development Day” as a part of 49th All India Cooperative Week celebrations, here today. Mr Tej Parkash Singh asserted that the cooperative movement in the state had made substantial contribution in making the country self sufficient in foodgrains and Punjab Agriculture Development Banks (PSCADB), during the 9th Five Year Plan had advanced subsidised loans amounting to Rs 1714 crore, which had mechanised the agriculture system in the state. He informed that the bank had an excellent and effective network of 87 primary Cooperative Agriculture Development Banks in the state, through which, loans of Rs 350 crore were given to the members for agriculture and other non-farming agro-based ventures during the current year. Commenting on the deteriorated financial condition of the farmers, he said the state government was committed to bringing about revolutionary changes in the loan advancement pattern, so that, the entire agriculture profession could be diversified and direct export of the processed agriculture produce was also promoted under the new agro-export programme. Mr Tej Parkash Singh charged the previous SAD-BJP government with deliberately creating financial crisis in the state in general and the farmers in particular during its five years of ‘misrule’. “The then Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, was solely responsible for the resumption of power bills of the farmers and under a deep-rooted
The Transport Minister said that the Cooperative Agriculture Development Banks would be given the status of regular loaning banks, for which, the case was lying with Federation of National Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks. The Cooperative Department had decided to settle the long pending disputed loan cases through Lok Adalats and so far 1239 cases had been settled in these Lok adalats. As a result, the defaulting farmers had benefited by around Rs 295 crore. Mr Amarjit Singh Samra, Minister of State for Revenue, Rehabilitation, Agriculture and Cooperation, addressing the function said the cooperative movement had played a frontal role in bringing Green Revolution in the state and with an effective network of 87 PADBs, loans amounting to Rs 3450 crore had been advanced to the farmers at the simple interest rate from the inception of these banks. He stressed upon the need for the diversification of the agriculture pattern and urged the farmers to divert the coming generation from the agriculture to self-employment ventures by adopting the different credit schemes of the Cooperative Department. He said the cooperative banks had also introduced credit limits of Rs 1 lakh to the farming sector and up to the 2 lakh to the non-farming sector to carry out routine operations. He asserted that the state government would further strengthen its drive against corruption and all departments dealing with the farmers including development, revenue and cooperation would be made fully transparent and corruption free. Among others who addressed the function included Mr T.D. Janardhan Rao, Chairman National Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks’ Federation, Mr Gurcharan Singh Galib, MP, Mr Malkiat Singh Birmi, Mr Malkiat Singh Dakha (both MLAs), Mr Harmohinder Singh Pardhan, Mr Kamaldeep Singh Sanga, Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies. An exhibition regarding the different cooperative activities was also held. |
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Beggars
make merry as jail staff toil Ludhiana, November 19 The jail officials, upset over their filthy and rugged condition, arranged regular hot baths for them to clean up the mess. Fearing spread of some skin infection or lice infestation, the jail staff is presently working overtime to make them fit for staying in jail. With at least 50 beggars sent to the jail daily by the Ludhiana police, the trouble of the jail staff is far from over. Following the recent massive crackdown of the police on beggars in the city, the residents are a relieved lot. But the relief for residents has become a pain for the officials of the Central Jail and Juvenile Jail in the city. While on the one hand they are facing the Herculean task of cleaning beggars and to provide accommodation to them, on the other they fear a long stay of these people in the already overcrowded jails, as beggars cannot find people or relatives who can provide surety bonds for their release on bail. The beggars have been arrested and sent to the jails under the Prevention of Begging Act 1971. Though the Act provides that the beggars caught under the Act should be kept in special cell to be called “Beggars Home”, and efforts made to rehabilitate them, the absence of any such place in the city has ruled out this possibility. Thus, the beggars were sent to the Central Jail. The problems for the jail officials began from here. In normal circumstances, the undertrials get released on bail on the basis of surety bonds furnished by their relatives or some friend of their district. With a majority of beggars belonging to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar or Madhya