Nawanshahr, December 17
In one-of-its-kind case here, the bureaucracy seems to have negated the initiatives of the Deputy Chief Minister by denying justice to the common man.Justice was denied to a physically handicapped woman by Nahar Singh, executive officer of the local Municipal Council, who defied the orders of Deputy Commissioner Shruti Singh (issued while disposing of a complaint at the Sangat Darshan programme). Interestingly, a notice in this regard had also been issued by the executive officer himself.

Harcharanpreet Kaur, a resident of Mohalla Lakhdata Peer, told mediapersons here on Thursday that about two months ago some mohalla residents erected a wall in front of the main gate of her house, obstructing her entry into the house.

Since then, she had been running from pillar to post to get the unauthorised wall demolished, but to no avail.

“About two months ago, I approached the Municipal Council, but MC officials asked me to file a complaint with the police. The police again sent me back to the MC,” said the woman.

When she asked the MC officials to make things clear about the ownership of the street where the unauthorised wall had been constructed, the executive officer (in his letter dated October 13) admitted that the street belonged to the MC and he had even issued a notice on October 20 to mohalla residents, Sushil, alias Gaganpreet, Pardeep Kumar and others to demolish the wall.

But no action had been taken to ensure the implementation of the notice issued.

Hence, the victim filed a complaint to the Additional Deputy Commissioner on November 30 at the Sangat Darshan programme.

Again a complaint was filed with the Deputy Commissioner at the Sangat Darshan programme on December 15. Though the DC had asked MC officials to remove the obstruction from the street, till now the MC officials have been adopting a dilly-dallying approach on the issue, for reasons best known to them.

Executive officer Nahar Singh and municipal engineer Sat Pal Sharma could not be contacted despite repeated efforts.

Jalandhar, December 17
To mark the beginning of Christmas celebrations, the Diocese of Jalandhar will organise a rally in the city on December 18.Making an announcement in this regard at a press conference yesterday, Bishop Anil Couto said Christians associated with all groups would participate in the rally which would start around noon from Company Bagh. The participants on motorcycles and trolleys would sing carols for four hours as they would pass through Mai Hiran Gate, Patel Chowk, Jyoti Chowk and back.

He added that a crib decoration competition would be held that day and the trolleys depicting the birth of the Christ in the most beautiful manner would win an award.

He said the Christian groups at Sultanpur, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Ferozepore and Ludhiana would hold rallies at the same time and same day in their respective districts.

He said the various participating groups would include followers of Roman Catholic Church, the Church of North India, Salvation Army, Seventh Day Adventists, the Pastor Associations at Adampur and Nakodar, Punjab Christian Movement and the Christian Front Punjab.

Jalandhar, December 17
Residents of Sultanpur Lodhi are a harassed lot on account of the alleged black marketing of domestic LPG refills by the lone gas agency in the town.Refills meant for consumers are also being diverted to nearby small towns and villages of Kapurthala and Jalandhar.

The agency owners have arbitrarily created distribution sub-centres at Nall Manak, Gidderpindi, Phul and Turna villages, all in Jalandhar district.

Supply is also being diverted to villages like Pajian and Thatta which fall in Kapurthala.

Similarly, such centres are being illegally operated at Talwandi Chaudrian and Lohian, they revealed.

The extent of the problem can be gauged from the fact that long queues are seen outside the godown of the agency every night. Hundreds of people come with beddings and warm clothes to brave the chill and spend the night in the open.

On an average, only 200-250 persons get their refills while others return empty-handed to try their luck the next night.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, consumers said they had been at the receiving end for the past over two months. “We queue up at about 10 pm and get the cylinders after 10 am the next morning. Poor people like us cannot pay the market rate of Rs 650-700 per cylinder. The actual rate is Rs 363,” they pointed out.

They lamented that new customers, too, are being fleeced by the agency by being charged Rs 4,500-4,600 per connection, while the official rate is only Rs 1,250, they added.

Residents are of the view that one or more new gas agencies could go a long way in solving their problem.