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IHRO flays WSC for supporting Kala Afghana Ludhiana, October 27 Mr D.S. Gill, chairperson of the
organisation, said the show was sponsored and organised by Kala Afghana’s relatives and fans from
abroad while a section of Chandigarh-based intellectuals have tried to lend credibility to the function by spearheading the move for facilitating the entry of the writer back into the Panth. The organisers of the
convention, while defending the ex-communicated Kala Afghana, have challenged the authority,
history and tenets of Akal Takht, a unifying force and inspiration for the Sikhs worldwide, knowing fully well that what they were doing was wrong. No one has the right to challenge the supremacy of Akal Takht and the edits issued from here, he pointed out. Earlier, these very people, he said, had appealed to
the then Jathedar of Akal Takht for getting Dr Piar Singh and Dr Pashaura Singh punished for their objectionable writings. Now they have changed their opinion only to defend Kala Afghana, he added. Mr Gurtej Singh, who is now challenging the
office of Jathedar of Akal Takht, was one of the strong protagonists who had at
one time recommended the name of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale for this august office. Similarly, Major-General Narinder Singh has been a strong candidate of some Sikh militant organisations for the office of the Takht jathedar, he said. “Why have the supporters
of Kala Afghana not challenged the Akal Takhat Jathedar’s edict against Nirankaris and others. This shows the double standards of such persons. We urge them to work together for freeing the office of Jathedar of Akal Takht from the control of the SGPC," he added. "This can be done by adopting a one-point formula. That is, the SGPC leadership
and members should not belong to any party. Only then the SGPC, so elected
or selected, shall be independent from the present bankrupt and opportunistic leadership, which has been (mis)using the Jathedars for their narrow and vested political interests," he said. |
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Train delay leaves passengers stranded Ludhiana, October 27 While the traffic was restored in the afternoon, the passengers had to wait for hours at the railway station itself. The Indore-bound Malwa Express, coming from Jammu, was running late by six hours. Another Rajkot-bound train, Super-2476, scheduled to reach Ludhiana at 4.20 pm, was late by more than three hours. Passengers had to wait at the railway station, as both trains were running late. They had to queue up at the enquiry counter to seek information about the timing of the arrival of the trains. They, however, alleged that they were not being attended to at the counter, as the railway staff itself had no information. Mr Ashok Kumar, Station Superintendent, Ludhiana railway station, said the traffic was restored around 3.30 pm and only two trains coming from Jammu to Ludhiana were delayed. He said the railway authorities were keeping the passengers informed about the delay in the arrival of the trains. Passengers waiting for the trains said the information board at the enquiry counter did not show the timing and other information related to the trains. They said the attendants were also impolite at times in their response to their queries. Mr Avtar Singh, a passenger, who had to reach Indore, said he had been waiting for the train since 1 pm. He said he had been enquiring from the staff time and again about the arrival of the train but they had no information. “I would have left the station if they had told me that the traffic would be restored only after 3 pm,” he said. Mr Prashant Kumar, another passenger, said due to lack of information on the exact time of arrival of the trains, the passengers had to wait at the platforms. Meanwhile, the stranded passengers had to while their time away by playing cards or just sleeping. Mr Pardeep Kumar said he had come from a far off village to board the Malwa Express and could not go back. Similarly, Mr Maniram Gupta and Mr Milkhi Ram, who were heading for Gujarat, said they reached the station around 4 pm but learnt that the train would reach the city after 7 pm only. “We cannot go back home with our luggage, as it would take around one hour to reach there and another one hour to return. It’s better to wait here,” they said. |
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Location hits small units’ growth Ludhiana, October 27 According to Mr Varinder Kapoor, general secretary of United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association, industrial units were set up way back in 60s and 70s in more than 20 such areas that were almost uninhabited, and it was only after these localities were occupied by the industry to the extent of 70 per cent that residential houses were built. Having made a modest beginning, many of the units in these areas had chalked out ambitious plans to expand and modernise but due to the disadvantage of being located in such areas they had been unable to see their plans through. Industrial units, mostly in the small and tiny sector, in colonies like Janta Nagar, Nanak Puri, Partap Nagar, Ram Nagar, Vishvakarma Colony, Muradpura, Preet Nagar, Jujhar Nagar, Sewak Pura, Dera Kalsian, Dashmesh Nagar, Chet Singh Nagar, Nirankari Street, Moongphali Mandi, Oswal Street, Simla Puri, New Simlapuri and Vishvakarma Puri provide direct and indirect employment to more than two lakh people. The unique feature of majority of these industrial units is that these are run by self-employed entrepreneurs and in many cases with the help of their other family members. Quite a few owners of these units live on the same premises. Mr Kapoor further observed that since the areas where these units are located have been marked as “residential” in the city’s master plan, several departments like the Punjab State Electricity Board, the Punjab Pollution Control Board and Municipal Corporation flatly refuse to entertain the applications for an NOC (no objection certificate) for various purposes and extension in power load, which creates problems and causes harassment to the owners of the industry. To add to their misery, residents of these colonies are also in the habit of lodging frivolous complaints against industrial units. The association, he added, had submitted a memorandum to the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, during the state-level function to mark Vishvakarma Day here on Sunday, pleading that all such areas be designated as “industrial belts”. |
