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Filthy Budha Nullah appals PPCB chairman
Ludhiana, June 25 “This is my first visit to the nullah and I am shocked to see that it was once a stream of clear water. Even the MC is throwing sewage into it. It is disturbing to see the nullah being polluted by residents of the city. It is sad,” said Pannu, who visited the nullah along with senior officials of the PPCB, MC and other departments today. “I feel that not only the MC, but even other government departments have failed to check the pollution of the nullah. We will be holding review meetings every month and want people to stop polluting the nullah,” he said. He stated that by November, the nullah will wear a much cleaner look. “As Budha Nullah is contributing notoriously to the pollution of the Sutlej, we will be increasing the capacity of the treatment plants from the existing 155 MLD (million litres of water a day) to 466 MLD. For this purpose, we have fixed a time limit of November 30,” he said. Before visiting the nullah, Pannu also visited the sewerage treatment plant at Bhattian village. He said he would be holding meetings with members from the electroplating, dying and other industries. In the past also, the industries, which are largely responsible for polluting the nullah, have been told to check the disposal of untreated water into it. Though some of them got water treatment plants installed on their premises, the others are still dumping effluents into the nullah. “Such people should understand that when this water gets mixed with the Sutlej, it pollutes the river as well. The same water is consumed in some parts of the state as well as in Rajasthan. By drinking such water, people fall sick. People who dispose untreated water into the nullah should understand that it’s a crime against humanity,” said Pannu. He said the state government was spending Rs 1,500 crore for cleaning the Sutlej. “I am of the opinion that our rivers should have clean water and I hope when the water reaches the Harike headworks, it remains clean,” he said.
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Inner areas sitting on a powder keg
Ludhiana, June 25 As per the data of the fire department, every year more than 1,000 incidents of fire are reported in the city, out of which more than 70 per cent take place in summer. More than 80 per cent of the fire incidents are reported in the inner areas due to the presence of poor quality of high-tension wires. The demand for power increases in these areas in summer and the heavy load usually causes a short-circuit, leading to fire. To make matters worse, the fire brigade is ill-equipped to deal with such fires. The fire brigade of the city has 62 officers against the sanctioned strength of 134. More than 72 posts are lying vacant. Also, it does not have the required number of fire engines to carry water for extinguishing a fire. The MC has 33 fire-fighting vehicles at present, out of which five have been abandoned. The remaining are being used by the fire brigade department. However, the MC has only 13 drivers for 28 vehicles. So, at any given point, only 13 fire engines can be put to use. Narrow lanes in the inner areas restrict the movement of fire engines, further aggravating the problem. The claims made by the state government of providing Rs 6 crore for improving the infrastructure of the fire brigade has proved to be a mere lip service as even after the passing of over a year, the funds are still awaited. In 2009, local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia had announced a sum of Rs 6 crore for upgrading the infrastructure of the fire brigade. He had said small fire engines would be given to the MC for inner areas along with a hydraulic ladder. But these have remained as mere announcements. As a result, residents of inner areas have to live under constant fear of
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Fighting a battle without ammo: SAD councillor
Ludhiana, June 25 “What are we going to do with machines alone? It’s like fighting a battle without ammunition,” quipped Akali councillor Simarjit Singh Bains. The Municipal authorities are claiming that medicines have been stocked in stores located in all four zones of the city. According to councillors, if anyone of them wants to use the machine they will have to send someone to these stores to get the medicine and diesel filled in machines. Jagbir Singh Sokhi, a councillor, says, “The entire process is time consuming. Hand-held fogging machines are lying in our houses, while medicines, diesel are in municipal corporation’s stores. If one wants to use the machine in a specific area, we will have to send our staff to get the medicine, diesel filled from the storehouse. What if the staff deputed in the store is not present there? After all we are answerable to people and the municipal corporation should hand over the medicine stocks to us. This will make things easier for the municipal corporation as well as for us.” Congress councillor Gurpreet Gogi says that leave aside medicines, “The Municipal Corporation has
