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July 26, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Improvement Trust members declare war on corruption Ludhiana, July 25 Supported by a large number of people victimised at the hands of trust officials, Mrs Khangura and her supporters resolved to cleanse the Improvement Trust of all corrupt officials and seek more powers for the trust Chairman so that he could deal with the errant employees effectively. In the first-ever move its kind, Mrs Khangura held an “open durbar” and invited all those who had been harassed by the “corrupt” in the Ludhiana Improvement Trust. Villagers, mainly from adjoining areas, whose lands had been acquired by the Improvement Trust without settling claims, aired their views on the occasion, requesting Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to depute a special team of the Vigilance Department to evaluate the assets of the trust employees. Mrs Khangura said she felt honoured on being nominated trustee. She would fail in her duty if she did not help in the redressal of grievances of people whose lands had been acquired by the trust. She said that having gone through various complaints, she had discovered that a majority of these pertained to delay in payments in the form of compensation for land acquired and granting of locally displaced person (LDP) plots to which these people were entitled. She said that, along with other fellow trustees, she fully supported the trust Chairman, in his tirade against corruption. Most farmers said the Improvement Trust had neither served the purpose of improving the city nor was it trustworthy. Lt-Col. GPS Grewal of Sherpur Khurd said his family had spent 30 years seeking compensation for the land the trust had acquired on the Ludhiana by-pass. Even though his father had died pursuing the case, his family had not received relief till date. A Haibowal resident, Mr Balraj Singh, said the Improvement Trust assessed the acquired land on the basis of average price of the land taken over the past five years rather than the current market price. “The farmers are deprived of their land and given peanuts in the bargain”, he said. Citing a judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, he said even 16 years after the judgement, the trust had
chosen not to implement it. Similarly, Mr Baldev Singh from Sunet village said farmers with land in the vicinity of Ludhiana city had been uprooted twice, once at the time of Partition and again when the trust acquired their properties in areas adjoining the city. He said 550 acres were acquired for Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar by the trust in 1978, but till date 30 per cent of the farmers had not got compensation for their land. Mr Harnek Singh of Thereka village told Mrs Ghangura that every time he went to the trust, trust officials sought an affidavit saying he would not claim the 12.5 per cent interest on late payment. Besides, the clerks in
Most of the aggrieved at the venue voiced their concern at the lack of powers with the trust Chairman to transfer, suspend or sack corrupt employees. “Unless the Chairman has the powers to deal with corrupt officials, there is hardly anything he can do”, Dr Rajinder Hora, another speaker, said. He appealed to the Chief Minister to give powers to the Chairman to take appropriate action against the corrupt to make the anti-corruption drive a success. |
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Major fire in factory Ludhiana, July 25 According to Mr Beant Singh, owner of the factory, the fire resulted from a possible short circuit around 3.30 pm. Fire tenders from various locations in Ludhiana were rushed to the spot that could reach the site after nearly half an hour due to heavy traffic congestion in the area. The owner said the machinery gutted was valued at around Rs 4.5 lakh, besides goods worth about Rs 5 lakh. Timely intervention by seven fire tenders prevented the fire from spreading to nearby houses and other factories. Several labourers working at the factory at the time when the fire broke out were saved after they escaped from the roof of adjoining buildings. Since, the fire broke out in the front portion factory, the escape routes were blocked. If there had been no escape at the rear of the factory, many workers could have been entrapped. According to ASI Harbans Singh, the rescue operations were supervised by SHO Mukhwinder Singh and the DSP of the area. He said people helped in preventing the fire from spreading to nearby factories and homes. |
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Teachers’ poll duty brings schools to a halt Ludhiana, July 25 Most affected are the primary schools that are already under-staffed. In many schools, the entire staff has been deputed for election duty, leading to the closure of the schools. At some senior secondary schools, classes are being clubbed due to inadequate staff. At Government Primary School, on Punjab Agricultural University campus, all four teachers have been sent on poll duty for a week and the school was almost on the verge of closure. On the request of the staff, a teacher from a Government Primary School at Gobind Nagar was deputed to look after 200 students from five classes. No classes are being held and the students are simply made to sit together quietly. Similarly, 11 teachers from
Seven of the total 14 teachers from Government High School, Salem
Tabri, are on poll duty. The students from various sections are being made to sit together and the teachers are finding it difficult to manage them. Teachers said it was fortunately the last day of poll duty for the teachers from their block and from tomorrow, normalcy would be restored in the classrooms. The teachers alleged that they were harassed by senior officers on poll duty. They said they were forced to waste an entire day on the collection of the required material to be distributed before the exercise and another day for returning the same material, a day after the cards would be prepared. They said five days would be wasted on the procedure and it would affect the students. Delay on the part of the poll staff to reach the distribution centre resulted in the harassment of the teachers as they had to wait for hours, they said. Mr Piara Singh Dhillon, president of the state Government Primary Teachers Association, said members had been given an assurance by the Education Minister, Mr Khushal
