Ludhiana, January 17
Five car-borne assailants waylaid and robbed an iron trader of his bag containing Rs 3 lakh at Lohara Bridge late last night.The incident took place around 10 pm when Gulshan Dua, a resident of Janta enclave near Shimlapuri, was returning home after collecting cash from his factory unit last night.

According to the victim, five armed assailants came in a Zen car and intercepted his vehicle at the Lohara bridge.

Before he could react, the assailants, with muffled face, started thrashing Dua and smashed his car.

The victim raised an alarm, following which bystanders tried to intervene in the matter.

Seeing trouble, the robbers took the bag containing Rs 3 lakh and tried to flee in the car.

But the robbers could not drive away the vehicle and rammed it into a pavement while negotiating a turn.

While the robbers managed to disperse from the scene, the irate mob got hold of the vehicle and damaged it.

Gulshan sustained minor injuries and was rushed to Civil Hospital for treatment.

The police also reached the spot and was trying to trace the owner of the vehicle. The cops were suspecting that the robbers might have stolen the vehicle for committing robbery.

The police was also working on theories other than robbery. Police sources said the incident could have been a monetary dispute between two business parties.

The police also asked the victim to explain the reason for taking a deserted road, knowing that he was carrying huge cash.

The police did not rule out the involvement of an insider in the incident.

The entire mystery would be solved once the owner of the robber's vehicle was identified, said the investigating officer.

The police also recovered the weapons used in robbery.

Ludhiana, January 17
Despite strong public opinion that the present design of the Lakkar Bridge should be reconsidered, the Municipal Corporation is not ready to budge from its stand.

The civic body officials and politicians are terming the project to be a success, but the technical assessment carried out in the past by the Municipal Corporation has been a failure in most of the cases.

The Tribune takes you down the memory lane where the railway over bridges and flyovers could be termed as “traffic tragedies” for the city.

First in the series is 1.09-km Dhandari flyover that was completed in 2003. Constructed at the cost of Rs 17.09 crore, the idea behind the rail over bridge was to ease the flow of the commercial heavy vehicles like trailers from Delhi to the Focal Point and vice-versa.

However, the flyover proved to be a disaster due to wrong intersections, sharp curves and the extra distance covered. The problems caused due to the faulty design are listed below.

Due to the wrong design of the flyover those commuting daily between Ludhiana City and Focal Point have to cover extra 3.5 km daily. The traffic coming to the Focal Point from Delhi is mostly heavy vehicles. Thus vehicles like extra-long trailers have to take a U-turn on busy highway thereby leading to chaos and accidents.

Those commuting from the Focal Point to the Ludhiana City have to take a U-turn on busy highway thereby putting their lives at risk. Vehicles often collide as those going towards the Focal Point take left side while those coming from the Focal Point join the road at speed and take right side.

The absence of road divider confuses a first timer on the flyover at splitting point regarding which side to follow. Sharp curves on slope make heavy vehicles, carrying more than 40 tonnes of weight and 50 feet long unmanageable.

That’s not all. Two wheeler, carts, cycles and rickshaws along with trailers and trucks are often found to be taking wrong turns on this flyover either to save distance covered and the fuel or by mistake.

A senior traffic cop admitted that the Dhandari flyover is the glaring example of a technical disaster but refused to come on records.

He revealed, “The traffic police has never been consulted by the Municipal Corporation in any of its projects. In fact, it’s due to this that the traffic management in city is becoming a challenging task.” He suggested that if the Municipal Corporation is not ready to take assistance from the traffic police, its better that they appoint a traffic consultant so that public is not inconvenienced due to their fault. 

Ludhiana, January 17
The police today recovered the 32 LCDs worth over Rs 25 lakh, which were stolen from AGS Electronic near the Kali Mata Mandir in Rishi Nagar on Hambra road yesterday.

The LCDs were recovered from two abandoned cars in Kanech village near Sahnewal. The police received information this morning that two cars met with an accident and were left abandoned. The police reached the spot and found 32 LCDs in a Santro and an i10 car. The police is trying to locate the owners of the vehicles.

