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Commercial activity in residential area okayed
Ludhiana, September 22 This was among the two major decision taken at a meeting of the trust here this evening. The other decision pertains to the flats in Valmiki Nagar where families of victims of 1984 riots are living currently. The trust feels that the claim of more than half of the families living in the 1,500 quarters is doubtful and the illegal occupants should be evicted so that the flats could be sold / allotted for a nominal amount to the deserving candidates. Sources said both the decisions were taken unanimously by the trustees with Mr Ashok Singh Garcha in the chair. He also formed two committees to implement the decisions. The members of the committee to overlook the commercial scheme, include LIT Trustees S S Bindra, Sanjay Talwar, B.S Basant besides the District and Town Planner and Trust SE, Mr Manmohan Singh. All Trustees are the members of the Valmiki Nagar committee besides the Trust Executive Officer A.S Azad and SE Manmohan Singh. According to sources the decision to allow commercial activity had been taken in view of the changed ground realities. It was felt by those present that while the trust was involved in long drawn out litigations, the MC had allowed the violations by compounding them once the control was handed over to the civic body. The scheme, which is likely to click, will be extended to other areas of the city also. The trust will charge fees as per the existing laws in this context, the sources added. The MC has already designated more than 20 roads in the city as commercial areas where the owners can get building plans for commercial complexes approved on the payment of a compounding or conversion fee. The scheme is likely to be implemented in areas where such change is allowed and include Bhagat Singh Nagar, Rishi Valmiki Nagar, Rajguru Nagar, 8. 4 acres, Kartar Singh Sarabha Nagar, Model Town Extension 1 and 2 and BRS Nagar.
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Suspect’s father rescued after 25-day illegal custody
Ludhiana, September 22 A Warrant Officer from the Punjab and Haryana High Court today rescued the aged man Surjit Singh, from the police custody. SP(Detective) Gurpreet Singh, however, claimed that the man was called for questioning and everything was on police records. Badly shattered by his experience, Surjit Singh told Ludhiana Tribune that he was kept behind bars for more than four weeks without any direct involvement in the crime. He said the age old pressure tactics of the Punjab Police to put relatives of a wanted accused behind bars to force the accused to surrender were still continuing. Surjit Singh's son Sachdev Singh was one of the five accused in the murder case of former Gill village Sarpanch. He has been absconding since then. The case had already taken an interesting twist when Amritsar police claimed a few days ago that a gang of robbers, including a resident of Gill village, busted by them had claimed they had committed the murder. The Ludhiana police has been in a fix since then as it had named other persons as accused in the case. Surjit Singh was in tears while talking to Ludhiana Tribune, ‘‘What can be more humiliating to a Class I retried officer than being made to sit with criminals for weeks together.’’ He insisted that he was not beaten up but the cops were always pressurising him to make his absconding son surrender. He said he was picked up on August 28 and was rescued today. All this while the
cops told his family members that they were not aware of his whereabouts. His family members
approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court which deputed a Warrant Officer to raid the CIA and rescue the man if he was in illegal custody. Sources said no action has been taken against the CIA staff by the city police authorities.
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Calls worth Rs 3.5 lakh made from hacked No.
Ludhiana, September 22 The police suspects that the fraud could have a bearing on national security and the telecom companies should safeguard unique security numbers. Four persons have been arrested in the case and the role of certain employees of the company is being investigated. The police said that three of the persons arrested, Darjinder Singh, Manav Sood and Sameet Thapar, were employees of the company, but Connect officials insisted they were just their agents. The fourth person, Raman, who ran a shop, Aggrawal Communication, in Ghumar Mandi had allegedly used the software to hack the number. The suspects allegedly used the phone to call up their relatives in Italy, Saudi Arabia and a few other countries. The police is examining if others also used the number and the suspects charged them for that. The police is on the lookout for Rohit Sood and Mukesh Kumar, in whose names the phone was activated. Inspector Anil Joshi, in charge of the economic offences wing, and SI Randhir Singh revealed that the police had investigated the case after the Managing Director of Connect, Mr M. P. Singh, complained that one subscriber, Mukesh Kumar, who had made calls worth about Rs 3.5 lakh, was untraceable. SP, Detective, Gurpreet Singh said the investigation had found that some persons associated with the company had played the trick. Darjinder Singh, a sales executive, had filled the forms of Mukesh Kumar for a WLL connection. The address was verified by an agency hired by the telephone company and the phone was activated with ISD and conference call facility. Darjinder Singh, allegedly in connivance with others, hacked the ESN and used the phone on two sets. The company came to know about it only when the phone bill shot up to Rs 3.5 lakh within three weeks. Mr Joshi said there was high probability that Mukesh Kumar was a dummy person. The police checked up at the given address and found that a youth named Mukesh had lived there only for three days. The police had a copy of Mukesh's driving licence, the authenticity of which was being verified. Mr Jayant Keswani, General Manager, Connect, said the company was alert to such frauds and necessary security measures had been taken from time to time.