not even demonstrated how to use these machines. We have been asked to supervise fogging operation in our areas and if we don’t know how to operate these, it may not solve the real purpose. Besides, the municipal corporation shall also give us the medicines, which we can use as per our convenience and for the benefit of people residing in areas falling under our jurisdiction.” The municipal corporation had purchased at least 75 hand-held fogging machines of German make at a cost of Rs 50 lakh. Once full, this machine can run for 30 to 40 minutes in one go. A mixture of 5 liters diesel and 25 ml medicine, which could be either melathene or king fog is required to run this machine. Municipal Corporation’s Health Officer Charanjit Uppal says that the medicines have been kept zone wise because these are new and not many people know how to operate them. “If any councillor wants medicines, we will hand over the stocks to them as well,” he said. On being asked why the councillors were not given demo of these machines, he said, “The staff, which will be operating these machines has already been trained for this purpose.” |
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Reliving the horror of Emergency
Ludhiana, June 25 Saying that the country was rocked by massive anti-corruption and anti-black money protests, a cross section of city residents, they fear it may not assume the same form. “The government is panicky as it was then,” said Dr Ravindra Vatsayan, who was a college student then. “The intensity of that summer is matched only by the political heat generated with the historic judgment of the Allahabad High Court. Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha held late Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, guilty of misconduct during her election campaign at Rae Bareilly,” he said. The veteran freedom fighter, Jayaprakash Narayan, had been spearheading his movement for a revolution. It got a fillip by the judgement and emboldened by it, he called upon the police and other law and order agencies to defy orders. That resulted in the Emergency, he recalled. Dr DV Jindal, a former Professor of SCD Government College for Boys, said: “It is a similar situation. We are disappointed that even after so many years, we are standing at the same point,” he said. Ramesh Sharma, vice-president of Yog Vidhan Sewa Samiti, who was jailed during the Emergency, said instead of improving, “we seem to be going backwards. We are consumed by inflation and corruption. Where are we headed?” he asked. While the entire country is in favour of a nation free from corruption, Dr Vatsayan says: “I do not want democracy to be murdered yet again. We wish Anna Hazare is able to put an end to all this once and for all.” |
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No ordinary junk, this!
Ludhiana, June 25 The first auction was conducted last year and Rs 4.32 lakh was generated after selling motorcycles and junk cars. The police generated Rs 14.93 lakh in the second auction conducted earlier this month. Around 1,100 vehicles that were gathering dust at various police stations of the city will be disposed of in phases, said the police. Sources said the police decided to sell 954 vehicles after their owners failed to show up at the police stations despite repeated reminders. As many as 125 unclaimed vehicles were auctioned after nearly 25 years. The initiative, said to be the brainchild of the Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh, was aimed at de-congesting police stations which have turned into a virtual graveyard of unclaimed vehicles over the years. Sources said the drive was initiated after residents brought the matter to the notice of Ishwar Singh and said the vehicles were serving as a breeding ground for
mosquitoes. The health department had also expressed concern and wrote to the police department, stating that rainwater had accumulated in these vehicles and could lead to the breeding of dengue mosquitoes. Following the complaints, Ishwar Singh ordered the police to prepare a list of vehicles that had been clogging police stations across the city for the past two decades. The auction was conducted after obtaining clearance from the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) and other competent authorities, including the Illaqa Magistrate. Officials said the revenue generated from the public auction had gone to the state treasury and could later be used to spruce up police stations or to meet other financial liabilities within the department. |
Administration sleeps as residents cry for amenities
Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 25 Unable to answer questions on overflowing sewage, inadequate water supply and unavailability of space for dumping garbage, a majority of councillors have urged Iqbal Singh Jhoondan, MLA from Dhuri and in-charge for Amargarh assembly segment, to impress upon the officials concerned to ensure the provision of basic amenities in their localities. Acknowledging the apathy, Jhoondan said he had advised the authorities concerned to ensure provision of basic amenities irrespective of political allegiance of the councillors of various wards. Investigations revealed that residents of various localities of the town had started complaining against the alleged unconcern of officials of the civic body towards their demands. Overflowing sewage, inadequate water supply and unavailability of space for dumping garbage were the major problems that put most councillors in a tight spot. Since the time of their election, councillors have been receiving complaints about inadequate water supply, choked sewage connections and garbage dumped in streets. The problem compounded during rainy season. Though residents had been facing these problems for years, they could not digest the laxity anymore as local leaders had garnered support for their respective candidates by promising them respite after the elections. Residents also adopted innovative methods to draw the attention of the authorities towards their demands. To protest against alleged unhygienic conditions, activists of some organisations had mockingly put up a board on the potholed Jagera road, calling it the border of ‘California’. Activists of People’s Party of Punjab led by Ramesh Kaushal and Karam Chand Sharma apprehended that water-borne diseases might assume epidemic proportions if remedial action was not taken soon. According to Bimal Sharma Billu, councillor from ward No. 11, inadequate water supply had emerged as a major problem in localities on the outskirts of the town. In some areas, pressure of the water was so low that consumers had to use pumps to fill their buckets. Contrary to the claims made by council authorities, disposal system was also inefficient. As there were no water recharge pits in a majority of private and public establishments, the volume of disposed water swelled on numerous occasions. With fields surrounding the outlet of the disposal channel remaining flooded with rainwater, farmers resisted working of disposal pumps for a longer time. The trend had aggravated the problem. Despite restoration of work by the council scavengers, heaps of garbage could be seen in the streets. Apprehending aggravation due to inefficient solid waste management, councillor Ravinder Puri maintained that the council had already exhausted carrying capacity of the garbage dump.
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Cut motor vehicle tax, say small bus operators
Jaswinder Singh Grewal, general secretary of the Small Scale District Bus Operators’ Association, said, “The state government charges Rs 2.25 per liter as motor vehicle tax from small buses. However, from AC buses, it is only 50 paise per kilometer. The government should reduce this tax to Rs 1 per liter otherwise it would be an uphill task for us to make both ends meet. Each small bus has to travel about 350 kilometers daily and this way we have to pay Rs 800 per bus as the motor vehicle tax per day.” Grewal further said the sky rocketing diesel prices had started affecting our business. He said, “The excise duty on diesel in Punjab is 95 paise per liter more as compared to neighbouring states. This affects the sale of diesel in Punjab as vehicles owners who have to travel to other states prefer to get the diesel filled from neighbouring states due to cheaper rates.” While Amarjeet Singh, patron of the association, said, “The sale tax on diesel should be reduced to compensate the increased diesel prices.” There are a total of 2,800 small buses operating in the state. Grewal said, “If the taxes were not reduced, it would be difficult to run this business. We cannot afford to increase bus fare as it is already too much.”
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Bank staff to strike work on July 7
Ludhiana, June 25 This decision was taken in a meeting of the association held here yesterday. Later, the Punjab Bank Employees’ Federation held a demonstration in front of Punjab National Bank in Industrial Area.
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Retail chemist shops to remain open, call off holidays
Ludhiana, June 25 Saravpreet Singh Mangat, an NRI, said, “I have to board flight tomorrow, but I am facing difficulty in collecting medicines which I require. Shops of wholesale chemists shops remained closed yesterday and today. Now, I will have to buy rest of the medicines from Delhi.” RK Sharma, a resident of Jalandhar, who came to the city for getting himself or herself treated, said, “I come for monthly check-up and take medicines along with me. But this time I couldn’t get the required stock, so I will have to come again.” The wholesale chemists have decided to close their shops from June 22 to June 26. Aman Ahuja, district president, Retail Chemists’ Association, Ludhiana, said, “We were planning to go on vacations. But now we have cancelled our vacations as the wholesale chemists are also on vacations. We are here to serve the suffering humanity.”
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Desilting:MC chief inspects Budha Nullah
Ludhiana, June 25 Municipal Commissioner AK Sinha took stock of the ongoing desilting operation and directed the civic body’s health wing to clean the nullah at three strategic places (Pavittar Nagar, Haibowal and Chand cinema) where there is a huge concentration of population. He also asked the B&R wing of the civic body to expedite the construction of bridges so that these do not obstruct the smooth flow of water.