On Saturday morning, over 10 armed assailants took 32 LCDs from the showroom after attacking a security guard and an employee of the showroom. After thrashing the duo, the robbers tied them with a rope and put plastic tape on their mouth.

Ludhiana, January 17
“Oye Band Baj Gaya”, a Hindi play starring Rajesh Puri, Himani Shivpuri and Moulli Ganguly had audience in splits of laughter.The play was staged last evening at the Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan under the aegis of Ludhiana Sanskritik Samagam (LSS).A satire on “status conscious” section of society, the play was well received by the audience of Ludhiana as people could relate to the situations arising in the play.

“Ludhiana being an industrial town has its share of status conscious people who take pride in boasting about their lavish lifestyles and also high and mighty attitude, which comes with wealth. The message that simplicity and sincerity is all that matters in the end has been conveyed with precision,” said Akshit.

The story revolves around a businesswoman played by none other than Himani Shivpuri and her simpleton daughter-in-law Moulli Ganguly, who despite their personality clash, end up developing a strong bond.

Rajesh Puri in his role of a happy-go-lucky husband and father took the audience on a trip down the memory lane, as they recalled his role as “Lallu” from famous teleserial “Hum Log”. The non-committal attitude with which he tried to ease away the creases in the relationships was indeed a treat for the viewers.

The play set up in contemporary Indian backdrop highlighted the bonding between a mother and son and at the same time pointing towards the expectations on both sides, which strengthened the bond between family members.

Members of the Mass Media Employees and Officials’ Association at a meeting in Ludhiana. Photo: Inderjeet Verma

Ludhiana, January 17
The Mass Media Employees and Officials’ Association, department of health and family welfare, Punjab, convened a meeting to deliberate on the long-pending issues of appointments and promotions in the mass media wing here today.

Block extension educators, deputy mass media officials and district mass media officials from various districts of the state attended the meeting.

Expressing concern over the government’s nonchalance towards the preventive measures, which are elemental in saving people from serious diseases, Satish Sachdeva, association’s state president, said, “The vacant posts in the mass media wing has given a setback to the mass contact programme in Punjab.”

Association members have planned to hold a meeting with the secretary health, Punjab, and Punjab health minister to apprise them about the problems faced by the mass media wing.

An association member alleged that at many stations, persons with officiating charge had taken the liberty to designate themselves as block extension educators whereas they were not qualified for the job. But the department has completely ignored the arbitrary practices which are being encouraged by the higher officials who are at the helm of affairs, he went on to accuse.

Jagraon, January 17
Residents of the town under the banner of various organisations and leadership today protested against the delay in the construction of the railway over bridge connecting the town with the main road.

The construction of the bridge started in October, 2006, during Captain Amarinder Singh’s rule. Though a part of the over bridge, which was to be completed by private contractors had been completed for more than a year now, the part of the over bridge, which is to be completed by railway contractor is not being completed.

Many reminders have been given to the authorities and the residents have protested many times due to this delay.

The city welfare council after consulting all organisations, which had participated in the today’s protest gave a memorandum to the railway minister and divisional railway manager of Northern Railways for early completion of the over bridge.

Ludhiana, January 17
The two-day national meet of tractor and agricultural machinery manufacturers organised jointly by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), department of agriculture and cooperation (DOAC), Ministry of Agriculture, and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), kicked-off yesterday.

The event was inaugurated by PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Manjit Singh Kang.

Dr Kang welcomed the delegates. Emphasising that adequate farm power was vital for carrying out farm operations in time, he stressed for greater interaction of tractor and allied machinery manufacturers at the national level to enhance productivity and to handle crop produce appropriately. The machinery, as per farmers’ need, could give an impetus to agriculture, he said.

Dr PK Gupta, dean, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, PAU, and convener of the meet, welcomed the delegates.

More than 300 delegates from tractor, power tiller, combine harvester and agricultural machinery units from various parts of the country, besides, engineers and scientists from state agricultural universities, government and semi-government officials, bankers and farmers participated.