Pradesh, their relatives, if any, reside in those states only. According to the law, these people have to find some residents here to get released on bail. Already several migrant labourers belonging to other states could not get bail because of this law. Sources in the Jails Department said the beggars were quite happy at the “luxury” here but at the same time no one wants to live behind bars forever. The beggars were also anxious about the problem of surety bonds as well as the safety of their children. Sources said some beggars even requested the jail authorities to bring their children here. Jail sources said while the city residents may be happy at the crackdown on beggars, they were becoming quite a problem inside the four walls of the prison cell. First, there was the problem of accommodation and second, the beggars wore dirty clothes and had some skin diseases that there was the fear of spread of infection. Sources said the action against beggars could not have come at a worse time. With Akalis and CPM activists hell bent on filling the jails, the beggars’ influx has come as a bolt from the blue. From arranging special barracks for them to clothes and soaps, the jail staff is wondering when this problem will be over. While the jail officials maintain that there was no problem, unofficially they admit to the problems. They said that they could not complain as such crackdown was definitely necessary and it was the duty of the Jails Department to cooperate with the police. Sources said only if there was some better understanding, the problem would have been handled better. |
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Docs up in the arms against PPCB Ludhiana, November 19 These doctors have condemned the PPCB authorities for the ‘carelessness’ on their part in sending new list of documents to doctors very late. One of the members of IMA, on condition of anonymity said IMA members with their representation, had met the Chairman, PPCB on July 20, 2002, in his office at Patiala. The documents required to be attached along with the application for authorisation were discussed and the Chairman had assured the members to send the ‘modified list’ at the earliest. “The PPCB officials know that the Supreme Court’s deadline for treatment of bio-medical waste is December 31, 2002, even then they despatched the new list of documents on November 12, 2002. The meeting with the Chairman was held in July and we are getting the letters in the middle of November. In such a short span of time, we have to collect all the necessary documents”, said the doctor. The list of documents include site plan or location plan of the hospital, details regarding the treatment facility/disposal provided to each category of bio-medical waste, including liquid waste and specifications drawings of equipment provided. Latest analysis report of the stack emissions provided with the incinerator and analysis report of the liquid waste discharged by the hospital, a copy of latest balance sheet showing the cost of the fixed assets of the hospital, institutions (not applicable to government hospitals), certificate regarding the bed capacity of the hospital issued by the competent authority or an affidavit of the owner etc. Dr Gursharan Singh, president, local unit of the IMA, said in
It is pertinent to mention here that a majority of city hospitals and nursing homes do not have adequate facility for the treatment and disposal of bio-medical waste, violating the Bio-Medical Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 and Section 15 of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Due to this, sometimes the waste is even thrown in the open, posing danger to the health of people. |
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Vegetables
grown alongside nullah pose danger Ludhiana, November 19 It’s alarming but true that the city’s vegetable markets get most of the vegetables which are grown alongside the highly polluted Buddha Nullah or are irrigated with the water drawn from the nearby nullah which has shown alarming concentration of heavy metals responsible for causing cancer in humans. As the residents are consuming poison through the vegetables everyday, the Health Department and the Pollution Control Board continue to sleep in a deep slumber. A visit to the areas alongside the Buddha Nullah especially near Haibowal is enough to shake them out of the slumber where these vegetable are not only irrigated with its polluted water but certain vegetables that are consumed raw are also washed in this water. The vegetables which come to the market are consumed by the residents, unknown of the hazards they pose. The poor people, who buy these vegetables at prices everyday, do not know that they are ingesting cancer-causing agents in to their bodies. Ecologists and biochemists at Punjab Agricultural University, who have drawn samples of water from the Buddha Nullah time and again, have written to both these departments but to no avail. According to Dr B.D. Kansal, a retired scientists of PAU, who had collected samples of polluted water from Buddha Nullah in July, traces of heavy metals, including lead, nickel, and chromium were found in alarming concentration. Dr Kansal said the comparison of samples collected from Dhnansu village, from where the nullah starts and near the G.T. road revealed that these traces were 1,000 times more in urban areas as compared to the samples drawn from near the village. Dr Kansal said that in some areas the vegetable growers washed their produce in the polluted water only and that these vegetables if eaten raw could cause water-borne diseases like typhoid, cholera and jaundice. He said he had himself seen many farmers growing mint alongside the buddha nullah which was always consumed raw. |
