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Father, son held for setting bride afire
Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 11 Purshotam Singh of Maherna Kalan village and his son Satwinder Singh were arrested when they were trying to leave the area on Friday night. They along with Mohinder Kaur (mother in law) and Baljit Kaur of Ghudani village (sister-in-law) had been booked for allegedly harassing Harjinder Kaur for not bringing desired dowry and setting her on fire with an intention to eliminate her. Mr Tej Pal Singh of Sehora village, a senior Congress leader, alleged that the accused had tried to kill his sister, Harjinder Kaur, on the morning of June 6, by setting her on fire. Narrating the sequence of events on the fateful day, Mr Tej Pal said he had received a telephone call from his sister at around 6 am on June 6. “I was still in bed when I received a call from my sister who was crying. Apprehending danger to her life she begged that I should save her from the clutches of her in laws who according to her had conspired to eliminate her life. Somehow I pacified her and decided to go to her village after some time and slept again,” narrated Mr Tej Pal. Immediately after the first call Tej Pal received another call from a resident of Maherna Kalan informing him that Harjinder had been set on fire by her in laws. The villagers had shifted her to a private hospital at local town from where she was shifted to a multi specialty hospital at Ludhiana. Tej Pal told the Ludhiana Tribune that Harjinder has been married to Satwinder about five years ago. Though the parents claimed to have given a handsome dowry that included a Bullet motorcycle, the Maherna family was not satisfied and allegedly started harassing her for bringing more dowry. The accused had allegedly assaulted Harjinder earlier also and civic bodies of two villages had to intervene in the matter. “But things had normalized after the birth of a male child who is three years old now. Had we known that they would treat our sister like this we would have broken the relations by now,” said Tej Pal adding that the accused had taken his nephew to some untold place. Harjinder had showed her desire to meet her son. Mr Sukhdev Singh SHO Dehlon, said Purshotam and Satwinder had been arrested and police had been conducting raids to nab other accused.
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Uma’s BJSP seeking truck with regional parties
Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 11 The party claimed to have received good response in northern states and Chandigarh. Vishaw Nath, in-charge of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, HP and Chandigarh wing of the party, claimed that leaders of certain political parties, including the SAD, had shown their inclination towards contesting elections in alliance with the party. “Though it is premature to make any announcement, we expect development in negotiations with some regional parties in this area. People will also come to know about the difference between our and other parties,” said Vishaw Nath while talking to Ludhiana Tribune after convening a meeting with newly-inducted members of his party. He claimed that a large number of leaders and activists of other parties had shown their inclination towards following the ideology of Uma Bharti. He said Ashutosh Vinayak, local councillor and former Bharatiya Yuva Morcha president, had been inducted in the party. “As the state body was still to be constituted, his portfolio would be declared later. He would be given responsibility according to his political stature,” said the in-charge. He claimed that local bodies had been constituted in all districts except Amritsar. Justifying the need for launching a new party, he said the BJP had been constituted by the Sangh leadership with the ideology that a party with a difference was the need of the political system. “Now when the difference volatilised with the passage of time, Uma Bharti decided to launch a new ‘party with a difference’,” maintained Vishaw Nath. Surinder Chauhan, assistant to in-charge, Sat Pal Gupta, district president, and Vijay Garg, general secretary, were also present.
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RSS concern over population imbalance
Ludhiana, June 11 Speaking at the birth centenary celebrations of the second sarsanghchalak (chief), Madhav Sadashiv Golwalkar, who is also considered to be the ideological fountainhead of the RSS, held at the Bhartiya Vidya Mandir, Kitchlu Nagar here today, the sangh leaders said, the conversions were taking place throughout the country, including Punjab at an alarming pace and all this was being done under an international conspiracy. The all-India prachar pramukh (publicity chief), Mr Adish Kumar, observed that the missionaries were targeting the socially weaker sections of the society with various allurements. He also regretted that social inequality still prevailed in the country which was the legacy of a long era of enslavement by the foreign rulers. He said this set-up needed to be changed. The RSS leader maintained that the population balance in the country was getting disturbed pointing towards the relatively lesser population growth rate of the Hindus as compared to other communities. He said the demography of the country was sought to be changed and the pseudo secularists were responsible for it. He called upon all the nationalist forces across the country to rise to the occasion and defeat the designs of vested interests who were trying to weaken the nation. Another area of concern the RSS leader identified was the evil of drug addiction among the youth in various parts of the country. He alleged that there was
an international conspiracy to push drugs into this country to target the youth. He pointed out that if the youth got weakened, the country would automatically get weak. He appealed to the youth to understand the designs of foreign conspirators and remain away from these evils. The RSS leader also recalled the contribution of Guru Golwalkar, also known as Guruji in the sangh circles. He said the teachings of Guruji were relevant in present context since people had started becoming greedy for power. He recalled the sacrifice of Guruji in consolidating and strengthening the nationalist forces.
