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Man accuses police of torture Ludhiana, May 27 The police later released the man. The ‘victim’, Sanjay, accused an ASI and three other cops of beating him up several times with sticks and even urinating on his face to teach him a lesson at the behest of a woman. The police denied the charge but admitted that they had picked him up on the complaint of a woman, Usha Sharma. Mr Gurbans Singh Bains, SHO, Basti Jodhewal, said the woman had complained that the man, who was drunk, had hurled abuses at her. The SHO said the police got the man medically examined from the Civil Hospital, which proved that he was under the influence of liquor. Later, the victim also filed a complaint against the woman. He charged her of being habitual of making such complaints and demanded action against her for levelling false charges at him. Talking to reporters, Sanjay said he never abused the woman and had in fact a small argument with his family members. He said he had taken some drinks but did not misbehave with anyone, “I was sleeping when cops barged into my house at about 2 a.m. and forcibly took me first to the Civil Hospital and then to the Basti Jodhewal police station”, he said “I was beaten up by the cops who wanted me to give a confession according to the complaint made by the woman. All my pleadings of being innocent fell on deaf ears. I had almost fell unconscious and could not answer any questions further. At this, the ASI and other cops urinated at me saying this will bring me to consciousness.” Area residents gathered in the morning after learning about the police action and staged a demonstration. The residents alleged that the woman was a habitual complainant and had levelled ‘false’ allegations at several other male residents of the area. SHO Gurbans Singh Bains admitted that the woman had been making several complaints in the past also. He said the police was investigating the case and would take action accordingly. He said no action has been taken against the ‘accused’ police officials as the alleged victim has not made any official complaint to the police regarding his inhuman treatment. Mr Sanjay, however, claimed that he had made a written complaint. |
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MC moots green park project Ludhiana, May 27 To be carried out with the assistance of UK- based consultancy firms, Business Link, Cheshire and Warrington Limited, with partial funding from NGOs and other private and government agencies, the project will envisage to improve the quality and reliability of supply of potable water in the area, reduce the quantity and improve the quality of industrial waste water and other effluents and to work towards development of new waste water treatment plant to treat domestic and industrial waste water at a tentative cost of Rs 3.5 crore. A team of representatives of the consultants, comprising Ms Sandra Brusby, Mr Brain Thorp and Mr Lokett, along with officials of Municipal Corporation and Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation, which was in the city, carried out an extensive survey of the identified area during past three days to assess the kind of infrastructure and facilities that needed to be created to convert the predominantly industrial and commercial cluster into a 'green park'. Mr S.K. Sharma, Municipal Commissioner, after an interaction with the visiting team on the conclusion of their survey, told Ludhiana Tribune that spread over an area of 110 acres, Dashmesh Nagar had a population of around 20,000 with an estimated 2,500 domestic units and another 3,000 commercial-cum-industrial units. The existing water supply and sewerage network length was 13.5 and 12.7 km, respectively, which were fed by three tubewells and an overhead service reservoir (OHSR) of 30,000 gallons capacity. Except for two streets in the locality, there was no storm sewer. The activities to be undertaken under the green park project in the area would include laying fresh water supply pipes at a cost of Rs 21.75 lakh, excluding work worth Rs 10 lakh which was already in progress, sinking of three new tubewells with rising mains at a cost of Rs 28.31 lakh and construction of another OHSR at an expenditure of Rs 26.42 lakh, all aimed at providing a reliable water supply. Proper chlorination of water would be ensured and chemical analysis of water samples would be conducted to detect the extent of hard material and minerals over and above permissible standards so that appropriate treatment could be arranged at the tubewells. A little over 3000 industrial units in the locality were mostly involved in trades like electroplating, steel furnace, but-cutting and grinding. To achieve the objective of reducing the quantity and improve the quality of effluents, which were presently being discharged in domestic sewer lines, it was proposed to provide a separate sewer line for industrial effluents since the units, mostly small and tiny in nature, could not afford individual effluent treatment plants. The prevailing sewerage system would also needed to be upgraded and a low-lying pocket of 4-acre scheme would need to be segregated which would involve an expenditure of Rs 27 lakh. The project would also provide for a common treatment plant for domestic and industrial waste water and use of treated water for irrigation purpose in green belts of the surrounding areas. A detailed survey of the area would be conducted to identify a suitable site for the treatment plant. According to the MC Commissioner, the green park concept was a big step towards effectively combating the alarming level of industrial and environmental pollution in the mega city and its success in Dashmesh Nagar cluster would pave the way for more such project on long-term basis. |
