 |
|
| Wednesday,
September 17, 2003, Chandigarh, India
|
|
||||
|
Structures razed near Baddowal ammo depot Aiyali Kalan, September 16 The demolition squad razed as many as 14 structures which had been constructed despite a ban imposed by the high court. In a joint operation by a team of the district administration, the local police and Baddowal ammunition depot various structures that were allegedly reconstructed by the owners of certain houses were demolished amid protests by residents and allegations against the authorities. The action follows the notices issued to these residents by the district administration recently. The coordinated operation began in the morning today when the officials of the district administration, police personnel and Army officials, armed with a JCB machine reached the village and launched the demolition of structures. Ms Surinder Kaur, wife of Subedar Major Singh, whose one portion of house was demolished, said the officials never came when the construction was going on. She alleged that she had paid money to many employees of the department at the time of construction. She sought a ban on new registrations of land being done by the administration. Mr Surjeet Singh said it was saddening that although the officials termed the colony illegal, they had provided all facilities like water, electricity and telephone connections. Mr Kuldip Singh, SDM, who was supervising the operation maintained that the action was strictly in compliance with the Supreme Court’s orders. He further said that only those structures were being razed which had been reconstructed after the orders. He added that the administration officials had prepared a report of the area after conducting a survey in which 43 reconstructions had been identified. |
|
Robbers
injure 3, decamp with cash, jewellery Ludhiana, September 16 The robbers, whose number could not be known as the victims were still unconscious, entered the house of Mr Ram Lal, a resident of house no. 507, in Sector 39, and a husk dealer, at 3 a.m. from a door in the backyard which was open. Ms Kailash Wanti, Ram Lal’s mother, was sleeping in the room. The robbers injured the old woman in her head with an unidentified object. They then entered the bedroom of Ram Lal where they injured him and his wife Sangeeta (28) alias Dimple with the same object. The three were unconscious. The robbers then broke open an almirah in the house and ransacked all the rooms. Family sources said that Ram Lal had come back home at 2 a.m. after seeing off some relatives at the local railway station. The robbers went away with the jewellery and cash worth thousands of rupees. Surprisingly, the robbers remained in the house for quite some time, and Sham Lal, the brother of Ram Lal, who lives in the first floor of the house did not get to know anything about it. While the three injured lay unconscious in the house, the incident came to light only when Sham Lal and his wife woke up to see that his door was locked from outside. He called his brother but there was no reply. He then called the neighbours who opened his and saw that the three members of their family were lying unconscious and the house was ransacked. The division number -7 police led by SHO Randhir Singh reached the place of incident and the injured were admitted to CMC Hospital. The police has registered a case under section 459, IPC, on the statement of Neelam, Sham Lal’s wife. The victims were not in a position to give a statement as they were
tranquillised by the doctors because they were complaining of pain. The police had to register the case on the statement of Sham Lal’s wife only. Doctors attending to the three said that they were recovering. They had injuries on head and face. They were shifted to the ward from the emergency in the evening. The police is investigating into the case. A dog squad has been pressed into service. The police is waiting for them to regain consciousness. Police sources said that the loss of property could not be ascertained as Neelam could only tell that there was some cash and jewellery kept in the house but she could not tell the exact amount of money. The police has recovered an iron with blood spilled over it. The police is working on the theory that the robbers had hit the three with this iron only. A brick has also been recovered from the spot which was used for breaking open the almirah. The robbers had also cut the telephone lines of the house before entering it. Further investigations are on. |
|
Scarcity
of anti-rabies vaccine in Civil Hospital Ludhiana, September 16 Dr S.N. Tiwari, Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, when asked about it, said that the department had no budget and for more than nine-months, the payment was not made to the Central Research Institute, Kasauli. One of the doctors at Civil Hospital, on condition of anonymity, said that the hospital authorities had to send back more than 10 such patients everyday. “In the year 2002-2003, more than 2900 patients were given anti-rabies treatment. Approximately 250 patients, bitten by dogs, come here every month for treatment. But for the last 2-3 months, we have not been able to provide treatment to patients,” said the doctor. It may be mentioned here that the majority of the population visiting the hospital is of migrant labourers. One of the labourers, working in an industrial unit, who was recently bitten by a stray dog said: “The doctors have advised me to get proper treatment for almost eight days. For this, I have to administer an anti-rabies injection daily but here there is a