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Gurpurb
celebrated with gaiety & fervour Ludhiana, November 19 Devotees started thronging various gurdwaras in the town since early morning to pay obeisance to the guru. At several gurdwaras, bhog ceremonies of akhand paath were held in the morning and langars were served round the clock. A large number of roadside langars were also held by various shopkeepers’ associations and unions throughout the city. Several kirtan durbars were also held on the occasion. The Prerna Sangeet Academy organised a kirtan darbar in the evening on the Jassian Road. |
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Tercentenary
celebrations of Guru Granth Sahib Ludhiana, November 19 This was stated here in an interview by Dr Harbans Lal, a Sikh scholar and a trustee of the Guru Granth Sahib Academy, Texas, USA. The Guru Granth Sahib Academy decided to celebrate “Decade of Guru Granth Sahib” in 1998 and a series of conferences had been started in different parts of India and world. Dr Harbans Lal says that Guru Granth Sahib is an inter-faith scripture. It is the first and the only scripture in the world which contains teachings of all religions. This contains teachings of 36 authors of all religions and the Guru has used 22 languages in its compilation. Giving details of the series of conferences held so far, Dr Lal says that Guru Nanak Dev University was the first to organise a first conference in March 2001 and this was followed by a conference by Punjabi University at Patiala. Bhai Vir Singh Sadan, Delhi, also organised one conference. Guru Nanak Dev University organised the second conference on October 17, 18 and 19 at Amritsar this year and Punjabi University is yet to organise another conference. The Punjab Government and Guru Nanak Dev University have announced the setting up of a Guru Granth Sahib chair. GND varsity has also decided to start an international journal of Guru Granth Sahib Studies. The Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee has also shown interest in organising the conference to celebrate “Decade of Guru Granth Sahib” programme. The series for conferences will be started from next year in different parts of the world. The first such conference, will be held at San Francisco on February 8, 2003, and will be sponsored by the Sikh Foundation of Sanfrancisco and Sanfrancisco Museum. The second conference will be held in May at Ruchmond Virginia on Guru Granth Sahib and concept of gurdwara. Dr Lal says that a two-day conference of all religious heads will be held at New Mexico on June 12 and 13. The conference is being sponsored by Sikh Dharma International of Yogi Harbhajan. Heads of all religions will pay their respect to Guru Granth Sahib. They are also planning to organise a conference at Stockholm in Sweden. In September a conference will be held at Montreal in Canada on the philosophy of Japji and another international conference will be held in Toronto in Canada in the month of September. In November 2003, a satellite conference of world parliament of all religions will organise a seminar at Delhi and the third international conference will be held in November 2003 at GND, Amritsar. Dr Lal says they are amazed at the response they have received from people of all communities. “Here is an opportunity to focus on the sikh scriptures. This requires academic input as without such input, it will be devoid of all impact.” Dr Harbans Lal is confident that they will be able to cover the entire world by organising conference and “we will create database regarding Guru Granth Sahib”. “We will have worldwide websites and CDs of Guru Granth Sahib, and two billion people of world will have access to the same free of cost.” The translation of Guru Granth Sahib will be available in Gurmukhi, Hindi, Roman and English. The translation of Guru Granth Sahib in Gujarati, Marathi and Tamil has started and by 2008, it will be available in all languages of the country. Guru Granth Sahib has already been translated in Thai language and 3/4th work in Spanish has been completed. It is ready in French. According to Dr Harbans Lal, for research purposes electronic search engines will be available in all languages. |
