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Encroachments: MC wary of influential defaulters Ludhiana, December 17 While time is ticking away from the period of eight weeks that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had granted to the Municipal Corporation for the removal of some 9000 odd encroachments, the Municipal Corporation is apparently going slow about the whole thing for a variety of reasons. The first reason, and understandably too, is that once started, the drive against encroachments would stir a hornet’s nest for the simple reason that the detailed list of encroachments submitted by the Municipal Corporation to the High Court is a virtual compilation of who’s who among the business and industrial community, politicians of all hues, educational and religious institutions, hospitals and top professionals. According to the list, public roads and streets in Chaura Bazar, Field Ganj, Akal Market, Kamla Nehru Market adjoining Railway Station, Jail Road, Maharani Jhansi Road, Kitchlu Nagar, Tagore Nagar and Brown Road are under encroachments. Similarly, municipal parks and covered drains in many city localities are under the unlawful occupation of influential persons for residential, commercial and industrial purposes for years together. If institutions like the Christian Medical College and Hospital, Bhagwan Ram Charitable Hospitable, Khalsa College for Women and its hostel, Arya College for Women are among those charged with encroachment on public land, Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran, Gurdwara Akalgarh and Nirankari Bhavan, as many other places of worship, are also in the same category. The leader of business and industry, the Oswal group, politicians Mr Surinder Dawar, MLA, Mr Rakesh Parashar, councillor and Mr Rajinder Singh Basant, trustee of Ludhiana Improvement Trust are
It is learnt that precious little has been done towards filing applications for vacation of interim injunction orders in hundreds of cases involving encroachments on government and municipal land as per the High Court directions. In its orders, the High Court had asked the Municipal Corporation to file such applications within 10 days from December 6 and these were to be disposed off by the concerned courts within six weeks without fail. A senior MC official told Ludhiana Tribune that exercise is on to issue mandatory notices to the defaulters for vacation of possession or clearance of encroachments at their own level. “We shall initiate necessary action (to clear the encroachments) if the guilty persons failed to respond within stipulated period,” asserted the civic official. |
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Two killed in school van-bus collision Ludhiana, December 17 Of more than 10 children in the van, five were seriously injured and have been admitted to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) here. The accident claimed the life of the 12-year-old Harkirat, a student of DAV school, Phillaur and a resident of Sangdhesia village. Harkirat was a student of sixth standard. The driver of the school van, Rajwant Singh, 48, also died in the accident. According to eyewitnesses, the bus was coming from Goraya and the accident took place near Sanghdhesia village. The students of the van were from DAV school, Phillaur, and DAV school, Atta. These students were on their way to school to write the examinations. The injured students include Gaurav Gogna (12), his sister Neha Gogna (13), Rakshinder (8), Harpreet Singh (12) and five-year-old Gurjeet Kaur. Manjeet Singh, (30) the conductor of the bus, was also admitted to DMCH. The attending doctors said the condition of the injured was stable. Mr Madan Lal, a friend of Mr Rajinder, father of Neha and Gaurav Gogna said they came to know of the accident at around 8 am. The injured were first taken to Royal Hospital, Goraya, from where they were referred to DMCH. The injured students, after being given treatment, have been shifted to ward numbers 25 and 27 of DMCH. Harpreet and Gurjeet are the children of the driver of the school van, Rajwant Singh, who was declared brought dead at DMCH.
