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Industrialists’ profits dip into overflowing nullah
Ludhiana, November 21 While owners of some units are facing losses in business, it seems that the local civic body prefers to look the other way. Interestingly, the nullah is overflowing due to choking under a small bridge constructed to facilitate movement of employees and vehicles of the municipal corporation (MC) to its tehbazaari dump. Industrialists argue that their pleas to get the road cleared have fallen on deaf ears. Incidentally, stinking water has got collected in front of the MC dump but it has failed to move the authorities concerned. The dirty water pose threat to the health of workers and owners of the factories, besides making it impossible for them to transport raw and prepared material to the units. The MC stores items in the dump confiscated during removal of encroachments. Heavy trucks carrying goods also enter the office through this road. “It is proving to be a major problem for us. The other day a buyer from a European country refused to stay inside our factory, stating that he will fall ill. We kept on persuading him to see the samples for some time but he did not budge. We are paying all kind of taxes to the civic body but when it comes to providing us with civic amenities, they behave like this. They should at least be particular about this area where buyers from abroad visit very frequently,” asked an industrialist. “Nobody knows what has caused the blockade in the nullah, but it can be cleared. The employees keep on telling us that they will improve matters soon but it seems it will take them years to get the things done,” he added. Industrialists said there was a problem with the sewerage also, leading to the sewage coming on to the road.
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“Militants had directions to spread terror”
Ludhiana, November 21 Mr Jaiswal, SSP, Jagraon said when Manpreet took training from Wadhawa Singh at a place unknown to him near Lahore in Pakistan in May this year, his brief was to blow up Baba Bhaniara and Jagdish Tytler besides other congress leaders. The plan was aborted due to the arrest of Jagtar Singh Hawara after which Manpreet was told to lie low for sometime. Two weeks ago, Latala told him to do at least something to announce their presence in the state. According to Mr Jaiswal, Latala has been in touch with mainly Manpreet and others too and was the one organising the meetings and exchange of arms and ammunition . He calls them over the phone or leaves coded messages with other persons. He has been supplying money through persons visiting the USA or Pakistan or Bangkok. Most of these carriers may not even know who had sent money to whom and for what purpose. The police has also learnt that though the three nabbed terrorists were highly motivated for some cause, they were doing the job for money too. Manpreet Singh has revealed that that he mortgaged his land some years ago and needed Rs 1 lakh by the end of this month to clear the debt. He was told to do something. He had received $ 500 from Wadhawa SIngh for his training in Pakistan. Besides this he and others have been getting money ranging from Rs 20, 000 to Rs 90,000 for supplying arms and ammunition. Officially, the three claimed themselves to be working for a few months in an year with some firms in Dubai. They explained the earning from arms supply as earning from their job.
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Police remand for BKI activists
Jagraon, November 21 The defence counsel opposed the application moved by the police seeking police custody on the ground that Bhagwant Singh was a member of the panchayat of Maksoodan village for the past more than two years and the secretary of the cooperative society for about five years. Moreover, showing details from different newspapers, the counsel said that nothing remains to be recovered and the remand would not be justified. Mr Sukhwinder Singh Latala sought police remand on the plea that the trio was involved in terrorist activities.
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Controversy over golden ‘palki’ for Nankana Sahib
Ludhiana, November 21 Perhaps she was feeling ignored in the matter of Sikh shrines situated in Pakistan. It is well known that in 1947, all the Sikh shrines in Pakistan were vandalised and precious articles were looted and there was nothing left except buildings. In some cases even the buildings were vandalised. When after a great effort some semblance of service in these gurdwaras was sought to be restarted sometime in 1948 everything had to be started afresh. Since then there have been restricted visits of the pilgrims to these shrines in Pakistan. Gradually news started coming in about the fate of properties of the gurdwaras and the state of maintenance. The Sikhs were pained at the disparaging news. The pilgrims who went to these shrines carried many offerings for use in the gurdwaras for Guru Granth Sahib and langar. Now when the situation is getting closer to normal, the Sikh sangat has started offering precious articles for use in these shrines. Nankana Sahib has become the centre of attraction for the Sikh sangat. When Bibi Jagir Kaur stopped sending Sikh jathas to these shrines in Pakistan, the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee stepped in. It started leading Sikh jathas to Pakistan. It was in the wake of this brisk pilgrim traffic that some people thought of offering the golden 'palki' at Nankana Sahib. It is just like what happened after Operation Bluestar when everything was destroyed in Harmandir Sahib. The 'roomalas' and other articles had to be carried immediately. Recently some devotees offered a golden 'palki' at Harmandir Sahib which carries Guru Granth Sahib to and from Harmandir Sahib in the morning and at night. To quote Mr Paramjit Singh Sarna, the golden 'palki' is being offered without any thought of either replacing the marble 'palki' or placing it in a particular place in the sanctum sanctorum. This is for general use in congregations as also in nagar kirtans, the misgivings and controversies notwithstanding. Explaining the situation Mr Sarna said the DSGMC had made no plans at anytime to suggest the installation of the 'palki' at a particular place. It was just an offering on behalf of the Delhi Sikhs. The nagar kirtan was only to show the devotion and reverence for the shrines associated with Guru Nanak Dev. "We are offering this 'palki' on behalf of the Sikh masses to the Janamasthan gurdwara for general use wherever they deem fit. We are pained at the controversy raised in certain quarters," said Mr Sarna. Mr Sarna further said that their aim was to arouse the conscience and enthusiasm among the Sikhs. "It should be noted that Sikh devotees have made offerings for a particular purpose i.e offering a golden 'palki' at Nankana Sahib and we in the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee cannot deviate these offerings to any other sector," he asserted.
