 |
|
|
|
|
||||
|
Death of 4 children plunges city into grief
Ludhiana, May 5 The management of the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital announced that the treatment of the children injured would be done free of cost. Mr Mohinder Singh and Mr Joginder Singh supervised the arrangements. All hospital staff, including four orthopaedic surgeons, were summoned to the hospital. Radiologists performed scan tests and decided as to which children required to be shifted to the DMC for intensive care. Parents of the children said they were impatiently waiting to hear from their children about their day out at Hardy World. Many thought that the accident had occurred while the children were returning from the fun park. It was only when they reached the school that they came to know about the details of the accident. The office in charge of Sri Guru Har Krishan Public School, Mr Iqbal Singh, who received the telephone call from a parent, said initially he thought that someone had played a prank, but after other parents confirmed the news of the accident, many teachers rushed to the spot. “It was only after scanning through scattered school bags on the railway track that we managed to establish the identity of the students and inform their parents”, he said. Ludhiana East MLA Surinder Dawar, Mayor Nahar Singh Gill and Congress candidate Manish Tewari’s election manager Ajay Tewari visited the hospital. The deceased were identified as Gitanshu Sharma of LKG and Rupali, Twinkle and Simranjit Singh of Class VI. Besides Gurminder Singh, driver of the van, the injured children include Simardeep Singh (Class IV), Manpreet Kaur (Class (III), Jatinder Singh (Class VI), Maninderjit Singh (Class V), Avtar Singh (Class VI), Nisha Rani (Class VI), Gaganmeet (Class VI), Amrit (LKG), Parminder Kaur (Class I), Sahilpreet (LKG), Baljit Kaur (Class I), Parampreet Kaur (Class VI), Daljinder Kaur (LKG) and Gurpreet (LKG). The four children who are serious and have been shifted to the DMC are Avtar Singh, Amrit, Jatinder Singh and Parminder Kaur. |
|
Residents block
rail traffic
Ludhiana, May 5 The death of the four schoolchildren and serious injuries to several others today at the unmanned railway crossing at Himmat Nagar, near Dugri, once again brought into focus the urgent need for guarding these railway crossings. However, neither the Railways, nor the civil authorities, appeared to be concerned as accidents were forgotten the next day. How could anybody explain the fact that this was the fourth accident at unmanned railway crossings in and around Ludhiana within six months. Four persons had been killed in earlier accidents. There were heart-rending scenes at the hospital. But unfortunately, the civil and railway authorities appeared unmoved. There are scores of unmanned railway crossings in Ludhiana’s suburbs. With the city expanding fast, more railway crossings have fallen within residential areas, with frequent traffic movement. The railways had been taking the plea that the crossings had remained unmanned for years. They had been maintaining that it was the responsibility of the civil authorities, particularly the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, to man these crossings. Today’s accident took place outside the corporation limits. Earlier, an idea had been mooted that local MPs would allocate some money from the Local Area Development Fund to set up gates at crossings and depute personnel there. The Railways had been maintaining that it was not financially viable to set up so many gates at crossings with so much manpower and quarters for the officials. The Railways had agreed to maintain these after these were set up. |
|
Govt schools feel
the heat
Ludhiana, May 5 While almost all private schools have closed admissions, government high schools have extended it by another two months. The step has been taken because most of the government schools have not been able to raise the strength of classes. Even though the decline in admissions has been going on for the past few years, this time several schools in the district have not been able to admit more than 15 students. Government Girls High School, Lakkar Bazaar, has been able to admit only 12 students to Class VI. The school authorities have said this was due to low strength in their primary school. Only six girls had passed Class V this year from the school. Interestingly, many such schools have tried to lure students by promising free stationery material. The PTA members of Government High School on the Shahpur road had recently provided free notebooks to all students taking admissions. The school has also managed to provide free books to all students of the Scheduled Caste category. The staff and PTA members stated that this was an annual affair. But the initiative has