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Sonali adds to “masti and dhoom” in city Ludhiana, December 17 A graduate in Economics, Sonali feels that whatever she is today is because of hardwork and moral values given to her by her parents. “I have been wedded to moral values since my childhood,” she adds. On being asked about her involvement in the infamous hunting expedition in Rajasthan with actor Salman Khan, she said that she had been unnecessarily dragged into the episode. “I was busy with shooting from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. I used to be so tired that I hardly had any time for such activities. However, I cannot comment upon others,” she said. Married to Amritsar-based Punjabi producer Goldi Behl, Sonali is now planning to try her luck in parallel cinema. “I was on a break after working in a Marathi film, “Anahat”, directed by Amol Palekar. I am hopeful about the film as it has been directed by a mature and experienced director. The story of the film is set in the 10th century. The film, with subtitles in Hindi and English, was recently released in the international film festival circuit. I am looking forward to its release in India,” she said. Sonali said art movies were commercially more successful these days. I believe in quality rather than quantity and find no difference in the small and the big screen. I loved working with children in “Kya Masti Kya Dhoom”. Because of my belief in quality, today I am the brand ambassador for Omega,” she said. Mobbed by admirers, the glamorous actress said she was very fond of Punjabi food and had great regard for Punjabis, known for their warm hospitality. |
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Gang of car thieves busted Ludhiana, December 17 After reconnaissance, a special naka was laid and the police arrested Prem Masih and Murari. The former resides in the Beantpura mohalla and the latter in Partap Singh Wala village. After interrogation, the duo led the police party to the place where the stolen vehicles had been kept. The gang used to steal vehicles from various parts of the state and dispose these off on the basis of forged papers. The gang had been active for quite some time and its members confessed to have stolen two Esteem cars from Ludhiana and Amritsar, besides a Mercedes car from Patran. They also led the police to Lakhvinder Singh, a resident of Amritsar, who used to prepare forged registration papers, on the basis of which they sold the cars. He also used to make fake tourist permits for commercial vehicles. A case under Sections 379 and 411of the IPC has been registered against the accused. |
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17 cases of liquor seized Ludhiana, December 17 Mr Bahia disclosed that the smuggler was wanted by the department and the police. He used to sell liquor smuggled from Chandigarh in Ludhiana. The naka team comprised Mr Inderjit Singh, Mr Nagpal, excise inspectors, ASI Harbans Singh, besides police and excise staff. He said that a case under the Punjab Excise Act had been registered in the division number 6 police station.
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Fog engulfs city, day temp dips to 18°C Ludhiana, December 17 People had to take out their woollens, jackets, mufflers and caps. Due to the fog vehicles had to switch on the headlights. Attendance in schools was relatively low. Weather experts predicted more foggy and cold days. Besides, the sky may remain overcast for a few more days accompanied by showers.
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BJP flays Congress on
flyovers’ issue Ludhiana, December 17 In a statement, the former district president and member of state executive Mr Harbans Lal Sethi and group leader of BJP councillors in the previous house Mr Pran Bhatia, observed that the MC Commissioner, Mr S.K. Sharma, had pointed out in the recent general house meeting that the Rs 40 crore ongoing elevated road project was ill-conceived and would not prove of much benefit to the vehicular traffic on this stretch. Similarly, the Dhuri Line Railway Overbridge, which had already been commissioned, was also poorly designed. The BJP functionaries maintained that despite being a constituent of the ruling alliance in the MC at that time, the party had opposed the project and had even resorted to a 20-day-long dharna. However, the Congress councillors had come out openly in support of the project, without realising that the mega project would prove to be a massive financial drain on the civic body without providing any worthwhile benefit. They further said that the party had also pleaded for the extension of the Dhuri Line flyover beyond Partap Chowk and its alignment with existing flyover at Dholewal Chowk. Mr Sethi and Mr Bhatia pointed out that the Congress had opposed the proposals made by BJP due to their political compulsions but now when it had been pronounced that these projects served the desired purpose except for causing huge financial burden, those who had supported these projects, should own the moral responsibility and resign from their respective posts. The BJP leaders, while welcoming the proposal to construct four new flyovers in different parts of the city, pleaded that rather than going in for the construction of flyovers at different places on the G.T. Road Bypass, the Municipal Corporation should formulate a plant for an elevated road from Sherpur to Jalandhar Bypass Chowk so as to provide a through access to outward bound vehicular traffic and ease the traffic congestion in the city. |
