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Flesh trade racket busted
Ludhiana, June 26 Two members of the hotel staff, including a woman manager, were also nabbed following the raid. The incident took place at around 4 pm when the police cordoned the hotel after a tip-off. People thought some criminal was taking shelter in the hotel and started running for cover when they saw the police in action. The police later informed the people that a raid was being conducted to nab those involved in a flesh trade racket allegedly being run in the hotel. The youths, who were identified as Sunil Kumar and Parminder Singh, were caught red-handed by the plice. “We raided the place after we received specific information and caught the couples in a compromising position. The hotel has violated various rules laid down by the state government. “It was full of filth. Every room was stinking. There was no room service and no food was being offered on the hotel premises. Customers were being charged between Rs 600 and Rs 1,000 depending on their profile. The register being maintained by the hotel employees was full of fictitious names,” the Station House Officer stated. Besides recovering huge quantities of condoms, the police has also seized liquor and beer bottles from the premises of the hotel. Sources said the hotel’s manager used to strike a deal with customers who were brought in by Tinku, an alleged pimp. The two girls who were caught today were reportedly working for the woman manager of the hotel. The raid created panic in the Bhadaur House area, which remains crowded on Sunday. Appreciating the effort of the police, a bystander said: “This menace has been going on for quite sometime. It has become difficult for us to move in this area at night as it has become a hub of anti-social elements. “People drink in the open and no one stops them. The stringent action by the police will generate a sense of fear among hotels and mischievous elements.” More action may follow
The police is scanning the mobile details of the accused and probing how many people were involved in the racket. The police is also trying to find out if various MMS circulating in the market were shot in any of the local hotels. |
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After just 2 days of rain, streets begin caving in
Ludhiana, June 26 A few days back a large stretch of a street near Hotel Maharaja Regency caved in and was later repaired by the municipal corporation staff that filled the affected part with sand. However the street again caved in at the same location on Saturday, forming a crater into which a tree fell. This was reportedly one of the biggest road cave-ins in the city in recent times. On September 2, 2006 a large stretch of a street near BCM School in Shastri Nagar suddenly caved in following incessant rain and leaking sewage, injuring a motorist.
The frequent cave-ins clearly reflects the apathetic attitude of civic officials who appear to be paying less heed on the quality of construction materials used for these roads. However, MC Commissioner AK Sinha had a different take. “I’ve found 90 percent of incidents of streets caving occurred only in those city areas where sewage lines were recently laid. It's a technical problem as after laying a sewage pipe we have to wait for at least a year before beginning construction of a road over it. We’re sure from next year there won’t be any Ludhiana Improvement Trust trustee Gurinderpal Singh Pappu, who lives in the Randhir Singh Nagar locality, stated part of the street going from opposite the Lodhi Club to Rajguru Nagar caved in on Sunday. "This road was constructed around six months ago and the incident reflects on the poor quality of construction," he added. The MC had recently laid a sewage line in this area. Recent incidents
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Monsoon catches up with MC projects
Manholes still not covered
Ludhiana, June 26 A lot of construction activity is going on in various parts of the city. The MC is laying sewerage in different parts and most of the work is incomplete. Residents fear that with the rains here, they will be facing difficulties due to open manholes, dug up roads and related things. Sewerage lines are being laid under the Rs 241 crore project received under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
(JNNURM). The MC is also undertaking some projects on its own. Residents of Jassian Road, Chander Nagar, Sargodha Colony, G block of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Zeenat Nagar, Ishar Nagar and other areas are facing a difficult time as roads have been dug up in these areas for laying sewers and slush is everywhere. MC Commissioner AK Sinha claimed that the development projects were going on at a normal pace. “We are doing a good job, but in some areas, the projects might get delayed due to the rains. It is not easy for anyone to work in rainy season, but whenever there is no rain, we continue with our work. People should understand that the ongoing projects are ultimately going to help them,” he said.
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Four hurt as autorickshaw overturns
Ludhiana, June 26 The incident took place here this morning when the auto-rickshaw was heading towards Jalandhar bypass. In the meantime, a motorcyclist came in front of the auto-rickshaw from a street near Chand Cinema. In order to avert the collision, the auto- rickshaw driver took a swift turn. However, the vehicle overturned due to rain. The injured were identified as Shiv Sagar, Ram Naresh and Ram Saraye who were rushed to BL Kapur Memorial Hospital. The auto-rickshaw driver was taken to the Civil Hospital for treatment. He could not be identified. No case was registered till the filing of this report.