borne fruit as the school has now been able to get over 28 students for Class VI. Government Multipurpose Senior Secondary School, Cinema Road, which is considered to be one of the finest government schools of the city, has also not been able to draw students to Class VI as only 26 have joined the school so far. Authorities of these schools have said that since several new private schools have come up in the vicinity, their strength have come down considerably. They said such schools were luring students by assuring them of good infrastructure at nominal charges. With insufficient funds, they said, it was very difficult for them to compete with such schools. Another major reason for the decline in admissions is the dismal results of government schools in the past few years. Only two to three students from government schools have been finding a place in the merit list of the Punjab School Education Board. |
|
Class VIII
undeclared results available on Internet
Khanna, May 5 Mr Pawan Dhir, owner of a private Internet cafe told Ludhiana Tribune here today that he came to know about the result when he was surfing sites at his shop. He said the result was available at the website www.schoolnetindia.com/pseb. The said website is of a private company, IL and FS Education and Technology Company Ltd., Mumbai, which has the contract to prepare the results. Results of roll number starting from two lakh have been displayed. In this series total 110 students have been shown on the list. In the list Deepika Pathinia, daughter of Chain Singh, roll number 292814 has got 763 marks and has been declared first, Arshdeep, son of Bahadar Singh, roll number 252725 has got 755 marks and Monika Singh, daughter of Onkar Singh, roll number 292825, has got third position with 753 marks in the merit list. When the Delhi office of the company was contacted the attendant at the office said he could not say anything about this as the results were being prepared at Mumbai. The secretary of the Punjab School Education Board said he would look into the matter, but later added that there were no series of such numbers in the Class VIII exam. |
|
PAU field day on kharif
crop today
Ludhiana, May 5 According to Dr I. K. Garg, Senior Research Engineering-cum-Head, the programme is being organised to acquaint the farmers, machinery manufacturers, scientists, extension engineers and other field staff with the know-how on the latest equipment for cultivating kharif crop. Equipments like self-propelled sprayer, vegetable transplanter, forage harvesting machinery and equipment for straw management, in addition to bed planters and paddy transplanters will be put on demonstration during the programme. Dr Garg said eco-friendly technologies not only helped save water, fertilisers and pesticides, but also assisted in the reduction of air, soil and water pollution. Vegetable transplanters could be used for transplanting the seeds of vegetable crops and recomended crops, he said. |
|
Campaigning
intensifies
Ludhiana, May 5 A number of star campaigners have started arriving in Ludhiana, where Congress candidate Manish Tiwari is locked in a battle with SAD-BJP nominee Sharanjit Singh Dhillon. Lok Bhalai Party candidate Balwant Singh Ramoowalia has made it a starlit campaign, with Punjabi singer Harbhajan Mann seeking votes for him. Union Minister for Shipping Shatrughan Sinha campaigned here for Mr Dhillon today. Former Finance Minister Manmohan Singh would be here tomorrow to campaign for the Congress candidate. Congress sources said the party was trying to arrange a public meeting of Mr Rahul Gandhi or Ms Priyanka Gandhi in the city. State Congress senior vice-president Amarjit Singh Tikka today said he, along with other party workers, had sent telegrams to party President Sonia Gandhi to depute either Mr Rahul Gandhi or Ms Priyanka Gandhi to Ludhiana to campaign for Mr Tiwari. He pointed out that both of them commanded a lot of fan following in Ludhiana and their visit could tilt the balance in favour of the Congress candidate. SAD-BJP sources said at least one senior leader of the NDA would visit Ludhiana daily in the next three days. SAD-BJP workers had now focused on urban voters and were appealing in the name of Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, claiming him to be the best and only option available for the post of Prime Minister. Mr Ramoowalia had intensified his campaign in urban areas. He was organising roadshows everyday in one part of the city or the other. Mr Rabinder Singh Sohal of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Dr Janardhan Singh of the Purvanchal Vikas Party had been trying to organise roadshows. |
|
Tiwari blames NDA for hike in steel
prices
