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August 12, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Pepsi, Coke go cheap Ludhiana, August 11 Kuldeep Kumar, a Ghumar Mandi shopkeeper said, “we have to clear our stocks even if we have to offer special packages”. He maintained that some people did consume the drinks despite the Centre for Science and Environment survey findings. However, he admitted that the sales had come down heavily. Taking cue from Parliament, a number of educational institutions in the city have already banned the sale of Coke, Pepsi and other soft drinks in their canteens. Punjab Agricultural University is also contemplating to ban the sales of these drinks. Only a few days ago, the Bhartiya Vidya Mandir (BVM) chain of schools banned the sale of these drinks in the school canteens. The movement of the vehicles carrying Coke or Pepsi has come down. The sources in the bottling plants of Pepsi and Coke revealed that the production had also been cut during the past few days as orders had fallen. Earlier, the distributors and retailers had hoped that after the initial response for a couple of days, the sales would resume slowly. But even after five days the sales have remained stagnant. Rather these have come down. A leading grocery store owner in the Civil Lines revealed that the sales had fallen. He said, during one day, he would sell at least a dozen crates of 24 bottles each. But now he is not able to sell even one crate. He disclosed that people seem to be convinced about the findings of the CSE survey. “Usually people do not take such findings seriously. But this time there has been a serious impact of the survey hitting the sales severely”, he said. The local officials of Coke and Pepsi said, they were waiting for the orders from the top management on how to counter the CSE findings. They hinted that both the companies might come with counter propaganda. “Very soon we might be having a comprehensive campaign against the CSE findings based on facts and independent analysis”, said an official of one of the companies. He pointed out, paid advertisements were already being inserted in all newspapers across the country.
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Grit of
visually challenged Ludhiana, August 11 “When
God took away my sight, he gifted me with ‘sixth sense’ which has
made me independent and contented”. A resident of Darbhanga, Bihar,
Jagdish moved to the industrial city in 1962 seeking greener pastures. “I
was just 18 years old when I came to the city. At that time, I did not
have the feel of the place. I started working on daily wages as a
construction worker. Initially people were reluctant to employ me but
once they saw my work, they extended all the help. For the past 40
years, I am in this profession”, says Jagdish Yadav. Jagdish is
able to earn Rs 80 to Rs 90 per day. “I am familiar with this place
now. I can handle my work by recognizing my contractor’s voice. I
believe in God, He is always there to help me and I worship my work”,
he said. He had bought some land in his native village with his savings but his three other brothers want to grab it. One of his brothers came to the city a few years ago and demanded money he had saved through his hard work. “I,
being a handicap want to keep something for my future. Who will come
to my rescue if I fall sick? I had bought some land in my village and
now my brothers want to grab it. Instead of helping me, they are
unnecessarily troubling me. I am not asking them for anything but they
should let me live peacefully”. On asking that why he did not
get married?, he says, “I am a handicapped person and I never want
to trouble any girl Why should anyone suffer because of me?”. He
feels upset as for the past two-three months, he did not get much
work. “Due to the rains, there are hardly any constructions going
on. All my resources have now dried up because of ‘slump’ in the
market. But I am hopeful to save something in near future”, he said
in an optimistic tone. Jagdish has been given shelter by one of
the residents in Punjab Mata Nagar. Ms Sneh Sood, one of his employer
said, “People should take a lesson from him. There are people, who
are hale and hearty but still they beg. But people like Jagdish set a
rare example. His is a genuine case. The government, district
administration can at least help him by providing concession in
bus/rail fares. |
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Contract
farming hitting farmers: BKU Ludhiana, August 11 The state executive of the BKU which met here today with Mr Ajmer Singh Lakhowal in the chair, urged the government to ensure that only the seeds of the varieties approved by Punjab Agricultural University or the Punjab State Seeds Authority, were supplied to farmers by the Punjab Agro Food Grain Corporation under the contract farming scheme. According to its Secretary General, Mr Manjit Singh Kadian, the BKU rejected the marginal increase granted by the Union Government in the support prices of kharif crops. The prices of forthcoming crops should be fixed on the basis of price index of the year 1966-67 which worked out to be Rs 759 per quintal for superfine variety and Rs 689 per quintal for coarse variety of paddy, Rs 2860 for oilseeds and pulses and Rs 3250 for cotton and Rs 143 per quintal for sugarcane. The meeting made out a strong case for immediate payment of the arrears of Rs 126 crore due to the sugarcane growers since last year and threatened the government with a mass agitation if the payment was further delayed. Emphasising the need for diversification of agriculture and promotion of allied professions, the BKU called upon the government to take necessary steps for making available