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Immigration to Canada still difficult Ludhiana, December 17 This was stated by the Indo-Canadian Lawyers Association representative, Mr Tej Parkash Singh. He said on the recommendation of Mr Denis Coderre, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Regulations, amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations were made. These amendments are effective from December 1 and apply to applications submitted before January 1 in the Federal Economic Categories (skilled worker, assisted relatives, investors, entrepreneurs and self-employed workers, but excluding provincial nominees and applicants destined to the province of Quebec). These amendments allow these applications to be assessed under the selection criteria of either the Immigration Regulation, 1978, or of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRP regulations), whichever is more favourable. Mr Tej Parkash Singh said according to the old system, it was the duty of the visa officer to assess the application according to the applicant’s education and experience, but now the applicant had to clearly state in which category his or her application was to be assessed, which was very difficult of normal applicant. Now if the applicant wrongly states his category, chances of rejection are very high. In the old system, the visa officer was empowered to give marks in language ability. Now, the applicant has to pass the IELTS or the TEF test to claim marks for English and French language, respectively. |
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Signboards which misguide Khanna, December 17 As per the authorities concerned, the distance between the cities has reduced and the names and locations of many villages have changed. Of late they have started to cover up its wrongdoings by pasting papers and tapes on these signboards. But still many can be seen showing wrong information, thus misleading commuters. According to the National Highway Authority, the distance between Khanna and Ludhiana is 26 km while actually it is 40 km. Even the milestone installed a few metres away from the signboard shows the distance as 40 km. In another instance, a signboard installed at Doraha shows Khanna at 19 km and Delhi at 294 km. But after covering 15 km Khanna is shown to be at 4 km while Delhi is shown at 276 km where it should be 279 km. The information about the locations of villages is also misleading. The road leading to a dera of Hansali has been shown in the opposite direction. Moreover, the road leading to native Tohra village has been shown as going towards Nabha. The names of many villages have also been changed, like Jaspalon has been changed to Jastala and Dehru has been changed to Dhadu. Mr H.R. Raheja, an officer with the highway authority, while confirming the error stated that the authorities concerned have come to know about the matter. All signboards with the correct information would be installed soon, he added.
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Creditors
hope Dheer would reveal some names Ludhiana, December 17 A number of people who are supposed to recover money from Dheer were also in the court when he was produced before the Magistrate. As the news spread that he had been arrested, several creditors whom Dheer owed money went to the Sarabha Nagar police station. Some of them had also come to the court today. It
is learnt that during the preliminary questioning Dheer has revealed
the names of several persons whom he had lent money. They reportedly
did not return his money. However, the police is said to be not too
optimistic about much recoveries since Dheer is unlikely to have any
proof of the money owed to him by other people. |
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Youth Cong activists burn PM’s effigy Ludhiana, December 17 Speaking on the occasion, the activists said the BJP advocated moral values and clean politics, and blamed other parties for sullying the political system. However, they said, the facts were otherwise and the entire country had seen BJP’s former President S. Bangaru Laskhman, Samta Party chief, Jaya Jaitley and Mr Dilip Singh Judeo accepting money in media exposures.
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Experts
discuss child rights Ludhiana, December 17 Both experts highlighted the ignorance of kids on issues like incest, sexual abuse in their surroundings and trafficking. They stressed that it was the responsibility of the social and the judicial system to protect children and their rights. The talk also shed light on the various articles that guaranteed a safe and happy childhood for every child. The “Convention of the Rights of the Child” was elaborated. This Convention was ratified by Indian Government on December 11, 1992. “That means our government now has to make sure that every child has all the rights explained in this Convention,”, said Ms
Kansal.