shortage of vaccines. I am being forced to visit some private doctor since the treatment has to be given in any case. I do not have sufficient money since the injection costs around Rs 200”. Another doctor at the Civil Hospital said: “The department always faces financial crunch. In February, 2002, the supply of these injections was stopped for almost a month. But this time the shortage has created panic among the patients. But the hospital authorities are not to be blamed for this shortage”. Mr Lalit Verma, general secretary, District Chemists and Druggists Association, said that earlier these anti-rabies vaccines were available from Kasauli but now many Mumbai-based companies were also making anti-rabies injections. “These injections are quite expensive. The patient has to administer 5-7 injections as a preventive dose. One injection costs around Rs 250.These include disposable syringes, cotton etc. Some other injections are cheap also but they are to be given for 10-14 days”, said Mr Verma. |
|
Dental college flouting admission norms? Ludhiana, September 16 Inquiries by The Tribune revealed that Baba Jaswant Singh Dental College on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh road was charging anything between Rs 10 to 14 lakh from the students seeking admission to the BDS course, even if they had scored a low rank in the PMT test. Reliable sources said that there were total 100 seats for the BDS course. Fifty seats were given to the deserving candidates on merit and the remaining 50 seats were from the management quota. “The management has the right to give admission to the students in accordance with the Supreme Court verdict. The Punjab Government has set a fee structure of Rs 1 lakh for the dental course but the college management is demanding up to Rs 14 lakh for the same. If you negotiate, they will cut down the fee to Rs 12 lakh. The wards of a number of doctors have been accommodated like this”, added the person. It is pertinent to mention here that the college had given an advertisement dated September 7, 2003, in a section of media for the admission in Bachelor of Dental Surgery, session 2003-2004, in management quota seats. In the
A number of aspiring candidates, however, complained that when they asked for the prospectus, the authorities maintained that since the same had finished, they could give all their details on a plain paper and after discussing their case with the management, they would be given admission. One of the candidates, after persistent efforts, on condition of anonymity, disclosed that her parents would be paying upto Rs 10 lakh for the admission but the management would give
receipt of only Rs 1 lakh (as per the state government’s rules). Since I am very disturbed because of my low rank in PMT, my parents have agreed to pay this huge amount”, said the student. It may be mentioned that earlier, the professional colleges used to charge this much amount from the NRIs. Since the state government has abolished the NRI quota, they are charging the exorbitant fee from general candidates and the parents of many aspiring students were ready to pay the amount in order to make their wards doctors. One of the trustees, Mr Kirpal Singh, when contacted denied the allegations about the
institute demanding capitation fee for admissions said: “These allegations can only be levied by a person who has been refused admission, since the admission process is yet to be completed, the allegations have no basis”. He said that we are only taking an undertaking from the students that they will abide by the Supreme Court ruling in the matter, while adding that the final admission is to be approved or rejected by the university and the college did not have much say in the matter. However, belying the claims of the college management, Mr. KS Sidhu (name changed), who had sought admission for his daughter said that the management was unwilling to entertain him unless he agreed to pay over Rs 10 lakh. But since he could not promise to pay this amount, he did not even fill the admission form, nor did the college gave him an application form without a promise of paying Rs 10 lakhs. |
|
LUDHIANA CALLING Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors in press notes released by various organisations are very common. But this at least is not expected from the releases prepared or endorsed by school and college teachers. In one of the press release from a school in city area, bouquet was written as ‘bukey’. In yet another press note from a senior secondary school, praise was spelled wrongly as ‘prays’. School functions In an effort to acquaint the students regarding various rituals and ceremonies linked with the religious occasions, almost all nursery schools make it a point to celebrate these. However, such celebrations begin in the schools much early, even a fortnight before the actual occasion. While Dasehra falls on October 5 this year, the schools have already begun such celebrations in the form of fancy dress shows and puppet shows for their students.
Nice adieu Recently, a function was held in a private school to host the retirement party of the principal. On the occasion, the teachers of the school penned down a poem for their principal, in which each line began from one of the letters of her name. Since her first name began with the letter ‘S’, they called her a ‘Source of inspiration’. Praising her on every letter of her name, they even wrote lines from her surname. Since her surname begins with the letter ‘K’ and the teachers inadvertently wrote it as ‘Knack of collecting donation’.