better breed of buffaloes in view of their prolonged and high milk yielding capacity. The union also pleaded for setting up more meat processing factories in Punjab which could take care of the unproductive livestock and cater to the export market. Mr Kadian said the meeting expressed its grave concern over increasing drug addiction among the youth in the state while asking the government to come down heavily upon unregulated sale of intoxicating drugs and psychotropic substances. If the authorities failed to take effective measures to curb the sale of intoxicants, the BKU might be forced to launch a mass agitation. While taking stock of the preparations for the state level conference at Chandigarh on September 12, the BKU functionaries directed the district units to take out awareness marches in their respective villages, towns and cities to mobilise the farmers, workers and Dalits to take part in the conference. |
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BKU holds dharna Samrala, August 11 Addressing the gathering Mr Rajewal said the balance of sugarcane had not been paid by the Punjab Government and the farmers were losing Rs 2.50 crore per year. The BKU workers also gave a memorandum to Mr J.S. Jassi, SDM, Samrala. Among others who addressed the rally were Mr Baldev Singh Meeanpur, Punjab President, Mr Mewa Singh Sihala, press secretary, Mr Harpal Singh Dhillon, president of the Arhtiya Association. |
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Cops booked for misplacing file Doraha, August 11 According to the
FIR, a scooterist and a pillion-rider were injured by a truck near Dhamot Kalan village. One person was killed in the accident. It was after a gap of about two to three months that the complainant got a complaint registered at Payal police station against the truck driver. However, the case got cancelled for want of proof. A copy of the cancellation report was not presented before the court for approval as it had allegedly been misplaced by the then munshi of Payal police station. As the file has been found missing a case has been registered against the SI and munshi posted at the police station in the year 1997 under Section 409 of the IPC. |
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Making bed of rail tracks Ludhiana, August 11 One person was so weary that he was using a bit of railway track as his pillows. The other person equally weary had the sense to put his head in the other direction. These persons pose not only grave danger to themselves but also to the Railway authorities. In case of any accident, the trains would have to change their tracks causing inconvenience to thousands of commuters. Railway Police Force personnel book such persons causing problems to Railway safety. It is not unusual for the personnel to find a lot of such people using Railway tracks as their homes. |
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Private participation in plantation drive Ludhiana, August 4 The maintenance of the plants would also be entrusted to private parties. A proposal to be put before the general house of the MC in the next meeting provides for private firms, individuals, corporate houses, NGOs and advertising agents to provide tree guards for the saplings being planted all over the city and to maintain these for a period of three years on ‘build, operate and transfer’ (BOT) basis. The MC Commissioner, Mr S.K. Sharma, said in lieu of these services provided by the private participants, they would be entitled to put up their advertising messages on plates of size 9 inches by 4 inches on all sides of the tree guards. The scheme, while encouraging private participation in sapling plantation and making the city clean and green, would also result in massive financial saving to the MC in purchase of tree guards and maintenance of plants. A public notice inviting offers from private parties for providing tree guards and maintenance of plants would be issued immediately after getting approval from the MC general house in the next couple of days. The civic body, Mr Sharma added, had taken up the task of plantation of saplings in greenbelts, medians on all major roads, entry points to the city, roundabouts and slipways. The city residents were also being motivated to plant more and more plants so that the green cover of the city could be replenished and an attempt could be made towards combating alarming level of environmental pollution in the city. |
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Privatisation
of PSEB complaint cell resented Ludhiana, August 11 It asked the management to create better working conditions for its employees and to provide necessary tools and equipment to strengthen the fault rectification staff. A joint meeting of the City West and City East divisions of the PSEB under the presidentship of Mr Tejinder Singh Mohi, Secretary, PSEBF (AITUC), observed that the PSEB top brass was going ahead with an expensive venture in the name of setting up a privately run call centre without realising the ground realities. The so-called computerised complaint cell to be set up by a private company would be of little practical benefit to a majority of the consumers for the simple reason that almost 70 to 80 per cent of the more than 4 lakh consumers in the city did not even have telephones. Among other activists of the Technical Services Union, PSEB Workers Federation (INTUC), PSEB Employees Federation and Council of Junior Engineers participated in the meeting. The speakers lamented that the senior officers of the PSEB were doing precious little to equip and strengthen the existing complaint centres of the board in the city but such extravagant schemes were being floated which looked attractive only on paper. "The staff deployed for the rectifying faults and carrying out the maintenance work does not have the necessary tools, equipment and other material like torches, ladders and vehicles." They said rather than formulating fancy proposals to squander financial resources, the PSEB management should involve the trade unions in the process of improvement in working conditions. |