Dr MM Pandey, deputy director general (engineering), ICAR, opined that cost effective machines should be developed which could increase productivity at minimum cost of operation. He assured the manufacturers that all help would be provided by the R&D group of ICAR for production of good quality, cost effective and reliable farm machines. He also highlighted importance of the availability of repair and maintenance facility of the machines for the farmers. 

Ludhiana, January 17
Haphazard deployment of traffic cops has added to the woes of the city residents who end up wasting hours in the jams due to the non-functional signals.

The intersections on the Dugri-Dhandra Road, Pakhowal Road, Ghumar Mandi, Bhai Bala Chowk and the Fountain Chowk have two or three cops monitoring the traffic while the other major intersections in the city are left unattended.

Honking followed by minor scuffles is common in various parts of the city, including the Pakhowal, Sidhwan Canal and Sat Paul Mittal roads besides those with level crossings. The reason behind this is uncommitted attitude of the traffic wing in monitoring the flow of the traffic in certain areas during peak rush hours.

The traffic wing of the Police Department takes the plea of “shortage” of staff, which is contrary to their “management” which is accurate during any VIP’s visit.

Recently, a large number of police personnel accompanied the traffic cops during a VVIP visit in the city and the flow of traffic was smooth in the areas adjoining Model Town Extension and Urban Estate Dugri, which is otherwise a nightmare for the residents.

The intersections on the Pakhowal, Dugri- Dhandra and the Sidhwan Canal roads are in a state of mess during the peak hours as the cops are mostly found absent or they take the liberty to stand under shady trees on the roadsides.

Ajay Pal, a marketing executive in a private firm, said: “I consider myself lucky on the days when the intersections on Sat Paul Mittal are monitored due to the VIP visit as it saves more than an hour which I end up wasting in the jams every day.”

The traffic mismanagement in Ghumar Mandi, the most important shopping area in the city adds to the apprehensions of the shoppers as without prior notice the cops put barriers on the entry points of the market. The entire confusion on the “one way” traffic in the specific area makes people weary of entering the market. 

Ludhiana, January 17
Confidence is writ large on her face as she shuffles her cards. Bela Bedi, the tarot card reader, says answers one get from tarot reading are 90 per cent true. While Preeti Kansal from Astro Kingdom feels astrology and Vastu can help in leading a happy life. We caught up with these two women during the exhibition organised in the city.

While astrology is generally a field of man Preeti is an exception. She is as apt in astrology, as in palmistry, numerology and Vastu. “For a happy life 80 per cent people depend on astrology and 20 per cent on Vastu. One should be lucky and at the same time the atmosphere around you should also be pleasant,” she adds.

Preeti said: “Eating in the kitchen is regarded very good while eating in the bedroom invites bad omen. One should never have a washroom under the stairs.” On astrology she adds natural remedies are most effective. “Wearing stones is good but one should crosscheck whether they are real or fake. One needs to wear the stones for at least three years. After that these would remain effective throughout their lives,” she said.

Meanwhile, Bela Bedi feels the predictions through tarot cards are 90 per cent true. “I learnt it in 1990 from a gypsy woman in England. One should have a special instinct for learning to predict through these 22 cards,” she adds.

She says that cards give immediate answers that are valid for six to 12 months. People ask questions pertaining to choice of boys for marriage, students about the percentage of marks they will get in the exams and others about weight loss, Bela adds with a smile.

Doraha, January 17
An ongoing training programme for the rural women as stitching machine operators by the Skill Upgradation Training Services, in accord with Apex Cluster Development Services Limited, is being organised at Maqsoodran village.

According to the subject expert Prerna Kaplia, “The programme is funded by the World Bank through the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and monitored by the Apex Cluster Development Services. Training is provided on all aspects of stitching and a test is conducted thereafter to evaluate the skills of the trainees.”

She said, “As the traditional mindset in villages did not allow girls to move out of the villages for training purpose, the training centre was opened right in the village and 50 girls were selected for the training purpose.