Ludhiana, May 5 Talking to mediapersons here, he said the erratic policies of the Union Government and the blackmailing tactics of the steel producers had pushed the entire industry here, particularly the small and tiny sector, to the brink of annihilation. The industrial economy was in a shambles, while the government was watching the situation in a state of helplessness. Mr Tiwari alleged that the NDA government had a bias against the poor people and the working class. As a result, the rich had become richer and the poor had gone poorer. Workers were facing mass retrenchment and jobs had become hard to come by with widespread resentment and unrest among unemployed persons. He said the Central Government had failed to fulfil the aspiration of the masses. There were many scandals, including corruption in the high places. “On the contrary, the successive Congress governments, both in Centre and states, have been taking steps for the uplift of weaker sections, women and Dalits.” The Congress nominee claimed that in addition to the Left parties, he was being supported by a large number of labour and trade unions, social, religious and cultural bodies. Mr Tiwari went round many villages in the Koom Kalan assembly segments, seeking votes. He addressed election meetings in Kohara, Barthala, Kothal, Mustafabad, Samiapur, Bahilurpur, Sherpur, Machhiwara, Hayatpur, Jassowal, Charandi, Bhattian, Sajumajra, Rurewal and Chaklidal. Elsewhere in the city, the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), labour and employment cell of the PPCC, Indian National Muslim Council, Youth Congress workers and Mr Sanjay Talwar, councillor, ward no 51, organised separate meetings to canvass support for Mr Tiwari.
Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 5 Mr Charan Singh, the ragi, accused the in charge of the election office of the Congress candidate at Kila Raipur of shielding Mr Harjit Singh and Mr Tejinder Khanna of Jand village. Charan Singh said,“ A group of miscreants led by Congress activists Harjit Singh and Tejinder Khanna, assaulted members of my family on the night of April 30. Besides manhandling my wife Kulwant Kaur they tore my turban and dragged out my son Gurvinder from our shop.” “Though we informed the police on the same day, no action has been taken so far.”
OC |
|
280 EVMs sealed
Ludhiana, May 5 During the exercise, which lasted for more than five hours, Mr Prem Chand told this correspondent that the EVMs, along with other required polling material, will be taken out on May 9 and sent to the respective polling stations under the supervision of polling officials and adequate security cover. Before being sealed, each machine was tested for its functioning and rebooted. The election symbols were displayed on the machines and each set of two machines was sealed with a tag wherein the details of the poll booth were mentioned, where these machines would be used. He said there were 128 polling booths in the segment with a total electorate of 1,29,857. Since the number of total candidates was more than 16, the maximum number an EVM can accommodate, each booth would have two EVMs while 12 per cent extra machines, in a prepared condition, would be available with the supervisory staff for use in case of the voting machines developing a snag. |
|
BJP attacks Cong through
poster
Ludhiana, May 5 The party functionaries, led by Mr Sat Pal Gosain, president of the cell, convened a press conference in which they wore black mouth bands to indicate that they would speak nothing about what was happening under the Congress rule. Instead, they released a poster carrying observations made by senior Congress leaders, including the PPCC chief, Mr H.S. Hanspal, Cabinet colleagues of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and a couple of ruling party legislators. The poster, claimed Mr Gosain, carried allegations levelled by the Congress functionaries against their own government at different times and at different places. Taking a dig at the so called anti-corruption drive of the Congress government, the poster said son of a local Congress legislator was involved in a forgery case. Despite the charges having been prima facie established, no action has been taken by the police against the guilty. Similarly, the Chief Minister reportedly paid back his bank loan only after he assumed office, it added. Mr Gosain said while the BJP and the SAD were keeping their mouth shut for the time being against the Congress government, they were quite confident that the electorate would speak up on the polling day and the Congress would pay for its follies the hard way. |
|
NDA giving raw deal to defence personnel:
BSP