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Veterinary students block traffic
Ludhiana, September 22 Student leader Sandeep Singh said they had been urging the authorities to redress their grievances but to no avail. “All five previous veterinary graduate batches are unemployed even though hundreds of post is lying vacant for the past many years”, he said. The students carrying placards marched through the university and blocked the traffic in front of main gate No. 2. Policemen were present to prevent any untoward incident. The protesters alleged that the government was not filling more than 800 posts of doctor which had been lying vacant for the past many years. The dharna was lifted after an assurance from the university authorities that they would seek an appointment with the Chief Minister so that the students can apprise him of their problems.
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GNEC deadlock continues
Ludhiana, September 22 Tarandeep, one of the student leaders, in a telephonic conversation with this correspondent from Amritsar, said five students were discussing the matter with Mr Pakhoke. Mr Prakash Singh Badal was also expected to reach there soon and the students would apprise him of their problems. The students claim that the decision would be in their
favour and the Principal would be dismissed. A three-member committee formed by SGPC comprising Sangowal and Harsurinder Gill will complete its investigations within four days.
Meanwhile, the condition of Akal Jot, one of the students of GNEC who has been sitting on an indefinite fast became serious today as he complained of dizziness and his blood pressure too dropped today. Four more students: Prabhleen, Ashish Negi, Alok and Anand, have also joined the hunger strike. Vikram Singh, secretary , Punjab Technical Students Action Committee, has been given a showcause notice seeking reply to why he should not be rusticated from PTU? This move has created more anger among the students. Representatives of several colleges have pledged their support to the striking students. Inderjit Singh of Khalsa College, Civil Lines, Gurpreet Singh of SCD College , Ludhiana, Mohinder Singh Kang- Panjab University Students Council, Balwinder Singh Deol of Panjab University Students Association, Vishwajit Singh-Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Technology , Moga, Suwaran Singh of National Student Union of India, have all joined the striking students and have threatened that all local colleges and other colleges in the state will join the strike if the Principal, Dr R.P Singh, was not removed from his post by 12 noon tomorrow. Meanwhile, the teachers staged a dharna to protest against the suspension of Dean, Academics, Dr J.N Jha. They were seeking revocation of the suspension order. A press note was issued by some students stated that the strike was being prolonged due to the support of some political parties. Meanwhile, the Principal has called the parents of ailing students.
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Tension in village over dera fund use
Samrala, September 22 Comprising a building that houses five smadhs of Baba Bhai Darbari Ji, the place attracts people from all walks of life who come here with a wish and then later to pay obeisance after the wish has been fulfilled. Looking at the manner in which the caretakers of the religious place have been utilising the funds, a group of youths of the village have formed a committee and christened it as the Dera Baba Bhai Dalbari Upashak Shardhaloo Sevadar Committee. Even though the management of the smadh is the responsibility of the dera, the local youth and their supporters feel that the caretakers must spend a part of the earning of the dera on the welfare and upkeep of the village as most of the offerings at the dera come from the villagers. The newly formed committee has sent out letters to the Punjab Chief Minister, SSP, Khanna, Director, Vigilance, and the Punjab Chief Secretary seeking immediate intervention to diffuse tensions in the area that may cause a backlash. The caretakers, namely Darshan Dass and Bhupinder Dass, when contacted refused to get drawn into any controversy and said they were answerable only to the management of the dera and not to the people. They also refuted all allegations. Several affidavits are being circulated in the area against the alleged misutilisation of funds by the caretakers. ‘’Our primary objection is that the caretakers do not spend even a single penny for the development of the areas surrounding the smadh or the religious shrine itself’’, they claimed. As the legend goes, Baba Bhai Darbari Ji was a pious soul and worked for the welfare of downtrodden people and society. Lakhs of devotees come and pay homage and offer money and other things at the dera as thanksgiving. After Baba Bhai Darbari passed away his followers and devotees built this shrine in his memory in 1914. In pre-Partition days sadhus were entrusted with the task of performing puja, gradually the management of the dera passed into hands of the progeny of these sadhus who, the villagers feel, have no religious devotion and their primary aim is to live off the income from the property. The current caretakers have allegedly mortgaged the dera property to banks and purchased vehicles etc for personal use. The newly formed committee and the caretakers are at loggerheads over the issue of utilisation of the funds collected by the dera. The committee has demanded immediate intervention of the government to end mismanagement of dera funds. The committee has Satwinder Singh as the president, Indresh Zaidka as secretary and Gajja Singh as general secretary.