The girls were provided with training on various industrial stitching machine operations and motivational programmes were held for the trainees as well as their families to allow the girls to work in factories.”

Ludhiana, January 17
As the mercury plummeted and the sun played hide and seek throughout the day in city today, the erratic power supply coupled with five-six hours of scheduled power cuts added to the woes of the city residents.

While the senior officials of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) claimed that except for the scheduled power cuts, the supply was normal, city residents had a different story to tell.

Several localities along the Ferozepur Road and the Bharat Nagar Chowk remained without power for more than seven hours on Saturday after the mini-secretariat feeder developed a snag. The power supply, which failed at 8 am, was restored at around 3 pm with water supply to the affected areas also being disrupted during this period.

Similarly, residents of Jeewan Preet Nagar near the octroi post along the Ferozepur Road had to face power failure from early hours in the morning till late in the afternoon today. Repeated inquiries made by the residents of the affected localities did not elicit satisfactory reply from the PSEB complaint office.

Peeved over frequent power breaks, several residents said the distribution system in the area needed to be overhauled and strengthened, as tripping and line faults had become a routine.

“Verbal requests and even written representations made to senior PSEB officials have fallen on deaf ears and no remedial steps have been initiated to improve the quality of power supply,” rued Ruchi, a working women of the locality.

Charging the PSEB staff with indifference and apathy, Sri Ram Verma, another resident, said more often than not the faults in the line or blown fuses at the transformer take hours to be mended and the staff deployed for rectification of the faults has to be repeatedly reminded. “To make the matters worse, senior officers are not available on telephone and the people continue to suffer due to erratic power supply and undue delay in rectification of faults.”

Ludhiana, January 17
To restore the confidence among the migrant population in the city, especially after the December violence, representatives of 22 organisations came openly in their support.More than 1,200 workers, including labourers from Punjab, several farmer, employees and workers unions jointly participated in the “Unity Rally” organised at Ishwar Colony, Sabzi Mandi, here today.

Leaders from various unions stressed that the interests of migrants had to be watched by the district administration, the police and the industrialists for the overall growth of the industry. They said the police had registered “fake” cases against 42 migrants after the December 3-4 incident. The cases must be withdrawn as all of them were innocent. Besides, the three minors kept in the police custody should also be freed at the earliest, they demanded.

Leader of Karkhana Mazdoor Union Lakhwinder alleged that the migrants were being pressured not to attend the rally by certain officials from the police and the district administration. “But we have assured our fellows that it will be a peaceful rally. We have got a tremendous response not only from migrant workers but also from workers of the state. We all will fight for justice to the sufferers,” he added.

Harjinder Singh, representing the Moulder and Steel Workers' Union, demanded the migrants whose properties were set ablaze by the anti-social elements during the violence should be given compensation by the district administration. Besides, the police should also trace the missing migrant workers, he said.

“The guilty police officials, who extended support to the anti-social elements, must not be spared. Strict action should be taken against them. Unfortunately, many migrant workers still feel insecure in the city. Their confidence needs to restored for the growth of the industry,” added Lakhwinder. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, January 17
Illicit relationship with a daughter-in-law of his master cost a migrant labourer his life. Had the Payal police overlooked the reports about the victim’s disappearance, whose family background is not known to anyone in the area; the alleged killers, a father and son duo of Nizampur village, could have gone scot-free.

The suspects, who had killed the victim with the help of a blow pipe and thrown his body in the Bathinda branch of the Sirhind canal about six weeks ago, are now cooling their heels in the police lock up.

A 10-year-old migrant Pappu was brought up the peasant’s family of Jagtar Singh Kaka about 12 years ago. Having no information about parents or other members of his family, the peasant’s family brought him up as their own son. Besides serving as a helper at Jagtar’s dairy farm, Pappu used to help women in daily chores too. When Jagminder Singh, Kaka’s son got married Pappu was the only male member who close to his wife.