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Congress seems to be the ‘most democratic’ party in the state, at least when it comes to allowing the dissidence and opposition within itself. And this was best reflected during the workers’ convention scheduled to be held in Feroze Gandhi Market on Saturday. While one group of leaders was working hard to organise a good show as the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president, Mr H.S Hanspal, was supposed to address it, another group within the party worked even harder to ensure that the convention was a failure and not many workers turned up there. And it was the latter group which succeeded. Much to the chagrin of the organisers, the PCC president, preferred to stay away, although he had already arrived in the city. Instead these leaders organised separate receptions asking their supporters to attend those receptions and not the convention. And that is “democratic dissent” even if it may prove to be suicidal for the party. And there are umpteen number of leaders who are taking sadistic pleasure in the failure of the convention hoping and saying that the countdown for the exit of incumbent office-bearers of the district has begun. Sri Ayyappa temple Now, devotees of Lord Ayyappa have another temple in the city where they can offer their morning and evening prayers. Temples dedicated to Shri Mahaganpati and Sri Ayyappa Swami were thrown open to the public on Sunday evening last in Sector 32-A of Urban Estate on the Chandigarh Road by Sree Ayyappa Seva Samiti which has been building the same for the past seven years or so. The architecture of these temples was based on the suggestions forwarded by internationally acclaimed architects, including Chandershekhar Menon and Sreedharan Nambodari. The general secretary of the samiti, Mr Tulseedharan Pillai, says the samiti plans to construct a langar-hall, a charitable children’s education centre, a public library and a charitable ayurvedic hospital in the temple complex. An ambitious project indeed which needs a lot of money. But Mr Pillai rests his hopes on donations by the city-based devotees of Sri Ayyappa Swami and other religious-minded people.
Singing or begging? In the wake of the anti-begging drive launched by the police , the Jangam Sabha Panjab, based at Shiv Jangam Mandir on the Tajpur Road, has approached the SSP with the plea that the police must not treat its members as beggars. The head of the bizarre sect explains that jangams, who are the ‘kul-purohits’ of Lord Shiva, only sing about the glory of their Lord and do not beg from anyone. When somebody donates money to them, they receive it via the bell they sound while singing. And the bell (talli) had been given to their ancestors by Lord Shiva, he says. In spite of the claim by the jangam sabha, the police is not ready to buy the logic. Maybe it is time that the sturdy guys dressed up as jangams who roam on the city streets looking for alms start doing some work to earn a living.
Biharwala havaldar With 70 per cent of crime occurring in the city being committed by the migrant labourers alone, there is immense pressure on the city police to arrange a team of policemen to be sent to Bihar or Uttar Pradesh in pursuit of some wanted criminals. While there is an obvious reluctance everytime from the police personnel to perform the tedious assignment, some constables posted in police stations manning the labourer’s colony have to carry out the orders regularly. Their trips to the two states have become so common that they have earned a seemingly permanent title of “Bihar wala Hawaldar.”
While the state government led by Capt Amarinder Singh harps on transparency in government’s functioning, the city police seems to think, believe and act otherwise. While earlier, the daily crime briefing to media was discontinued and SHOs or police officials were directed not to talk to mediapersons, now the police has even become shy of informing the public about some of its achievements too. A number of murders and robbery incidents were solved but the district police issued a press note in only the murder case of a trader in Haibowal. That too, reched newspaper offices very late in the evening. This despite the fact that most of the newspapers had already done their duty by reporting the police success quoting reliable sources. The district police officials seem to be very shy of the media as well. In fact, the Ludhiana SSP has called less than five press conferences in his over one-and-a-half year old tenure in the city. The last press conference was organised at least six months ago. This may be some new addition to the community policing scheme launched in the state!
Catching butterflies As the season is changing and mercury dipping with each passing day the students of Entomology, a stream involving study of insects are busy collecting insects, as these will soon go into hibernation only to emerge after three-four months. Come October and November the students, chasing the insects with collection nets becomes a very common site on PAU campus. Although the collection of insects is a very important part of the practicals, students are advised to collect only the required number of insects and strech them the same day very carefully. No doubt most of these are pests but still they are an important part of our ecosystem.