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Cong banner violates court directive
Ludhiana, September 22 It may be mentioned here that this also amounts to the violation of the Punjab and Haryana High Court directive of not allowing any advertisement along busy roads and highways that may cause accidents by distraction. This banner is on the signpost just overhead any commuter and cannot be missed. But since the banner carries pictures of the All India Congress Committee President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, none dare have it removed. With the Municipal Corporation signpost half covered those wanting to go to Chandigarh or the Industrial area side in the city while coming from the Ferozepore side get no clue of direction. The Punjab and Haryana High Court directive on hoardings says, “Remove hoardings from all highways and main roads as they are a traffic hazard”. The Ferozepur Road is a highway for all traffic passing through Ludhiana toward southern Punjab.
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200 cr to be spent on projects: Dawer
Ludhiana, September 22 The Parliamentary Secretary said a large number of developmental projects had been approved for the city and during this year funds amounting to Rs 200 crore would be spent. He said a project costing Rs 14 crore to cover a drain passing through the different parts of his constituency would be implemented. He said Mini Rose Garden, set up by the Municipal Corporation, would be beautified and more facilities would be added. He said a children park in the central part of the city would set up shortly. Referring to the demand for the supply of sufficient drinking water in some areas, Mr Dawer said 10 tubewells would be installed in the Ludhiana (East) constituency. During the last two years, development projects amounting to Rs 20 crore had been executed in the Ludhiana (East) constituency alone and more funds would be released.
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Frequent transfer of SHOs piques locals
Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 22 Perusal of records at the city police station revealed that the SHOs posted here had been transferred six times recently. The transfers were made so frequently that some SHOs could not even know the area. The trend gave rise to a sense of insecurity among the local citizens and visitors. Mr Harvinder Singh Cheema was relieved from his duty as SHO of the city police station on June 24. Mr Surinder Sharma, who had taken charge from Mr Cheema, was transferred on July 22. Mr Sukhdev Singh, the next incumbent, performed his duty here only for six days and was transferred on July 28. After working for 16 days, Mr Chand Singh was relieved on August 14 while he was looking after the preparations for the Independence Day. He was followed by Mr Baal Puri, who was transferred on September 6. Surprisingly, Mr Sat Pal Bajwa, who joined as SHO at the city police station then, has been transferred to the Sadar police station. Mr Kishori Lal Bhadhan, a former president of the Municipal Council, Mr Jatinder Kumar Bhola and Mr Sham Sunder, both former vice-presidents of the Municipal Council, and Mr Jagwant Singh Jaggie, Municipal Councillor, have resented the district police move to transfer the SHOs so quickly. The leaders alleged that the police had ignored the security concern of the town during the festival season. They apprehended that bad elements would create problems for the law-abiding people during the days of Mela Chhapar.
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Very few takers for Chhapar Mela stalls
Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 22 Whereas the ban on zinda dance was cited as one of the reasons for lack of interest in the fair, the fear of rowdy youths carrying sharp-edged agricultural implements and small axes was cited as a major reason that kept families away from the fair . The Jagraon police, however, expressed inability to check the sale and carrying of choppers and axes. The Mela Officer on the other hand said the administration might review the issue if any of the organisations approached them with a request to impose a ban. Mr Sham Lal, contractor and Mr Mela Singh, a panchayat member, said there were few takers for the prime lots this year, particularly near the main temple. Citing the imposition of a ban on zinda dance as one of the reasons they said major circus companies too had not turned up till now and only middle level stalls were coming up. Out of the political organisers only the SAD and Congress have rented two plots for their respective conferences. This fetched a rent of Rs 1 lakh for the contractors. Decline in the number of devotees over the years has been a matter of concern for the local residents also. Observations during recent years have revealed that the fear of rowdiness during mela days makes many people visit the ‘temple’ before or after the fair. "How can one think of coming with family to the mela where miscreants move around freely. Though police arrangements are usually enough one is never sure when a riotous person would strike with the weapon which people call an agricultural implement." said a local devotee who had already paid an obeisance at the Guga Mari. Mr Rajiv Ahir, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jagraon, said the police had no authority to check the sale of sharp-edged agricultural implements and small axes as agrarian people claim that these were articles of their daily use and anybody could transact their business at a fair. "Looking into the demand raised by the local organisations, we would ensure that the stalls dealing in the sale of these and similar goods are put up in remote corners .Otherwise we would make elaborate security arrangements for the safety of life and property of the visitors," he assured. Mr Malwinder Singh, SDM (West) and the mela officer, claimed that the matter had not been brought to his notice.