Maddening “Maddening” is perhaps the word to describe the traffic chaos prevailing in the city. With more than 100 vehicles added on to the city roads everyday, traffic is becoming uncontrollable. While the cops are blamed time and again for failing to control the chaos, the public too cannot be termed innocent as many people driving on the city roads lack adequate traffic sense. Red light jumping during the morning as well as late hours, especially in the peripheral areas of the city, is a very common occurrence. The drivers are seen jumping the red lights without even slowing down a bit near the lights. One can only wonder at the driving ‘skills’ of the city residents, who despite flouting traffic rules, manage to escape the accidents as not many of these are reported everyday.
Apology There is one office-bearer in the city who is sick of some visitors who keep hanging around in his office without any work. Being unable to find any solution to this problem, the chairman of Ludhiana Improvement Trust, Mr Ashok Singh Garcha has put a note outside his office stating,‘‘ We are very busy for the next two months. Friends and acquaintances please excuse and meet at home. Our apologies!’’ God knows whether it will work or not.
Too inhuman A colleague witnessed an incident when a girl, probably in her teens fell when her scooter skided on a busy road in the city. Despite the fact that hundreds of commuters were seen on the road no body came to her rescue. She, after a span of few seconds, managed to control herself and stood on the road to take control of her scooter. Unable to succeed she stopped another girl passing by her. Both somehow managed to make the scooter stand on its wheels. Many people witnessed the incident, some kept standing while some did not even bother to stop to help her. Wake up, Ludhianvis! Humanity is a value Punjabis have been nurturing for centuries. They say that finding a job is not difficult if the person is willing to do something. Well, in case of some people it is very true. A man has found out a new method of selling samosas without renting out a shop. He has bought a stove and a pan and this makes his small innovative stall. He sits on a roadside anywhere in the city and his fresh samosas sell like hotcakes. Villages’ list A private publishing company has come out with a useful directory of villages of the state. Much for the convenience for those who want to know the location of any village existing in the state, the publisher claims that they can just name it and find it in the directory. It contains data of all the villages in a district and the entries are done alphabetically. Each district is further divided into blocks which gives the details of the villages. One thing is, however, lacking that it contains no phone numbers which are the most prominent source of communication these days. The publisher can take a cue and at least use entries with the phone number of the sarpanch of the respective village. Generous ATM The other day an ATM of a bank installed on the Mall Road developed some snag. It started taking out currency notes multiplied by 10 whatever a client typed for withdrawal. A young girl wanted to withdraw Rs 700 from the ATM and she typed the amount on the machine. Much to her surprise the machine got Rs 7,000 out. While she was looking confused in the chamber another man came and typed Rs 1,000 for withdrawal. The machine became too generous and released Rs 10,000. Thank God, the bank staff got a wind about it and they apologised to both of them and called for the mechanic. Renovation — a nuisance A well known shop is getting renovated in a very busy market of Ghumar Mandi. Till the renovations are going on, the owners have put up their goods outside on the road. The tent erected to protect the goods covers half of the road . This blocade causes a traffic jam and a lot of inconvenience to the commuters. One wonders how such gross violations of rules is permitted? The other shops are also getting renovated for the forthcoming festive season, but no one has resorted to such blatant violation of rules? Sentinel |
|
Vigil stepped up around markets Ludhiana, September 16 Mr Narinderpal Singh, SSP, held a three-hour meeting with officials of all ranks yesterday at the Circuit House to apprise them of the threat of possible terrorist attacks in the city and underline the need for strengthening the intelligence system. He directed the SHOs of various police stations to keep a close watch on the activities of anti-social elements. This would also help in checking crime in the city, he said. The SSP also stressed the need for building better police-public relations. Mr Narinderpal Singh asked the officers to perform their duty diligently in order to restore the confidence of the public in the working of the police force. The SSP stressed the need to meet the challenge of international terrorism sponsored by the Al-Qaida and its allied outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba by establishing better rapport between the police force and the intelligence wing. |
|
Residents
up in arms against polluting unit Ludhiana, September 16 Mr Malkiat Singh Bagga, president, Residents’ Welfare and Sangharsh Committee, said the shellac factory was using bones of animals and chemicals as inputs and the untreated toxic effluents were being discharged all around, with the result that the subsoil water in the locality had been polluted. He said this posed a grave threat to public health. “The dense smoke emitted by the chimney of the factory emanates a nauseating smell. A large number of residents have contracted diseases like asthma, tuberculosis and gastroenteritis,” Mr Bagga said. Mr Narinder Singh Parwana, secretary of the society, wondered how the factory was being allowed to function in a predominantly residential locality, with a number of approved PUDA colonies around. Making yet another appeal to the district administration, the Punjab Pollution Control Board and the Municipal Corporation, the residents threatened to resort to “direct action” if the authorities continued to turn a blind eye towards their plight. |
|
|
Workshop
on eco-protection Ludhiana, September 16 Mr Nahar Singh Gill, Mayor, Municipal Corporation, who was the chief guest, inaugurated the workshop. Delivering the introductory lecture, Dr Chander Mohini, Principal, Devki Devi Jain Memorial College of Education, said all aspects of environmental education must be covered at the school level. Dr S.K. Battish, Professor and Head, Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Punjab Agricultural University, delivered a lecture on vermiculture. Dr Pawan Sharma, pollution consultant, spoke on water testing and recycling of rainwater. Ms D.K. Dua, Member Secretary, Punjab State Pollution Control Board, Patiala, presided over the function. Mr K.C. Gupta, Chairperson of the Industrial Pollution Control Committee of the Health Council, gave the vote of thanks.