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Industry fears misuse of Central Electricity Act Ludhiana, May 27 The president of the chamber, Mr PD Sharma, disclosed that the Union Power Minister has rejected the demand to review this Act. He disclosed that the Section 135 of this Act gives unbridled powers to officials of electricity boards and managers of private companies. These powers can be misused. He pointed out they can enter, inspect, break open and search any place or premises in which they have reason to believe that electricity has been, is being or is likely to be used unauthorisedly. Mr Sharma sought the intervention of Mr Y.S. Ratra, Chairman, Punjab State Electricity Board, to overcome various hassles and
harassments. He said although Mr Ratra has turned around the finances of PSEB but still there are many irritants to harass the consumers which need to be removed. He pointed out that the board officials have powers of search, cease and remove all such devices, instruments, wires and any other facilitated or article which has been, is being or is likely to be used for unauthorised use of electricity. They can examine or cease any books of accounts or documents which in their opinion shall be useful for or relevant to any proceedings in respect of offence under the Act. The chamber president said for the industrial consumers of Punjab it is a source of constant threat from ill-intentioned officers. The connected load of industry goes on varying as per requirement. However, industry has to stick to the contract demand. The industry has been crying hoarse since decades to base power supply on contract demand instead of connected load. He urged the PSEB to switch over to the basis of contract demand instead of connected load. He said for commercial and domestic consumers like cinema halls, hotels and cold storage this act can be misused very easily. There is no provision of maximum demand for such consumers. Connected load is taken by counting switches, plugs and sockets etc. Mr Sharma maintained that the PSEB was evolving mechanism for concessional night tariff for industries. It intended to give benefit to consumers with load above 2000 kws. He said the apex chamber has taken exception to these criteria. The chamber has also conveyed this grievance to the Chief Minister who is reported to have conveyed the same to the Chairman, PSEB. The chamber has also pleaded that this concession should go to all consumers irrespective of the load. Cases of clubbing of two connections are pending for years. The chamber has also urged the PSEB to settle all cases immediately. It has strongly conveyed to the Board that clubbing should not be insisted in cases where board does not lose anything by way of tariff or supply conditions. The apex chamber has been pleading with the board to give incentives to consumers who maintain power factor above the minimum level of 0.88. It urged the board to formalise this proposal as well. |
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Nazar booked
for fraud Ludhiana, May 27 According to an FIR registered at the Division No. 5 police station on the complaint of Mr Vashisht, Rawinder Singh, employed as a Nazar, with the malkhana at district court had not deposited Rs 4,66,046 in the malkhana. The money was deposited by Khanna, Jagraon and Ludhiana police districts as part of the various case properties. The accused was yet to be arrested. Police sources revealed that Mr Vashisht
Mr Vashisht summoned records from the three police districts Ludhiana, Khanna and Jagraon, to verify whether the police has deposited the money or not. The police authorities came clean on the matter as they produced records of depositing the money with the malkhana along with the cases in which the amount was mentioned as case property. |
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Dawar shielding attackers of Neetu’s Ludhiana, May 27 Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Gosain, accompanied by other party leaders, including district unit chief Subhash Verma, made it clear that the party would not take the repression and highhandedness of the Congress legislator and the police lying down. “We will move the judiciary, the human rights commission, the Governor and the DGP to seek justice. If it comes to that, the party will take the fight to the streets to expose the misdeeds of the Congress rulers,” he said. Alleging that a case under Sections 307, 326, 324, 148 and 149 of the IPC was registered against Mr Neetu on the basis of the complaint of Congress activist Manjit Singh, alias Raju, to intimidate Mr Neetu, who was one of the prosecution witnesses in civil and criminal cases filed by Mr Gosain against Mr Dawar. He also charged the police with playing a partisan role in the episode and playing to the tunes of the ruling party. Terming the charges levelled by the BJP against Mr Dawar as a bundle of lies, 12 Congress councillors maintained that Mr Gosain and Mr Neetu were providing protection to anti-social elements and ‘muscle power’ was used to silence their opponents. They called for strict action in accordance with the law to curb the ‘undesirable activities’ of the BJP councillor and his political godfathers. Asserting that it was not a political fight between the Congress and the BJP, they urged councillors to rise above party politics and protest against the highhandedness of some BJP functionaries. |
