Monopoly in biomedical waste disposal goes
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 21
In a major decision, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has allowed the doctors to dispose of biomedical waste according to their choice provided the disposal is performed according to specific norms and guidelines. This has given a big relief to the medical fraternity across the state, as so far the government had given the contract for waste disposal to a single company, which was holding monopoly and charging “exorbitant rates”.

Stating this, the president of the Indian Medical Association Ludhiana, Dr Gursharan Singh said, an assurance was given to a delegation of the IMA by the PPCB Chairman, Mr Satish Chandra, a meeting held in Patiala today. The IMA delegation was led by the state president, Dr R.C. Garg, and comprised several members, including a former state president, Dr OPS Kande.

Hailing the decision, various doctors said that there would no longer be any monopoly in disposing of the biomedical waste in the state. They pointed out that in the absence of competition, the doctors had to pay according to the will of the disposing agency, especially when there were other disposing units, which were offering their services at a lower rate. The doctors and the IMA had led a sustained campaign to get the government agree to their proposal.

Mr Chandra reportedly told the delegation that the doctors were free to get the waste disposed of wherever they liked, provided that the waste was properly and adequately disposed of according to proper guidelines and specifications of the Medical Council and the PPCB.

It may be mentioned that a large-scale biomedical waste disposal unit had been set up by the government in Ludhiana. The doctors had been demanding that they should not be compelled to get their biomedical waste disposed of through a single agency when they had other better options.

The PPCB has also agreed to the IMA proposal of exempting all nursing homes, which are operational by December 31, 2002, from the approved map of the site plan by the Municipal Corporations. The nursing homes had to face a lot of problems on this account. Moreover, they were supposed to file the income tax returns and balance sheet also, which has also been dispensed with by the PPCB, Dr Gursharan said.

Meanwhile, the IMA Ludhiana has already entered into a contract with Maridi Company for disposing of the biomedical waste at a relatively lesser rate as compared to those offered by the existing disposal unit. 

Students in a state of shock
Death of classmate in wall collapse
Mahesh Sharma

Ahmedgarh, November 21
Students who witnessed the incident of collapse of noticeboard shed at Government College, Malerkotla, which resulted in the death of their college mate, Sumeer Sood, are trying to come to terms with their shock a day after the incident. A wall had caved in crushing the deceased, a 10+1 commerce student on Wednesday. He was rushed to the Dayanand Medical Hospital, Ludhiana, where he succumbed to his injuries late last night.

Mr Munish Verma Johnny, a student of the college, told Ludhiana Tribune that the wall collapsed when a group of about 15 students were reading a notice on the board. The college authorities had put up a classwise schedule of issuance of university registration numbers.

Suddenly, the shed started tilting towards them and they started running to a safe place. But Sumeer, who was standing in the front, got hurt when some bricks hit him knocking him out. Later on the he got buried under the lintel of the shed. Narrating the rescue operation, he said, “With great difficulty, students and teachers raised the lintel, but by that time the limbs of the boy had broken at many places and his abdominal viscera was also gouged out by the lintel. Many students including Ricky Sood and Robin Kaushal, became unconscious on seeing a fellow student gravely hurt.”

Sumeer was rushed to Civil Hospital, Malerkotla, which referred him to the DMC. With meagre hopes of survival, the doctors amputated his two limbs but he expired in the evening, he added.

Mr Noor Mohammad, an officer of Bharat Overseas Bank, told that the deceased had got admission to college recently since his father had got transferred from Chandigarh to the Malerkotla branch of bank.

The grief-stricken family, which has lost its only son, hail from Himachal Pardesh and the last rites will be performed at Chandigarh, Mr Noor told.

Meanwhile, All India Sikh Student Federation (AISSF) and Panjab Students Union (PSU) have taken a serious view of the callous attitude of college authorities toward maintenance of the college campus. Mr Happy Verma, AISSF national organising secretary, Yadvinder, press secretary, Mr Rajwinder Singh, Virender Baraich, Aman Jawanda and Gurmukh Singh (all PSU activists), have alleged that authorities are negligent towards repairing the college building, including the shed housing the notice board. The matter had reportedly been brought to their notice but no action was taken, they added.

They alleged that the wall supporting the shed was more than 100 years old and had been declared unsafe in 1992. Even now room No. 25 in the commerce department is in a critical condition. Union leaders have threatened to boycott the classes till safety of campus building is got verified by a team of senior engineers and necessary repairs are under taken.