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Life as a portrait of struggle Life for him had never been a bed of roses. He had been struggling hard since he was five in 1929. The demise of his father at a very young age left him with no option but to fend for himself, his mother, two sisters and a brother. Instinctively he knew that education alone could salvage him from the lower depths of misery. He wanted to be M.Sc. (Hons) in physics but the circumstances so conspired that he had to do masters in geography from Panjab University, Lahore in 1946. He worked for sometime as Demonstrator in Doaba College, Jalandhar but, after partition, joined Brijindra College, Faridkot in November, 1947 as Lecturer in geography. Since then he never looked back and rose in due course of time to the position of Principal and Deputy Director (Colleges). Meeting Surjit Singh Bhatia is like meeting the good old times when life moved at a slow pace and had a charm of its own. He imbibed the ethos of Lahore roaming in its streets and bazaars during his school and college days. He still retains the memory of his teachers in Sikh National College, Lahore as well as the devoted persons engaged in social uplift and religious awakening. In his book Karni Wale (Do gooders), he has sketched so very vividly the persons who influenced him. While residing close to the gurdwara Dehra Sahib (Lahore), the symbol of the martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev during the reign of Jehangir, he gained an insight into the matters religious. Ultimately his thought process converged on the time-tested values of human life, particularly goodness, truth and sacrifice. He has never flinched away from the path paved with good intentions. He suffered ignominy at the hands of the rowdies in Government College, Bathinda where he worked as Principal for five years. He cherished his principles like the breath of his
life and could not compromise with the intimidating forces at any cost. Even as Deputy Director (Colleges), he could not placate the powers that be. As a result he was transferred to Government College, Malerkotla as its Principal, hardly two months before his retirement on 30 June, 1982. Still he has the capacity to laugh away the blues of his life. Surjit Singh Bhatia was drawn to Punjabi quite early in his life just as a matter of habit. He could not continue his studies in Sikh National College, Lahore after F.Sc. due to his prolonged illness. So he took the Honours in Punjabi (Giani) examination so as to appear in B.A. as a private candidate. Luckily he secured 74 per cent marks in this examination held in 1943 by Panjab University, Lahore. Thereafter his interest in Punjabi grew and he produced geography text-books in Punjabi for the school as well as college students. He also composed original works in Punjabi, obliquely related to his subject, such as Punj Koolan and Suraj Ikko, Ruttaan Anek. It was, however, in theology that he made his mark. He started with Haumai, “Sankalp te Vivechan” and “Suchet Chetna” but earned kudos for his interpretative works, such as “Bhagti te Shakti”, “Sikhi di Navekli Pachhan”, “Sikh Rehat te Sikh Aacharan” and “Gurbani di Seerat”. With these publications the circle of his readers widened and seminars on his works were held in Punjabi Bhawan, Ludhiana. He received many awards including the Dhaliwal Award (2002) from the Punjabi Sahit Academy, Ludhiana. Earlier, he had served this academy as general secretary, besides having been its returning officer for many terms at the time of biennial elections. His impartiality and uprightness has now become a password. His magnum opus is his autobiography entitled “Pilli Itt” (Unbaked Brick). In it, he has laid emphasis on the milieu of the society that helped him achieve the targets of his life. He has also made in this book profuse comments on the education system of the Punjab state. He has been an insider, since the days of Partition, so far as the college education is concerned. His remarks about his colleagues are mostly in good humour as he has malice towards none. Undoubtedly, “Pilli Itt is in the good company of recently published autobiographies such as “Rangan di Gagar” (Dr. S.S. Johl), “Haashiye di Ibarat” (Dr. Karanjit Singh) and “Chhangia Rukh (Balbir” Madhopuri). Principal Bhatia is a Ludhianvi in the true sense of the term. The flowering of his genius took place in
Government College, Ludhiana where he served as Head of the Geography Department for 15 years, besides being its Bursar for eight years. He had been stickler for rules but never for any motive. The secret of his success in the various fields of his life lies in his capacity to absorb himself fully in the work he undertakes. His complete involvement in matters official or personal has helped him wade through the troubled waters. Even now in the 80th year of his life, he is mostly up and doing, except for the period he has to devote to his ailing wife who has stood by him through thick and thin. |