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No hopes from Manmohan govt, says MCPI Ludhiana, May 27 Assessing the political scenario emerging after the taking of the power at the Centre by the United Progressive Alliance, headed by Dr Manmohan Singh, the MCPI general secretary, Mr Jagjit Singh
Lyallpuri, and state secretary Kuldip Singh said in a statement that there should be no illusion regarding the class outlook and mindset of the Prime Minister, who was the main initiator of the economic reforms. The big shift in the economic policies under the garb of reforms had spelled doom for the Indian economy during its more than 10 years of operation. As a result, the burden of foreign debt, unemployment, poverty and gulf between the rich and the poor had increased enormously and the small-scale domestic industrial sector had been destroyed while giving boost to the foreign capital and multinational corporations. They said as the main features of the common minimum programme had been spelt out by Dr Manmohan Singh himself, it did not inspire any hope of fundamental changes. The MCPI leaders said the people of India had given a clear mandate against the policies of the World Bank-IMF sponsored imperialist globalisation by rejecting the NDA and the “cyber” Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. A similar fate had met the Congress-ruled states of Karnataka, Kerala and Punjab. “Dr Manmohan Singh and the Congress have committed themselves to continue the same policies of the so-called economic reforms, as were vigorously pursued by NDA government. Being a World Bank and IMF protege, he has gone one step further by indicating that the government will discontinue the subsidies to the farmers and other sections while user’s charges will be levied in health, education, roads and transportation”, they said. The party has also denounced the role of the traditional left parties like the CPI and the CPM for collaborating with bourgeois-landlord dominated Congress and for sacrificing the interest of the working classes and the down-trodden in the name of secularism. “The MCPI feels that if the new Congress-led government continues to implement anti-people and pro-capitalist policies of imperialist globalisation, the people will, in due course, reject them as they have rejected the NDA,” they added. |
Sevak jatha to contest SGPC poll Ludhiana, May 27 The mukh sevadar of the jatha, Mr Kartar Singh Garib, said in a press note here today that at a meeting of the body here last evening, it was felt that the present leadership of the SGPC had failed to provide the right kind of direction to the Sikh community, particularly the youth, who were going away from the basic teachings of Sikhism and taking to drug addiction and other social evils. The community, as a whole, had suffered a loss of image due to the politicisation of the SGPC, it felt. Mr Garib said it was unanimously resolved that efforts needed to be made to bring forward ‘amritdhari’ (baptised) Sikhs in Punjab and Haryana to contest the SGPC elections on a common manifesto and symbol under the banner of the Guru Gobind Singh Sevak Jatha. The body would nominate only those members of the Sikh community as candidates who were dedicated to dharam parchar, who did not indulge in addiction and whose family members were all baptised. He said the jatha would process applications after screening. |
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IT refunds till March 31 cleared Ludhiana, May 27 He said the online tax accounting system (OLTAS) was being introduced in the circle with effect from June 1, 2004, and the process had been explained to all banks so that they did not face any problems or difficulties in implementing OLTAS. Mr Sat Pal said the refund advice would from now onwards be handled by the MICR system in the banks even if the refund advice were not available. He said the department has issued refund vouchers amounting to the tune of over Rs 100 crore by March 31 in Ludhiana. The Commissioner said the Ludhiana Commissionerate had collected Rs 628 crore income tax during the last financial year which was Rs 111 crore more than the previous financial year. He revealed that out of 2.5 lakh assessees in Ludhiana, only about 600 paid tax more than Rs 10 lakh each, while there were only 950 cases who paid tax between Rs 5 to Rs 10 lakh. |
