Jalandhar, September 3
Almost a month after the MC polls, the councillors will be meeting for the first time on September 10, to take an oath and elect the new mayor.

The divisional commissioner S.R. Ladhar sent the information in this regard to the MC officials today. MC commissioner C.S. Talwar, who was at Chandigarh today, confirmed the development and said he had received the information on phone. Sixty councillors, including 20 from BJP, 20 from SAD, 19 from Congress and one from BSP, will be taking the oath at 4 pm on Monday.

The individual party tally after the poll stood as 19 for BJP, 14 for SAD, 19 for Congress, one for BSP and seven for independents. However, the post-poll scenario tilted the figures in favour of the Akali-BJP alliance. Whereas one independent joined BJP, the remaining six aligned with SAD.

While Meena Kumari of SC ward 52 joined BJP, Paramjit Kaur (SC ward 1), Nirmal Lahoria (ward 8), Gurmeet Chand (SC ward 9), Raminder Kaur Dhindsa (ward 31), Joginder Singh Tony (ward 35) and Sunanda Malhotra (ward 44) were taken in by SAD.

However, the fate of Gurmeet Chand, Raminder Kaur Dhindsa, Joginder Singh Tony and Sunanda Malhotra now seems uncertain, especially after the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal announcing that those who had defeated BJP candidates and joined SAD would be asked to quit. The entry of these four councillors into SAD was strongly opposed by the local BJP leaders. The ceremony was delayed for nearly a month as the alliance partners failed to decide the names of their candidates for the post of mayor.

The name of the candidates have still not been announced. The three candidates whose names have been doing the rounds are BJP district president Shiv Dyal Chugh (ward 33), state secretary Rakesh Rathore (ward 20) and district secretary Ravi Mahendru (ward 38). They are all first-timers. The local SAD leadership too has not announced the names of candidates for the posts of senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor. Two-time councillors Kuldip Singh Oberoi and Narinder Kaur are being considered strong contenders for the senior deputy mayor’s post. 

Jalandhar, September 3
The Khalsa Action Committee (KAC) has flayed the arrest of Bhai Daljit Singh Bittu today while he was going to attend a religious programme in Talwandi Khurd village, near Mullanpur in Ludhiana.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode, Harinder Singh Khalsa and Kanwarpal Singh, all members of the committee, alleged that Bittu had been arrested as the authorities apprehended that his presence at the function would incite people to attack a dera in Talwandi Dham village, which has been in the headlines for the alleged “immoral conduct” of the dera head.

Terming the action of the government as an attack on the civil liberties, Rode said thae function was organised by them on the specific request of over 25 villages of the area. “The people were of the view that more religious awareness events should be held so that people could be educated about the anti-Sikh activities being propagated by the self-styled godmen,” he pointed out.

“But, the manner in which the government reacted by turning the area in a police garrison speaks volume about the real designs of the Akali government. It is a nothing but tacit state support to the dera head at the cost of well meaning Sikhs who are hurt by the denigration of articles and practices of their faith,” he added.

Khalsa said they were not targeting the dera head but now it seems that the government wants to push them into confrontation with the dera.

“The things would have passed peacefully had we been allowed to go on with our programme. We have proved this during the Khalsa march against the Dera Sacha Sauda where not a single skirmish was witnessed,” added Khalsa.

He said the police have sealed off all roads leading to the venue and was preventing people from even paying their obeisance to Guru Granth Sahib.

“The police, without any charges, has detained many of the organisers. aThe police should drop all charges and release their seven members immediately,” he said.

Jalandhar, September 3
Industrialists with their units situated in the Udyog Nagar in Godaipur area here are upset over dilly-dallying on part of politicians in notifying it as an industrial zone. The declaration is required for expansion and development of the area, they emphasise. Industrialists allege that top leaders of various political parties have visited their area time and again, giving them assurances prior to elections but
all in vain.

Members of Udyog Nagar Manufacturers Association point out that the CM Parkash Singh Badal who visited the area on January 20 last year had promised them of solving their problem if he was voted back to power. Members show the promise mentioned made in the SAD election manifesto to prove their point.

Tejinder Singh Bhasin, president and Naresh Parmar, general secretary, says soon after coming into power Badal had declared in Vidhan Sabha, on March 27, that Godaipur would be declared an industrial zone but nothing has been done over past five months.

Members said, Manoranjan Kalia, local bodies and industries minister had told them in a meeting on May 12 that the matter was in the knowledge of the CM and the notification would be issued soon. The members said the CM had ordered CTP Punjab to put up the case for his approval in three days during a meeting with them at Punjab Bhawan, in Chandigarh, on July 12.

Industrialists rued that they had been lured to set up units in the area by awarding capital subsidies and sales tax exemption but they were not being taken care of anymore. They alleged the units were suffering as expansion and diversification of the existing industry had stopped completely and no new industrial units could be set up for want of enhancement of electricity load and new power connections.

They added that the area fell in the industrial zone as per the draft master plan 2000-2021 of Jalandhar and it was on the one side surrounded by the industrial focal point and by Transport Nagar on the other side.

Nawanshahr, September 3
The local Industrial Focal Point, spread over 55 acres of land at the Jalandhar-Chandigarh highway, set up about three decades ago to promote industrialization, is still struggling for its existence. Out of a total number of 99 industrial plots, industrial activity in merely 30 plots has been started yet. Instead of humming with industrial activity, thick growth of grass can be seen at most of the industrial plots.