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Stray animals give nightmares to motorists Ludhiana, August 11 With enormous increase in the population and number of vehicles on city roads, the traffic conditions, particularly in congested residential and commercial areas and localities in the old city, are becoming worse day by day. In addition to rampant encroachment, haphazardly parked vehicles on both sides of the roads and streets, the road users have to undergo the agony of dealing with unrestricted movement of stray cattle on the roads. A number of cows squatting on one side of the city roads is a common sight. At times these animals can be seen even on a busy highway making the wide stretch of roads into one-way roads. More often than not, the animals, when they come in running suddenly, cause serious and occasionally fatal road accidents. If the animals, sitting in the middle of the roads and streets impede the smooth flow of traffic, the pigs and street dogs create problems for the residents in almost the entire city. The lack of preventive measures over a period of time has led to steep increase in the population of stray animals, who pose grave danger to public health and sanitation. The residents in many localities have to put up with the worst kind of insanitary conditions, created by the pigs and dogs that throng garbage dumps. The incidents of some dog bites are also on the rise. Despite tall claims by the NGOs and other bodies, working for the protection and welfare of the animals and the religious sentiments attached with some of the animals, there is no arrangement for keeping a check on the stray cattle, who are left to fend for themselves after they become
‘unproductive’. Similarly, with pig-rearing becoming almost a cottage industry in many parts of the city, the animals keep roaming around much to the annoyance of other residents. The city residents feel that the issue of stray animals needs to be addressed at various levels in close coordination with NGOs, the traffic experts and civic administrators. First and foremost, adequate infrastructure, including spacious cattle ponds for housing stray animals, has to be created. Financial resources have to be generated for setting up animal shelters in the city and to provide food and fodder to the cattle. The business of pig-rearing ought to be regulated and effective measures have to be taken to check the increasing population of stray dogs. |
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READERS WRITE This is in reference to the extensive and widespread reports about Coca Cola and Pepsi containing pesticides in huge proportions sufficient to cause immense harm to human beings. It needs to be verified and responsibility needs to be fixed since it concerns hundreds and thousands of people in the country who have been consuming these drinks. This is not an isolated case. We already have adulterated food like eatables and even milk. Some people are so callous that they do not mind adding urea to the milk to increase its concentration. People responsible for all this need to be exposed and penalised because they are playing with the health of masses. Responsibility also needs to be fixed as to why so far it had not been found out and why were unsuspecting people made to consume such drinks as these contained toxic substances. The government needs to come down firmly against these practices to save the public health. D.V. Saharan Efforts to remove corruption This is in reference to the report published on July 26, 2003, regarding eradication of corruption from IT and the sincere efforts being made in this regard by trust chairman Ashok Singh Garcha. The news has been well appreciated by all members with the Progressive Democratic Common Cause Forum and they were in agreement with the contents in toto. An emergency meeting has been called to gauge the inner voice and opinion of the residents of our colony. Col. R.S. Sohi (retd), patron, Mr G.S. Gill, president, Mr T.S. Mohie, secretary, Mr Balwinder Singh, joint secretary, Mr Parshotam Singh, Treasurer, Mr Sukhvir Singh Sodhi, Mr Rajinder Bhatthal and Mr S.P. Singh, executive members, have actively associated themselves with the aim and objects of declaring war against corruption in LIT. We appreciated the points raised during the course of open darbar and accumulated hundreds of supporters in favour of the chairperson and the trustees. We trust and hope that these efforts and grievances raised at the forum should not die a slow death after a period of time as has been our experience in the past. It is pertinent to point out that a lot of enthusiasm is generated initially but after a gap of time only the upright and honest persons remain standing while those with vested interests quietly withdraw from the scene. The society is ready to extend support for this noble cause and other related issues also. We submit that we are ready to attend such seminars/meetings on public interest issues affecting the society. The public and the trust authorities are free to contact us at any time on tel nos : 2802440, 2802600. T.S. Mohie
Contributions to political parties Parliament has passed a Bill whereby companies, firms and individuals will be permitted to contribute liberally to recognised political parties and such payments will be permitted as deductible expenditure in the hands of the donor for computing taxable income. There can be two views relating to enactment of the new law. Transparency is a point in favour of industry since political contributions will be clearly known and officially paid. However, the negative part is that this will officially open the doors for political parties to patronise and promote unwarranted and dejected social elements of the society in exchange for party funds. The parties will stand to gain immensely from sums taken out from the hard-earned money of the people, including companies. Contributions made to social institutions like NGOs promoting welfare have always been eyed with suspicion. It is common knowledge that accounts of political parties are maintained for namesake. These are not scrutinised by Income Tax Department or any other authority. Therefore, a hurried amendment of the People’s Representation Act, Income Tax Act and Companies act authorising payments to political parties is not in the best interest of the country. The President should ponder over the above before giving his assent to this controversial Bill. S.r Mittal
