Ludhiana, September17
Residents of villages situated on the banks of the Sutlej river near the Mattewara ‘dhussi’ bundh are once again reliving the nightmare of floods after a new 70 foot breach appeared in the bundh following the release of more water by the Bhakra Beas Management Board.

The breach has occurred on a stretch of the bundh in Garhi Fazal village where the width of the 30 foot bundh has been reduced to just seven feet during the past three days.

The bundh in Mattewara village is amongst the 15 spots that have been identified by the district administration as “sensitive”. A breach there can cause floods in more than 15 villages including Garhi, Garhi Fazla, Togar, Seekhewal, Machiankalan and Machian Khurd.

The district administration had sounded a high alert as the regular release of water in the Sutlej by BBMB in addition to the seasonal rainfall has added to the threat of floods. However, it feels it is not the right time to undertake any concrete work to strengthen the bundh.

JCB machines and trolleys are on the job to dig out soil from nearby areas to strengthen the washed away part of the bundh.

Interestingly, the drainage department has not been able to hire the required number of workers to carry out repair work at the bundh. As a result residents of Mattewara and adjoining villages are on tenterhooks.

Said Ajaib Singh, a resident of Mattewara: “We’ve tried talking to the drainage department about the studs and spurs that should be put in the 3 km area but its officials have kept the work pending with the excuse of insufficient funds. Who will be responsible for damage to crops if the bundh develops a major breach?”

Officials said the villages of Mattewara, Kassabad, Kehra Bet, Maddepur and Dhulewal, which have been identified as “vulnerable spots”, have been provided with the necessary equipment to deal with the situation. 

Ludhiana, September 17
High drama was witnessed as the Punjab Youth Congress chief and Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib courted arrest at the Mini Secretariat here today in the course of massive protest staged by Youth Congress workers against misuse, embezzlement and misdirection of the Central grants by the state government.

Bittu along with Lakhvir Singh Payal and Dimple Rana, presidents of the rural and urban district units of the Youth Congress, led a protest march from Circuit House to the Mini Secretariat where the police had erected barricades to stop them from entering the office complex of the deputy commissioner.

As the slogan-raising Youth Congress activists tried to force their way into the office complex to submit a memorandum to the district administration, the police arrested Bittu and other functionaries, who were bundled into police gypsies and taken to the police division No 5 and let off after a while.

Earlier, addressing the party workers, Bittu lambasted the SAD-BJP government, terming it as thoroughly corrupt, which was surviving on funds provided by the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre under various welfare schemes for the rural and urban poor. Specifically referring to siphoning off Rs 1.66 crore of the Central funds released under the Indira Gandhi Awas Yojna for the rural poor, he alleged that top ranking ruling party politicians and bureaucrats were trying to save the culprits.

Pointing an accusing finger towards the ruling coalition, Bittu further said the funds received from the Centre under NAREGA were also being misused and misdirected at the behest of the senior government functionaries while the police were implicating clerical level employees to let the mini secretariat

big fish off the hook. He dared the government to order a CBI probe to bring out real truth and expose the guilty persons.

In a memorandum submitted to the district officials, the District Youth Congress (Rural) maintained that a few employees were persistently siphoning off funds from the Central welfare grants with complicity of political leadership and bureaucrats. “Even though criminal cases have been registered against some of the accused persons but efforts are on to mislead the investigation and save the real culprits.”

The Youth Congress called for a high-level independent inquiry to expose those behind embezzlement of funds while at the same time putting a foolproof mechanism in place to ensure proper utilisation of the Central grants.

Ludhiana, September 17
After groping in the dark for nearly 10 days, the local police has finally registered a kidnapping case against unidentified persons in connection of the alleged mysterious disappearance of Additional Commissioner (Income Tax) Umesh Chandra.

The PAU SHO said the case had been registered following a complaint lodged by his family members. The SHO, however, admitted that the police failed to find any clue despite massive manhunt launched by it.

Police sources have revealed that Chandra was carrying a purse containing credit and ATM cards on his person when he disappeared.

The police is trying to ascertain whether the Additional Commissioner had used his ATM or credit cards or not.

According to a senior police official, this would provide a major lead to the police in locating the whereabouts of the senior IRS official.

However, the family members of Chandra were tightlipped about the entire issue and refused to share any detail with the media.

Chandra’s family members were trying to downplay the entire issue and were maintaining that he would soon return.

Senior police officials said Umesh had not established any contact with the family so far. His mobile was also not working.

His wife, who is camping in the city following the incident, has reportedly complained about the foul play behind Chandra’s disappearance. It was only after this that a case has been registered.

Chandra, 1989-batch Indian Revenue Service official, is suffering from depression and had even undergone a month-long treatment at the DMCH. He is missing since September 7. He had gone for routine morning walk but did not return to his quarter in Rishi Nagar after that. 

