Ludhiana, September 16
The Punjab jail department has given a “clean chit” to officials of a local women's prison in the case in which an undertrial lodged there lost her baby girl after giving birth prematurely baby in the jail toilet six days ago.

Talking to The Tribune today, state jails minister Hira Singh Gabria said the inquiry by deputy inspector general (jails) Jagjit Singh had not held the prison officials responsible for the incident “as they were the ones who had sent the woman undertrial to the Civil Hospital when she complained about her problem”.

He said it was now up to the health department to determine responsibility for the incident “as the doctors could not tell she was pregnant and they continued to say she had a tumour”.

"I find it really shocking that the doctors, who can tell about the gender of a few weeks old foetus, could not even say she had a foetus and not a tumour. It all depends on the health department now, ’’ said Gabria.

He stated the jail department’s inquiry was completed and the report was submitted to the DGP (jails), who he said was “away for some important meeting”.

The incident, for with the health department was accused of medical negligence, came to the fore on September 8 when Balwinder Kaur of Nawanshahr who was undergoing a prison term for attempted murder gave premature birth to a baby girl in the jail toilet. The baby died on the way to hospital.

The incident triggered outrage among the relatives of the woman, who later staged a dharna outside civil hospital.

Amarjit Singh, the victim’s father, had alleged that despite having conducted two scans on her daughter at the Civil Hospital she was told she was not pregnant. Instead the jail officials made allegations that her daughter was making false claims to get bail in the case.

He added on September 7 his daughter was taken to the Civil Hospital. After conducting an ultrasound scan a doctor there told her she was not pregnant.

She was then referred to the Rajindra Hospital in Patiala, but before the jail officials could take her there she delivered a baby girl that died on the way to the hospital.

Ludhiana, September 16
Irate family members of a 15-year-old dengue patient, Bharat, a resident of the city’s Haibowal locality who died at Dayanand Medical College & Hospital today morning, charged the hospital’s doctors of negligent treatment of the boy. They created a scene in the hospital’s reception area and later staged a protest outside, demanding a probe into the patient’s death and “stern action against those responsible for their tragic loss”.

As some onlookers and attendants of other hospital patients also joined in the number of protesters suddenly swelled up. The situation could have taken an ugly turn and even become violent but for the deft action by the police, who rushed to the scene from the adjoining police post, as well as the hospital’s security staff.

The young boy was admitted to the hospital on Monday after he complained of fever. Doctors attending him said his platelet count was low and the blood tests conducted for a diagnosis were positive for dengue.

"Standard treatment starting with a single dose transfusion of platelets was begun and the patient responded to the treatment," said Dr Harmit Pal Singh Dhooria who led the team of doctors attending to Bharat.

He said during his rounds on Tuesday night he found the boy comfortable with no suggestion his condition was serious. “However, some complication, including internal bleeding, developed during the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. The patient had vomiting which were followed by unconsciousness and seizures, which necessitated putting him on a ventilator. Despite out best efforts we could not save the boy”, Dhooria stated.

However, the patient’s father, Vinod Kumar, employed with a state-owned insurance firm, alleged the family had lost its eldest son due to negligence on the part of the doctors and the hospital. In a written complaint filed with DMCH officials, he said Bharat was “not given timely treatment which led to complications”.

"The required blood group (+A) was not available with the hospital’s blood bank and we were asked to arrange donors of that particular blood group, which took time. This perhaps went against the boy who was battling for his life," he pointed out. Making a strong case for adequate arrangement of blood and blood components in a hospital like DMCH in the wake of widespread incidents of dengue, he said: “Being city residents we did manage to arrange the donors. But imagine the plight of patients and their attendants who come from far-flung places to this hospital seeking treatment. What will an outsider do in such a situation except for leaving the patient to the mercy of fate?"

The victim shows his injuries in Ludhiana on Thursday.Photos: Inderjit Verma

Ludhiana, September 16
A salesman at the shop of a municipal councillor sustained injuries in an incident of road rage at the Clock Tower here this afternoon.The incident took ugly turn when close aides of both groups exchanged blows and attacked each other with sharp-edged weapons.