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SKD hails conviction of cops in
Khalra case
Ludhiana, November 21 Mr Swaran Singh Khalsa, Mr Surinderpal Singh, Mr Surinder Singh Kishanpura and Mr Jagdish Singh, members of the central committee of the party, said following the verdict of the CBI court, there is no doubt that certain officers led by former DGP KPS Gill allegedly indulged in systematic elimination of thousands of youth during the days of terrorism. The bodies were then cremated in an attempt to destroy evidence of any wrong doing, they added. The leaders said while police encounters were the order to the day, people like Khalra who painstakingly collected evidence of the mass cremations and raised the issue at the international level were picked up, tortured and then killed. In many cases, the bodies of those killed are still to be recovered till date adding to the misery of their families, they pointed out. The smiling pictures of the It is a matter of concern that the executive always steps in to undo the justice granted by the courts. This has created a doubt in the Sikh community that they were being targetted in the country as per a sinister plan, they said. While flaying the Congress for its "anti- Sikh policies," the party also came down heavily on the SAD which had done nothing to ensure that justice was done in the disappearance of the head of their human rights wing all these years. The Akalis have chosen to remain silent on the issue of largescale human rights violations during those days, they alleged.
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CPM, CITU hold dharna
Ludhiana, November 21 The CITU, which supported the dharna, held a protest rally and demanded that closed cycle wings of Rockman Cycle Industries and Highway Industries be re-started. The rally that started from Giaspura Talaab and Rockman Cycle Industries culminated at the outside the DC’s office where workers participated in the CPI(M)’s dharna. A memorandum, in which the CITU demanded that jobless workers be given employment, was submitted to the DC. The workers raised slogans like ‘Jungle Raaj Band Karo’ and ‘Punjab Sarkar Murdabad’. “Our dharnas will continue for 24-hour till November 25. This is a nationwide campaign to bring awareness among the people on the issues concerning them,” said Sukhwinder Singh Sekhon, district secretary, CPI(M). In the 13-point charter, the CPM has asked for reservations for women, an increase in basic wages for industrial workers, implementation of labour laws, filling of vacancies in various government departments, compensation to farmers hit by natural calamities, transparency in administrative functioning, ban on privatisation of education and making medical and education affordable for masses. The party also demanded that Chandigarh be given to Punjab. The CITU, meanwhile, stressed that closed units be restarted and threatened to intensify its protest further in case the government did not pay heed to its demand.
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Time to realise dream of equality, says Chatrath
Ludhiana, November 21 Ms Chatrath, Mayor, UT Chandigarh, said ‘‘the idea of empowerment goes well beyond the narrow confines of material development. It means greater freedom of thought and action, access to information. A woman needs to develop her potential and ability to earn a living that contributes to her welfare and that of her family’’. Sensitizing the students, resource person, Ms Chatrath said women have always been givers as mothers, sisters or daughters but instead of getting respected very unfortunately they have been regular victims of spousal abuse, antiquated dowry system and sexual exploitation. Caught in the cycle of victimisation, they often see little hope for themselves and their children. In today’s world, she said, the roles of men and women are complementary and supplementary to the development of the country. She also shared the fact that the Constitution makers have been very conscious of empowering women and that today the empowerment of women in the economic and social fields was one of the fundamental objectives of all development-related efforts in the region. Mr Nahar Singh Gill, Mayor, Ludhiana, presided over the seminar and said there were various policies and programmes in action to ensure women empowerment through equality, growing economic participation, improvement in social development, access to technology, education, health and nutrition etc. G.K. Chatrath, former Advocate General, Punjab, Kuldeep Singh, Director, Coordinator G.S. Dua and Assistant Secretary Kuljeet Singh and Joint Secretary Harmohinder Singh were among those present on the occasion.