Ludhiana, May 5 Addressing as press conference here today in the presence of BSP candidate from Ludhiana Ravinder Singh Sohil, the state secretary of the BSP, Col Partap Singh Phulka (retd), alleged that the then Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, and Union Defence Minister George Fernandes had promised in 1999 that the demand of one rank one pension would be accepted within a week, but till date, no steps had been taken in this direction. Continuing their stepmotherly treatment towards ex-servicemen, the NDA and the SAD had failed to make any mention about the pending demand of one rank one pension or any other measures for the welfare of retired armed forces personnel, Colonel Phulka lamented, adding that basic facilities and pension benefits, available to Army officers, were denied to other ranks to the extent that soldiers were not entitled to full pension even after putting in a service of 33 years. The BSP leader claimed that the number of ex-servicemen in the state was around 7 lakh and combined with their family members and dependants, they had a voting strength of more than 30 lakh. He said the BSP, committed to justice to members of the armed forces, ex-servicemen and their families, deserved full support from each household of ex-servicemen. Colonel Phulka said he had asked the party leadership to deploy retired army personnel on polling booths and other poll-related duty so that they could ensure the win of party candidates on all seats that the BSP was contesting. Mr Sohil claimed that his election campaign had evoked an enthusiastic response in city localities and villages falling in the Lok Sabha constituency. |
|
Cong MLA’s brother announces support for
SAD
Ludhiana, May 5 His campaign got a boost when the younger brother of former the Raikot Congress MLA Nirmal Singh Mahant Lakshman Singh, announced his support for the SAD. He accompanied the minister during a whirlwind tour of Raikot constituency. Addressing the gatherings, the minister said the Chief Minister had forgotten that the days of aristocracy were over and that democracy was alive and kicking in the country. Mr Dhindsa said the utterances against the Akalis were highly objectionable and did not behove a person of his stature. If the Chief Minister persisted in this manner, there was bound to be a reaction from the party rank and file which could vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the state. MLA Ranjit Singh Talwandi and others senior leaders of the constituency also addressed the meetings. |
|
Cong doing no development work: Sukhbir
Ludhiana, May 5 He claimed that the previous state government headed by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had provided facilities like old-age pension, shagun scheme, exemption from payment of electricity bills for tubewells and octroi abolition, but the current government headed by Capt Amarinder Singh had done away with these facilities. He flayed the Congress government for not doing any development work and for only aiming to put him and his father behind bars and finish off their party. |
|
Ban on sale of liquor from May
8
Ludhiana, May 5 He said non-proprietary clubs, state hotels and restaurants and hotels run by persons, even if issued different categories of licences for possession and supply of liquor, would not be permitted to serve liquor on these days. The storage of liquor by individuals would be curtailed during the above period and the restrictions provided in excise laws on the storage of liquor in unlicensed premises would be vigorously enforced. Mr Verma said Senior Superintendents of Police of Ludhiana, Khanna and Jagraon had been asked to keep a complete vigil to ensure strict compliance with these orders. They had been asked to constitute teams for surprise checking in this regard. The SSPs had been asked to take steps to ensure that there were no chances of clandestine movement of liquor from adjoining areas into the district. The Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Ludhiana, and Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioners had been directed to ensure strict compliance with this order. He appealed to political parties, contesting candidates and the general public to voluntarily comply with this order so that elections could be conducted peacefully, smoothly and in a free and fair manner. |
||
|
||
|
‘Assembly of Sankalp’ by Rotary Club
Ludhiana, May 5 The main purpose of the event was to announce the Rotary projects for the coming year. These included the eradication of illiteracy, water conservation and management and polio eradication. The district governor, past presidents and other office-bearers of the club trained the elected members for 2004-2005. The president of the club, Mr Mahesh Munjal, and the chairman of the assembly, Mr Surender Mahendru, talked about the activities of the
club. The chief guest of the assembly was Mr Sushil Gupta, CEO, Hyatt Hotels. |
||
|
Tributes paid to judge’s son