Besides, the small entrepreneurs, who have ventured to set up their units here, are facing a plethora of problems ranging from the indifferent attitude of the state government, lack of facilities like proper power supply, good roads and street lights etc., non-availability of various subsidies, incentives and exemptions on duties to the small entrepreneurs etc.

Bharat Bhushan Jetwani, senior vice president of the Nawanshahr Industrial Focal Point Association, said a deputation of the Association has recently met the Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha, Charanjit Singh Atwal and senior functionaries of Department of Industries and Punjab Small Scale Industries and Exports Coprporation (PSIEC) to apprise them of their problems. The Association has also urged the Deputy Speaker, Lok Sabha to take up the issue of shifting of industry from Punjab with the CM, Parkash Singh Badal and the centre government.

“ The reason behind shifting industry from Punjab is that the state governments in Himachal Pardesh, J&K and Uttranchal are providing a number of facilities to the industrialists, including an income tax holiday for 10 years, sales tax exemption, subsidies on land, electricity, freight etc. Hence, the Punjab government should take up the matter with the central government to bring about a change in the state industrial policy so that the facilities on the pattern of these states could also be extended to the industrialist in Punjab”, pleaded the Association.

Elaborating his point of indifferent attitude of the concerned authorities towards Nawanshahr Industrial Focal Point, Bharat Bhushan lamented that the National Horticulture Board has recently announced that mushroom cultivation units would be started at Patiala, Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur, but Nawanshahr has been ignored. Similarly, Punjab Mandi Board chairman Ajmer Singh Lakhowal has also announced to set up as many as five cold storage units in different districts but again Nawanshahr has been ignored.

“The Nawanshahr Industrial Focal Point has great potential for agro-based industry including mushroom cultivation units. The state government should come forward to set up a big unit of agro-based industry to boost industrial activity in the area”, suggested Jetwani adding that with this initiative, the conducive environment for industrial development could be ensured as it would encourage the small entrepreneurs to set up subsidiary industrial units.

He further suggested that the PSIEC should auction the commercial land lying vacant in the Industrial Focal point for setting up service booths, SCOs banks etc. 

Nawanshahr, September 3
The local Blood Donors Council (BDC), constituted about two decades ago, with a mission to save human lives, has been turning the dream into reality. Not only the council has been mobilising people for voluntary blood donation but also ensuring safe blood transfusion.

A Blood Donors Complex comprising a high tech blood bank and administrative office was also set up at Rahon road in 1992. The construction work of a multi-purpose hall has also been started at the center. The council is planning to augment infrastructural facilities at the blood bank to bring in qualitative improvement in the functioning of the blood bank and ensuring cent percent accuracy of the clinical tests.

Constituted by two persons, Gurinder Singh Toor and Pushap Raj Kalia, BDC has virtually become a beacon of voluntary and safe blood donation movement in the state. To begin with, both Toor and Kalia, started addressing rallies at educational institutions and organising blood donation camps to motivate people, especially youth, for voluntary blood donation.

In due course, a number of like-minded social workers joined them. The BDC with the cooperation and financial assistance from the philanthropists here and abroad, set up blood donors complex in 1992 to carry its community service activities. A blood bank and clinical laboratory on ‘no profit, no loss’ basis was set up in the complex. Besides encouraging voluntary blood donation, the BDC has been laying emphasis on safe blood transfusion, with a twin aim of eliminating professional blood donors and to check the spread of diseases like AIDS, VDRL, Hepatitis B and C, to name a few.

According to the founder secretary of BDC, Pushap Raj Kalia, since its inauguration in April 1992, as many as 82,845 units of blood have been collected during the 485 voluntary blood donation camps organised by the BDC.

Besides, as many as 349 Hb. testing and blood grouping camps have been organised in which 1,71,161 testing were done. The blood bank has so far granted concessions worth Rs 15 lakh in blood tests to the poor and needy persons. It has been collecting and transfusing more than 800 blood units per month. Besides, as many as 53 poor patients suffering from Thalassemia and other chronic diseases are being provided blood for regular transfusion without taking any replacement from them. “Presently, the BDC has more than 5000 registered blood donors, 53 life members and 200 motivators,” said Kalia. “Moreover, the BDC is planning to install Procleix System at a cost of about Rs 36 lakh. The instrument would ensure early and accurate detection of HIV, hepatitis B & C. It would ensure supply of safe blood for transfusion and would check the ‘transfusion - transmissible infections,” he added. 

Kapurthala, September 3
A drug de-addiction centre will start functioning in civil hospital here from September 17. This was stated by deputy commissioner JM Balamurugan while talking to mediaperons here today.

Giving details, DC said, “Punjab Health Systems Corporation has given the permission to start a drug rehabiltitaion centre at the hospital and has named it Navjeevan Kendra. The centre would be managed by district red cross society under the chairmanship of DC.” The Kendra would also provide training for yoga and meditation, he added. He said, “Initially the centre would be 15-bedded, but would be expanded to 30 beds later.” Navjeevan Kendra, costing Rs 1, 83, 32, 000 aims at keeping youth away from drugs and would engage them intensively in sports, DC added.

Balanmurugan said volleyball sports material has been distributed in 25 villages. — TNS