The incident took place when salesman Vicky, working at the shop of councillor Satish Naggar, was approaching the shop on a scooter. According to an eyewitness, Vicky’s scooter collided with a motorcycle.

Vicky immediately apologised for his mistake, but the two Sikh youths on the motorcycle hurled abuses at him, which led to a heated argument.

Soon shopkeepers of the area came in support of Vicky, pushing and shoving the motorcycle-borne youths.

In the meantime, accomplices of the motorcycle-borne youths reached the spot and both groups started hurling abuses at each other.

The heated argument soon turned into blows. The Sikh youths thrashed the salesman and tore his clothes.

A group of shopkeepers later thrashed the youths and their accomplices. Interestingly, both groups were frantically calling Naggar for help.

However, the councillor washed his hands off the matter and stated that he had no role in it. He added that he did not visit the spot.

The salesman was rushed to a hospital for treatment. On seeing the police, both groups arrived at a compromise and did not lodge a complaint. Kotwali SHO Nirmal Singh said it was a minor issue over parking between two groups of shopkeepers and they settled the issue without lodging a complaint.

Ludhiana, September 16
Doggie Lanes Foundation, a private company hired by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation for the sterilisation of dogs, is hopeful of resuming its work from Monday.

The company had stopped the sterilisation work due to non-payment by the MC. A monitoring committee will be coming tomorrow to meet representatives of Doggie Lane and MC officials in this regard.

The company had stopped working on the project since August 29, as it had not received even a single penny from the MC. A bill of Rs 5 lakh is pending with the MC for sterilising more than 700 dogs.

"Tomorrow, the monitoring committee will be coming to have a look at the state of affairs and we are hopeful that things will be sorted out and we will be resuming our work," said Himmat Singh Grewal of Doggie Lanes.

"So far no payment has been done to us. I have spent huge amount and money on the project. In addition, I have to give salaries to my staff as well. Non-payment from the MC forced us to stop the work as it was becoming impossible to bear the expenses further," said Grewal.

“There are many other problems also. The police and people are both non-cooperative. Against the target of 15 dogs in day, we are able to sterilise only five-six dogs.”

In many colonies, people want that stray dogs should be dumped to a far-off place. I keep telling them that it is not in their domain and we cannot do that, but people refuse to listen.

In some places, people do not let us even touch the dogs. People need to be educated about this. The police also does not help in any regard," added Grewal.

As against the promises made by the MC to extend help from the NGOs, nothing had been done in this regard.

AK Sinha, Municipal Commissioner, commenting upon this, said the work on the project would start soon and their pending bills would be cleared within a week. 

Ludhiana, September 16
A day after the Kisan Mela concluded, the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) campus is looking like a garbage dump.Be it the cafeteria, students' home, lawns, departments or parking lots, garbage is all that one can see across the length and breadth of the campus.

"Rotting eatables, poly bags, wrappers, paper and other waste is the legacy of the Kisan Mela every year. And the tale does not end here. This garbage will keep lying on the campus for days before the authorities finally get into the clean-up act," said a regular morning walker Sudarshan Singh.

The university lawns, which were lush green just two days ago, too, wear a dismal look, with a layer of yellowish-brown grass lying stomped upon badly amid muck and slush.

"This garbage is not new to the PAU after the Kisan Mela. But yes, the heaps of it keep increasing with each passing year. One comes across such heaps at a distance of every 200m on the campus. The mere sight of these is enough to give nausea to the looker," remarked another visitor Dr RS Jain.

"It’s strange that the people who collect the garbage put it on display in big heaps. They could as well pick it up and dump it at a proper place, but seems like even the people concerned are too tired after the mela, just like all other university officials," said Parul S, taking a dig at the authorities' lackadaisical attitude.

Worse perhaps is the fact that year after year, the PAU authorities witness history repeating itself and see the litter legacy of kisan melas become a source of major embarrassment for the university. Still, they fail to tackle the problem.

"The university authorities seem to be sleeping over the issue. If they hold a fair of such magnitude twice every year, they should be well prepared to tackle the aftermath of it as well. But as is common knowledge by now, the authorities have miserably failed in finding an effective solution to the problem or even a concrete clean-up plan after the melas," said Sushma Dutta, another regular morning walker.