There are many constraints prevailing in Punjab agricultural scenario. The land holdings are shrinking, cost of production is increasing and there are several economic and ecological constraints. This was stated by Dr Manjit Singh Kang, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, while inaugurating a field day on the theme of maximising productivity in paddy through adopting relevant technologies, held at Kala Khera village near Kartarpur (Jalandhar).

He said Punjab produced about 37 million tonnes of crop residue, most of which was burnt by farmers. This practice of burning besides causing environmental pollution, causes pulmonary problems for people, eradication of soil micro-organisms and leads to loss of nutrients.

Dr Kang said burning one tonne of paddy straw leads to a loss of 6 kg nitrogen (N), one kg phosphorus (P) and 11.5 kg potassium (K).

He appreciated the field of paddy grown with the PAU recommendations. Dr Kang said farmers should follow the advice and recommendations of scientists to enhance their production. He said through its kisan melas, the university propagated the message of conserving natural resources and following eco-friendly practices. The programme was organised by Punjab Agricultural University’s department of agronomy, Farm Advisory Service Scheme, Jalandhar and Kapurthala, in collaboration with Syngenta.

Director of extension education, Dr MS Gill, who presided over the event, said PAU undertook a variety of transfer of technology programme to carry forward the field worthy technology to farmers. He said holding of field days provided opportunities to other farmers to learn that adoption of ideal package of technologies produced encouraging results.

Guest of honour RK Jain, vice-president, Syntenta India Limited, updated the farmers about the new products and activities of Syngenta, some of which have already been recommended by the PAU.

Dr US Walia highlighted the importance of controlling weeds and diseases in crops and advised the farmers to use only recommended control measures and to change the chemicals as suggested by experts. The subject matter specialists of PAU, including Dr Chander Mohan, Dr Surjit Singh, Dr Ram Singh and Dr Parminder Singh, provided useful tips to the farmers and responded to their queries.

The training and placement cell of the Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GNIMT), Model Town, organised a computer adaptive test for its MBA final year students. The test was conducted by Aspiring Minds, Gurgaon. A warm welcome was accorded to Abhishek Srivastava, technical support engineer of Aspiring Minds, by Dr Sandhya Mehta, deputy director of the institute.

Ludhiana, September 17
On a call given by the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU), teachers of various private colleges observed a black day by wearing black badges here today.

They were protesting against the state government’s indifferent attitude towards their long-pending demands.

According to teachers, their main demands are release of the revised grant; CAS for DPE’s 
and libraries; exemption of refresher courses up to 2005; payment of revised HRA and medical allowance; early pay 
verification.

They have threatened to intensify their stir if their demands are not met with at the earliest, said PCCTU member VK Bhardwaj.

Ludhiana, September 17
Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) in collaboration with Rubin Institute, the US, will be performing free hip and knee replacement surgeries for poor patients under project “Operation Walk”.

A free orthopaedic check-up camp is also scheduled for September 19 from 10 am to 2 pm for the registration of needy and poor patients.

Giving more details of the project, Dr Mohammed Yamin, professor and head of orthopaedics at DMCH, said “Operation Walk” was a private, non-profit, voluntary medical service organisation that provided free surgical treatment to patients in developing countries, who had disabling arthritis or other debilitating bone and joint conditions, that had little or no access to life-improving care.

“The orthopaedic surgeons at DMCH and team members from Rubin Institute, the US, will be constantly upgrading themselves in advanced surgical techniques, treatments and recovery procedures of hip and knee joint conditions.

Knee and hip replacements are among the most cost-effective medical procedures, which greatly enhance the quality of life of those suffering with arthritic pain and, thus, enabling them to be more active members of their community, added assistant professor of orthopaedics, Dr Pankaj Mahindra.

He said the number of patients suffering from pain due to hip and knee problems was on the rise and 50 per cent of them required hip and knee replacement surgeries.

Ludhiana,September 17
Raising their voice against injustice and exploitation cost dear to 120 casual workers working at Verka milk plant today. All of them lost their jobs after they protested against the authorities outside the milk plant.

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, a distraught Baldev Singh Gill, who had been working at the plant since long, said, “Our only fault was that we had made some legitimate demands.”

Gill added, “The company hires us for six months followed by a year-long break before we are re-employed. We have been facing great financial problems and have failed to find a source of income during the break. Thus, we have on numerous occasions requested the authorities to hire us on contract basis for a year."

Another worker Gaurav Kumar added that after repeated requests failed to bear fruit, we decided to lodge protest today. "As soon as we gathered outside the milk plant, we were informed that we have been relived of our duties. We were not even given any reason for the same," he added.