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Sabha to support
Kashmiri Pandits
Samrala, September 22 The senior vice-president, Mr Behari Lal Saddi, while talking to the mediapersons in the civil rest house said they understood their woes and tribulations and praised them for their patience and perseverance. The sabha also condemned the callous attitude of the Jammu and Kashmir Government and Central Government towards them. The sabha also strongly condemned the atrocities and suppression meted out to the Kashmiri Pandits for a long time by the extremists, terrorists and religious fanatics and they promised to go all out to support the Panun Kashmir movement. Members of the Brahmin Sabha and citizens welcomed the 35-member All India Kashmiri Society Youth Wing pandits who are taking out a padyatra from Jammu to Delhi.
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India Radio to help needy
Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 22 Dr Sanjiv Ahluwalia, an alumni of Punjab Agricultural University and an NRI, said that the organisation was already helping the needy people of the northern states of India. Besides undertaking the treatment of some heart patients, it had assisted some sportsmen who later brought laurels to the nation. While talking to the Ludhiana Tribune on the occasion of the felicitation function of Mr Pawandeep, a power lifter, Dr Ahluwalia said the sports- loving NRIs were happy that the local residents had recognised their contribution.
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9,000 acres to be brought
under hyola
Ludhiana, September 22 A meeting of the departments concerned was held here
today. It was presided over by Deputy Commissioner Anurag Verma. Those present included Mr N. K. Sharma, Zonal Manager, Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation, Mr R. S. Pandher, Chief Agriculture Officer, Mr M. S. Grewal, DDPO, and Mr Rajinder Singh, Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Societies. The Deputy Commissioner asked the officers to launch a special campaign so that the maximum number of farmers could change over from wheat to hyola, which was only of 150 days’ duration and gave a higher profit per acre as compared to
wheat. The farmers could get another crop of sathi moongi during the same season.
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Girl missing,
labourer booked
Khanna, September 22 The police has registered a case against Raju at Payal police station. Her minor daughter also came along with her to the landlord’s house on September 20. Raju allegedly lured her daughter and abducted her. A case has been registered under Sections 363 and 366 of the IPC against Raju.
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Trader commits
suicide
Khanna, September 22 The body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem at Civil Hospital, Khanna.
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Oriental bank employees condemn merger
Ludhiana, September 22 The general secretary of the All-India Oriental Bank
Empoyees' Federation, Mr Yog Raj Gupta, said over 14,000 officers and employees working in OBC were deeply concerned over the hasty decision of merging the failed private sector bank with an efficiently run, zero NPA, profit making Oriental Bank of Commerce. The merger will create a negative impact on OBC and its entire workforce. Notwithstanding claims to the contrary the huge NPAs of GTB of about Rs 1,500 crore, the high cost deposit profile of GTB and its operating losses, apart from the possibility of legal claims by the erstwhile share holders of GTB, will burden Oriental Bank of Commerce, the association members said. The association also stated that the merger had created a serious mismatch in salaries of the staff of the two banks. Officers employed on contract basis and on individual package (GTB) will continue to draw higher emoluments even after bankruptcy of their bank as Oriental Bank of Commerce had guaranteed the protection of their emoluments of three years. This is uncalled for and will destabilise industry level agreements, the association said, demanding parity in service conditions of OBC employees and erstwhile GTB employees.
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Bank employees threaten strike
Ludhiana September 22 The protesters threatened to observe a countrywide strike on October 5 and 6 if there was no positive response to their demands from the IBA.The wages and service conditions of bank employees were last revised in November , 1997, and the terms of that settlement expired in October, 2002, said Mr Ashok Awasthi, president of the PBEF,Ludhiana unit.He said the next wage revision was due from November, 2002, but the IBA was trying to ignore the issue.
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Biz Clip
Ludhiana LAUNCHED: Tata Motors launched Tata Indigo Marina here on Tuesday. The car, which comes in three models of petrol and two models of diesel, is priced in the range of Rs 4.26 lakh to Rs 5.23 lakh, said Mr Mani Raman, Head, Customer Support, Passenger Car Business Unit, Tata Motors, while addressing mediapersons.
TNS EXHIBITION: The Mayor, Mr Nahar Singh Gill, will inaugurate an exhibition of furniture at Sutlej Club, here on Thursday. Ms Anjalika Kripalani, vice-president, Interior Design and Sales, Renaissance Homes, said: “Ludhianvis have a keen sense of style, so we have decided to showcase our exclusive range of products here”.
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