Behl, that they would be exempted from such duties keeping the interest of the students in mind. However, despite this, hundreds of teachers had been directed to prepare voter identity cards for three days from July 25, he said. |
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Cop killers get life sentence Ludhiana, July 25 Delivering the verdict, Mr A.S.Kathuria, judge of the fast-track court, held that the prosecution had proved that the accused killed the constable by firing a shot on November 4, 2000. The constable was posted at the Focal Point police station. An FIR was registered against them under Sections 302 and 34, IPC, on the same day of the crime on the statement of ASI Harbans Singh, in charge of the police post on the Tajpur Road. The complainant had stated that he was on patrol duty at about 11 pm when he reached near the road leading to Sector 32-A from Sanjay Gandhi Colony. He heard shots being fired. In the meantime, constable Gurpal Singh also reached the spot and told him that he and constable Jasvir Singh were on patrol duty in the area and were informed by a migrant labourer that two suspicious-looking persons were sitting under the power line. They reached the power line and tried to nab them and in the process Jasvir was shot by them The accused escaped but left their scooter behind. The accused were arrested on November 30, 2000. According to the prosecution, during interrogation in a case registered against them and two other persons under Sections 382 and 34, IPC, at the Basti Jodhewal police station, the duo had confessed to the murder. However, during the trial they pleaded innocence and alleged false implication. |
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Woman forced to undergo abortion, abandoned Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 25 The police, instead of arresting the accused, tried to implicate the relatives of victimised woman. The incident came to light after relatives of the woman approached the Ludhiana Tribune to narrate their tale of woe. They have appealed to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Chief Minister, and the DGP to inquire into the matter and punish the guilty reportedly being shielded by top-ranking police officials. Narrating the sequence of events, a visibly shaken Ms Surinder Kaur, a resident of Ward No. 2, Jagera Road, and mother of Manpreet Kaur, said her daughter was married to Gurvinder Singh, son of Surmukh Singh of Railon village on February 6, 2003. She said the family spent more than Rs 5 lakh on the marriage. “We went in for a lavish wedding. We had to pay heavy interest on the money borrowed from money-lenders. I had kept a small piece of land for my only son who is studying in 10+1. When my son-in-law learnt of this, he expressed a desire to buy a new Icon car as the amount of Rs 2.5 lakh given to him for a car at the time of marriage had been put into his father’s business. We showed our inability to give him such a huge amount this irritated his family,” Mrs Surinder Kaur said. Manpreet was tortured. In the meantime Manpreet conceived. She was made to undergo a sex-determination test. On finding it to be a girl, they got the foetus aborted. Weeping inconsolably, Manpreet alleged that her inlaws forced her to get the foetus aborted because she refused to force her mother to sell land and bring a car for them. “They took me to various clinics and hospitals of Chandigarh. Many investigations and scans were performed but no report was shown to me. It seemed it was a female child. Ultimately they got the foetus aborted in a private hospital at Ropar.” She alleged that she was thrown out of her home on April 25, 2003, after which the matter was reported to the local police. “Despite our best efforts, the police did not register a case against the accused, who had allegedly ‘managed’ things in the department. It took more than a month to get a case registered against them. Mrs Surinder Kaur said, “Even after registering an FIR, the police did not arrest them. Instead, they tried to implicate us in a false case”. She showed a xerox copy of the patient register of a private hospital where the abortion was done and demanded that the doctor who had performed should also be booked. They expressed gratitude towards the women cell of Sangrur police which asked the local police to register a case against the accused. |
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Wheat scam in Punsup
depot, one suspended Amloh, July 25 It all began when Mr Banarsi Dass, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Vigilance, charged Sarinder Singh Katcoh, Inspector, Grade II, Punsup, with accepting Rs 5,000 in bribe from a sheller owner at Amloh on July 18, last year. The department placed the inspector under suspension and handed over his charge to Mr Devinder Singh. At the time of special loading of wheat for outstation, its weight was found short, which led to the probe. On November 11, 1999, a truck carrying 150 bags of wheat to Rajpura was allowed to leave the depot, which was neither entered in the record at Rajpura nor debited from the stock balance. In the probe, 4,052 quintals of wheat purchased in the year 1999-2000, 1900 quintals bought in the year 2000-2001, 28 quintals bought in the year 2001-2002 and 1,800 quintals procured in the year 2002-2003 was found short during stock assessment. It appears that bogus entries were made in stock registers, while the wheat was sold through some agents in black market. When contacted, District Manager, Punsup, Mr Sarvjit Singh, said the matter was being probed by a team from Chandigarh, but as he had taken over the charge recently, he did not know the details of the scam. Sarinder Singh Katoch could not be contacted, but Mr Devinder Singh Suri, who has taken over his charge, said he had no hand in the scam. He had taken over the charge on the orders of the DM and, at that time, Katoch had given him an affidavit that he would be responsible for any shortage in the stock. The hand of some big guns in the scam is not ruled out and further checking of stock in the state may reveal a bigger scam. |