Ludhiana, September 16
Duty Magistrate Deepti Gupta today remanded the prime accused in the scam involving siphoning off of Rs 82 lakh from Indira Awas Yojna, Laxman Singh, to police custody till September 21.

He had surrendered before the police yesterday.

Working as district accountant and field officer in the National Child Labour Project, he was named by the administration to be the key conspirator in the fund scam.

The police had earlier arrested one junior accountant Varinder Kumar of District Rural Development Agency of ADC (D) office. He is already in police remand till September 18.

The accused was booked for forgery and siphoning off public money under various sections. Additional Deputy Commissioner Davinder Singh had lodged a written complaint against Laxman Singh for forging his signatures and siphoning off money.

Amloh, September 16
All claims of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) for the smooth conduct of class X and XII examinations proved hollow when question papers of some subjects were not supplied to examination centres and the papers supplied were less than the number of candidates.

In case of any discrepancy in the question papers supplied by the board, teachers have to run to the board’s office in Mohali or to district headquarters and the board is not responsible for the same. The board has not provided any fund to meet such expenses in emergency cases. The teachers or school heads have to pay from their own pockets, said a teacher.

The board had failed to supply question papers on time for the examination on September 6 and 7 with the plea of floods. On September 6, the mathematics examination (class X), general Punjabi (class XII) and on September 7, drawing examination (class X) and Sanskrit, Persian, etc. (class XII) were postponed without announcing any further date.

According to information, at Amloh centre-2, 15 question papers in agriculture, 15 in computer science and 15 in Punjabi B were found less. To a query, principal Ramesh Kumar said he had faxed a message to the board depot at the district headquarter and board office, Mohali. The class X examinations will finish on September 29, while class XII will continue up to October 7.

When DEO JP Singh was contacted on the phone, he admitted the short supply of question papers at some centres. Around 12,000 candidates are appearing at 70 centres in the district this year.

The centres facing shortage of question papers included Amloh-2, Badali Ala Singh, Mandi Gobindgarh, Mata Gujri School, Fatehgarh Sahib, Sirhind Mandi (girls) and Bassi Pathana (boys).

The candidates did not suffer, as some extra time could be given if any delay was found in the arrangement of questions papers, said JP Singh.

Doraha, September 16
Demolition notices served on owners of 119 shops here by the municipal council time and again are like a bolt from the blue for them.The partial or total (in some cases) dismantling of their shops will reduce them to paupers, they claim.

All major hospitals, hotels, garages, fuel stations, complexes and the BSNL exchange are under watch.

Mahesh Sharma, executive officer, municipal council, Doraha, said, “Demolition notices have been served on PWD and B&R directions on 119 shops along NH-1, but we are having a tough time convincing shopkeepers about this move. A-class cities are supposed to leave five metres from the road, B-class towns 10 metres and C-class towns 15 metres. Thirty metres have to be left outside corporation limits and 100 metres at a bypass. Doraha is a B-class town. As per orders of the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner, all shops with illegal constructions after 1995 are to be demolished.”

He added that they had recently received fresh directions from the directorate, local government bodies, specifically mentioning that a competent authority would be notified to dismantle relevant properties on scheduled roads.

The shopkeepers, on the other hand, were spending sleepless nights, with the fear of demolition weighing heavy on their minds. “If the Haryana government can regularise encroachments along scheduled roads and bypasses throughout the state, why can the Punjab government not do so? It is a genuine problem of shopkeepers, not only at Doraha and Sahnewal, but throughout Punjab,” said a shopkeeper.

“If the Haryana government can amend Sections 3 and 6 of the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1963, for providing relief to the public at large, why can such relief not be expected from the Punjab government? We sustain the government and it should, in turn, provide us sustenance first. It is the duty of every government to listen to genuine demands of the people and only then can it win our goodwill. If the government insists on rendering us homeless by snatching our lone source of income, it is no longer acceptable to us,” stated a number of shopkeepers.

Members of Small Scale Industrialists and Traders Association said they had met the Chief Minister on the issue and he had assured them through his Principal Secretary that their demands would be paid heed to and relief provided to them at the earliest.