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Snag in engine delays Shatabdi by over 2 hrs
Ludhiana, June 26 According to railway officials, the train arrived on time from
Amritsar, but just as it was preparing to leave after a halt of five minutes, the electric engine developed a snag. The technical staff from the electric shed rushed to the platform to rectify the fault. However, the engine could not be fixed and finding a replacement and disengaging the defective one to make way for the operational engine took considerable time. Passengers kept making enquiries and officials manning the enquiry counter had a tough time tackling them. Charging the operational staff with apathy and indifference, many passengers with time-bound appointments were forced to take connecting trains or flights, RK
Goel, a city-based businessman said. Even railway officials aboard the train were not aware of the reason for the delay or the time that was needed to replace the engine. Talking to The Tribune on telephone while midway on his train journey for Delhi, from where he had to take a flight to Bangalore to attend a business meeting, he said a two-hour delay for a train like Shatabdi was not an insignificant issue. The railways should make amends and also take remedial steps against such recurrence, he added. |
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Father-son duo held for selling habit-forming drugs
Ludhiana, June 26 The accused, identified as Mohan Singh and Prem Chand, who were running the racket from a tea stall on the Pindi Street, were nabbed following a tip-off here this morning. The duo did not hold any license or degree to sell the drugs and had selected customers. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Yurinder Singh said: “We are at the preliminary stage of investigation. We do not know for how long they were doing this trade and from where they procured the psychotropic drugs.” The DCP hinted that more skeletons would tumble out of the closet during the course of investigation. “It is really astonishing how they managed to procure a huge chunk of banned drugs. But the officers have done a commendable job and nabbed the accused in time and seized the drugs,” said the DCP.
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City’s very own ‘Madame Tussauds’ a big draw
Ludhiana, June 26 For 75-year-old Chander Shekhar Parbhakar, a local businessman and amateur wax sculptor, the museum is like a dream come true. Over 50 wax statues of several world renowned personalities he has sculpted are displayed there. Talking to The Tribune Parbhakar said: “It takes more than three months to prepare a statue and costs Rs 60,000 to 70,000 each. I started sculpting wax statues after visiting the world famous Madame Tussauds in London. And now I’m very happy I was able to set up India's biggest wax museum here. There are only three other wax museums in the country - in Calcutta, Bombay and Cape Comorin, but each of them has less than 15 wax statues. However this museum has 50 and I’ll keep adding more to it”. Earlier this wax museum was set up at Hardy's World in Laddowal near the city. Asked why it was moved from there, he replied: People visiting Hardy's World didn’t take the museum seriously as they went there only for rides. I had the museum shifted here, adjoining the tiger safari, so that visitors could also drop in at this museum. Moreover this place is very quiet, which is a requirement for this art." The museum has wax statues of several prominent personalities including singer Lata Mangeshkar, late singer Ishmeet Singh Sodhi, wrestler Dalip Singh Rana <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Khali> (‘Khali’), Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, former president APJ Abdul Kalam, Mother Teresa, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, late PM Rajiv Gandhi, Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, Punjabi film comedian Mehar Mittal, ‘Dr Asthana’ - a character from Hindi film ‘Munna Bhai MBBS', former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, late PM Jawahar Lal Nehru and late political leader BR Ambedkar. “I’ll depute some staff at the museum and it’ll remain open all the year round. The winter timings are 9 am to 6 pm with extended timings in summer. I’ve fixed a nominal amount for a single ticket - Rs 30, but after some time I intend increase the price a little as I’ll have to pay the staff I hire”, said Parbhakar. Interestingly this artist has no formal training in making wax sculptures of people considers himself gifted with an inborn talent. Unkept Promise “When I maid a wax statue of Ishmeet Singh, a budding singer who had drowned, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had assured me some land for the museum. But nothing came out of it. A few years ago, I suffered from a heart attack and had to suffer losses in one of my factories. I sold a factory and built this museum on my own. I also want to make a horror house for children along with 3-D cartoons.” |
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High-end hotels usually left out
Ludhiana, June 26 While high-end hotels are given “green signal”, it seems that only the low-budget hotels have been on the radar of the police. Sources said the high-end hotels enjoy political connections and often exert pressure on the police to avoid any action. “We take the complete profile of people checking in our hotel. Two or three rooms in a hotel are usually reserved for such purposes. These rooms have no service and are meant for the sole purpose of flesh trade,” said a hotel manager of a high-end hotel on the condition of anonymity. An owner of a low-budget hotel alleged that the flesh trade business was going on even in big hotels. “The only thing is that the owner of the high-end hotels use their influence to evade any action by the police. There is no way for the police to keep a check on such hotels,” he said.