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Yash Chopra thanks
Amarinder for help in shooting
Ludhiana, November 21 Chopra was very impressed with the photographs of nature clicked by Mr Sandhu and said ,‘‘These pictures are not only photographs but are lyrics.’’ Chopra specially thanked Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, for his exemplary gesture to provide help and facilitate shooting of beautiful landscapes and culture of the state. Mr Chopra said the facilities provided would give incentives to other directors to shoot their films in Punjab and thus provide more employment opportunities to Punjabis. Chopra also expressed concern over the increasing incidents of piracy of films. He requested Mr Harpreet Sandhu to take up the matter with legal department of the state government and devise new ways and amendments to check piracy.
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Seminar stresses on Sikh values
Ludhiana, November 21 Mr Calcutta said the present leadership was focusing only on foisting their families, relatives and children on the public. Those people who are coming in the front-line behave as pimps of these leaders. This has affected the working of all Sikh institutions. Mr Prithipal Singh Kapur, Ex Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University said, “Sikhs should think of themselves as Sikhs first and this will help them grow. They should imbibe all values taught by Sikhism. Sikhism is modern and teaches modern and secular concepts.” Dr Kharak Singh, president of the Institute of Sikh Studies, Chandigarh, talked about the apostasy among Sikh youths. He stressed that this situation had arisen because of ignorance among the Sikh youths regarding Sikhism. Dr B.S. Hansra, from the USA and founder of International Parliament of Religion spoke of his experiences in the USA. He said, “We must do something to have bondage with Sikhism.” Dr Gurbaksh Singh, ex-Dean, Punjab Agricultural University, presently settled in the USA narrated his experiences of the religious camps being organised in gurdwaras and how successful they are proving to be imparting the Sikh values to the youngsters. Mr Gurmeet of Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle and Mr Lochan Singh proposed a vote of thanks. The seminar was attended by Mr Gurbaksh Singh Bhatia and Mr B.S. Sachdeva, general secretary of the council.
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Faqir Chand Puri dead
Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 21
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PUDA workers’ protest today
Ludhiana, November 21
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CPI dharna
Jagraon, November 21
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Robbers decamp with valuables
Ludhiana, November 21 The robbers numbered about 10 struck at about 12.30 am at RM Forging factory in the Focal Point. On November 18, about 10-15 robbers had stormed in a cycle-parts manufacturing unit, near Sherpur Chowk, and decmaped with Rs 50,000 besides some valuable raw material and chemicals estimated to be over Rs 3 lakh. The industrialists in the area were panicked due to spate in such thefts. Even the modus operandi of the assailants was same. At the RM Forging factory, the robber over powered the watchmen, Bhupinder Singh, and thrashed him. Later, he was tied with ropes and locked in a room. The robbers armed with sharp-edged weapons and sticks did not find any other resistance as the watchman was the only person presented in the fatcory at that time. They spent almost an hour and decamped with iron pieces, drill
machines, cutter and other industrial tools and raw material. Mr Pramod Kumar, factory owner, has estimated loss to be over Rs 3 lakh. He said the watchman informed him about two hours when he managed to free himself from the ropes. The watchman, however, had to be admitted in a city hospital as he was injured in the attack. The police has registered a case. Sources said they had got relevant clues about the robbers.
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Man found murdered
Jagraon, November 21 According to information, the complainant are five brothers. He said during the day of the murder, he and his brothers Harbans Singh, Ranjit Singh and two other villagers Ajaib Singh and Gurminder Singh consumed liquor. Later, the complainant and Harbans Singh retired to a room while Ranjit Singh went to another room. In the morning, when the complainant called out for his brother, he did not come. They found him lying in a pool of blood.
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Scooterist killed
Jagraon, November 21
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Textech concludes
Ludhiana, November 21 The delegations that visited the exhibition on the last day included Ludhiana Spinners Association led by Mr M.M. Vyas, Shawl Club led by its chairperson, Ms Mridula Jain, and a few companies from the textile industry. Students of Guru Nanak Institute of Design and Technology, Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, Sportking Institute of Fashion Technology and Ivvana Institute of Fashion Designing and Technology also visited the exhibition. The fair also gave a launching pad to various companies that launched their products, processes and technologies. Surat-based Accurate Trans Heat Pvt. Ltd (ATHPL) launched a unique rotary drum wash machine. According to Mr Kedarmal M Darbar, managing director, ATHPL, “till now, only lower end rotary drum wash machines were available in India, which had a load capacity for just 50 kg to 100 kg fabric. This resulted in tremendous wastage of manpower, steam and time. Also, people were able to use these machines only for dark colours.
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