Hoshiarpur, March 16
Leaders of municipal employees, who are on strike in Punjab since March 7, warned the state government to accept their demands failing which they would halt the water supply and choke the sewerage in urban areas in the state.

Their demands included regularisation of services of all those safai karamcharis who are working under mohalla committees, make fresh recruitment to fill up all the vacant posts in municipal corporations and councils.

Meanwhile, the sanitary conditions in the city deteriorated further due to the ongoing strike of the municipal employees. Heaps of dirt and garbage lie scattered in the bazaars and lanes, causing a stink and posing serious threat to the public health. Almost all the drains are chocked and overflowing.

Amarjit Singh Amar, president, Nagar Vikas Manch, condemned the government for its silence over this serious issue. He said it should either accept the demands of the striking employees or should make alternative arrangements to remove the dirt and garbage from the city for maintaining cleanliness.

Supporting the demands of the striking employees, President City Congress Committee Rajnish Tandon urged Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia to immediately negotiate with the leaders of employees to end their strike.

Nakodar: The Safai Karamchari Sangathan of the Nakodar Municipal Council organised a dharna at Ambedkar Chowk here today. They raised anti-government slogans for not regularising temporary employees. Due to absence of the SDM, they submitted a memorandum of demands to the tehsildar.

Phagwara: Ongoing strike of the municipal employees and safai karamcharis, belonging to the Nagar Council Sanitation Committee Safai Karamchari Union, entered in tenth day today. Dharnas and demonstrations were organised in Phagwara, Goraya and Phillaur in protest against the indifferent attitude of the state government. Meanwhile, besides the Congress, the BSP leaders supported the demands of striking employees.

Batala: Municipal employees staged a dharna in support for their demands in Batala.

Nakodar, March 16
Residents of Lasoori village in Shahkot gheraoed Powercom employees, who had come to cut connections of defaulters, today. The incident happened in the afternoon when Additional SDO Harbhajan Singh along with his team started cutting the meter connections of people, who did not pay electricity bills.

Villagers, especially women started gathering in large numbers and lodged their protest against Powercom employees.

Gurmit Singh, SDO, Shahkot alleged that when he arrived at the spot, group of women threatened the team of dire consequences and even warned to put their vehicle on fire.

“Till the police arrived, we took shelter in the house of sarpanch for four hours,” he said.

He said the authorities had been cutting connections of only those defaulters whose dues were more that Rs 10,000.

“We even asked the defaulters to pay one third of their dues but they were not in a mood of compromise, rather forced us to reconnect their meter connection,” he said adding that they had informed their seniors about the situation.

Gurabax Kaur, representative of Pendu Mazdoor Union, who along with hundreds of women sat on a dharna in front of the house where Powercom team took shelter.

They raised anti-government slogans and demanded free power supply for the poor.

Onkar Singh Brar, SHO, Shahkot and Manjit Singh, SHO, Lohian, along with women police force, pacified the agitators. Powercom employees could out of the house at 6.30 pm. 

Jalandhar, March 16
The crackdown of the Employment Provident Fund Organisation (EFPO), which arrested defaulting entrepreneur, has come as a bolt from the blue for the entire business community of the Doaba region.

Giving a stern warning to such firms and entrepreneurs of the region against non- deposit of employees provident fund (EPF), the divisional office of the EPFO here today arrested an owner of a security agency firm, who had not deposited employees’ provident funds since 2001, and sent him to jail.

By using the powers vested to him under Section II of the Income Tax Act, the Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, EPFO, sent the accused Jatinder Singh Saini, owner of National Securities and Allied Services, to jail for non-payment of his dues of Rs 11.37 lakh.

The action of the EPFO has came as a bombshell for private firms and entrepreneurs of the Doaba region, where sending defaulters behind bars has so far been unheard of despite the unabated dodging by the EPF evaders.

The prevalence of illegal practice can well be gauged from the fact that despite gross violation of laid-down norms in this regard, only four arrests, including today’s one, have been made since 2000 when the Jalandhar division was separated from Amritsar, confirmed the sources. Moreover, all these arrests have been made only during the six-month tenure of the present commissioner.

Vishvajit Sagar, Commissioner, EFPO, Jalandhar Division, said the dues amounting Rs 6.37 lakh in the year 2001-02 were pending against Saini, who was an employer of 100-150 security personnel.

However, he never bothered to deposit the employees’ provident fund, including penalty amount of Rs 5.9 lakh, for the last over 10 years, since the organisation sent him a recovery notice first time in 2001, added Sagar. 

Hoshiarpur, March 16
The death of a youth in an accident last night sparked a protest at Tuto Majara village here today. Villagers staged a dharna and blocked vehicular traffic for more than one-and-a-half-hour on the Hoshiarpur-Chandigarh road demanding compensation for the deceased’s family.

According to police sources, a bus hit Karan Kumar near Tuto Majara village last night leaving him seriously injured. He succumbed to his injuries in a private hospital at Nawanshahr.

Inhabitants of the village, led by deceased Karan Kumar’s father Prem Lal, placed the bier, on which the body of Karan Kumar was being taken to the village cremation ground, on the road and demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the deceased’s family.

Later, Garhshankar SDM Jaspal Singh Jassi intervened and announced a compensation of Rs 25,000 to the bereaved family. Only then, the agitators lifted the dharna. Meanwhile, the police booked bus driver Naresh Kumar of Bham under Sections 279 and 304A of the IPC. — OC