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READERS WRITE THE situation in Bihar is a pointer to the hollowness of our weak political system and corrupt and inefficient bureaucratic set-up whose criminal nexus thrives perpetually on the haplessness of the commoners who fail to fight such nexus. Anyone who fights the status quo pays the price like Satyendra Dubey — a brilliant IIT engineer who wanted to expose corrupt in the high project has been gunned down. It is really very sad that the land of Bihar where’s first universities of Nalanda and Texla were established has gone to dogs. It seems that the political bosses in Bihar have now become immune to the murder of voice of reason since immediately thereafter, there is another report of removal of Bihar DGP Mr D.P. Ojha who was vocal in criticising his political bosses for their misdeeds. Unfortunately, the state is too far behind the national mainstream of development and social awakening which is obvious in a situation where people themselves have chosen their fate to be written and ruled by proxy politicians. B.B. Goyal, Ludhiana Tough days ahead for power consumers The domestic power consumers will have to face a hard situation in the near future when they will get their revised power bills since the PSEB has sent a proposal for 33 per cent hike in power tariff for all categories of consumers to Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) for approval. This would be a tremendous hike and as compared to other categories, domestic users will be the worst sufferers. In a meeting of the New Millennium Club, this step of the board was strongly condemned as it would adversely affect the pocket of the people of lower and middle income group which are already passing through economic crises. It was observed that inspite of improving its own internal condition and inefficiency — which are the root cause of its poor economy — the board always passes on the fiscal load on to the domestic users which is not justified as compared to the poor quality and unscheduled power supply. Now those consuming more than 300 units will have to pay Rs 4 per unit which means a monthly the bill between Rs 1500 — Rs 2000, which will disrupt the budget of the domestic user. The club appeals to the PSERC to not to accept the proposals at least for domestic users and advise the board to cover their losses by removing its own internal anomalies and inefficiencies. Before this step of the board takes a confirm and final shape, we also appeal to all welfare
societies/councils of different residential areas to condemn it through media and write to PSERC for not giving its approval on this anti-people step. Kuldip Singh
Kreer,
BSNL must check anomaly The BSNL revised its tariffs for basic telephone services w.e.f. May 1, 2003, wherein the pulse rate for local calls from basic to cell was fixed at 30 seconds and the limit of free calls fixed at 30 per month. Later, following public resentment, the Central Government raised the pulse rate for local calls from basic to cell at 60 seconds and also raised the limit of free calls to 50 per month. However, at Mandi Gobindgarh the pulse rate of local calls from basic to cell is still 30 seconds whereas it is 60 seconds in Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar. I rang up the General Manager (Telecom), Patiala, regarding this anomaly. He said in big stations where mobile exchanges (POI) were working, the pulse rate was 60 seconds while elsewhere it was 30 seconds as per the government’s policy. In the same department, uniform rules ought to be applied. The authorities concerned should see this discrimination and set it right forthwith. Besides, the pulse rate for calls from Mandi Gobindgarh to Khanna, which is at a distance of 8 km, has been reduced from 180 seconds to 60 seconds without any public notice. When the local area was redefined w.e.f. August 15, 1998, the pulse rate within the SDCA and for the adjacent SDCAs was fixed at 180 seconds, the
Mandi Gobindgarh exchange (under the Nabha SDCA) and the Khanna exchange (under the Samrala SDCA) came under the category of exchanges in the adjoining SDCAs and therefore the pulse rate of three minutes was continued. It is unjustified to charge people of these twin stations at the pulse rate of 60 seconds. The pulse rate should be restored to the earlier 180 seconds. D.P. Jindal,
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Pensioners’ Day celebrated Ludhiana, December 17 Mr Bhargava, said the pensioners would always be given cooperation, assistance and guidance at all Punjab National Bank branches. He exhorted them to avail of the facilities like need-based loan against pension, enhanced rate of interest on their deposits and ATM through linked branches. Mr Kalyan Singh Panchi, organising secretary of PIC management committee, conducted the proceedings. |
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Four satta operators held Khanna, December 17