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Infighting in Congress
Ludhiana, June 11 The mayor of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation who belongs to the Congress party organised a mass contact programme last week with Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, president, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee in different wards of the Municipal Corporation. The wards falling in the Ludhiana rural vidhan sabha segment were covered by the president of the PPCC at the request of the Mayor. The response to the mass contact was reasonable but the same has brought the infighting among local Congress men to the surface. Ludhiana Rural Vidhan Sabha segment is at present represented by Mr Malkiat Singh Birmi, Chief Parliamentary Secretary. During the mass contact, Mr Birmi was kept out. The Mayor, Mr Nahar Singh Gill, is a serious contender for the Congress ticket in Ludhiana rural constituency and because of this reason he organised the mass contact programme. Congress party circles are not very happy with the turn of events after the mass contact programme as this has resulted in infighting among Congress leaders. There is a feeling that the Pradesh Congress chief should not have become a party to the infighting. Rather he should have worked for unification of the party. A trio of Congress leaders comprising the Mayor, Mr Surinder Dawar, Parliamentary Secretary and Mr Malkiat Singh Dakha are working against Mr Malkiat Singh Birmi. Mr Birmi is also known to have strong likes and dislikes and is also allegedly known to be allergic to the trio. Even otherwise, his reputation is that he also believes in creating dissidence. The Congress workers are allegedly not very happy with his treatment to them. But he belongs to Ramgarhia sect and Ludhiana rural segment has a sizeable vote of Ramgarhias as the industrial areas of the town fall in this segment. The Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, also addressed the Congress rally organised by Mr Birmi last month. Earlier the Chief Minister had cancelled the rally at the eleventh hour notwithstanding the fact that the Chief Minister was in Ludhiana on that day. Besides, the Mayor, Mr Ashok Singh Garcha, son of the late Mr Devinder Singh Garcha, is also a candidate for the Ludhiana rural seat. He was appointed chairman of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust but could he pull on with the trustees and the employees because of his tirade against corruption and had to resign. The President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee has not been able to reconstitute the District Congress Committee (Urban) despite his repeated announcements in this regard. Mr Surinder Dawar, who represent Ludhiana East segment, is active in his constituency and does not face any opposition to his ticket. He is sure to get renomination as he has nursed his constituency. Mr Rakesh Pandey who was elected from Ludhiana north seat also has started some activity in his segment keeping in view the impending elections in February 2007. Mr Harnam Das Johar has activated himself now. There are a number of aspirants for Ludhiana West segment which is represented by Mr Johar. Mr Surinder Singla, Finance Minister, is also keen on contesting from this constituency because he faces a lot of opposition in Bathinda from where he was elected in 2002 elections. Mr Singla was a candidate for the Congress ticket in 2002 too from Ludhiana west. But he is not likely to succeed in his mission. There is otherwise a lot of resentment against him among the industrialists and the traders of this town on the issue of payment of arrears of VAT and other issues concerning the trade and industry. The general belief about him is that he does not stick to his announcements and promises with trade and industry. His credibility is at a very low ebb. Mr Harmohinder Singh, president, District Congress Committee (Rural ) is also serious to contest from Ludhiana West seat as he has following among the Sikhs in this segment. Ludhiana West has big chunk of Sikh vote.