|
|
MC honours Arjuna Award winner Mandi Gobindgarh, September 16 Mr Ahalluwalia recalled that 10 years ago, the then Deputy Commissioner, Fatehgarh Sahib, had sanctioned Rs 25,000 from the Red Cross fund to meet the expenses of the foreign tour of Alok Kumar. He congratulated Alok for winning the Arjuna Award and bringing laurels to the town as well as the district. Mr Ahalluwalia said Alok had succeeded through his own efforts, without any provision for coaching at Mandi Gobindgarh or the district headquarters. The Deputy Commissioner assured all help and cooperation for the establishment of an academy in the town, as demanded by Mr Rajiv Sood, a councillor. He also presented a memento to Alok Kumar. Mr Joginder Pal Singla, MC chief, praised the achievement of the sportsman. Executive Officer Lachman Singh said two other sportsmen of the town, Gagan Ajit Singh and Palwinder Singh, had also excelled at the national level. Alok Kumar thanked the people of the town for giving him so much affection and honour. He said he had started his career here as a badminton player. Mr Sukhwinder Singh
Bhambri, former council chief, senior Congress leader Joginder Singh
Maini, Seth Kanahaya Lal, a social worker, and Mr Harinder Singh
Bhambri, former chief, district Youth Congress, were among those present on the occasion. Students from Sacred Heart School and SNAS Model School presented a cultural programme. The participants were given mementoes and cash prizes. |
|
|
Seminar
on de-addiction held Amloh, September 16 He said Mr S.K. Ahalluwalia, Deputy Commissioner, had taken the initiative to eradicate this evil from the district. Addressing a gathering of around 2,000 students and teachers from
neighbouring schools, Col Inderjeet Singh Cheema, project director, Drug Awareness and Counselling Centre, Punjab, gave a call to the participants to join the de-addiction movement. To begin with, the movement had been launched in schools because the young generation was falling prey to drugs, he said. He made a reference to a survey conducted by the Public Relations Office of the Red Cross in which it had found that every second boy and every 10th girl among hostel students was an addict. About 60 to 90 per cent children born to women drug addicts were found either physically challenged or mentally retarded. The programme was organised by the district Red Cross Society in collaboration with the state unit, said Ms Seema Malla, Counsellor, De-addiction and Counselling Centre, Punjab Red Cross, Chandigarh. Four such seminars had been allotted to the district. The first was held at Bassi Pathana secondary school on September 8, the second at Amloh on September 15, the third and fourth would be organised at Khamano and Fatehgarh Sahib on September 22 and September 29, respectively. The Punjab Red Cross Society has established four de-addiction centres at Ropar, Patiala, Dhan Kaleran and Gurdaspur. Free treatment is provided to the patients at these centres. Ninety per cent of the expenses are borne by the centre and 10 per cent by the state government, she said. Mr Daya Singh, DEO(S), welcomed the guests. Mr Mehar Singh, senior lecturer of the host school, spoke on the achievements of the school. Mr Zora Singh, Principal of the school, thanked the participants. Mr Kulwant Singh Uppal, Tehsildar, Mr Parbodh Kumar, Naib Tehsildar and Principal Roshan Lal Sood were also present. |
|
PWD union flays govt Ludhiana, September 16 Mr Balor Singh Dadahoor, chairman of the union, said the government was doing this as it did not want to regularise the services of hundreds of employees in various departments. Mr Nirbhay Singh Shanker said last year the government had promised agitators in Chandigarh that the services of daily-wagers would be regularised in two months. Even after a year, there had been no intimation in this context. Some employees have been working for the past 15 to 20 years, he pointed out. Mr Gurdeep Chand, chief of the PAU Daily paid Union, said due to certain autocratic practices they were only being paid for 20 to 25 days a month. This was a gross violation of the labour laws, he said. |
|
Bairagis
seek backward class status Ludhiana, September 16 He said the national session of the body, held at Mumbai on September 13 and 14, also resolved to provide data about marriageable girls and boys to respective state presidents to help in match-making and enhance the amount of scholarships to brilliant students. An appeal was made to all members of
Vaishnav, Bawa, Bairagi and Swami communities to add the name of community as a suffix to their names. Mr
N.N. Vaishnav, national president of the organisation, emphasised the need to create social and political awareness in the Bairagi community. He lauded the endeavour of the Punjab state unit for holding a Bairagi sammelan at Barnala on October 16 to mark the birth anniversary of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur.