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Lightening damages electrical appliances
Amloh, June, 26 Baljinder Singh (50), along with his two daughters Gurbinder Pal Kaur and Jagdish Kaur and son Harpal Singh, was sleeping in a room on the ground floor of his double-storey house when a lightening struck the building and damaged a fridge, a TV set and other electrical goods. However, no injury was caused to the family members. The electrical goods of their two neighbours were also damaged. The affected persons have urged the government to compensate for the loss.
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Murder suspect alleges third degree torture
Ludhiana, June 26 The man, identified as Changa Singh, has alleged that the police barged in his house and thrashed him badly. In the process, his leg was fractured. He claimed that he had earned the “ire” of the police when he refused to pay bribe. Changa Singh is recuperating at the Ludhiana Civil Hospital. However, Station House Officer Balwinder Singh slammed the allegations as baseless. He claimed that the police had visited the house of Changa Singh to take him for investigation in connection with a blind murder case that had taken place a few days ago.
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Hike condemned
The Kirti Kisan Sabha, along with 16 other bodies of farmers and farm workers, has condemned the hike in prices of diesel, LPG and kerosene. In a joint meeting here, functionaries of the participating bodies said the increase in prices of these items would hit the farmers and the common people very hard. The hike in diesel prices would have a cascading effect on overall price line of essential commodities as the cost of transport would also go up. The Centre ought to reconsider the issue and rollback the prices, members of the sabha said. Langar for pilgrims
The Baba Amarnath Langar Committee has made elaborate arrangements of a “bhandara” for all pilgrims of Sri Amarnath Yatra from all over the country passing thorough the city. Provisions were made for breakfast, lunch, dinner, medical camp and restrooms for the pilgrims, for 36 days from June 26 to August 1, said a functionary of the committee. BSNL offer
The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has made arrangements to provide full coverage to the pilgrims on Sri Amarnath Yatra even at the height of 14,500 feet. According to the general manager, telecom, 10 new towers were put up to provide full connectivity on both the routes via Pehalgam, Chandanwari and Baltal. The pilgrims have been asked to have BSNL postpaid mobile connections as prepaid mobile network would be available only up to Jammu. Pilgrim could either convert their prepaid connections to postpaid or avail the special “yatri” prepaid SIM cards available at Jammu (on production of identity proof only) for Rs 200 with a talk time of Rs 150 and validity of 45 days. — OC Professor awarded
Himalayan Society for the Promotion of Commerce and Management Activities, Himachal Pradesh, has awarded Dr Ashwani Bhalla, associate professor in commerce at SCD Government College, Ludhiana, with “Management Excellence Award-2011” in the recently concluded UGC sponsored national conference held at Rajkiya Kanya Mahavidyalaya (RKMV), Shimla. Dr Bhalla has been honoured with this award for his outstanding contribution in the field of innovations in the designing of courses of postgraduate and undergraduate courses. His pioneering interventions in the field of faculty improvement and development programmes, introduction of innovative academic courses in the emerging areas and involvement in the organisation of several national and international conferences were also commendable. His contribution to upgrade the skills of socially underprivileged youth of Punjab through his involvement in the capability enhancement programmes was also lauded. — TNS
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Rally against drug addiction
Ludhiana, June 26 NCC Administrative Officer Capt Krishna Dubey informed that the rally was organised with an object of spreading awareness on factors like hazards of drugs on human body. “The rally has been taken out to educate people about the ill effects of drugs. It aimed at engaging cadets of various institutions like Khalsa College for Women, Ramgarhia Girls College, Government College for Women and Guru Nanak Girls College,” said Dubey. A total of 150 cadets from the above mentioned colleges took part in this awareness rally.