Ludhiana, September 16
Upset over being ignored in the election of delegates for the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti, Punjab today attacked the Congress party leadership for its not find even a single ‘dalit’ party functionary from among the 4 million city residents suitable for being elected a PPCC delegate.

Presiding over a meeting of the body here, Tilak Raj Sonu, its president, said: “This gross injustice done to the ‘dalit’ community is beyond comprehension. It appears the era of giving recognition to loyal and dedicated Congress party workers is over and particularly the poor and ‘dalit’ workers have nothing to look forward to”.

He said the ‘dalit’ community had made a “significant” contribution towards the country’s freedom struggle and, later, the establishment of a parliamentary democracy.

“Ambedkar, who drafted the Indian constitution, had given equal rights to all sections of society, but the present day Congress leaders seemed to have made the party a personal property of those who were rich and well-connected,” he added.

Sonu said details on the “nepotism and favouritism” in the election of PPCC delegates by certain senior party leaders had been sent to All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul Gandhi and AICC general secretary Oscar Fernandes.

“A deputation of the Samiti functionaries will soon go to New Delhi to personally meet senior party leaders in this regard”, he added.

A three-day medical check-up camp by staff of Dr BL Kapur Memorial Hospital got underway at Master Tara Sigh Memorial College for Women here today. Mayor, Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, Hakam Singh Giaspura, was the chief guest and inaugurated the camp. Dr Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu, medical superintendent, along with nursing and technical staff visited the college. Giaspura appreciated the collective efforts of the college and hospital authorities to ensure good health of the college students and staff. Dr Sidhu advised the students to be careful about personal hygiene. Eye specialist, Dr VP Soni examined the students for ocular disorders and advised them to wash their hands before and after every meal. Dentist, Dr Sonal Sood examined the students and staff for various dental problems and gave them precious advice on dental and oral health. Dr Balwinder Kaur, Dr Monika Malhotra, Dr Harshimjot Kaur, Dr Mahima Nimi and Dr Vishal did the routine check up. As many as 300 students of BA I were examined on the first day of the camp today.

Khanna, September 16
The bus stand here, used by hundreds daily, is in a pitiable condition. It has not been repaired since its construction in 1980.

The roof of the bus stand has developed cracks and pieces of plaster keep falling on the ground, posing a threat to passengers who wait here for buses.

There is hardly any space for passengers to wait in case of rain as water keeps leaking. There are big potholes in the area meant for parking buses.

Most fans and tubes are not working while other slots for those are empty. Bathrooms are dirty and have not been maintained properly.

Some drivers and conductors of private buses have said the municipal council collects fee from them, but has failed to provide any facility to them.

Some passengers waiting at the bus stand have said there is no drinking water facility at the premises.

Congress leader Shashi Vardhan has alleged that the council, charging fee for the cycle stand, canteen and shops, is paying a deaf ear towards demands of daily commuters.

He warned that there could be a mishap if the roof was not repaired immediately. SDM Khanna Inderjeet Kaur Kang, when contacted, said she would look into the matter.

Ludhiana, September 16
The city police launched a massive challan drive against polluting vehicles to mark the International Ozone Day here today.The traffic cops kept a strict check on the rising level of pollution emitting from auto rickshaws in the city and challaned drivers for plying vehicles without necessary pollution certificate.

“Our motive is to spread awareness among commuters about the depleting ozone level. It is the duty of every human being to maintain the ecosystem and if they are ruining the environment by polluting it, then they are liable to be challaned,” said ADCP traffic SS Cheema.

Till the time of filing this report, around 500 vehicles were challaned for emitting pollution.

The traffic police also cleared the road stretch of the National Highway-1 from Sahnewal to Ladhowal.

The cops cleared the area following complaints that auto rickshaws, tempos and trucks are haphazardly parked on the NH-1, which has resulted in the rapid rise of accidents.

Besides PCR cops, all traffic SHOs were also deployed to clear the stretch.

The maximum number of personnel was deployed at the Samrala chowk, said to be the major traffic bottleneck of the city. It is learnt that the traffic police is devising a new route plan to ease traffic chaos at the Samrala chowk.

