Ludhiana, December 1
In an initiative to provide relief to the above poverty line (APL) ration card holders from inflation, the department of food and civil supplies and consumer affairs today launched a scheme by distributing whole wheat fortified atta for Rs 120 per 10 kg here.

The flour is fortified and enriched with iron and folic acid under the brand name of “Sunehra Punjab Plus”.

The staff from the district food department distributed atta bags to consumers in the Rishi Nagar locality. The consumers with APL ration cards were given slips in this regard.

Sumitra Devi, an APL ration card holder, said: “It is a good step if the department continues it since a majority of the previous schemes were either discontinued or are in a mess.”

DS Grewal, director of the food and civil supplies department, Punjab, while launching the scheme in Ludhiana, said: “This is a new venture of the state government, wherein we will ensure that all 3.21 lakh APL card holders in the city are benefited from the scheme.”

He said looking at the success of the scheme in the district, the scheme would be implemented in other districts of the state in the coming months. The department would also market it.

The flour comes in a double-layered carry bag and the distribution would be monitored by a professionally run company in order to ensure the right delivery at the right price.

Deputy director of food and civil supplies Simarjot Kaur said all 12 flour mills were ISO and HACCP certified by the ministry of health and family welfare. “Also, the mills have been given a nutritional table to maintain the quantity of ingredients,” she said.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 1
Even as AIDS has emerged as one of the deadliest diseases, a majority of volunteers and activists of social and medical organisations, who have been trying to spread awareness about the causes and consequences of the menace, are themselves not updated on it.

The latest recommendations of the WHO on the prevention and treatment of AIDS are confined only to a section of the media and websites, which are inaccessible to members of prone groups and carriers of the virus.

Though a large number of seminars and workshops are organised throughout the year, the essence of the programme fails to percolate to members of the target groups and those living with the virus. Members of the elite class, students, educators and leaders usually subject to stereotype lectures comprising statistical data and apprehensons only.

Terming the action of the government to be eyewash, Dr SR Shahi, director of Kalyaan Helpline, an NGO engaged in curbing the spread of AIDS, lamented the absence of physicians and volunteers engaged in projects launched in this regard.

Referring to the observations made by a state-run hospital, a multi-speciality hospital and medical college and an NGO of Ludhiana during the recent years, physicians claimed that more than 9,000 persons out of the nine lakh migrant labourers working in industrial units of the area had tested positive for HIV.

Stressing on the need for training doctors for identification, treatment and rehabilitation of patients, Dr Shahi, quoting a report released by the American Foundation for AIDS Research, said there was only one qualified doctor to monitor 10,000 patients in India.

The worst part was that 90 per cent of those infected with HIV lacked awareness about safe sex.

Due to the recent advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART), HIV is no longer a death sentence for many in developed countries. However, more than 5.5 million people in need of ART in low and middle-income countries still have no access to treatment.

The WHO has urged HIV+ patients to start treatment once their CD4 cell count, a measure of the body’s immunity, drops to 350. At present, patients are put on ART when their CD4 cell count drops to 200.

Ludhiana, December 1
The termination of nine outreach workers at eight integrated counselling and testing centres (ICTC) of Ludhiana has left +HIV/AIDS patients in the lurch as they have no one to confide in.

World AIDS Day was observed today by NGOs and the health authorities without outreach workers who are the most important link between the society and such patients.

Also, the absence of outreach workers has increased the risk of HIV positive infants being delivered by infected women.

These workers were not only counselling patients, but also keeping an account of patients, including pregnant women. They would administer Neverapine tablet to the woman as she went into labour followed by administering of Neverapine drops to a newborn within 72 hours to prevent infection.

Their services were terminated recently by the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO). Mehar Singh, an outreach worker at the Civil Hospital, Jagraon, said: “We not only carried out counselling, but also helped the families of HIV/AIDS patients to get a place in society. The termination letter was more of a shock for our patients as they were apprehensive to face the world without our support.”

The termination is in contrast to the most important clause in their eligibility criteria, which was “their direct association with the affected HIV/AIDS patient”.