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Reporters’ Diary The condition of the damaged and potholed main roads, feeder network of roads and streets in the industrial capital of the state, has to be seen to be believed. A brief spell of pre-monsoon showers, and then the coming of the monsoon ahead of schedule, has thoroughly exposed the tall claims of the Municipal Corporation (MC) and the senior functionaries of the government who have been making tall claims of making the mega city nothing less than “California”. Chiding the officials concerned and the government functionaries, the exasperated city residents said waterlogged roads, mud and slush accumulated on the roads and streets was a common sight after rain. City residents were forced to wade through knee-deep water even after light showers in most localities of the city. “Forget California, at least make the city look like Ludhiana,” a resident made this remark while passing through a stretch of a road from Kailash Chowk to Domoria Bridge where mud, pebbles and slush had accumulated soonafter after overnight rain. Festive rain
The rainy season has set in and Ludhianvis are busy organising and enjoying rain dance parties, in contrast to some people who are trying hard to save their houses from rain. These people love to “celebrate” this season on the same scale as festivals like Diwali, Holi and Baisakhi. Youngsters take part enthusiastically in special dress codes and enjoy splashing water at each other. Calling names
Who says that calling names is only done among the student community? Few days back I had gone to meet a friend at his office who is a government official. One of his colleagues had also come to meet him. Both of them were discussing some issue, when one of them started talking about some Khoonkhar Singh. “Khoonkhar Singh?” I questioned them with great surprise as I have never heard of any government official of this name working in the city. “Later, I came to know that this Khoonkhar Singh was their senior official, who was in a habit of pressurising his juniors unnecessarily. That is why, we named him Khoonkhar Singh,” my friend joked. Communicating with stickers
Stickers can be of great help as far as communication is concerned. An auto-rickshaw was sporting a sticker of a Punjabi flexing his mustache with a message, “Lagda hai pher aana pau” (It seems as I will have to come again). While another auto-rickshaw at a traffic jam was carrying the same sticker with a message, “Pare hatt mitran di mucch da sawaal hai” (Get aside, it is the matter of prestige). These stickers not only entertain people, but
also keep commuters waiting for signal on traffic lights amused. Shutter buggers
When the police officials conducted a raid on the premises of a hotel in Bhadaur House area on Sunday evening in connection with a flesh tarde racket being run from there, it turned out to be a main attraction for everyone present on the spot. People were seen eagerly waiting for the police to bring out the girls who had been detained. When the news report of this raid broke out in the area, a large number of people rushed to the spot just to have a glimpse of the girls who had been nabbed by the police. Some of the residents even clicked their pictures with their mobile phones. “I have come here just to take a look at the girls who were caught from the hotel for indulging in flesh trade,” said an onlooker. Contributed by: Kuldip Bhatia, Puneet Pal Singh Gill and Anupam Bhagria
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3.65 lakh get polio drops
Ludhiana, June 26 Dr KS Saini, district immunisation officer, said, “Polio drops will be administered door to door in all areas of the district.”
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Youth exhorted to shun drugs
Ludhiana, June 25 Addressing the gathering, Dr Sooch said that the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking was observed all across the world on June 26. He asked all the patients and their attendants at the Civil Hospital to refrain from the use of drugs. Dr Karamveer Goel, medical specialist, also informed the patients about the ill-effects of drug abuse and urged the youth, which was susceptible to peer pressure and likely target, to shun drugs. The drug de-addiction centre at Dr DN Kotnis Health and Education Centre also observed this day by holding a seminar. On this occasion, the Health and Family Welfare Minister, Satpal Gosain, was the chief guest. Satpal Gosain appreciated the efforts of the centre in spreading awareness about the menace of drugs.
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Cops get cubicle to keep cool head
Ludhiana, June 26 This cubicle was rusting away ever since it was constructed in 2008. A proposal to construct such cubicles at all major intersections of the city was floated three years ago. According to a senior police official, the room was nicknamed a “gas chamber” and was constructed to save traffic police personnel from pollution emitted by vehicles. The police department is also planning to install a cooler and an oxygen cylinder in the room for cops to breadth fresh air. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Sajjan Singh Cheema said: “The structure has been given a new look with special emphasis on traffic management.” However, the fate of cops deputed at some of the worst bottleneck of the city like the Bharat Nagar Chowk, Bhai Bala Chowk, Jagraon Bridge, Bus Stand and the Samrala Chowk still remains the same. Traffic police personnel manning these intersections are forced to work under hot and humid condition without any adequate shelters. Most of the cops are left with no choice other than standing within iron booths placed in the middle of the intersections, which become hot
during summer. To keep these booths cool, fans and even coolers are run with the help of “kundi” connections. Lower-rung cops have often complained that their health is deteriorating due to the lackadaisical attitude of the traffic police department. Instated of operating from the booths, most of cops prefer to manage traffic from under the shady trees located close to these chowks. Standing under a shady tree to escape sizzling sun, a traffic constable stated, “We are still better off than our ASI. They have to stand inside the extremely hot iron box the entire day in order to keep a check on reckless drivers.” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) said similar cubicles would be constructed at other roundabouts to improve the efficiency of cops.