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Gas plant sought for Gobindgarh Ludhiana, December 17 The chamber has submitted to the PSEB Chairman that since Punjab is located away from the sources of raw material and has locational disadvantage, the PSEB should be considerate in granting concessions to the industries and particularly the steel industry of Punjab. The chamber has pointed out that while fixing the power rates all factors like fixed overheads and interest and other contingencies are taken care of and the PSEB should do away with the minimum charges when the industrialists are paying the actual consumption charges. The chamber has further demanded that surcharge on account of delayed energy bills should also be withdrawn as saving bank interest rate is not paid on the advance deposits and securities. Rather, the PSEB should pay bank savings rate of interest to consumers against such deposits. The chamber has demanded that the consumers should not be penalised if they exceed the sanctioned constant demand and in case the consumption is less the consumer should get the reduced bill. The power connections be granted based upon sanctioned contract demands only and not on connected load, as this would lead to energy conservation. The metallurgical industries, which consume high quantum of power, should be given suitable rebate as the load factor is high and the line losses are minimal. Mr
R.P. Bhatia, Senior vice-president, All-India Induction Furnaces Association, maintained that since many induction furnaces have set up 66 kv sub-stations bearing heavy financial burden owing to equipment cost, service and line charges and payment of securities to the PSEB, they should be given rebate of 7.5 per cent against 3 per cent. Mr Bhatia has demanded that charitable trusts should not be subjected to commercial rate of power and they should be charges only domestic tariff. |
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Billing problems irk Reliance subscribers Ludhiana, December 17 For sometime it was free for all with many subscribers charging the company with overcharging of bills, delay in dispatch of bills, repeated reminders and shorter deadline for making payments. Some of the subscribers seemed so much fed up that they were ready to surrender their phone connections with the company. It became extremely difficult for the employees to pacify such customers. Mr Raj Kumar with the Reliance number 3218215 said that the details of the bill presented to him showed that he had called on his own number on October 13. He said that he had already paid the bill since the last date of payment had passed. He said that he had come to get the refund of the mistake that the company had made but to no vail. Mr Mohammad Israfil Hussain, another subscriber with number 3106535, said that STD facility of his phone was withdrawn with effect from September. But he said that the bill of the month of October showed that he had made scores of STD calls in October. Ms Pritima Behl, who owned a Reliance number 3117286, was another frustrated customer. She said that she had subscribed to the services of the company in January. Till September, he did not receive any bill. Finally, she received a bunch of bills at one go. Around that time, she said that she lost her set and immediately told the Reliance employees to disconnect his number. But she said that despite repeated reminders, the phone was not disconnected for another one and a half month. Eventually, she was even slapped the bill for the same which she had refused to pay. Ms Veena Malhotra with the number 3125479 said that the company had delayed the dispatch of the bills. She then received three bills in one month. Since she could not pay the bills immediately, she was harassed with repeated reminders. Another subscriber with the number 3102082 said that he too faced a similar problem. He said that he gave payments for two bills on time but since the payment of three months was due, the company withdrew STD facility without prior intimation. All the customers who visited the camp were given gifts and hourly lucky draws were also taken out where subscribers won various prizes. These gifts were distributed by Mr Kapil Taneja, head, operations, Ludhiana region. A lot of excitement was witnessed amongst subscribers to grab the movie tickets for Munna Bhai - MBBS, the latest release. Reliance had booked all the shows on the first day as a special gesture for its subscribers. More than 6000 subscribers had visited the camp and all
efforts were made to solve their problems, Mr Taneja said.
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Mini Singapore
coming to Ludhiana Ludhiana, December 17 Mini Singapore will showcase all attractions of Singapore — Chinatown, Little India, Hawkers' Street and Seafood Galore. An effort is being made to recreate the magic of Singapore with oriental gateways, cuisine, lamps, art work, etc. Besides the tourist and gourmet attractions, the hospitality of the country will also be showcased with hostesses dressed in traditional Singaporean attire. The main features of Mini Singapore would be Seafood Galore, which will be a unique experience for all seafood lovers. The Singaporean delights on display would include chilli crabs, black pepper prawns and steamed fish. In Chinatown the charm of the Orient as traditional goodies would be lined up for the visitors. The essence of the original Chinatown has been preserved to the core. Through Little India the fragrance of the curry powders and dried chillies coupled with the aroma of Indian delicacies cooked in Indian style will tantalise the senses. It is being organised by Excelsior Advertising.
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