Cheema said, “If a single chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) molecule releasing from the old refrigerator, air-conditioner and body spray can destroy 1,00,000 ozone molecule in the sky, allowing the deadly UV rays reach down and cause disaster on earth, it is not difficult to judge the harm caused by the auto rickshaws that emits cloud of smoke.”

Ludhiana, September 16
Our ancient yoga (pranayam, asanas and vyayam) and ayurvedic treatment are the only effective ways for the prevention and treatment of prevailing ailments and a healthy living in society.This was stated by Krishan Lal Gupta, state president of Patanjali Yog Samiti (PYS) and Bharat Swabhiman, at Khanna in this district today.

He was addressing the participants in the concluding function of a five-day free yoga camp conducted by the district unit, the outfits headed by yoga guru Swami Ramdev.

Around 200 persons from the town and surrounding villages attended the camp.

Anil Sethi, district president PYS (rural), and Darshan Singh Shankar imparted training of yoga asanas and pranayam kriya during the camp and trained the participants about the success rate of curing the diseases through ancient ways like yoga, ayurveda and acupressure.

Sukhwinder Kaur, state president, Mahila wingof PYS, and Swami Sachita Nand also addressed the function.

According to Gupta, the PYS had launched a special drive of conducting free yoga camps in the villages of the state, so that a maximum number of rural people could be benefitted from the yoga and ayurvedic system of treatment.

He announced that a daylong free yoga camp would be organised at Mandi Gobindgarh on September 19, as a part of Bharat Swabhiman Yatra in Punjab.

On the occasion, the state chief formed a new unit of PYS comprising six members, namely Khushpal Chand, president, Rajinder Kumar, Deepak Sharma, Paramjit Singh Setia,Nirmal Singh and Vinod Thakur Pappi.

Prominent among others present included Devi Dyal Prashar, Rajesh Tali, chairman Improvement TrustKhanna, Ranbir Khanna, Hardev Singh Rosha, Ajay Sood, Pinki, Ashok Sharma and Naveen Thamman.

Ludhiana, September 16
To generate awareness regarding preservation of ozone layer and its negative or positive impact on human life, life on the earth and environment on the International Ozone Day under the guidelines of the Punjab State Council of Science and Technology, Chandigarh, International Council of Ayurveda (ICA) (Punjab chapter) in collaboration with Mother Teresa Institute of Medical Technology and Colombian Institute, Jagraon, organised a seminar and workshop.

Ludhiana, September 16
The state government has started a special helpline (1800-1802-469) for industrialists to help them provide information for setting up new units, expansion and any other information.

Mandi Ahmedgarh,September 16
Delineating themselves from any act of violence and communal disharmony, a few Muslim organisations of the region have asserted that the Islam, like many other religious convictions, did not allow desecration of sacred symbols and structures of other sects.

Maintaining supremacy of the Quran, these organisations believed that no ulterior force or human being could harm or show disrespect to the holy book. It (Quaran) was capable of taking its own care; it was a universal belief among the Muslims.

Urging members of their community to maintain perseverance, the Muslim leaders reminded them that Prophet Mohammad had advised the Muslims to act on any information only after verifying the facts. Tehqikat (verification) prevented unnecessary confusion, held the leaders.

Terming the Malerkotla incident and sequence of events following the same as unfortunate, office-bearers and activists of certain Muslim organisations of the local town and surrounding areas regretted that some unknown miscreants had instigated innocent members of both communities to act in a way that could disrupt communal harmony among members of various communities living together here.

Common people, irrespective of their religious and social association, were affected equally by any violence or disturbance following any act of blasphemy.

Quoting teachings of Prophet Mohammad, Munir Mohammad, president of the Muslim Youth Front, asserted that he (the Prophet) had warned his followers against believing rumours and unverified reports.

Citing forgiveness as human benevolence, Hamid Mohammad, general secretary of Muslim Welfare Association, urged members of the community to forget irresponsible statement made by a Pastor of America.

Maple Bear Canadian Play Way and Nursery School, Udham Singh Nagar, celebrated the Grandparents Day with great enthusiasm. The students presented a colourful cultural extravaganza. School principal Veena Aggarwal honoured the grandparents. Tiny tots reminded their grandparents of their childhood when they performed on the stage.