Expressing concern over the increasing incidence of HIV/AIDS in Ludhiana, which has been rated second in the state after Amritsar, Jagjit Singh Mann, president of the Punjab People’s Networking Society, an NGO, said: “The Punjab State Aids Control Society, National AIDS Control Organisation and the department of health are not taking the situation seriously as now Ludhiana is under grade A. If a proper plan is not followed, entire Punjab would be under grade A.”

Mann also questioned the role of the district health authorities, saying that even the appointment of the special AIDS officer had failed to make any difference as far as awareness of the dreaded diseases was concerned. “The officials concerned have failed to visit high-risk areas in Ludhiana which include Basti Jodhewal, Shimlapuri, Tibba road, Jamalpur, Jawahar Nagar Camp and Transport Nagar,” he claimed.

Khamano, December 1
Two persons were killed and one was seriously injured in a road accident near Hedon village on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana road when their Indica rammed into a tree. According to information, the victims were cousins and were in the transport business. They had gone to Chandigarh to attend a marriage.

At about 4 am, they were returning to Nihal Singh Wala in Moga when their car hit the tree. The collision was so fierce that the cousins, who were sitting at the back, died on the spot and their driver was seriously injured. Someone informed the highway patrolling party which took the injured, Lakhvir Singh (30), to the Civil Hospital at Samrala, from where he was referred to Ludhiana in a serious condition.

The deceased have been identified as Rajinder Singh (50) of Lopon village in Moga district, and Bhajan Singh (53) of Dodhar. The bodies were handed over to their families after a postmortem.

Ludhiana, December 1
A lottery trader was killed and his servant injured after a few armed assailants assaulted them near Choti Haibowal late last night.

The incident took place at around 11pm outside a liquor vend, situated along the main road at Choti Haibowal.

The victim has been identified as Rajeev Sharma, a resident of Rishi Nagar, who was running a lottery business in Haibowal.

According to eyewitnesses, Rajeev was consuming liquor along with his servant Bunty at liquor vend, when a few armed assailants arrived in a car and challenged him to come on the road.

Rajeev, who was reported to be in an inebriated condition, accepted the challenge and went outside the liquor vend following, which the assailants stabbed him on several occasions. Bunty, who came to the rescue of Rajeev, was also attacked by the assailants.

Rajeev succumbed to his injuries due to the excessive bleeding, while being rushed to the hospital. The condition of Bunty, who sustained several stab wounds, was stated to be serious.

Meanwhile, the police has booked Davinder Singh, alias Honey, and Baljit Singh Bangar, both resident of Rishi Nagar for murder.

Old enmity is stated to be the reason behind the murder. Both Honey and Bangar fought with Rajeev at the liquor vend about 10 days ago. They were looking for an opportunity to kill Rajeev.

Today, the police launched a manhunt to nab the criminals and even raided several places where the assailants were suspected to have taken shelter.

A pale of gloom descended in the family. Victim’s brother Sanjeev stated that his brother escaped a murderous assault only a few days ago. Rajeev allegedly blamed the police for their lackadaisical attitude, which resulted in his brother’s murder. “We had even lodged a complaint against them-Bangar and Honey- and even brought it to the notice of the cops that their life was under threat. Had the police nabbed the duo my brother would have been alive,” lamented Rajeev.

Security has been tightened up in the Rishi Nagar area as both victim’s family and the assailants’ family live in the same colony.

Jagraon, December 1
A woman councillor, Sarita Katyal, has accused the Jagraon municipal council president of having given a contract to kill her husband, Rakesh Katyal, district vice-president of the BJP who was killed in a road accident recently.

Council president Baldev Krishan Dhir denied the allegations levelled by the councillor.

According to sources, Pappu Malhotra, the person who was allegedly given the contract, had visited the house of Sarita Katyal and revealed the conspiracy.

He claimed to have been paid Rs 2 lakh by the MC chief after he mowed down the husband of Sarita Katyal with his vehicle.

A section of Jagraon councillors had been trying to topple Dhir from the day he assumed the office.

The council chief has already faced allegations of corruption in a bid to oust him from the office.

Interestingly, Pappu Malhotra and Gopal Katyal had business rivalry as both were dealers of a soft drink company and had been engaged in a tiff over their area of distribution.

Some months ago, Malhotra was booked on charges of theft on the complaint of Gopal and Rakesh Katyal. Pappu had also made counter-allegations against the two.