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A loving home for orphans Ludhiana, July 25 A modern, well-lit building has been constructed to accommodate and educate children. A playground and a swimming pool is also being planned. Rohit (3) and Mohit (4) were left by their father who had a very low blood count. He had told Mr Sarwan Kumar, Chairman of the ashram, that he could look after the boys due to his health and their mother had died a month ago. After completing legal formalities, he went away. The children do not feel the loss of their parents as inmates from the Vridh Ashram being run by Nishkam come to look after them. This morning, Ms Nirmala, Mr Baljinder and Mr Gurmeet Singh were showering love on them like grandparents do. Vijay, another inmate, had gone to a nearby school. His parents had died and he was brought to the sadan by villagers. Raju, a mute and living at Nishkam for years, looks after the cleanliness. After primary classes, the children will be sent out to study. Nishkam’s policy is to make them self-sufficient and contribute to the welfare of society. Several inmates have become doctors and engineers with the financial support of Nishkam. A nicely stacked play room with toys takes care of the children’s recreational needs. Mr Kumar says, “We are already getting a lot of phone calls from people regarding adoption. Soon the number is going to swell. Some children of Lalton village whose parents go out to work, leave the children at the sadan”. A girl has been employed to cook for the children and the elderly come every day to take care of the babies, he says. Since the hostel is not ready, the children are taken to the ashram to sleep, he adds. The ashram has been recognised by the Punjab Government for in-country adoption under the revised guidelines. He urged the people to bring abandoned children to the ashram or the sadan or call 0161-2806283, 2806296, or 5085179. |
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Moved by faith, Kawarias march on Ludhiana, July 25 Three determined young men — Manoj, Rakesh and Dharamveer — all in their early 20s, left Kot Kapura on June 20 to fetch the holy water from Gomukh. Armed with faith, the young men marched on. Devotees of Lord Shiva organise ‘langars’ for Kawarias fetching the holy water. Lodging arrangements, too, have been made for these devotees at ‘dharamshalas’ on the way. It took them more than three weeks to reach their destination. After resting for a few days, they started homewards on July 10. After collecting the water in urns, they have to show it utmost respect and avoid placing it down at any point of the journey. Since they walk the entire distance, for convenience, they carry the urns in a wehngi — which is a traditional way of carrying load. They cover the urn with a silken yellow embroidered cloth to make it look festive and easy to spot. These travellers were passing through the city on Friday. The young men said for the last two years, they had been bringing water from the Ganges. Someone had told them that if they took this arduous journey, their wishes would be fulfilled. It has proved to be true, so their faith in Lord Shiva has redoubled. A lot of Kawarias travel together singing bhajan and chanting ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ all the way. Many go by train, but we prefer to walk. Faith is the key that doesn’t let us get tired. Food is served on the way by devotees. The journey homewards is tougher, as we have to be very careful with the urns. While eating, we hang our wehngis on a branch so that these do not touch the ground,” they said. |
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Fully grown palm tree
transplanted Ludhiana, July 25 When two trees were planted a few years ago on the premises of Rishab Spinning Mills, a venture of Nahar Exports, there were no high-tension wires. But as the trees grew, the Electricity Department laid high-tension wires that went through the compound of the company. Fearing that the trees would eventually touch the wires, Mr. S.L. Sehgal, executive director of the company, decided to go ahead with transplantation rather than cut the trees. Mr Rakesh Mishra, horticulturist of the company, planned the operation in May, when the first tree was transplanted to a new site. After the tree took roots, the second tree was transplanted today after digging up a 10 cubic feet ball of earth. “The company has adopted Environment Management System (EMS) and has been granted the ISO 14000 certification for it”, Mr Sehgal said. Mr Mishra claimed that it was for the first time that such a huge amount had been spent by a company on preserving a fully grown tree. |
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Beauty
talk at Teej celebrations Ludhiana, July 25 Surprise gifts were given and a bumper tambola was played. For the Teej Queen contest, more than 30 members participated. There were two age groups for the contest above 40 years and below 40 years. More than 150 club members attended the meeting. |
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Adi Dharam Samaj rally Ludhiana, July 25 The rally would culminate at Amritsar on Monday. Comprising 150 scooters and motor cycles, it would be flagged off by former Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Charanjit Singh Atwal. The objective of the rally was to gain “total” management control of Valmiki Tirath in Amritsar and to create