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SGPC, DSGMC vying to outdo each other
Ludhiana, June 11 Guru Arjan Dev faced dissent from within Sikhism boldly. His eldest brother frequently hatched conspiracies against him. The Guru was alive to the misery of the people due to drought and rise in the prices of essential commodities during the period when Mughal army encamped in Punjab for a long time. It was then that Guru Arjan Dev represented to Akbar to remit some portion of the revenue which he did. This gave eminence to the Guru. He contracted relations with the liberals within the Mughal court from whom he earned admiration. Khusro, the son of Jahangir became one of his admirers. As providence could have it, Khusro rebelled against his father after the death of Akbar and laid claim to the throne. After his defeat, Khusro came running towards Punjab and for a while sought shelter with Guru Arjan Dev. This fact was exploited by the opponents of Guru Arjan Dev. Consequently Jahangir ordered the arrest of the Guru and the subsequent facts are too well known to be recorded. Ever since 1606, Sikhs have been remembering the tragedy with a sense of devotion and thankfulness. They assemble in gurdwaras, recite hymns from the holy Guru Granth Sahib and narrate stories about the execution of the Guru and express their solidarity towards the ordeals for which Guru Arjan Dev laid down his life. Unfortunately at present, the observance of quadri-centennial martyrdom of the great Guru has been mired in competitive politics between the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak committee and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management committee (DSGMC). Both are vying with each other to remain in the headlines regarding these observances. If we have a detailed look at the programme chalked by the two organisations, we find that both of them are going to organise seminars, and congregations at Lahore’s Dera Sahib. Both the organisations are seeking the presence of the President, Prime Minister and other dignitaries to make the show worthy of media attention. A detailed look at the programme of the SGPC gives the impression that the programme has been chalked out to galvanise the people of the Punjab for the ensuing Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections to be held in February 2007. The idea of having a women conference and youth conference is novel for these occasions which are sobre and religious to the core. Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, on the other hand, has also girded up its loins for the next general elections of the DSGMC. They are eager to utilise the occasion for intensive propaganda in all the 46 constituencies of DSGMC by holding congregations and nagar kirtans. How far will they succeed in generating the religious enthusiasm among the Sikh masses make the people at large understand about the high ideals the Guru. The Punjab Government under the leadership of Captain Amarinder Singh is
chalking out an elaborate programme to observe the centennial martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev. The state government has decided to make Tarn Taran as the revenue district on this occasion keeping in view the importance of the holy town. The state government is also planning to have a township which will be known as Arjan Nagar between Tarn Taran and Amritsar. This centenary is to be followed by two other centenaries which are very important in the Sikh history. The quadri-centennial martyrdom of guru Arjan Dev shall be followed by 400th foundation day of the Akal Takht, which is a symbol of the proximity of religion and politics in Sikhism. The institution of Akal Takht was created by Guru Hargobind at the behest of his father, Guru Arjan Dev. It is time for the Sikh scholars to analyse the doctrine of ‘Miri-Piri’ which is so central to the Sikh polities. The third centenary marks the completion of Guru Granth Sahib and its being appointed as the Guru manifest to the Sikhs. This again is
another occasion which the Sikh community can explain to the world their unique doctrine of ‘shabad guru.’ It is to be seen
how the SGPC and DSGMC will articulate these urgent tasks.
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Ludhiana Calling
Sitting ducks
Jewellers here are proving to be sitting ducks
for criminals. And in most cases, the perpetrators have managed to elude
arrest after the crime. Be it the sensational Raghav Jewellers case or
the robbery in Hira Jewellers, criminals have not faced any problem
robbing jewellers. The joy of jewellers at the rising price of gold has
melted away due to the perpetual threat of robbery. Camera crazy
More
often than not, policemen are seen on the TV screen than in their
offices. At any given opportunity, certain officers huddle together and
call mediapersons to show their prized catch. The “criminal” may
simply be a pickpocket or a juvenile held for stealing a vehicle, but
the officers take such a liking for media coverage that they invite
mediapersons and make lofty claims about their success. Although they
have no answers to their queries on crackdown on big fish. Seasonal
leaders
Elections are some months away but it is right time for elected
representatives to emerge from their hibernation and meet public.
Reason, to win elections and again hibernate. The best occasion is to
inaugurate one project after another. This results in a glut in press
releases making tall claims about development being undertaken by the
leaders. So much so that some leaders don’t even hesitate to claim the
work of some other minister as their own. Gotcha!
A municipal
councillor was caught in his own web of lies weaved to escape meeting
public. He used to comfortably maintain distance from them by claiming
to be out of the city when somebody showed up at his doorstep to meet
him with a grievance. But he was caught on a number of occasions lying
about his whereabouts. He was once caught sitting in a hotel soon after
he had claimed that he was attending a meeting in Chandigarh. VB
power(less)!