When Jagminder fell prey to addiction, Pappu and his wife developed illicit relationship over the past several past years. It was on the morning of December 1, 2009, that Kaka and Jagminder caught Pappu and his wife in compromising position. Infuriated at this, the father and son duo allegedly killed Pappu by hitting him with the blow pipe and threw his body into the canal.

As Pappu was the only member of his family, there was nobody to take notice of his disappearance. It was only after villagers, led by the civic body members started suspecting foul play in his sudden disappearance that SSP Khanna SS Mann directed DSP Payal Anil Joshi to probe into the matter.

Investigations by an SIT comprising Kulwinder Singh, SHO Rauni, and Sanjay Kumar, SHO Malaudh, disclosed that the accused had killed the victim and destroyed his body to evade police action. A case under Sections 302, 201 and 34 of the IPC was registered against Jagtar Singh and Jagminder The accused, who were on the run after registration of the case were arrested while trying to leave the area today.

Appreciating efficacy of members of the SIT, DSP Anil Joshi claimed that the accused could have gone scot-free had the police overlooked ‘rumours’ about the victim’s disappearance. “It was really a tough task for the police to extract the truth as the victim is survived by none. Persistence and pervasiveness of the team has ultimately resulted in booking and arrest of the accused,” said Joshi while talking to The Tribune.

To recover the body and weapon used in the crime are challenging task for the police.

The Tribune is the only newspaper, which had carried a story on Pappu’s disappearance and suspected ‘honour’ killing by the peasant’s family. Showing threat to her own life, Jagminder’s wife had also accused the suspects of killing Pappu. She had started living at her parent’s house immediately after the incident.

Though Jagtar Singh had termed ‘honour’ killing as baseless and politically motivated The Tribune’s findings have come true after the probe now. 

Jagraon, January 17
The Sidhwan Bet police has arrested a man with 10 kg of poppy husk. The accused has been identified as Bakshish Singh, alias Shisha of Sowaddi Kalan village, who after questioning revealed that he was a granthi of a gurdwara at Kular village near here.

SI Jagtar Singh while patrolling Ramgarh Bhullar village area intercepted a motorcyclist, who had tried to escape by seeing a police party.

He was bought to the Sidhwan Bet police station and a case had been registered against him under Sections 15, 25, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act.

Raikot, January 17
Five persons have been booked for abetting a youth to commit suicide. Ranjit Singh of Sarabha village near here, father of Kuldeep Singh, who committed suicide, has in a complaint lodged with the police alleged that the in-laws of his son had strangulated him after a dispute between him and his wife surfaced.

Kuldeep Singh was an electrician and had a shop in Ajitwal. He had visited his wife’s village on December 15. His body was found lying outside the village under suspicious circumstances.

Ranjit Singh has stated that Kuldeep Singh was married one-and-a- half year ago with Mandeep Kaur of Binjal village. He added that since Kuldeep Singh never approved the way Mandeep Kaur used to live and even doubted her. They started differing with each other as a result Mandeep Kaur started living with her parents.

SHO Waryam Singh said the panchayats of both villages had met to resolve the issues and bought the couple together after Mandeep Kaur confessed to her premarital relationship and sought pardon from his husband and in-laws. Believing her words, all of them pardoned her with a condition that she would not visit her parents alone. It was decided that Kuldip would accompany her and stay there till they return. About a month ago Mandeep Kaur’s parents took her without Kuldip’s consent. They didn’t even allow him to meet her or even contact over the phone. This made Kuldip upset and he committed suicide. He has left 28-page suicide note.

Though Ranjit Singh has accused Kuldeep’s in-laws for his suicide, cops couldn’t find any strangulation marks on his neck. After the recovery of the suicide not, Nacchatar Singh, his wife Baljinder Kaur, his married daughter Neetu, his brother-in-law Jagraj Singh of Nihalewal village near Mehal Kalan and Vicky of Lamme village under Section 306 of the IPC for abetting his son to commit suicide.