GARCHA VILLAGE IMBROGLIO
Who will fend for these families?
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 21
Even as allegations and counter-allegations flowed in Garcha village today over the possession of around 36 acres of agricultural land the condition of 40 families of the village, for whom the land was only source of livelihood for the past 40 years is beyond description.

As the menfolk, panchayat and politicians fight over the issue, the real issue for the womenfolk of these families is how to provide food for their children as well as cattle. The old adage popular in Punjab villages that for a farmer losing land is like losing a son has come true in this village where women have not lit the fire for the past two days, when their crop was ploughed by the new allottees of land.

Wailing and crying, womenfolk of the village have hair raising tales to tell. The affected ones belong to the poor strata of society and have no other means to earn their bread and butter. For the past 40 years they have shouldered the responsibility of tilling this land along with their men. It was the result of 40 years of this untiring work that these families have changed the kallar land into a fertile one.

Ms Tej Kaur, an octogenarian of the village has not been able to cope up with the shock of losing her land, she has started developing seizures. Every time she tells her tale of vows, she faints. Even her husband had lost the power of speech. He is not talking for the past many days. Her children are not able to fend for their parents because they are too poor to even feed their own children.

“When we were married in this village many years ago there was no other means of income. We worked on it tirelessly for years with our family members. The land had become fertile and had started giving us good produce. Atleast it provided food for us and fodder for our cattle. Now it has been taken away from us,” said an old woman.

Similar is the tale of another woman who said she grew into an old woman from a teenager working on this land only. “I was married when I was 10 only and since then we are tilling this land. Knee-high barseem was standing in my fields when they ploughed it. I have suffered a loss of thousands of rupees and my cattle are also starving. Even the wheat seeds we had sown have been lost,” said another woman.

Police inquiry acquits nine of family
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 21
A high-level inquiry by the district police in a dowry and attempt to murder case of a married woman has absolved nine members of the family of woman’s in-laws of all charges. Ritu, a newly wed woman, had lodged a complaint in the Model Town police station on October 6 that her husband and in-laws had to murder her by giving her some poison and were constantly demanding dowry. She gave this statement from CMC hospital, where she was under treatment. Her in-laws, including her husband Rishi Aggarwal, his father Rajinder Aggarwal and seven other relatives were booked under Sections 307 and 498 of the IPC.

However, the case has taken a complete U-turn with Mr Arun Pal Singh, SP (Headquarters) absolving, all accused in an inquiry conducted by him in the case.

According to a written statement submitted in a district court today by an ASI of the Model Town police, Mr Arun Pal Singh conducted an investigation into the case and found it to be false. The statement said that the police was filing a cancellation report of the case in a district court and none of the accused was required in the case. 

Gosain rakes up controversy
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 21
While the dust over the remarks of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader, Mr Praveen Togadia, about Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s Italian origin is still to settle down, the senior BJP leader and former Deputy Speaker, Mr Satpal Gosain, seems to have already stepped into his shoes by courting a similar controversy. Currently, Mr Gosain is the target of the Congress leaders and workers’ ire for his reported remarks about Ms Sonia Gandhi. They have already burnt his effigies and also staged demonstrations against him.

Mr Gosain reportedly said, “he can think of using Italian shoes for his feet but would not like to keep them on his head”. He had no qualms about admitting to having said it. But he strongly denied that he had anyone in his mind when he made that statement. He claimed that his statement was being distorted by Congress leaders, although he had never mentioned the name of Ms Gandhi, whom he respected a lot.

The former Deputy Speaker has been maintaining that his was a political statement and it was being misinterpreted, as he only meant to say like anyone else in the country. He claimed that this was a general statement and some Congress leaders were deliberately relating it to the Congress President.

However, the Congress leaders are not prepared to buy this argument. Senior vice-president of the Pradesh Youth Congress, Mr Pawan Dewan, and general secretary, Mr Gurinder Grewal, alleged that Mr Gosain was speaking with the same Sangh mind set that is evident in Gujarat. They observed there was hardly any difference between Mr Togadia and Mr Gosain and both were using unparliamentary language against a senior leader of the oldest and largest political party of the country.