awareness against intoxicants. |
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Nomination
for advisory panel Ludhiana, July 25 Mr Vinod K. Thapar, president of the Knitwear Club, has been nominated as one of the members of the committee. The committee will hold discussions and advise the government on issues like tax collection, implementation of rules and regulations related to sales tax, besides highlighting the problems faced by the industrialists and traders. This was stated by Mr Narinder K. Miglani, general secretary, Knitwear Club, in a press note issued here. |
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Servant decamps with cash, ornaments Ludhiana, July 25 The complainant had stated that the accused, who had been employed as domestic help at his house, broke open the lock of the house while he was away to a relative’s house and decamped with gold ornaments weighing about 1,130 gm and Rs 25,000. Councillor’s charge:
Fraud cases:
The Civil Lines police has registered a case under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC on a statement of Mr Jagdeep Singh of Sarabha Nagar against Shamsher Singh of Pawa Khurd village and Jagtar Singh, a bus conductor. The complainant had stated that he owned a bus and had employed the accused to run it. But the accused took the bus after their working hours on Wednesday night and ferried passengers from Ludhiana to Khanna without obtaining his permission. Migrant defrauded:
Woman duped:
Case registered:
Telephone wire stolen:
Woman beaten up:
Eve-teaser booked:
Trucker booked:
Counterfeit currency:
Tractor Stolen:
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Rs 100 cr subsidy for entrepreneurs Ludhiana, July 25 Mr Gurbinder Singh Atwal, Parliamentary Secretary, Industry, addressing participants at an exhibition organised by Paramount Industries on dealing with industrial pollution, said here today that as many as 65 prestigious firms from across the country were taking part in the event. Priority would be accorded to those who wanted to start or upgrade an industry in the border belt. While a subsidy of 30 per cent would be given to entrepreneurs from border areas, it would be 20 per cent for other parts of the state. The subsidy would be in the form of industrial loans. Blaming the previous government for the poor state of the industry, he said old norms which did not encourage foreign investment and discouraged people from other states from setting up base in Punjab had been scrapped and an investor-friendly policy put in place, which would be followed scrupulously. The Parliamentary Secretary said the Akalis had not bothered about industrial growth in the state which had resulted in many units being closed. Also, the much-publicised subsidy was not given to investors. He said Capt Amarinder Singh had personally looked into the issue and had instructed that a bond be floated to release the previously announced subsidy of Rs 600 crore at the earliest. Mr Atwal said under the cluster development scheme, a cluster for cyclemaking and parts would be developed at Ludhiana. Similarly, clusters for machine tools at Batala, and for steel and re- rolling at Mandi Gobindgarh would be set up. A sum of Rs 50 lakh would be spent on each cluster. He informed that the Punjab State Industrial and Export Development Council had signed a MoU with the Gas Authority of India under which Rs 1,000 crore would be spent to expand the existing pipelines in the state to provide gas to the industrial units. The state was committed to developing the industrial base in the state and for this purpose a single-window approach had been finalised. Not only this, guidelines and norms for easy allotment of industrial plots had been adopted for the benefit of entrepreneurs. He said the government was also aware of industrial pollution and it would be made clear to the investors that they would have to follow strict anti-pollution norms, otherwise their units would be closed down. Appreciating the opening of the exhibition in Ludhiana, he said it was an apt place since it was the industrial hub of the state with more than 40,000 units which gave employment to nearly 75,000 people. |
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Training
programme on industrial safety Ludhiana, July 25 The training programme was attended by 115 supervisors and managers of different industrial units of Ludhiana. Experts in industrial safety and Occupational Health, particularly for chemical, mechanical and electrical hazards and their prevention delivered lectures. A live demonstration-cum-lecture on Fire and industrial safety” was delivered by Lieut-Col.
M.S.Sodhi, Chief Security Officer, Vardhman Mills. An exhibition on fire fighting and safety equipment was arranged on the occasion. A mock fire drill was also organised during the training programme. Mr
S.B.Khullar, Vice-President (Personnel and Administration) inaugurated the training programme. Mr
B.K. Aggarwal, Deputy Director Factories Ludhiana outlined the schedule of the programme and asked the participants to spread the message of safety to the floor level in their respective units. He emphasised that safety must precede production. Mr
V.K.Goyal, Chief Executive, Vardhman Spinning and General Mills, Ludhiana, gave away certificates to the participants. He appreciated the efforts of the officers of the Directorate of Factories for organising such a programme. Mr
B.K. Aggarwal thanked the management and industrial units for sparing their supervisors and managers for the programme and rendering cooperation to make the programme successful. The programme was attended by Mr Daler Singh, Mr Sudhir
Kakkar, Mr Kashmir Singh, Deputy Director, Factories, and Dr
S.K.Thapar, Assistant Director (Medical).
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