Ludhiana, May 5 Tributes were paid by the judges of Punjab and Haryana High Court, including Justice K. S. Grewal, District and Sessions Judge, Mr Baldev Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Narinder Pal Singh, president of the District Bar Association, Mr Balwinder Goel, besides officials of the district administration, judicial officers and lawyers, on the occasion of "Rasam Pagri" held at Mahavir Bhavan situated at Cemetry Road, Civil Lines, here today. Sanjeev Kaushik, alias Vicky, a computer engineer, was killed on-the-spot when his car collided with a Tata-407 coming from Ludhiana. The driver of the vehicle fled from the spot. The deceased is survived by his wife Neha. The Additional Sessions Judges, Mr S. M. S. Mahal, Mr J. S. Bhatia, Mr B. S. Sodhi, Mr D. R. Arora, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Arunvir Vashisht, Civil Judge Senior Division, Mr J. S. Chouhan, Judicial Magistrates, Ms Anshul Berry, Mr Jaspal Verma, Mr Sangeet Pal Singh, Mr Harjeet Singh from Malerkotla, office-bearers of the Moga Bar Association, Mr Jaspal Chugh, Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court, Sangrur, besides a number of judicial officers from other districts also paid last tributes to the deceased. |
||
|
Mango festival on
Ludhiana, May 5 The chef said this year, he had prepared new salty recipes with mangoes like Travancore fish curry with mango, which consisted of semi-ripe mangoes, Kochi bay shrimps and Thai lamb curry. For vegetarians, cauliflower in mango sauce and mango dosa, prepared by Bijimon, South Indian chef, were on offer. Starters like mango and cointreau punch and mango macho were available. Desserts like divine mango touch and alphonso cheese cake were other dishes. India, the largest producer of mangoes in the world, accounts for 50 per cent of the world production of the fruit. Rich in fibre, mangoes have a protective effect against degenerative diseases, specially of the heart. An average-sized mango contains 40 per cent of the daily fibre requirement. Mangoes are low in calories and rich in potassium. |
||
|
Spice services hit
Ludhiana, May 5 “Neither you could make a call, nor you could receive one during this time”, said Mr Gupreet Singh, a Spice subscriber. Every time a subscriber dialled a Spice number the call was rejected. |
||
|
READERS
WRITE Though there is no provision to impose President’s rule during election. Fair elections under a caretaker government are not possible. The care taker government enjoys several privileges which normally do not draw the attention of the CEC. Doordarshan which is government controlled medium, is giving more time to the NDA campaign as compared to the other parties. Look at the Bharat Udey Yatra of L.K. Advani and the coverage it got even though it was not a government event. The apex Court had dismissed the petition to ban this yatra and the CEC has maintained a studied silence over the issue. Many parties and the people were against this yatra but how can they check it? The PM, Deputy PM and Cabinet ministers enjoy their ministerial status while campaigning for party and their emoluments are drawn from the exchequer. They enjoy official accommodation and use government vehicles which is against all norms of propriety. In fact the country’s first Governor General C. Rajgopalacharya had advocated promulgation of President’s rule six months before elections, but the proposal was turned down. All candidates should go to public and campaign as ordinary citizens to ensure free and fair elections. Sher Singh |
|
Youth stabbed to
death
Ludhiana, May 5 Last evening, when Hussain was strolling near the sabzi mandi, the father of the girl, Gopi Chand, allegedly stabbed him in the chest. Hussain tried to reach home, but collapsed at a short distance from his house. Nizamuddin spotted his injured brother and took him to the Civil Hospital, where he breathed his last. The alleged killer was absconding.
Teacher takes away money On the statement of Ms Gurdev Kaur, councillor of Boothgarh village, the police yesterday registered a case under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC against Tamanna,, living in Kehar Singh Nagar on the Chuharpur road at Haibowal Kalan. She said the accused, who was a teacher in the village school, had collected between Rs 80,000 and Rs 90,000 in the form of monthly tuition and admission fees from students and had fled with the money.
Unidentified old man killed On the statement of Mr Mohinder Singh, resident of Dhandari Kalan, the police yesterday registered a case under Section 304-A of the IPC against an unidentified driver whose vehicle hit an unidentified man in his mid-sixties and sped away, leaving the man dead on the spot. The incident occurred near a roadside eating joint on GT Road near the village on the night of May 3.
