J A L A N D H A R

MC dumps its own ban orders
Jalandhar, June 12
Flouting its own orders, the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation is dumping concrete waste outside its own under-construction building, blocking the prominent Manmohan Kalia Marg right till the middle. The rubble is causing inconvenience hundreds of commuters everyday.

Concrete waste piles up outside an under- construction building of the Municipal Corporation in Jalandhar on Monday. — Photo by S.S. Chopra

Three female BDPO officials booked for embezzlement
Jalandhar, June 12
Workings of the office of the Block Development and Panchayat Officer in Phillaur today came under a cloud after a Gram Sewika and two women group leaders were booked by the Punjab Vigilance Department on charges of fund embezzlement in the Dwarka Village Welfare Scheme launched in 20 villages of the block.

Three killed in separate mishaps
Phagwara, June 12
Three persons were killed in three separate incidents in Phagwara. An Amritsar resident was killed and another seriously injured in a bus-truck collision near the JCT bridge yesterday night.

Two factories on fire Jalandhar/Kapurthala, June 12 A massive fire this morning gutted a major fibre-making concern of the region in the Focal Point area here. The fire at Shital Fibres Limited was so intense that over 35,000 square feet of the factory’s building caved in. Bales of fibre lie damaged amid flames inside the factory of Shital Fibres Limited in Jalandhar on Monday. — Tribune photo by Pawan Sharma Grant to SC families Kapurthala, June 12 Under the Ashirwad Scheme that aims to help the Scheduled Castes, 12 families were given a grant of Rs 1.8 lakh at a Suwidha Camp organised here today.

MC dumps its own ban orders
Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 12
Flouting its own orders, the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation (MC) is dumping concrete waste outside its own under-construction building, blocking the prominent Manmohan Kalia Marg right till the middle. The rubble is causing inconvenience hundreds of commuters everyday.

On June 8, the MC Commissioner, Mr S.S. Johl, had issued orders barring residents from throwing concrete waste on the roads while constructing houses or shopping centres.

He had asked residents to remove the rubble in a week’s time, failing which they would have to face a fine to the tune of Rs 3,000, Mr Johl had added.

Yet while passing the orders, the MC Commissioner probably forgot to check the violation in front of the MC’s own administrative complex-cum-shopping centre on the backside of its main office. The building with double basement and five floors above is in the first phase of construction.

Even today, heaps of the concrete waste, sand, torn cement sacks, bricks and stones could be seen lying on the road, blocking the passage, causing traffic chaos and making the path accident-prone.

Earlier also, during the construction of its underground parking lot along the Old GT Road adjacent to its main office, piles of construction material was lying along the roadsides for several months, leaving little space for passersby. Now that the construction in nearing its completion, the passage has been cleared.

In its orders, the MC had asked residents for strict compliance. It had even offered residents the facility of removing the waste, albeit at a fee, depending on the volume to be lifted. It had even set up a phone helpline.

Mr Johl said he was not aware of concrete waste piling up along MC’s own building.

Three female BDPO officials booked for embezzlement
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 12
Workings of the office of the Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO) in Phillaur today came under a cloud after a Gram Sewika and two women group leaders were booked by the Punjab Vigilance Department on charges of fund embezzlement in the Dwarka Village Welfare Scheme launched in 20 villages of the block.

Sujata Devi, the Gram Sewika attached with the BDPO’s office, allegedly siphoned off a major portion of a grant, that is over Rs 3 lakh, with the alleged help of two group leaders, Vimla Devi, a resident of Khanpur village, and Rano, a resident of Laatian village.

Of a grant of Rs 3.9 lakh issued by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar, only Rs 70,026 were returned by Sujata Devi. The rest of the amount was allegedly embezzled by her in connivance with the two other accused.

According to Senior Superintendent, Vigilance Bureau, Jalandhar, Sujata Devi did not even form groups of villagers; she only selected group leaders. And these groups, present only on paper, never got any money, the official added.

Vimla Devi and Rano allegedly opened fake accounts in two banks at Phillaur and Dosanjh Kalan village, and withdrew the amount through forged signatures.

The three women have booked under Sections 420, 409, 467, 471 and 120-B of the IPC.

In another case, Jasbir Singh, a secretary in the Village Cooperative Society in Kapurthala’s Desal village was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau on charges of possessing assets disproportionate to known sources of income.

Three killed in separate mishaps
Tribune News Service

Phagwara, June 12
Three persons were killed in three separate incidents in Phagwara. An Amritsar resident was killed and another seriously injured in a bus-truck collision near the JCT bridge yesterday night.

Sources said a Delhi Transport Corporation bus (DL-1PA-2834) collided head-on with a Swaraj Mazda truck (RJ-13G-2894). The impact of the collision was so strong that the truck driver, Karnail Singh, died on the spot and the cleaner, Gurnam Singh, sustained serious injuries. The bus passengers also received minor injuries.

In another incident, a PSEB employee died on duty while doing maintenance work at the nearby Mehli village today. As per sources, a linesman, Gurmej Lal (50), a resident of Kultham village, was riding a ladder doing maintenance work when he fell off it and died on the spot. His body was sent to the local Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

A labourer died after he was reportedly bitten by a snake in the fields at Rawalpindi village. The deceased, Ramesh (35), was a migrant labourer from Bihar. He was brought to the Civil Hospital in an unconscious state, where he was declared brought dead.

Two factories on fire
Tribune reporters

Jalandhar/Kapurthala, June 12
A massive fire this morning gutted a major fibre-making concern of the region in the Focal Point area here.

The fire at Shital Fibres Limited was so intense that over 35,000 square feet of the factory’s building caved in. Fire tenders from Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Phagwara and Kapurthala had to struggle for over six hours to put out the flames. Though no loss of life was reported, goods costing lakhs of rupees were destroyed.

Owner of the unit, Mr Shital Vij, denied that the incident could have been the handiwork of unscrupulous elements. “I think a short circuit might have caused the fire,” he added.

Meanwhile, a fire also broke out at Jagdambay Industries in Kapurthala this evening. As per reports, the mattress-making factory lost good worth lakhs of rupees. The fire started at around 7 pm after high-velocity winds began sweeping the region.

Grant to SC families
Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, June 12
Under the Ashirwad Scheme that aims to help the Scheduled Castes, 12 families were given a grant of Rs 1.8 lakh at a Suwidha Camp organised here today.

The families received Rs 15,000 each for the marriage of their daughters. Jalandhar MP Rana Gurjit Singh was present at the venue throughout the day to oversee the functioning of the camp.