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PAU don gives tips on planting orchards
Ludhiana, June 25 Advising farmers to utilise beneficial tips for successful horticultural operations, the expert said it was the most suitable time for transplanting of papaya seedlings in the fields. The vacant land may be put under kharif pulses like moong, mash, moth or jantar, etc, for green manuring. To improve fruit size and increase yield in kinnow mandarin, give foliar sprays of potassium nitrate @ 1.0 per cent, said Dr Aulakh, while cautioning that pear fruit should be carefully picked so that the spurs are not damaged or broken. The fully developed hard ripe mangoes should be picked for artificial ripening and full grown ber plants should be given 500-gram urea tree during this month. The second coat of white wash should be given to check the adverse effect of heat on the exposed tree trunk. For the control of mealy bugs in citrus and grapes, monitor regularly the infestation of tress by observing underside of leaves, young shoots, fruits and branches, suggested the expert to the farmers. Asking the farming community to maintain the orchards neat and clean and to not allow the branches of the trees to touch the ground, Dr Aulakh advised them to prune or remove the infested branches and destroy the same.
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MCom prospectus available from tomorrow
Ludhiana, June 25 The programme with the aim to produce quality human resources in the field of management sciences, the curriculum is prepared in consultation with industry people and management experts, said Jasbir Kaur Makkar, principal of SCD Government College. She told Panjab University, Chandigarh, has prescribed four parameters under which the students have to get their knowledge testified for getting admission. These parameters are general knowledge, business aptitude test, quantitative aptitude test and test of reasoning. Dr RK Miglani, head department of commerce, told the University Grants Commission has provided ample funds for the running of this course, which include creation of state-of-the-art infrastructure with modern teaching aids and hiring of expert faculty as resource persons to give exposure to the students to update their technical and managerial knowledge.
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Residents irked over rise in prices
Phillaur, June 25 Several political and social leaders, including former minister Madan Mohan Mittal, Shiv Sena leader Pawan Parbhakar and BJP leaders Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal and Tejaswi Bhardwaj, today lashed out at the Centre for unwanted and steep hike in the prices of diesel by Rs 3 per liter, kerosene oil by Rs 2 per liter and domestic LPG by Rs 50 per cylinder and demanded an immediate and complete withdrawal of this hike. They described this hike as absolutely “unrealistic and arbitrary”. Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party leader Jarnail Nangal has announced to organise a demonstration on June 28 against this unwanted hike.
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‘Roll it back’
‘Tough to earn livelihood’
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Fake currency racket busted, two in police custody
Ludhiana, June 25 According to Dharampal, in charge CIA-I, the accused, identified as Jatinder Kumar and Suresh Kumar, alias Goggi, were nabbed following a tip-off from Aarti Cinema Chowk last night. Dharampal said the accused were planning to sell fake currency in Ghumar Mandi area. During investigation, it was found out that the motorcycle, on which the accused were carrying fake currency, bore a fake number. The accused were produced before court and further sent on police remand.
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Hoax caller traced, identified
Jagraon, June 25 Sources in the police department claimed that the police has traced the caller, who had on Thursday made the hoax call to the local police control room about the bus falling into the canal near Akhara village on the Raikot road, about 5 kilometers away from here. The caller belongs to a village near Gurusar Sudhar. But, the person had called from Canada where he is presently residing. An unidentified person had on Thursday morning called at the local police control room to inform that a bus full of passengers has fallen into the Abohar branch canal near Akhara village on the Raikot Road. Following this, a huge posse of police personnel along with a few senior police officials and health department team reached the spot. Though the search operation went on for hours together, but the police could not locate anything. During preliminary investigation the police found that the hoax call was made from Canada. The police is now planning to register a case against him. “The person wanted to divert the attention of the police from a function to be held the same day at his own house where some other persons, who were allegedly cheated by him (the caller), were planning to hold a demonstration. As he wanted to suppress the matter, he planned of making the hoax call to distract the police from the event. A cheating case is already pending against him in the court,” said a senior police official. SSP Ludhiana (rural) police Gursharan Singh Sandhu said SP (D) Paramjit Singh Goraya was investigating the case. We would trace the caller and try to find out the reason behind the call. — OC
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Gold bangles snatched from elderly woman
Jagraon, June 25 Jaswant Kaur (65), a resident of Agwar Ladhai, was waiting for a bus for attending a bhog at Dholan village, about 7 kilometers from here, when two women came and sat alongside her. After sometime they offered to give her a lift in their Jeep. Jaswant Kaur readily accepted their offer and sat in the jeep. After travelling a few kilometers, the con women asked her to get down, as they had to return to Jagraon for some important work. Jaswant Kaur was unaware of the fact that the con women had already removed her gold bangles. She came to know about the incident after returning home in the evening. Meanwhile, Jinder Kaur, a resident of Kothe Sher Jung village, who was waiting for a three-wheeler to visit Nanaksar, was taken aback when a van stopped near her and two women alighted from it. She refused, but they kept on insisting. They fled towards Moga as soon as she raised an alarm. Cases have been registered and manhunt launched to nab the accused.