Ludhiana, January 17
Following a rap from the Punjab and Haryana High Court for its failure to remove encroachments, the Municipal Corporation sprang into action on November 12, 2009.

Now, it has been over two-months that the civic body has been undertaking demolition drive. But during this drive, its targets were just limited to footpaths or staircases of shops, shutters and kiosks.

The High Court had instructed the civic body to remove encroachments, both permanent and temporary in nature, but the big and real encroachments dotting the city are yet to be touched. So, demolitions by the civic body in 60 days could only be called eyewash or an attempt to “befool” the High Court.

The fact that the real encroachments in form of ‘pucca’ houses, buildings, etc have not been touched till date could not be denied. Be it Malerkotla house encroachments where encroachers have backing of sitting SAD MLA or posh markets like Ghumar Mandi, the Municipal Corporation has not even touched the erring residents and shopkeepers.

That’s not all. The Municipal Corporation has not even bothered to respect itself. For example: Mall Road one of the high-profile shopping areas of the city was served notices on November 18 and 19, but the action is still awaited. The same condition prevails at the Malhar Road where notices have been served, but action is yet to be taken as relatives of a few politicians are residing here.

Similarly, on November 20, 2009, four rooms were unearthed on the Link Road and on December 23, 2009, a room found under a footpath in I-block of the Sarabha Nagar Market. Another example is public park maintained by the Municipal Corporation in Industrial Area- B. It is encroached upon by a civic body driver. However, in all these cases no action has been taken so far.

Coming to temporary encroachments, the public parks are best examples. Car dealers for parking vehicles put on sale are using them as workshops or godowns; car bazaars on Sunday still stand erected.

Likewise the city roads were filled with temporary encroachments like floral gates, etc during two religious functions in the past one month where the Supreme Court ruling on religious encroachments were blatantly violated, but the Municipal Corporation failed to act.

The silence of the Municipal Corporation on such issues has risen several questions on to what extent would it abide by the High Court orders. The petitioners who have filed contempt plea in Punjab and Haryana High Court rued that the Municipal Corporation presents all positive reports of media regarding their anti-encroachment drive.

With the Municipal Corporation not ready to act on encroachments for which residents of the city were forced to knock on the doors of the High Court, one is astonished on which way the civic body is going.

It raises questions as to how long the Municipal Corporation would try to save it’s skin and why is it not ready to “attack” the big encroachers who are the real culprit that is embarrassing it on various fronts. 

Zone A - CMC Chowk to Khurd Mohalla, Talab Bazaar, Reikhi Cinema Road, Kareempura Bazaar and Jail Road

Zone B - Ambedkar Colony and Hargobind Marg

Zone C- Passage below the Municipal Corporation C-zone office, Scooter Market on the Gill Road, Janta Nagar, Giaspura, Shimlapuri, Miller Ganj, car showrooms near Military Camp

Zone D-Malerkotla House, Mall Road, Malhar Road and Ghumar Mandi

Ludhiana, January 17
Sachinmeet Singh and Ankita Thapar were adjudged the best athletes in the boys and the girls sections, respectively, in the under-14 category in the 5th Annual Sports Meet of Sat Paul Mittal School, Dugri, here today.

In the under-17 section, Anna Kaler was named the best athlete in the girl's section while Jaisal Brar was declared the best athlete among boys. Ravi House was adjudged the best house.

Earlier, Rajdeep Singh Gill, DGP, Director, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, inaugurated the meet. The chief guest unfurled the school flag. He released balloons and pigeons to mark the opening of the meet in which a large number of students, representing different houses, competed.

Lt Col Dr DB Sharma, director, Sat Paul Mittal School, welcomed the chief guest. He read out the annual report highlighting the achievements by the school players at different level tournaments during the current session.

The sports carnival also offered an opportunity to the elders to display their fitness. The grandparents showcased how skilled they were in tying a turban, swiftly.

The parents vied with each other to win the thread and needle and brick race. A tug of war was held in between teams of mothers and faculty.

Dr Rajeev Chauhan, principal of the school, congratulated the winners.