The workers alleged that besides the demand for employment on contract basis, they had also been requesting the authorities for a wage hike but in vain.

"Our monthly wages as fixed by the government is Rs 5,500. But the management has been giving us Rs 3,000 per month. Every time we have demanded justice and fair payment, we have been humiliated and abused by the officials," lamented Kanwarjit Singh.

“Worst of all is the fact that the regular workers of the milk plant sit idle throughout the day and we are made to slog hard for long hours without any break.And as if adding insult to injury, the other workers and officials abuse us no end and humiliate us in public for no reason," alleged Gurinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh.

The "relieved" workers today held a massive dharna outside the milk plant on the Ferozepur road from morning to 5 pm. They have threatened to intensify the stir if the Verka milk plant management fails to take them back.

While the chairman of the Verka milk plant refused to comment on the issue; the general manager was not available for comments.

Ludhiana, September 17
The monitoring committee today reviewed the work of Doggy Lanes, the private company hired by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation for the sterilization of the stray dogs.

The committee, consisting of Dr Bhardwaj, Dr Vikram, Dr Uppal and Dr Charanjeet from the MC, today took into account the number of dogs sterilized by the company in this period.

“The committee members have counted the organs and done all the other necessary things. Now, the MC will have the record of the exact number of dogs sterilised and we are hopeful that our pending dues will be cleared soon," said Himmat Singh from Doggy Lanes. The MC is yet to pay Rs 5 lakh to the company, he added. Singh said he would meet the MC commissioner tomorrow. “We have spent more than Rs 5 lakh till now on the project. I have to pay salaries to the doctors as well. In addition to this, catching even a single dog is a cumbersome process," he said.

Ludhiana, September 17
The veterinarians, who staged protests during the PAU Kisan Mela on September 14, were booked today following a complaint lodged by Inderjit Singh, the security in charge of the university.

The complainant stated that the veterinarians went on the rampage during a government function and even assaulted an assistant professor of the university. Surinder Singh, SHO, said the veterinarians threw a pot at Jagdish Grover, an associate professor, agricultural science centre, Bathinda, who was sitting on the stage.

Jagdish had reportedly sustained injuries and was rushed to the PAU hospital for treatment.

According to the PAU officials, the veterinary doctors, who work on contract basis, raised slogans against the government for not regularising them.

The police seems reluctant to name any veterinary doctor. It has, however, registered a case under Sections 353, 186, 332, 506, 148 and 149 of the IPC against unidentified veterinarians for hampering the public servant in performing his duty besides assaulting another. The SHO said the matter was being investigated and the culprits would soon be nabbed.

Dr Navdeep Singh Khinda, who led the protesting veterinarians, said, “They are working in the rural areas on meager salaries. Despite their assurances from the government their posts have not been regularized so far.” 

Ludhiana, September 17
The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) today served an ultimatum to the Centre and the state governments to take immediate steps to check price rise.Addressing a state-level rally against inflation at the mini-secretariat here, senior national and state leaders of the BMS ridiculed the union and state governments for threefold hike in salaries and allowances of the elected representatives.

"Will the governments provide similar relief to the government and private sector employees who are bearing the brunt of skyrocketing prices of essential items?” they questioned.

Ram Praksh Mishra, a senior leader of the trade union, in his speech, called for a stringent legislation with a provision of compulsory imprisonment to deal with hoarders, black marketers and corrupt officers. He also wanted the public distribution system to be made transparent along with a regulatory body which ought to go into reasons for rise in prices at regular intervals.

Other speakers, including Kanshi Ram of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh and Kartar Singh Rathor, state organising secretary of the BMS, pleaded for remunerative prices of agricultural produce for farmers, subsidy on seed, fertiliser, electricity and water, revision of minimum wages for unskilled workers, total implementation of recommendations of Fifth Pay Commission and payment of arrears from January 2006 in cash.

The speakers further demanded filling of all vacant posts in different departments, end to privatisation and contractual recruitment, implementation of all labour laws, regularisation of ad hoc and work-charge employees and creation of avenues for providing employment to the educated youth.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 17
In view of the spurt in terrorist activities in the recent years and reported threats to politicians and VIPs, the Chhappar Mela has become a litmus test for the cops. Though it has not made any formal announcement about a vigil at suspected hideouts of those linked with sedition cases, the district police is reported to have stepped up security in the area.

Special teams have been set up to keep a watch on the activities of declared terrorists, their sympathisers and owners of places that had once terrorist hideouts.

The police is also keeping a watch on politicians and others who tried to defend terrorists and their sympathisers during the dark days of militancy in the state.