A fortnight ago, he had even issued copies of an affidavit accusing Gopal and Rakesh of robbing his petrol pump and firing at him with a pistol.

Denying the allegations, Dhir said he was a public figure and had no criminal background. He asked the opponents to go to police with allegations against him instead of creating uproar in the house.

Meanwhile, house proceedings were disrupted due to uproar on the issue today.

Ludhiana, December 1
The bloodstains and the wild grass that got stuck to his trouser proved to be the undoing for the serving Punjab police constable, who was caught for the gruesome murder of the five-year-old child.

The badly mutilated body of Rajan, was found from a vacant plot at the Brota road on October 3.

The police following reports from the state forensic lab nabbed Kamaljit Singh, a resident of Tran Taran, who was posted in Mohali.

SP (II) Sanehdeep Sharma said the police had made it a fit case and the accused could not evade punishment.

The bloodstains on trousers were matched with the blood samples of the boy following which the accused cop was nabbed.

The entire operation was tactfully organised and the accused cop was not having a clue that the police was actually weaving a web to nab him.

According to the police, since the victim’s family was not cooperating with the investigation, the police decided to conduct an independent inquiry following which it came to know about the alleged affair of the accused cop with the deceased’s mother.

Police sources said after receiving a clue about the alleged love relation, the police started probing further.

The tower location procured by the police from a mobile company proved that the accused was present at the area during the time of the incident.

The sources further said after receiving the clues, the cop was told to present before the senior cops. Further his trouser was sent to SFL, the report ascertained the involvement of the accused in the murder.

He told the police that after killing the boy, he put his body in a sack and left it in a vacant plot. For hours he stood there and when no one spotted the body, it was he who raised the alarm and gathered the resident at the vacant plot.

Though, the police tried its best to snub the matter and kept the case secretly guarded. The accused cop was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.

He told the police that he was having an affair with the mother of the child. He further told the police that due to affection the mother used to return to the child and that was the reason why he eliminated the boy.

On the other hand the relatives have slammed the accused cop’s claims as baseless. The family of the boy claimed that there was some other reason behind the killing.

“No human can kill a child so brutally the way that constable did. He could have killed the boy by gagging him, but he mercilessly stabbed the boy, even on the face,” said a relative, who was grieving at the house of the victim in Guru Nanak Colony.

Swarn Singh, father of the victim remained tightlipped, but the resident of the area were quite vocal and even leveled sodomy allegations against the cop.

Ludhiana, December 1
Led by district president Sandeep Kapoor, activists of the BJYM yesterday slammed the UPA government in the Centre for the steep rise in prices of the essential commodities. They took out a protest marched from the Bharata Nagar Chowk in this regard.

Addressing the protesters, Kapoor lambasted the Congress-led UPA government charging it with perpetrating biggest scam in the food sector. “The government has allowed speculators to loot the people by manipulating prices of food items. While the hoarders and profiteers are holding the entire population of India to ransom, the government has become a mute spectator with little concern for the suffering masses.”

Alleging that the Congress had no real will to bring the prices down as it had received huge election funds from manipulators and speculators, the BJYM leader cautioned the major constituent of the ruling alliance that recent electoral success did not provide the freedom to the government to fleece the people. “The UPA will have to face the wrath of the people if it failed to take immediate steps to curb the price rise.”

Kapoor and other speakers termed it as a strange phenomenon that when all over the world; food prices were witnessing a slump, in India things of the daily use had gone up by 17 per cent or more. “Even as sugar is selling at Rs 40 per kg and jaggery at Rs 50, the sugarcane growers in Uttar Pradesh are burning their standing crops in the absence of remunerative prices.”

The party demanded a CBI probe into the sugar scam, amendment in rules pertaining to maintenance of stock of food items, supply of all essential commodities, including pulses, edible oil, wheat, rice and sugar through the public distribution system on subsidised rates, framing of a long-term policy on agriculture pricing and marketing and blanket ban of forward trading of all food items, including spices at commodity exchange.

Ludhiana, December 1
Ludhiana MP and the national spokesperson of the All-India Congress Committee Manish Tewari today asked Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal to deliver something instead of dreaming too big for all these years in power. “Your day dreaming has virtually pushed the state towards bankruptcy to the extent that your government does not have enough money to pay even the salaries of its employees”, he told Sukhbir.