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30 fresh cases of dengue Ludhiana, October 27 According to a press note, 345 patients have already been discharged from the hospital after being given treatment. However, 291 patients are still getting treatment at the hospital. The admitted patients belong to areas like Dholewal Chowk, Focal Point, Kundan Puri, Ambedkar Colony, Chander Nagar, Madho Puri, Kirpal Nagar, Shimla Puri, Gandhi Nagar, Model Town, Kundan Puri, Basti Jodhewal, New Subhash Nagar, Partap Nagar, Club Road, Near Chand Cinema and Noorwala Road. |
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Ex-minister lashes out at Cong govt Mandi Gobindgarh, October 27 Talking to mediapersons here today, he said on the directions of the Supreme Court, the state government had banned the use of crackers and burning of stubble. However, nearly 80 per cent of farmers were engaged in the burning of stubble in their fields and the use of crackers during Divali had rendered the atmosphere smoggy. He lamented that the government had failed to spread awareness among the farmers about the ill effects of burning stubble besides the loss of urea in the soil. He said the husk could be sold to factories, where it is used as fuel to generate power. He added that the government had failed to take action against the erring farmers. Mr Pandhi was also critical of the delay in payment of scholarship amount to Scheduled Caste students. The scholarship is given to those SC students who have passed their Class XII examination and left the school. He said teachers called such students to the school to give scholarship amount, but in many cases the amount remained with the school and did not reach the beneficiaries, he said. Similarly, he said, books ment for such students did not reach them in time. Scholarships and other concessions for SC students were sanctioned by the head of the department. Mr Pandhi said the power should be decentralised up to district level to facilitate the release of the scholarship amount to such students. |
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Police-public meet boosts residents’ morale Ludhiana, October 27 While thanking the DSP, Mr R.K. Bakshi for his visit to the area and listening to the grievances of the residents, Mr B R Kaushal, president of the society, explained the prevailing law and order situation of the area where some incidents of thefts and murder had occurred in the recent past. He felt that police-public cooperation, could reduce such incidents in future. Mr Bakshi listened to all problems of the residents and assured the residents in solving all of them. He gave instructions to SI Gurchetan Singh, incharge, Dugri Police Chowki, for the removal of their grievances. Further, Mr Kaushal, on the request of the Mr, agreed to provide the telephone facility at the Dugri police chowki for the convenience of the residents and the police. Mr Bakshi assured the residents that the police would provide support and take the suggested measures for their safety and offered cooperation to the residents. |
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Pensioners seek hike in three stages Amloh, October 27 Mr Balwant Singh Sodhi and Mr Dharam Chand Verma, district president and district general secretary of the association respectively, also addressed the meeting. It was pointed out that the dearness allowance paid to the family pensioners earlier should be restored, five per cent old age allowance which is paid at two stages after completing the age of 65 years and 75 years, should also be paid at the third stage of 80 years at the same rate as in the case of MLAs. The payment of leave travel concession
(LTC) to the family pensioners should also be paid after the death of the pensioners to the recipient of his pension. Senior citizens should be given concession in travelling through buses as provided by the Railways. Reimbursement of cost of spectacles, denture and hearing aids should be enhanced according to the hike in their costs. |
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Joginder Pal oration on Oct 30 Ludhiana, October 27 Born on May 9, 1926, Joginder Pal Pandey was an able administrator and crusader for human values of life. He participated in the freedom struggle at a very young age. He joined the Congress and became the general secretary of the District Congress Committee in 1966. He was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly thrice. As a minister he held various portfolios. |
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Bhaiya Dooj celebrated Ludhiana, October 27 Little Sanju with a big ‘tilak’ on his forehead said, “I like Rakhi more as my sisters tie different kinds of rakhis on my wrist. I ask them to bring two rakhis each so that arms are full of rakhis and everyone notices these. However, on Bhaiya Dooj, it is not that fun as sisters just apply a ‘tilak’ on the forehead.”
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Two held for selling fake lottery tickets Ludhiana, October 27 They have been booked under Sections 420 and120-B of the IPC and Section 7 (3), of the Lotteries Act. The case has been registered on the complaint of Mr Dhanna Singh, Deputy, Director, Punjab State Lotteries Department. |
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Truck driver’s body found Machhiwara, October 27 The body was handed over to the family of the deceased after a post-mortem examination at the Civil Hospital, Samrala.
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Seminar on Indian industry on Oct 30 Ludhiana, October 27 This was stated by Mr Manjit Singh and Mr V.K. Goyal, both office-bearers of the association, in a joint statement here today. Mr Prafull Anubhai, Chief Executive, Arohi Consultants Ltd, Ahmedabad, who is also a visiting faculty to the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, will be the keynote speaker. Elaborating on the subject, Mr Goyal said the Indian industry, even until a year back, was scared of China’s manufacturing prowess. But now it seemed that the domestic industry was shedding its China phobia. “From the hysterical fear of China destroying Indian industry, the mood has now swung to the optimism that Indian industry has in it what it takes to compete and even beat the Chinese.” Mr Goyal remarked that the industry had already started taking advantage of the burgeoning Chinese economy with the latest development being that Indian industry was now eyeing a stake in the Chinese economic success. But all this did not mean that the might of China could be scoffed off so easily. |
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