|
|
Railway
staff hold rally Ludhiana, September
16 Mr Ram Parkash, leader of
the union, appealed to the members to participate in the state-level
rally to be held on September 19 in Pathankot. TNS
|
Gang of robbers busted, stolen good, arms recovered Ludhiana, September 16 Those nabbed include Manjit Singh from Raikot, Lakhbir Singh Gogi of Kaonke Colony, Sarabjit Singh alias Raju Bharti from Kot village near Sirsa, Santosh Kumar and Deena Kumar, both from Bihar. Police sources said that they were planning to rob a petrol filling station and a liquor vend. SHO, Jagraon, City-II police station, raided the spot with his police party and caught them. During investigations it was revealed that Deena Kumar had stolen 51 gram gold jewellery, two gold chains, a pair of earrings, seven rings and Rs 5670 from the house of Tarlochan Singh, a resident of Jatt Agwar near Lopon. The stolen goods were recovered by the police. A countrymade pistol, four cartridges, another 32-bore pistol with two cartridges and two sharp-edged weapons were recovered from their possession. The police has registered a case under Sections 399/402, IPC, and under Section 25/54/59 of the Arms and Ammunition Act. The police also claimed that they had confessed to committing some crimes in Karnal and Panipat districts.
|
|
Assault
victim dies, case registered Ludhiana, September 16 The Sadar police has added Section 302 of the IPC to the FIR registered earlier under Sections 307, 148 and 149 of the IPC. Mr Nachhattar Singh, father of the victim, who lives in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, had lodged a complaint with the police that while his son was waiting for bus, near 10 boys turned up in cars and attacked his son with the intention of killing him. He had named Beant Singh, a resident of Bela village, Shivraj Singh, a resident of Kila Raipur village, and seven others as the accused. It is believed that enmity arising out of a love triangle was probably behind the murder. The victim used to travel to Ludhiana by a mini bus running between Kila Raipur and Ludhiana. A few days ago, he had bought the bus ticket for a girl sitting next to him. When the matter was reported to another person who considered the girl to be his ‘own’, he confronted Jatinder Singh along with some of his friends. Efforts were made by both the groups to settle the matter amicably but without much avail. On the fateful day, both the parties had agreed to meet for another time at the bus stand and sort out the matter. While Jatinder Singh reportedly reached the bus stand with two of his friends well before the time fixed for the meeting, the other group reached there in cars and allegedly attacked Jatinder and his friends with swords and iron rods. While Jatinder Singh was seriously injured, his friends, Kuldeep Singh and Gurchet Singh, managed to escape with minor injuries.
Theft cases:
The police registered another case of theft on the statement of Mr Ajit Singh Mallia, a resident of Sarabha Nagar, against unknown person(s), who entered his office in the new courts complex and stole some files. In third case, Mr Amardeep Singh, a resident of Phase II in Urban Estate, Dugri, reported that somebody entered his house on September 12 and decamped with a computer and gold ornaments. One arrested:
Dowry case:
Assault cases:
Another case of assault was registered on Monday under Sections 451, 341, 323, 506 and 34 of the IPC at the same police station on the statement of Vandana, a resident of Kehar Singh Nagar, against Krishan Kumar, his wife, Sudha, and his son, Ankur Goyal, all residents of the same colony. The woman alleged that the accused assaulted her. Rash driving case:
The police also arrested Saidesh Singh, a resident of the Jamalpur road area, and booked him under Section 279 of the IPC. The police said the accused was driving a truck with negligence on Monday. Liquor seized:
|
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Innovative