Litmus test The Kuliewal land scam, considered to be the mother of all scams, has become a litmus test for the district administration in particular and the state government in general. On the one hand it has to nail a gang of land grabbers who first encroached the government land and then sold it to unsuspecting persons thus causing huge loss to the public exchequer. On the other, the administration has to take care of the condition of thousands of residents in the area who were befooled by the accused colonisers and now face threat of demolition of their houses. The
administration's action, which would be taken after the state government’s approval would really be a test of the government’s
commitment to end corruption as well as to safeguard the interest of the masses.
Sentinel |
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PTDC staff decry disinvestment policy Ludhiana, November 19 At a meeting of the state executive here presided over by Mr Mangal Singh Hundal, the union observed that the government had been specially targeting the PTDC for closure while several other boards and corporations, incurring heavier losses, were allowed to continue. Among others, Mr Chet Singh Chatarpal, senior vice-president, Mr Vijay Joshi, general secretary, Mr Kuldip Sharma, Mr Achar Singh, Mr Balbir Singh, Mr Surinder Singh, Mr Mela Ram, Mr Suraj Parkash, Mr Harkamal Singh Thakur and Mr Gian Singh attended the meeting. In a resolution adopted at the meeting, the union resolved to oppose the disinvestment in the PTDC. The government will not be allowed to play with the future of thousands of employees and their family members and dependents, it was decided. The meeting condemned the tactics being adopted by the government functionaries to achieve their objective. It noted that in a well-thought out conspiracy, the Directorate of Disinvestment, in its final report, had observed that the PTDC unions were also a party to the decision of disinvestment. The functionaries of the union maintained that no union of employees was in favour of privatisation of the PTDC complexes and the report was a bundle of lies. |
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‘Order
on buffaloes not implemented’ Doraha, November 19 A resident of the area, Dr Joginder Singh Nagi, said that some people of the area had not abided by the SDM’s orders and shifted their buffaloes out of the town, thereby making the place a breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies. A case had been filed in the court of SDM, Payal, under Sections 133 (1) on July 2,2002, in this regard. According to Dr Joginder Singh, “The SDM, Payal, in his orders of August 20, 2002, had asked the owners to take out the buffaloes by September 17, 2002, failing which the SHO, Payal, was asked to take action under Section 188 of the IPC. The copies of the orders have already been sent to the SHO, Payal, and EO Municipal Council, Doraha, for necessary action but to no avail.” Mr Karnail Singh, Doraha police chowki in charge, when contacted, said, “We have already taken necessary steps in this regard. As compared to the earlier position when the buffaloes were tied in front of the houses openly in the street and were a cause of nuisance, the owners have now adjusted the cattle inside their houses and these are no longer a cause of any nuisance. As for taking out the buffaloes out of the town is concerned, there is no notified area in which the cattle can be raised and reared. |
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Tributes
paid to Indira Gandhi Ludhiana, November 19 The District Congress Committee (DCC) Urban, led by Mr K.K. Bawa, took out a Sadhbhavna Yatra to mark the occasion. The DCC which had suffered a setback only yesterday for the poor presence of people at the workers convention had mobilised maximum number of people to participate in the yatra. The march started from the local Congress office and after passing through different areas concluded at the Clock Tower, where the workers organised a rally. Speakers paid glowing tributes to Indira Gandhi and recalled her contribution to the country, besides her sacrifice to safeguard the national integrity. Addressing the rally, Mr Bawa pointed out that it was Indira Gandhi’s 20-point programme, which had set the pace for the development of the country. Moreover, the bold steps to nationalise the banks also contributed a lot to the country’s economic growth, Mr Bawa said. He also appealed to people to maintain peace and communal harmony as preached by the late leader. A separate function was organised by the PCC’s urban development cell under the chairmanship of its convener, Mr Ramesh Joshi. Mr Joshi recalled the sacrifices of Indira Gandhi for the country and the party. He urged the leaders and the workers to follow in the footsteps of the late leader for strengthening the party and the country. A separate function was organised under the chairmanship of Mr Kewal Arora, vice-president of the District Youth Congress. Speakers lauded the services of Ms Gandhi for the development and security of the nation. |