Reacting to the oft repeated proclamations of junior Badal about setting up airports, multi-lane-expressways, over bridges and elevated roads, employment generation, making Punjab power surplus and other dream projects, Tewari remarked, all these claims have turned so stale that these have started smelling foul now.

For example, the Congress MP pointed out, immediately after his party formed the government in alliance with the BJP in the state in 2007, Sukhbir had announced that Punjab would be power surplus within three years and now he is saying it won’t be possible in another three years time.

Tewari maintained that similarly Sukhbir had claimed to turn Ludhiana into another Paris. “But what we are seeing in Ludhiana is chaos and confusion…they have not added a single brick anywhere to anything leave apart launching elevated road projects and expressways”, he said, while asking him, “may you tell us what happened to your idea of metro rail in Ludhiana?”

Substantiating his charges against the government, Tewari pointed out, during the previous Congress regime there was a commitment of investment worth hundreds of thousands of crores and substantial portion of it had already been invested here. But once the SAD-BJP government took over, it discouraged everybody who was reflected in the crashing of the real estate prices and falls in the stamp duty revenue collections. The investors thought it better to opt for other states than to face a hostile administration led by the coalition government in Punjab.

Ludhiana, December 1
The silence of nights is being lost in the din of marriage season as hotels and marriage palaces play music on very high decibels, giving sleepless nights to residents.

The enforcement authorities have also turned a deaf year to the nuisance.

The police control room usually fails to help residents since they don’t get a response even though it was a violation of the Supreme Court’s directive.

Since the beginning of the marriage season this year, hotels and marriage palaces have been playing very loud music. “Last night, I called up the PCR to complain against the loud music being played at a hotel on the Ferozepur road in the middle of the night. It received my call, but there was no reaction. Later, the phone was engaged. I tried till 3 am, but to no avail. I did not sleep last night,” Ramesh Kumar of Sarabha Nagar, who lives behind the hotel, stated.

He added that he had written a letter to the SSP a few days ago, complaining against the violation of the SC order by the hotel, but nothing came of it.

Things have come to such a pass that harassed residents have started calling mediapersons in the middle of night since the police control room fails to redress their grievances.

“It has been so many years since the apex court came to the rescue of the residents and passed a directive on noise pollution, but it is sad that the enforcement authorities are not bothered about its implementation,” SS Chana, an environmentalist of the city, rued.

Ludhiana, December 1
The municipal corporation today demolished various encroachments in zone-D following complaints to Municipal Commissioner AK Sinha.

According to information, the targets included Nagpal Regency on the Ferozepur road, which is stated to have encroached on the road.

Officials revealed that the hotel had constructed footpaths on the rear and since it was in category of encroachments, it was removed.

Similarly, construction of a room behind Flamez Mall, which was a public park according to the MC records, was also removed. The owner, however, claims that he has documents regarding the property.

The MC officials also demolished the construction, stating that the site plan was not approved.

Another structure under construction at Udham Singh Nagar was cleared following complaints by a neighbour.

MTP Hemant Batra said the MC Commissioner had ordered the action. He refused to comment further.

Ludhiana, December 1
A joint meeting of peasants and farm workers held here last evening under the aegis of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee has decided to hold a state-level protest at Patiala on December 10 against proposed unbundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB).

According to Kuldip Singh, state committee member of the Kirti Kisan Sabha, Punjab, the members, while reviewing the ongoing agitation of farmer organisations against privatisation and unbundling of the PSEB, urged the union government to repeal the Electricity Act 2003 and scrap the process of unbundling of state electricity boards (SEBs).

Functionaries of the Bharti Kisan Union, Ekta (Ugrahan), the Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union and the Kirti Kisan Sabha present at the meeting asserted that the experience of privatisation of SEBs had failed in many states where these were converted into corporations or handed over to private companies.

“In this regard, the Punjab Assembly should adopt a special resolution and impress upon the Centre not to go for privatisation of PSEB.”

The farmer bodies further demanded withdrawal of all false and fabricated cases registered against farmers in Chandigarh on September 8, 2009 in the course of agitation against privatisation of the PSEB.