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Jawaharlal Nehru remembered Ludhiana, May 27 At a function organised by the All-India Freedom Fighters Organisation under the presidentship of veteran freedom fighter and former legislator Dewan Jagdish Chander, speakers remembered Pandit Nehru as a man of principles, who stood tall among the world leaders. “It were people like Pandit Nehru and his contemporaries who made India into a secular, socialists and a strong democratic nation.” The gathering, through different resolutions, asked the government to provide free education, books, health cover, uniforms to all schoolchildren to perpetuate the memory of Pandit Nehru, who had a great love for children. The freedom fighters and their dependents also wanted sapling plantation to be taken up at war footing to improve the environment, stern measures to curb activities of communal forces and check corruption at all levels. At another function organised by the District Congress Committee (Urban) at Congress Bhavan here, DCC Chief Jagmohan Sharma and several other party leaders paid tributes to Pandit Nehru while recalling the sacrifices made by his entire family for the sake of the country. The party workers pledged to safeguard the unity and integrity of the country and to follow in the footsteps of the great leaders and other members of his family. Office-bearers of the DCC as well as block and ward level units, party councillors and functionaries of front organisations also attended the function. |
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Woman wins holiday for 2 abroad Ludhiana, May 27 Her culinary skill won her a holiday for two to Kuala Lumpur and a microwave oven. She was the only contestant from Ludhiana. Molly had studied M.Sc in nutrition in home science at Chandigarh and had later taught at the college too. She said, “I never enjoyed cooking then. After marriage, my husband wanted me to prepare a nutritious variety of dishes so that I could use my knowledge. He and my daughter are my supporters and critics. They want me to try out new dishes. I love painting and embroidery. I keep trying new dishes”. She had been counselling friends in planning specific kinds of meals. She had specialised in planning meals for diabetics or persons with high cholesterol. She said a pomegranate a day helped in lowering the cholesterol. She said if guargum gel in powdered form was added to vegetables, it reduced blood sugar levels. She said diabetic should eat chapatis of mixed atta comprising chana, besan and wheat flour and leftover vegetables could be kneaded into it to make it tastier. |
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Aggarwal Sammelan
poll stayed Ludhiana, May 27 As a result, the polling for the members of the body from Punjab, to be held here today, could not take place. This information was given by the Assistant Election Officer, Mr Amrit Lal Aggarwal, who also heads the state unit of the sammelan. An emergent meeting of the Punjab Pradesh Aggarwal Sammelan, convened here under the presidentship of Mr Aggarwal, while reviewing the situation created by the judicial intervention, decided to step up the enrollment drive in order to bring in more and more members of the community into the fold of the body. Mr Aggarwal said the executive committee members of the state body would take part in the central committee meeting of the sammelan at Indore on May 29 where several strategic decisions were expected to be taken. |
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Readers Write Whenever some tall public figure dies, the media goes berserk commenting on his achievements but forget to ponder on the shortfalls of his life and the damage caused due to a narrow vision. For instance, lakhs of people paid homage to veteran Akali leader and SGPC chief G.S. Tohra. No doubt he was a honest. Yet corruption and other misdeeds in the SGPC during his 27-year presidentship of the committee are known to everyone. He was always power hungry and even nurtured a desire to be the CM. Even in decaying health, he got elected president of the SGPC and got an RS seat for himself. He broke his pledge many times. Yet the SGPC conferred the title of Panth Rattan on him. Similarly, our first PM, Pandit Nehru, made a historic blunder in Kashmir by not only declaring a ceasefire but also taking the issue to the UNO. Later thousands of civilians, Army officers and jawans have perished to seek a solution to the Kashmir problem. The 1962 NEFA debacle is also the doing of Nehru’s short vision with the result that thousands km of Indian territory is with China. His daughter Indira Gandhi too clamped emergency and launched Operation Bluestar, alienating a section of its people. Rajiv Gandhi helped the LTTE which later was responsible for his assassination. The list is endless. Saints, gurus and avtars are remembered and worshipped as they live and die for public betterment and give true, guidance. But these leaders live and die for ‘gaddi’ and ‘kursi’ at the cost of the Public. Now a majority of the public is feeling that the way of governing is not in the interest of the poor and they do not find any difference between democracy and monarchy. That is the reason why the average polling percentage is 50 per cent. Sher Singh Wiser after the event Tears welled up in my eyes as I read the heart-rending account of the accident of a school bus with a train at an unmanned railway crossing on May 5, 2004. Like all residents of Ludhiana, my heart too goes out to the families of victims of this accident. For the families of those deceased, the loss is indeed beyond consolation. Such accidents always make me more angry than sad. Because most accidents are avoidable. Like in this case, the very existence of an unmanned railway crossing in a busy city area is a criminal negligence of safety norms. Or were the concerned authorities waiting for such an accident to happen before taking action? This grave tragedy has jolted the parents of thousands of children who are packed off to school every morning