Man duped by girl The police registered a case under Sections 420 and 379 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Prem Chand, resident of Haripur village in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, against an unidentified girl. He said while he was on his way to a relative’s house in the city on the morning of May 1, a girl accosted him near the T- point of Subhash Nagar and took away his briefcase containing Rs 1.5 lakh.
Man injured in mishap The police registered a case under Sections 337, 338, 427 and 279 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Kuldeep Singh, resident of street number 10, Janta Nagar, against Gurjit Singh, resident of Indira Colony. He said the accused had rammed his jeep into his car in Model Town Extension on Monday night, as a result of which his car was damaged and his leg was fractured.
Woman beaten up On the statement of Ms Surinder Kaur, a widow living in Model Town, the police registered a case under Sections 452, 323 and 506 of the IPC against Dev Raj and his wife Babli, running a photo studio in the same area. She said the accused entered her house on Tuesday afternoon, beat her up and threatened her because of a rent dispute.
Cases of assault The police registered a case under Sections 342, 323, 506, 148 and 149 of the IPC yesterday on the statement of Mr Vishal Aggarwal, resident of Friends Colony at Barewal, against Rajwinder, resident of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Amritpal Singh, resident of Gobind Nagar, Gurjoit Singh, resident of Panjab Mata Nagar, and two unidentified persons accompanying them. The complainant said the accused intercepted him near the Verka milk plant on the Ferozepore road on Tuesday, beat him up and threatened him. The police said this morning that the accused had been arrested and released on bail. The police registered a case under Sections 341, 323, 506 and 34 of the IPC yesterday on the statement of Mr Karnail Singh, living in Chander Lok Colony in Basti Jodhewal, against Nanak Singh, living in Model Colony near the octroi post of Meharban village, Jagdeep Singh, alias Babbu, and Sandeep Singh, residents of Bajhra village. He said the accused stopped him on the way near the octroi post on the Rahon road, beat him up and threatened him. Another case of assault was registered under Sections 341, 323, 506 and 34 of the IPC on the statement of Mr Kimti Lal, living in Ram Dutt Singh Nagar on Tibba Road, against Buggy and Gurcharan Singh, residents of the same locality. He said the accused stopped him in Gopal Nagar on the evening of April 8 last, beat him up over a money dispute and threatened him.
Property defacement case The police yesterday registered a case under the Prevention of Property Defacement Act of 1997 against unidentified workers of various political parties who pasted posters on the outer wall of the telephone exchange in block E of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar on Tuesday.
Cong workers booked The police registered a case under Section 188 of the IPC against workers of the Congress for defying orders of the District Magistrate by holding a rally after 10 pm on Tuesday at Sunet village.
‘Satta’ bookies held The police yesterday arrested two alleged ‘satta’ and ‘darra’ bookies and separately booked them under the Gambling Act. In the first case, Ramesh Singh, resident of Jaildar Mohalla at Doraha, was nabbed from near the railway crossing and Rs 435 was seized form his possession along with some ‘satta’ slips. In the other case, Gurwinder Singh, resident of Urban Estate, phase-I, Dugri, was nabbed from the Kohara road and Rs 520 along with some incriminating slips were seized from his possession.
Knife seized The police last night arrested Varas Kalam Sheikh, a migrant from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, from near the T-point close to Housefed. It seized a ‘kamanidar’ knife from his possession and booked him under the Arms Act. |
|
Kotak Mahindra Bank branch
opens
Ludhiana, May 5 Mr Kotak said, "With the country moving from a 'savers' attitude to an 'investors' outlook, we bring to the table trustworthy financial advice and vast experience in wealth management services, which is what customers are looking for today. We provide complete solutions for all financial needs of the customer at every stage of life. At Kotak Mahindra Bank, our key proposition is to help our customers manage and increase their wealth." The bank offers its customers personalised investment advice, aimed at helping them manage and increase their wealth. Mr Dipak Gupta, executive director, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, "This is a key market for us. Thus, as part of our expansion strategy, we decided to open our first branch in Punjab at Ludhiana. The branch will help customers manage and increase their wealth by offering personalised investment advice and an array of financial products under one central platform." |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | National Capital | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