While discussing the proposed Dadri-Bhavana-Nangal gas pipeline project, the meeting noted with concern that it would involve land of over 200 villages of Punjab and Haryana, spread over an area of over 300 sq km.

Expressing its opposition to the project, the activists of farmer bodies said the gas pipeline would adversely affect thousands of acres of fertile land and ruin farmers in two predominantly agrarian states.

Moreover, the underground gas pipeline would pose a threat to thickly populated villages through which it would pass.

Ludhiana, December 1
The local Guru Nanak Stadium is set bear the brunt of frenzied fans who will witness Punjabi singer Gurdas Mann perform at the stadium tomorrow.

The organisers got permission to organise the concert in spite of Cabinet directions enforcing ban on music concerts at sports stadiums in order to protect sports infrastructure.

Even sports director Pargat Singh had banned performance by singers inside stadiums.

Sports lovers and players now fear that the over-zealous crowds may damage sports infrastructure worth lakhs of rupees at the stadium and it will take months to repair.

Not only do such shows cause extensive damage to sports infrastructure but also become a major headache for the police, as a huge posse is needed to man the crowd.

With the concert being organised in the heart of the city, incidents of snatching and robberies also tend to increase, as miscreants, taking advantage of lax security arrangements in other parts of the city, have a field day.

Police sources reveal that intelligence has also expressed fears about security scenario at the venue.

With fans pouring in from all over the state, particularly from the Malwa belt, it may make the job of the security personnel a whole lot tougher.

“It seems the administration is least bothered about safeguarding the sports infrastructure in the city. Otherwise, they would have never allowed such a concert at a sports arena,” rues an athlete.

Gurdas Mann is a major crowd-puller and even leaves sports celebrities behind in terms of fan following.

Officials of the sports department allege that babus have learned no lesson from their mistakes in the past.

The singer has been performing at the culmination of kabaddi events here for several years and each time his concerts have left a trail of destruction caused by crowds.

Further, tipplers manage to sneak inside the stadium and create ruckus.

Such events have caused extensive damage to the ground, the Astro Turf, fencing and seating areas of the stadium in the past.

According to the organisers, with nearly one lakh spectators expected to turn up for the concert, the stadium is expected to be packed to capacity.

Ludhiana, December 1
Punjab Agricultural University employees’ protest against the non-implementation of revised scales entered the sixth day today.

A group of five executive members Harbans Singh Mundi, president, PAU Employees’ Union, Dr KN Sharma, president, PAUTA, Avinash Kumar Sharma, general secretary, PAU Employees’ Union, Ashwani Kumar Nauriyal, cashier, PAU Employees’ Union, and Dr Harmit Singh Kingra, vice-president, PAUTA, continued with their dharna for the second consecutive day here.

Mundi informed that protest would continue till December 4. "With the authorities and the state government giving a deaf ear to our demands, we are being forced to intensify our agitation. Till now, we have adopted peaceful ways to protest, but now, its time to take concrete measures to ensure that our pending demands are fulfilled at the earliest."

In case the demands were not met till December 4, the executive would meet and take a final decision that would be announced, he added.

A protest rally was also held, which was jointly addressed by HS Mundi, president, PAU Employees’ Union and Dr KN Sharma, PAUTA president, Avinash Kumar Sharma, Dr Sangha, Dr Kingra, Lakhwinder Singh Sandhu, senior vice-president, Charnjit Singh Sehkkon, Jasbir Singh and Bikar Singh Kalsi, secretary.

The Punjab Agricultural University Teachers’ Association (PAUTA) and PAU Class IV Workers’ Unions also participated in the rally along with non-teaching and teaching employees from various departments of the university.

Ludhiana, December 1
A tree plantation drive was conducted at Guru Nanak Model Senior Secondary School, Doraha.

Khamano, December 1
Young Sports Club, Otalan, will organise its 26th International annual tournament from December 11- 13 in the memory of the late PS Batra, reporter.

A meeting of the club was held under president Kulwinder Singh, in which members of the club participated. Satinder Singh, general secretary of the club said eight top Kabaddi academies would participate in the cup and the tournament would be organised under the North India Kabaddi Federation president Surjan Singh Chatha. Hockey cup will be played in the memory of former MLA Gurdeep Singh Bhullar.