The Youth Congress leaders pointed out that Ms Sonia Gandhi belonged to the family that had laid down so many sacrifices. “She has already lost her mother-in-law and husband for the integrity of the country and this sacrifice cannot be matched by even the tallest of the Sangh Parivar leaders who claim themselves to be staunch nationalists”, they argued, while adding that the Congress leaders do not need a certificate of nationalism and patriotism from those who can only spit communal venom.

Youth Akali Dal to honour Badal
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 21
Shiromani Youth Akali Dal (SYAD) activists will participate in large numbers in the jail bharo agitation of November 27. The unit will also honour SAD chief Parkash Singh Badal, SGPC President Kirpal Singh Badungar and all committee members owing allegiance to the former Chief Minister at a special function to be held at Gurdwara Alamgir on November 22, said Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, president of the dal.

Addressing mediapersons here yesterday, he said he had held meetings with all district and circle units and the mood among them was upbeat. The workers were fed up with the victimisation at the hands of the Congress government and wanted to give a befitting reply.

He said people were also hurt by the entry of the police into the Golden Temple. The Congress had a past history of interfering in the internal affairs of the Sikhs and had done it again this time. This would not be tolerated and the guilty would be punished as per the traditions of the Panth, he added.

Anganwari workers seek implementation 
of wage hike
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, November 21
The Anganwari Mahila and Sahayak Sangh has called upon the state government to implement the promised hike in wages immediately and to arrange for the payment of arrears. Further, anganwari workers reiterated their demand for declaring them as government employees and grant all allowances and other facilities without any discrimination.

Addressing a joint session of the sangh and the women wing of the Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), convened at Gaughat Shiv Mandir on Gaushala Road here, Ms Suchitra Mahapatra, general secretary, All-India Anganwari Workers’ Federation, threatened to adopt agitational approach on the national level to seek justice. Among others, Mr Kartar Singh Rathor, general secretary, BMS, Mr Nageshwar Singh, organising secretary, BMS, and Mr Pritpal Singh addressed the meeting.

Through several resolutions, the session demanded reasonable annual increment, infrastructural facilities, timely payment of honorarium, proportionate recruitment in government jobs and improvement in service conditions.

The following were elected office-bearers of the women wing of the BMS and the sangh, Punjab, during the session:

Women wing of the BMS — Ms Vijay Sharma (Patiala) president; Ms Darshan Kaur (Ludhiana), Ms Surinder Kaur Mander (Sangrur) and Ms Sheetal Sharma (Pathankot) vice-presidents; Ms Sudesh Kumari (Amritsar) general secretary; Ms Saroj Sharma (Patiala) and Ms Rita Rani Chopra (Ludhiana) secretaries; Ms Usha Ratan (Ludhiana), Ms Prem Lata (Ludhiana) and Ms Sarita Sethi (Ludhiana) organising secretaries; Ms Kulwant Kaur (Ludhiana) treasurer.

231 ITBP recruits pass out
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 21
The first batch of 231 trainees of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) passed out from the local ad hoc training centre at 13 Battalion Badowal near here. The Additional Director General of the ITBP, Mr K.J. Singh, was the chief guest who took the salute at the passing out parade.

The concluding function was marked by a colourful programme by recruits and students of local schools. The karate show by the recruits was remarkable where the recruits displayed the skills acquired over a period of 52 weeks. The recruits had a tough and rigorous schedule during the training period.

Since the establishment of the centre, it was for the first time that training of fresh recruits was started from here. The training for the first batch of 231 recruits started in November 2001

Speaking on the occasion, Mr K.J. Singh congratulated the trainees for the successful training. Wishing them all success in their career, he hoped that the sense of duty and discipline acquired by them during the training will help them through out their life. He pointed out that the ITBP was becoming more and more important in providing internal security within the country and the country had great expectations from this force which has withstood the most difficult challenges.

Mr Singh also distributed prizes among the meritorious trainees in different fields. He lauded the seriousness and commitment of the trainees in completing their with distinction.

Communal Harmony Week by Army
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 21
The Army is currently celebrating the Communal Harmony Week. A number of programmes are being organinsed involving youth, and schoolchildren with this programme to create harmony among different sections of the society.

Various types of cultural programmes are being organised during the week long celebrations at a Dholewal Complex. A painting competition was organised today in which children from various schools participated. Prizes were also distributed among the toppers.

Besides games, a run for fun will also be organised on Sunday which will be open to all. The concluding function would be held at the Dholewal Complex on November 25. 