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PFA for action against circus owner Ludhiana, November 19 Dr Sandeep K. Jain, president of the local chapter of PFA in his letter has drawn the attention of the DM, Patiala, by elaborating on the Chapter (v) Section 22 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 which states, “No person shall exhibit or train any performing animal unless he is registered in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, as a performing animal, any animals which the Central Government may by notification in the official Gazette specify as an animal which shall not be exhibited or trained as a performing animal.” According to Dr Jain, the Government of India had banned the exhibition and training of five animals including lion, panther, tiger, bear and monkey by notification dated 14.10.1998. Dr Jain has further stated that as per the rules framed for regulating performance and training of the Performing Animals (by circuses, films, horse races and any sort of training and performance) every owner who has 10 or more such performing animals shall have a veterinarian as a regular employee for their care treatment and transport. The owner shall not transport such animals by road continuously for more than eight hours and except in cages measuring as specified in the fifth schedule, besides ensuring proper watering and feeding halts during such transportation. The owner is also required to provide feed and resting enclosures after transportation. The notification further requires that the owner shall ensure that during or after its training or exhibition the animal should not be deprived of feed or water in order to compel it to train or perform any trick. Further the animals should not be made to perform near fire or a loud noise, which may frighten the animals, the artificial lights should not be more than 500 Lux. Dr Jain has further said every person who has been granted registration under these rules shall ensure that a monthly report of all performing animals in the form to be specified by the prescribed authority in respect of their health, death and birth duly certified by a veterinary doctor is submitted to the prescribed authority on or before the 7th of every succeeding month. Dr Jain has claimed that since the circus is violating all these laws, a case under relevant sections of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act may be registered against its owner. |
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HP Chief Justice visits CMC Ludhiana, November 19 The Chief Justice was of the view that the hospital was one of the best institutions in the region. He visited the state-of-the-art trauma and emergency services unit and the ICU. |
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Passing
out parade of ITBP recruits Ludhiana, November 19 |
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Four booked for fraud Ludhiana, November 19 The accused have been identified as Gulshan Kumar, Vijay Kumar, Sudhir Kumar and Kunal. The complainant stated that the accused had promised to get him a government job in lieu of Rs 10 lakh and that he had paid Rs 4 lakh to them in advance. But when the accused failed to keep their promise, he started demanding his money back. Two of the accused, Sudhir and Gulshan, have been arrested . Beaten up: The Division No: 7 police has registered a case of beating on the statement of Mr Parminder Kumar, against Chhoti and her mother who live on the Tajpur Road. The complainant had stated that the accused had intercepted him on the road and had beaten him up. The accused had also threatened to kill him, he added. Poppy husk seized: The Shimla Puri police on Monday arrested Dalip Singh, a resident of Rania village, recovered 30 kg of poppy husk from his possession and booked him under the NDPS Act. During a special checking drive in the Transport Nagar area on Sunday, the Division Number 6 police arrested Phool Mohammad, a resident of Salem Tabri, and recovered 1 kg of ‘ganja’ from his possession. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered. Snatching cases: The Haibowal police, on the statement of a taxi driver, has registered a case of assault and snatching against two unknown youths who hired his taxi and later robbed him of cash and the vehicle. Mr Shammi Verma, a resident of Ranjodh Park in Haibowal Kalan, had alleged that the youths came to the Janta Taxi stand near the Raikhy cinema on November 16 last and hired his white Maruti Esteem for going to Chuharpur village. But somewhere between Laddian and Chuharpur, the youths asked him to stop the car. When he did so, the youth overpowered him and started beating him up after which they tied him with a rope. The youths took away his car and Rs 3250 from his purse as well. Another case of alleged snatching was registered against the son of a former councillor at the Haibowal police station on the statement of Mr Vikas Arora, a resident of Durga Puri. The complainant had alleged that when he was returning home on Sunday night from a marriage party, the accused and his cronies intercepted him at the Haibowal chowk and beat him up. The accused also snatched his mobile phone and a gold chain from around his neck and also threatened him, he added. No arrest has been made so far. AHMEDGARH |
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4-yr-old
crushed to death Ludhiana, November 19 |
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