The cops have intensified surveillance in and around Maherna Kalan, Barundi, Latala, Rachhin, Rangoowal, Kalakh, Dhulkot, Butahri, Narangwal Khurad Rajoana, Halwara, Leelan, Toosse and Sarabha villages, where terrorists had been living or hiding after committing heinous crimes during the 1980s insurgency.

Though some of the suspected terrorists had returned to the mainstream, the cops have no other option but to act on the basis of records maintained at the erstwhile Dehlon and the Sudhar police stations in the area.

The police had also launched a massive manhunt for terrorists who had been identified for engaging in “anti-social activities” during the years of militancy. It had succeeded in arresting a number of terrorists and their sympathisers in the past. Huge quantities of explosives and arms and ammunition were also recovered from their possession during the past years.

The Shingaar cinema blast conspiracy was also reportedly hatched in Ghuman village in the area.

Admitting terrorists owing alliance to the Babbar Khalsa, Khalistan Liberation Force and the Khalistan Liberation Force (Panjwar group) had been active in the area during the years of militancy, district administration officials claimed surveillance had been intensified to ensure security for visitors to the Chhappar Mela fair.

Ludhiana, September 17
Punjab Labour and Employment Minister Tikshan Sood has ordered a high-level probe into the incident that occurred at Lakshmi Energy and Food Limited at Khamano near Ludhiana.

The company, which is listed at NSE and BSE and has a turnover of Rs 700 crore, is in trouble after two persons died and four seriously injured when the roof of a newly built automised paddy steam plant at the mill collapsed on Sunday night.

In a statement issued yesterday, Sood ordered financial assistance to families under various welfare schemes launched by the Labour Welfare Board. Sood said the matter of giving Rs 1 lakh each to the families of the deceased from the Chief Minister’s discretionary quota had also been taken up.

The Chief Minister has constituted a four-member committee headed by additional director of factories Hardial Singh Gill to look into the issue. The other members are deputy director factories, Patiala, Narinder Singh; assistant director factories, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jatinder Singh Bhatti; and labour and welfare officer, Ludhiana, Raj Kumar Garg.

Two workers were killed in the incident. 

Ludhiana, September 17
The police has booked a recovery agent of Kotak Mahindra Bank for duping a customer of Rs 3 lakh and illegally selling his vehicle, and is also probing the involvement of two senior bank employees in the case. The suspect, identified as Maninder Singh, was booked for extortion and fraud under sections 420, 384, 120/B of the IPC.

The complainant, Sukhwinder Singh, stated he got the vehicle financed by the bank at its branch located in the city’s Feroze Gandhi market. He said he got a Mahindra Scorpio financed from Kotak bank in 2007 for Rs 5,79,600 lakh. "I couldn’t pay the installments following which Maninder Singh, the recovery agent, called me up to say the bank would repossess my vehicle. On September 27, 2009, Maninder, accompanied by the bank branch manager, Gaurav Mago, as well as a police official from Ahmedgarh, took me to a police station. My vehicle was confiscated, but later the matter was settled and I agreed to pay Rs 3.75 lakh," said Sukhwinder.

He stated on October 7, 2009 he informed Mago he had arranged Rs 3 lakh and would go to the bank branch to deposit the money. According to him, Mago told him not to visit the bank. Instead the bank manager and the recovery agent went to his home and collected the Rs 3 lakh in cash.

"From then onwards my ordeal began. After three days I went to the bank branch with Rs 75,000 but the bank staff refused to deposit the payment, saying they had received instructions to this effect as well as to close the case from the bank’s head office. I lost my money as well as the vehicle," rued Sukhwinder.

He said after a period of time he came to know the Maninder along with two bank employees had “settled the matter” with the bank branch by depositing Rs 3 lakh. The trio later obtained a “no objection certificate” and sold the vehicle illegally, he added.

Sukhwinder said he then filed a writ petition in the Punjab & Haryana High Court, which directed the city police to register a case without any delay.

Maninder was booked following the opinion of district attorney (legal) Aswani Bedi. The bank employees are currently on the run.

Ludhiana, September 17
Judicial Magistrate Yukti Goyal has convicted Rakesh Kumar, owner of M/s Anmol Fabrics, Chawni Mohalla. He has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment.The court has also ordered him to pay Rs 5,000 as fine. The orders were pronounced while deciding on a complaint filed by Om Parkash Dua of Karim Pura Bazar.

The complainant had submitted in court that he was a wholesale cloth merchant. The accused had purchased suiting fabrics worth Rs 60,299 from him in 2007 and made part payment after some time.

He had issued three cheques to clear payment, but when the complainant deposited the cheques to the bank, those were dishonoured for want of sufficient funds in the account of the accused.

A legal notice was sent to the accused on February 4, 2008, but he failed to make the payment, added the complainant. The accused pleaded innocence, but after appreciating the evidence on record, the court found the accused guilty.