Laton loses youth in border firing
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 21
After battling for life for over two weeks, sepoy Baljit Singh of Laton village near Samrala in this district breathed his last at Army hospital in Srinagar yesterday. He was seriously injured in the enemy fire on the Indo-Pak border. He had, however, recovered substantially but his condition suddenly deteriorated.

According to Wing Commander M S Randhawa, (retd.) Dy Director Sainik Welfare Board, Baljit Singh was hit by splinter fires on Divali night. He fought gallantly with the enemy as well as the injuries.

Mr Randhawa said here today that the mortal remains of the martyr would reach his native village tonight and the cremation with full military honours would take place tomorrow morning. The martyr’s father, Gurmel Singh, is also an ex-serviceman.

Baljit Singh was a bachelor and his family was planning to get him married. He had joined the Army about two years ago.

One dies of electric shock
Our Correspondent

Khanna, November 21
One youth died and one was seriously injured due to electric shock at a building under construction at Amloh road Khanna. According to information, two labourers were opening some material at a newly constructed house. One stick, which was wet, touched an electric wire. Raju (25) died on the spot while the other named Gora Lal was detached by neighbours. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital where he is under treatment.

Conductor injured
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, November 21
Gurmit Singh (27), a private bus conductor, was injured following a brawl over the timing of buses at the general bus stand here on Wednesday. According to information in a dispute at counter number 10 between the conductor and employees of another transport company over the timing of the buses, the former was allegedly attacked with iron rods and swords. The conductor has been admitted to the Civil Hospital with injuries on head, hands and feet.

Two persons were killed in accidents here on Wednesday. Sahib (57), a resident of Railway Colony, was run over by a train while Ravinder Kumar (30), a resident of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, died in a road accident. Autopsies were performed on the bodies at the local Civil Hospital.

Duped: The Civil Lines police has registered a case under Sections 406, 420 and 506 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Sulakhan Singh, a resident of Raowal village, against a travel agent Kuldip Singh, who lives in the Panjab Mata Nagar here. According to the complainant, Kuldip Singh who runs his office in the Transport Nagar, promised to send him abroad. He paid Rs 85,000 to the accused, who neither sent him abroad nor returned his money. When he approached Kuldip Singh for getting back his money, the accused threatened him, he added.

Creating opportunities out of challenges
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 21
The local branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) organised a seminar on impact of World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime on textile and hosiery industry here today. The objective of the seminar was to create awareness among the captains of textile and hosiery industry particularly about the implication of the WTO regime on this industry in Ludhiana.

In his key note address, Dr P.K. Vasudeva, an expert on the WTO, while dwelling on the emergence of the WTO and its implications on textiles trade said the main purpose of the WTO was to ensure that trade flowed as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. He said, “If India cannot replicate the Chinese or Bangladesh success, problems are internal and highlight lack of domestic reform”.

He suggested that to identify the reform areas and formulate a road map, the Union Textiles Ministry had set up a task force that would report within three months and focus on fiscal, labour and investment issues, other than issues of winding up sick units. He explained that if the Industrial Disputes Act or Contract Labour Act could not be amended, at least these should ensure flexible labour markets for apparel parks or export processing units, improve infrastructure and reduce interest rates.

Mr V.K. Goyal, Chief Executive, Vardhman Spinning and General Mills, suggested various remedies for the textile and hosiery for converting the threats of WTO into opportunities for growth of exports from Ludhiana. He appreciated the initiatives of the State Bank of India for creating awareness about the impact of the WTO in textile industry.

Spelling out strategies to meet the challenges being posed by the WTO, Mr Goyal said, “Our willingness to embrace change is most important. We also need to understand that we cannot live like a cocoon in the present global economic environment. With WTO tariffs it will be impossible to extend sustainable protection to inefficient producers.”

Earlier, while inaugurating the seminar Mr Deepak Chawla, General Manager (Commercial Banking), SBI, highlighted the need for the industrialists to be prepared to face the new challenges being posed by the WTO regime and convert these into opportunities and thereby further enhance the exports of textiles in post WTO era.

Mr S.K. Mishra, Deputy General Manger and Circle Credit Officer welcomed the guests, while Mr G.S. Mazumdar, Deputy General Manager, Commercial Banking SBI, proposed the vote of thanks in the seminar. The programme was attended by about 100 entrepreneurs and exporters related to the hosiery industry of Ludhiana.