The Vigilance Bureau seems to catch only the small fry,
while the big fish manage to keep sleuths at bay using their might of
influence. It has been a long time since the bureau caught a senior
officer taking bribe or amassing wealth beyond known sources of income.
It is comfortable arresting junior engineers, clerks or linemen while
senior officials stay out of the “harm’s way”. Common(ers’)
concern
The rich and influential of the city beat the heat in swimming
pools at elite clubs or hotels. But commoners who cannot afford such
exuberance cool off in canals, putting their life at risk. In spite of a
strong demand for earmarking safe areas at the canals or channels for
risk-free swimming, nothing seems to move the authorities. May be they
are awaiting some major tragedy to happen before they budge. —
Sentinel
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Development work on fast
track, says Birmi
Ludhiana, June 11 He informed that the pace of development in the state had been speeded up and Rs 700 crore had been sanctioned by the government under the Punjab Nirman Programme for development projects in urban as well as rural areas. He said Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had allotted Rs 7 crore for each constituency and Rs 4 crore had already been released for each constituency. Mr Birmi said during the past four years the farming community had been substantially benefited and the government had provided power worth Rs 439 crore free of cost to the farmers for irrigation. The government had ensured regular power supply for eight hours daily to irrigate the paddy even by purchasing from other states for more than Rs 6,000 crore, he added. He also asserted that it was Captain Amarinder Singh who in a single decision had saved the river waters of the state by passing a Bill to abrogate all previous agreements relating to division of waters with other states, whereas Akalis had been misleading and exploiting the farmers on this issue for more than 40 years. Giving details of the grants distributed at the function, Mr Birmi informed that a cheque of grant of Rs 81 lakh had been handed over to the president, MC, Sahnewal, for laying the sewerage, water supply and other works in the town. He further informed that grants worth Rs 60 lakh were given to 20 villages of Ludhiana-II Block, Rs 31 lakh to 13 villages of Ludhiana-I Block and Rs 30 lakh to 10 villages of Dehlon block in Ludhiana rural constituency. He said apart from this, grant of Rs 2 lakh each were given to the unanimously elected panchayats of five villages i.e. Sasrali Colony, Susrali, Dharampura Colony, Bhamian Khurd and Kakka. Cheques amounting to Rs 12.19 lakh were handed over to the panchayats of 19 villages for the construction of toilets in the houses of the families belonging to the Scheduled Castes. Others who spoke on the occasion included Mr Ramesh Pappu, president, Nagar Panchayat, Sahnewal, Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, chairman, Market Committee, Sahnewal, Mr Hardeep Singh Kadian, chairman, Market Committee, Mr Sher Singh Sandhu, president, Truck Union, Sahnewal, Mr Ram Asra, Mr Charanjit Singh, Mr Jeewan Kapila and Mr Kuldeep Singh, president, Tempu Union,
Sahnewal.
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Wonder cure claimed through Gurbani!
Ludhiana, June 11 Says Dr Balwant Singh, secretary,
Sarb Rog Ka Aukhad Nam Mission here: “The super specialists are in a fix, since they did not find anybody cured during their own clinical experience, spreading over decades, or there is no mention of these diseases having been cured through any other medicine in the latest medical books. And fortunately enough, they can not make it a sweeping statement that there could be remissions in the course of some diseases and cure is not possible.” He disclosed that one super specialist in the city was caught in a predicament when one of his patients had complete relief from an incurable disease, ‘coeliac disease’, caused due to wheat allergy. There was no known case of cure for this allergic disease in the world. Ms Neena Behal, who herself had found cure from coeliac disease through gurbani for more than two years now, initiated a young child - Suchain Sahnan (12) suffering from the same problem. To the astonishment of his parents and other skeptics, the blessed child was cured during his first ever prayer session of one hour prayers at local chapter of the mission in Model Town locality in the city. “This young child was under the treatment of the same specialist and was suffering from coeliac disease from the last seven years. His duodenal biopsy revealed total villous atrophy and tTg level was above 70.60 u/ml . He had not taken any wheat product since the last seven years. On the very first day of the healing session (through Gurbani), he took wheat products and thereafter he is taking normal food.” According to Dr Singh, the child was very fond of burgers, which he could not relish for the last several years due to wheat allergy. But now, Suchain has been eating burgers, as also other wheat products, without any problem. Even though, the boy stood completely cured, he has been attending the prayers sessions regularly for the last 15 days along with his mother and grand mother. “The blood tests of the child for wheat allergy revealed that the tTg level had came down to 2.5 U/ml, which was below normal. With the wheat allergy gone and the child having regular diet, he was now assured of normal growth and a healthy life.” Dr Balwant Singh further said that the case of Suchain, or for that matter Ms Neena Behal, were not solitary examples as thousands of others, suffering from different kind of chronic, disabling, and most of them from incurable diseases, had been cured, or rather blessed through Gurbani. “The mission is simply a medium. We put the sufferers on the right path and He cures,” Dr Singh remarked.