II The people and shopkeepers along the main road from Dugri Canal Bridge to the Kandhari Departmental store have heaved a sigh of relief since all the unauthorised encroachments — by rehriwalas and sellers of sundry items on the both sides of the road — have been removed by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation. It is really a commendable job which the MC Ludhiana has performed and for the residents of Dugri Urban Estate it is a great relief from the perennially choked roads and traffic. It was one of the most long-pending demand of the inhabitants of the area and the issue had been raised at various fora for the past quite some time. The matter was also brought to the notice of the MC authorities but no action had been taken in the past. The role of the councillor needs to be appreciated since it was with his interest that the needful has been done. But alas, the problem still remains in part. Encroachments on the main road have been removed but still one can observe certain persons carrying on with their business on both sides. Some have installed their rehris or are selling products inside the green belts after breaking the grill and in some cases the shopkeepers on the side of the village have put their goods inside the boundary wall. All these should be removed and the green belt should be maintained and the grills repaired properly. It is also suggested that the MC authorities must keep a watch regularly lest things go back to square one. Moreover, steps should also be taken to remove all encroachments in different forms inside the areas at different crossings and on both sides of the internal road. Platforms and parking spaces should also be a great service and relief for the residents of Urban Estate areas. Kuldip Singh Kreer
Maharaja style welfare of ex-servicemen The financial plight of the ex-servicemen, war widows and their dependents is the worst in society because of their meagre pensions. Most of them are unemployed after retirement at the age of 37. They ask for concessions to meet both ends but on the contrary the Punjab government has been very cruel to impose sales tax on CSD items to make life more miserable for them. It will also adversely affect the morale of the serving soldiers in Punjab. It will be a further burden on the ex-servicemen, war widows and their dependents, who are already hard pressed, under the high prices of daily use items. It is not the proper reward for our sacrifices and services to the nation. Brig P.S. Toor |
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DGP urged to check use of intoxicants Ludhiana, August 4 The union general secretary (finance), Mr Puran Singh Shahkot, and the general secretary (press), Mr Bhupinder Singh, said though poppy was not grown in the state, the use of poppy husk was rampant. The union leaders said intoxicants were being sold in connivance with “corrupt” police officers and strict action was the need of the hour. They hailed the appointment of Mr Jai Singh Gill as Chief Secretary of Punjab. Describing Mr Gill as an upright officer, the union leaders urged him to get the assets of senior government officials probed. |
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Dal (Amritsar) nominees Khamano, August 11 |
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Role of Rotary lauded Ludhiana, August 11 Dr Desai, a Baroda-based orthopaedic surgeon and a past district governor of the Rotary International, stressed the need for balancing desires.
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Husband, mother-in-law booked for demanding dowry Ludhiana, August 4 Woman hurt in attack:
The Sarabha Nagar police registered a case under Sections 323, 324, 506, 427 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Joginder Singh, a resident of Threekay village, against Dimple, Daljeet Singh and Karamjit Singh, residents of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar. The complainant had alleged that the accused had beat him up on Saturday. The accused also threatened him, added the complainant. No arrest has been made so far. Poppy husk seized:
Liquor seized:
Stolen:
Six shops burgled:
The burglars broke shutters of six shops dealing in cloth, hardware, kiryana, battery repair and a general store and broke the safe of the shops and decamped with the cash. |
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One held, 224 kg poppy husk seized Ludhiana, August 11 At a distance of about one kilometre ahead of the gurudwara, the police party saw one person sitting atop the gunny bags on one side of the dirt road which connects Malla to Chakarwali. At the sight of the police vehicle, the person ran away, but was nabbed by police personnel. The bags were full of poppy husk. Each bag would have fetched around Rs 10,000 in nearby villages. A case under Sections 15, 61, 95 of the Opium Act has been registered.
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Bid to rape Ludhiana, August 4 According to an FIR lodged against the accused, the incident occurred at about 6.30 a.m. when a safai karamchari was sweeping the floor. He forced her into a room but she was rescued by her mother who raised the alarm. He was later arrested.
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