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Two held in dowry case
Jagraon, June 25 As per information given by investigating officer, Sub-Inspector Gorakh Nath, the police has booked three persons on the complaint of Rupinder Kaur of Bassian village. She alleged that she got married to Sultan Singh of Hehar village near Jagraon. But soon after the marriage, her in-laws started harassing her and insisted on bringing dowry. A case has been registered against her husband Sultan Singh, father-in-law Sukhwinder Singh and mother-in-law Mahinder Kaur under Sections 498 A, 506, 406 and 120B of the IPC. The police has arrested Sultan Singh and Sukhwinder Singh, while Mahinder Kaur is absconding.
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2 killed, three injured in road mishap
Samrala, June 25 When the car reached near Shamashpur village, car driver lost control over the car as it was raining and had a head-on collision with a tempo. As a result, three occupants of the car and two occupants of the tempo were seriously injured, while tempo driver managed to flee from the spot. The driver of the car, Paramjit Singh (28), a resident of Ludhiana, and tempo cleaner Ram Kumar died on the way to the Civil Hospital, Samrala. Three persons, identified as Bhagwant Singh, Parminder Singh and Ajit Singh, who were seriously injured were referred to Ludhiana after first aid from the Civil Hospital. The police has registered a case in this regard and is investigating the matter.
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Thief nabbed, escapes
Jagraon, June 25 According to sources, villagers caught a thief, identified as Harbhajan Singh, red-handed at Harcharan Kaur’s house in Leelan Megh Singh village on the Sidhwan Belt road yesterday. The thief was later handed over to the police, who took the thief in its custody and took him to the Jagraon Sadar police station. But bringing huge embarrassment to the police, the thief succeeded to flee from the police station. Interestingly, the matter of thief fleeing from the police station came to light when Harcharan, along with some villagers came to the police station to acknowledge the status of the case, but they were shocked to learn that he had fled from the police station. Meanwhile, SSP Gursharan Singh Sandhu said he had marked an inquiry into the incident to DSP Jagraon, Joginder Singh. He further added that strict action would be taken against negligent police official.
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Ludhiana, June 25
The government is projecting itself as common man’s enemy by increasing LPG prices after every two or three months. It is getting difficult for us to manage houses as entire kitchen budget has gone haywire. Even a clarion call from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s wife on this issue remained
unheard.
It’s difficult for those living below the poverty line and middle class families to cope with hike in the prices of essential commodities. The government should give LPG on subsidised rates to the BPL families and to those who cannot afford to pay this
much.
Housewives are already working under so much pressure. The government by hiking LPG rates has proved that it is not bothered about us. Assembly elections are nearing and I think the state government should protest against the
hike.
It is 22 years now that I have been driving auto. At that time, the price of diesel used to be Rs 7 per liter and now it is Rs 41 per liter. It has become difficult for me to earn my livelihood. I am coming from Clock Tower and did not get any passenger. Who will cover up this loss? And now when the diesel prices have gone up, we will ask our association to increase auto fare
too.
We supply milk on four-wheeler and usually do it in two rounds. But from today, we have decided to distribute milk only in one round, as the diesel prices have
increased.
I have come here to get diesel for generator set of the cinema. Due to power cuts, the requirement of diesel has increased along with increased prices. But today, my owner has to shell some extra money for diesel.