with any regard to their safety on Ludhiana roads, where traffic rules are routinely flouted. First of all, despite the warnings, the vehicles used for ferrying children to school continue to be overloaded. Despite legislation to this effect, the condition of most school vehicles owned by private owners is deplorable. Anyone who has driven early in the morning in this city would have seen the way traffic rules are disregarded by hurried drivers, especially when the police is not around. The worst is when a parent driving children to school jumps red light, While I appreciate the fact that the Traffic Police Department frequently holds seminars in schools on road safety and children are also taken to traffic parks to teach them traffic rules, I feel such exercise should also be extended to drivers of school vehicles also (both private and school owned). Such drivers should also be sensitized about their huge responsibility that of the safety of so many innocent kids. The district administration must wake up to these facts and traffic rule offenders must be strictly admonished. Dr Seema Bedi
Women shining Roopa Mishra has topped the list of successful candidates of the Civil Services Examination. A remarkable performance indeed, especially when we take into account the hurdles faced by women in our male-dominated society. Bhavna Garg was the first woman to achieve this destination when she secured the first position in the Civil Services Examination. Interesting, this year the second position has also gone to a woman, Aashima Garg. This shows that women are as competent as men are. Slowly but surely our women are being empowered. This is a step in the right direction. It is also a lesson for those who consider their daughters as liability and resort to inhuman act of female foeticide. If a few are able to provide a level playing field to girls, there is no doubt that they will be able to make their presence felt in every field. The message is loud and clear. Do as much as you can for the education of your girl children and there is no doubt that many more Roopa Mishras and Bhavna Gargs will be born. Anil Sharma |
Steel prices
stabilise Ludhiana, May 27 The prices of steel have fallen following the installation of the new government at the centre and availability of the material in plenty' according to resources close to the steel plants. The M S rounds were sold for Rs 27,000 per tonne three days ago and were now available for Rs 25,000 per tonne. The price of HR sheets was quoted at Rs 27,000 per tonne which has not witnessed any fluctuations for the past over one month. Iron scrap is also now available in abundance which was in short supply. Moreover the rates of imported scrap have decreased from $275 per tonne to $240 US. In the domestic market, it as available for Rs 14,000 per tonne. Mr Avtar Singh, General Secretary, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings, Ludhiana has alleged that SAIL and other main steel producers raised the prices of steel last fortnight by Rs 500 per tonne which was against the interests of the industry and the small-scale industry in particular had suffered the maximum. Mr Avtar Singh said wire rod steel was still being sold in the market at a premium of Rs 10,000 per tonne. It was available for Rs 30,000 per
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Dead Sea products launched Ludhiana, May 27 Talking to reporters, Ms Monica Solanki, CEO, Goodlife Healthcare and Hygiene Pvt, Ltd said, “The Mineral Line beauty and spa treatment products is the fruit of 32 years of rich experience using the latest technologies in research and production to synthesise nature’s gift into refined formulas designed to cleanse and nourish, help reverse signs of stress and restore comfort and softness”. The products are rich in minerals that are sourced from the Dead Sea.32 times richer in minerals compared to any other ocean or sea. It has mineral based natural products. Besides keeping the skin healthy, Dead Sea water helps in treating skin disorders like psoriasis and Eczema, she said. |
Exempt Punjabi films from tax, says Ludhiana, May 27 The Punjabi actor-cum-singer, Harbhajan Mann was here for the promotion of his movie “Asan nu Maan Watna Da”. Talking to the media he said, “Another thing we urge the government is to check piracy. Pirated DVDs and CDs are making producers lose a lot of money.” He said he was happy with the response to his film. It was for the first time in the history of a Punjabi movie that 18 theatres in the United Kingdom and 12 theatres in Canada were showing the movie. He attributed the success to director Manmohan Singh. “He is a wonderful person. Even the likes of Aishwarya Rai come to meet him. Moreover the story is meaningful and is related to the lives of many people. Punjabis are settled in 112 countries so the theme and subject and problems related to the NRIs find a larger
viewership. In order to be in tune with the modern generation, we had to be in sync with reality and chose contemporary subjects,” he said. His new film, “Back to India” would be in English and would convey the disillusionment of people settled abroad and how they wanted to return to India. He said his musical career had got a setback as he was busy shooting and promoting the film. His new solo album would be hitting the market in September or October. |
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