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Encroaching in name of Beant Singh
Ludhiana, June 11 A board put up refers to an announcement of migrant leader Naresh Paswan, owing allegiance to the Congress. The board states that they had to court arrest and lose their lives to help innocent people during the days of terrorism. The board also states that the colony has been supported by local MLA Malkiat Singh Dakha and the then Block Development and Panchayat Officer of Sidhwan Bet. These people have been occupying forest land for the past 23 years, but no anti-encroachment drive has been initiated against them due to political patronage. Many residents work in the fields and some others are vegetable vendors. When a Ludhiana Tribune team visited the site, women said most of them were from Bihar and had migrated here during the days of terrorism. “There are no civic amenities, but we have been told that this land will be given to us. Though some persons have constructed pucca structures, most of us live in tarpaulin-covered huts”, said a woman.
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NCC training camp begins
Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 11 More than 600 cadets from 50 educational institutes of the state participated. The cadets warmed up for various activities scheduled to be undertaken in the camp that would conclude on June 20. Outstanding cadets would be short listed for participation in Republic Day Parade next year and Thal Sena Camp scheduled to take place in New Delhi in October this year. Colonel S.S. Saini, Group Commandant, said more than 600 uniformed paramilitary boys and girls descended from 50 schools and colleges from Ludhiana, Moga,
Ferozepore and Sangrur districts. Besides involving themselves in routine activities, every cadet would have an opportunity to learn the use of weapons. Experts on various subjects would enlighten cadets about AIDS, environmental pollution, leprosy, vector borne diseases and moral values. “We have planned to take cadets to various spots, including IAF Station Halwara, so that they would find their role model in the kings of the sky,” said Colonel Saini while talking to Ludhiana Tribune. Parasailing and cross country races were the other interest that would attract the attention of the residents of this area. Mr Kartar Singh principal, Col Avtar Singh, Deputy Camp Commandant, Col K.P.S. Rana and Lt Col J.P.S. Bhullar illustrated various avenues of paramilitary forces to the campers on the inaugurating day.
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Death anniversary of SDP Sabha chief
Ludhiana, June 11 Ms S. Verma, (Director), Ms Shashi Bindal (officiating Principal) SDP College for women, Mr Ashok Verma, Mr Jasveer Chauhan (officiating Principal) SDP Senior Secondary School, Dr O.P. Kaushal (Deputy Director), Mr Om Parkash Gupta, SDP Model Senior Secondary School were also present on the occasion.
OC
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Tributes paid to Mehta’s father
Ludhiana, June 11 Prominent among those who attended the ceremony included the PPC president, Mr Shamsher Singh Dullo, Education Minister, Harnam Dass Johar, Parliamentary Secretary, Surinder Dawer, legislator, Malkiat Singh Dakha, district presidents, urban and rural, Mr Jagmohan Sharma and Mr Harmohinder Singh Pradhan, the district BJP chief, Dr Subash Verma and others. Condolence messages from union ministers, Arjun Singh, H.R. Bharadwaj, Deputy Chief Minister, Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, SGPC president, Mr Avtar Singh Makkar and MP, Mr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon were also read on the occasion.
TNS
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Migrants are often held responsible for the
majority of crime incidents in the city. Several gangs of criminals from
other states, especially from certain tribes, visit the city regularly
for exploits. But there is another group of modern-day nomads that
prefers to operate from footpaths or by roadside to earn two square
meals with honesty. These are the fancy umbrella sellers or swings and
hammock sellers. They travel thousands of kilometres and work under the
sun to eke out a living, in stark contrast to those who make migrant
population infamous with their criminal activities.