Children made greeting cards to be presented to their grandparents. The principal also appreciated the efforts of the students, teachers and parents for their wholehearted support for making the venture successful. The function culminated with a message from the principal to the kids that they should spread fragrance like flowers to this world and love their grandparents. — TNS

Samrala, September 16
A youth, identified as Pawan Kumar of Fatehgarh Jattan village, committed suicide by jumping from a mobile tower at Macchiwara.According to the deceased’s father Bishanpal, he was a student of a college in Mandi Gobindgarh and was doing GNM course. Pawan Kumar allegedly committed suicide as he was fed up of ragging by a senior student, Kuldeep.

According to Bishanpal, Pawan was staying in the college hostel. Kuldeep, also staying in the same hostel, allegedly used to put pressure on Pawan to consume drugs and to adopt other illegal means and when he refused to obey his wrong means, he misbehaved with him.

He was mentally disturbed due to his pressure.

He had told his son that he would go with him to his college on Friday but his son was upset and was afraid to go, as he was afraid of Kuldeep. Due to this, Pawan consumed kerosene oil. When he told his parents, they took him to the Civil Hospital, Macchiwara. In the meantime, Pawan ran away from the hospital and climbed the mobile tower.

He jumped from the tower and died on the spot. When college principal was contacted, he refused the ragging charges.

Ludhiana, September 16
Vigilance sleuths nabbed patwari Hardev Singh for accepting a bribe of Rs 6,500 here today. According to complainant Naresh Kumar, he met the patwari of Taraf Saidan tehsil for the mutation of a 34- sq yd land that was in the name of his mother.

Hardev Singh demanded Rs 10,000 as bribe to get the work done, but the deal was settled at Rs 6,500. Naresh said he was reluctant to pay bribe to the revenue officer.

Naresh claimed that Hardev Singh was adamant on taking the money for getting the work done. The complainant then approached the VB and narrated the matter.

Acting on the complaint, vigilance sleuths laid a trap and nabbed the patwari for accepting the bribe.

The VB officials recovered the money in the presence of Chaman Lal, SDO, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Surinder Singh, JE, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, and a shadow witness Rakesh Kapoor.

Ludhiana, September 16
With the arrest of two persons, the police has claimed to have cracked the case of the Rs 3.5-lakh theft at a dyeing-cum-chemicals shop near the Cheema Chowk on September 6. The cops have recovered Rs 1.4 lakh from the possession of the accused.

The accused, identified as Charan Singh, alias Channa, a resident of Indra Colony, and Manu Kumar, alias Pankaj, from Uttar Pradesh, were nabbed from the Janakpuri area following a tipoff.

The third accused, Sandeep Kumar, managed to flee. The Division No 6 SHO said the police had launched a manhunt to nab him.

Ludhiana, September 16
The city police nabbed two Mohali residents and recovered 17 boxes of liquor during a checking near the RK Machine Tool road here today.The accused, identified as Mohammad Irfan and Deep Mayur Gupta, both from Mohali were reportedly selling liquor in the city originally meant for Chandigarh.

According to the police, the duo was nabbed following a tip-off that the accused were planning to sell liquor in the city.

The police laid a trap and stopped their vehicle near Zoom hotel. The accused could not produce the bill of the liquor. When questioned, the accused cracked soon and confessed that they were selling liquor in the city that was originally meant for Chandigarh.

It may be mentioned here that liquor is cheaper in Chandigarh as compared
to Punjab.

Mandi Gobindgarh,September 16
RIMT Institute of Engineering and Technology won the overall trophy in the Inter-College Women Swimming Championship held at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College.

Speaking at a function, physical education and sports director Sukhveer Singh said Manjot Kaur Sidhu, a college student, clinched seven gold medals in various events and bagged the award of best swimmer.

RIMT Group of Institutes chairman, Dr Hukam Chand Bansal honoured Manjot Kaur Sidhu with a trophy at a function held today and lauded the efforts of the swimmer and congratulated the physical education department for this achievement.

Dr Harsh Sadawarti, principal of the institute, also appreciated the efforts of the students.