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Railways to improve amenities, hygiene
Ludhiana, June 26 After inspecting the reservation complex, current booking counters, waiting area and other facilities at the railway station, he said the waiting rooms would be renovated and additional waiting area and seating capacity created at the railway station to cope with increased passenger traffic. “We also plan to construct more retiring rooms at the Ludhiana Railway Station”, he added. He was taken aback by the insanitary conditions prevailing at the railway station and directed officials concerned to take immediate remedial measures in this regard. He also asked the officials to streamline the working of railway reservation and current booking counters in the wake of increasing number of complaints of overcharging and presence of touts. Vendors selling eatables urged him to allow them to use LPG cylinders at their respective stalls so as to offer freshly prepared snacks and eatables to the passengers. A delegation of the Northern Railway men Union also met Singh to apprise him with their demands and the problems being faced by the public at the railway station.
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Nursing profession no more lucrative
Ludhiana, June 26 Recently a group of 17 students of the College of Nursing of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital conducted a research on “perception towards nursing profession and perceived future job perspective among outgoing nursing students of selected nursing colleges of Punjab.” Their research was based on a survey conducted on 530 outgoing GNM, B.Sc, PB BSc Nursing students of seven different colleges of Punjab. They found that more than 66 per cent students were planning to go abroad. Most of outgoing student believed that nursing profession do not provide any opportunity to get better marriage offers. Perception of about 55 per cent Pb B SC and 55% GNM was favorable in this regard. About 65 per cent PB BSC nurses planned to join teaching profession as compared to 52 per cent and 29 per cent B Sc and GNM. Male students were significantly more interested in bedside nursing as compared to females. A number of factor determine this negative attitude, including low reputation of profession in society, no definite job description for nurses, no criteria for various administrative jobs, no use of higher degrees for higher posts, dominance of doctors elsewhere in all job settings, no autonomy to the profession and above all low salaries. Anurag Bhai Patidar, a lecturer of Nursing at DMCH said, “The implication of this research are: Attitude training for B.SC and Pb B SC Nursing students to improve their perception of nursing profession. Need to motivate B.SC students to choose bedside nursing. Make bedside nursing attractive job by improving work conditions including pay structure and other privileges. There is a dire need to provide better jobs opportunities in India to reduce migration of nurses to foreign land in future. Lakhs spent, earning below
Rs 50,000
If a student wants pursue different nursing and diploma courses he or she will have to shell out anything between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 4 lakh. Private colleges charge Rs 75,000 for pursuing 18 months auxiliary nursing midwifery course. Rs 2 lakh is charged for pursuing three-and-a-half year diploma in general nursing midwifery and for four-year B.SC nursing course Rs 3.25 lakh is needed. For studying B.SC bridge course after diploma Rs 1.75 lakh is required. However, the amount spent on these diploma and degree courses is less in government nursing colleges located at Amritsar, Patiala and Faridkot.
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Proclaimed offender jumps into canal, held
Jagraon, June 26 This incident took place near Akhara village yesterday afternoon. The police was tipped off about the arrival of a proclaimed offender to Gurdwara Charan Ghat near Jagraon for paying obeisance. CIA staff of Jagraon laid a trap to nab the accused. On seeing the police personnel, the accused suddenly jumped into the Abohar branch canal near in a bid to escape arrest. At this, the two cops-head constable Pritam Singh and ASI Jaspal Chopra-also jumped into the canal and managed to nab the accused. Balwinder Singh, the accused, is a resident of Jagraon. He is wanted in a gambling case registered against him in 2007. He was declared proclaimed offender by a local court in October 2010.
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Workshop at orphanage
Ludhiana, June 26 A week-long worshop comprising paper bag making, art and crafts, personality development and a magic show was organised at the institute.
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8 yrs on, regular water supply still a pipe dream
Ludhiana, June 26 According to department sources, the civic body has been able to cover only 85 per cent of the city so far. Municipal Corporation authorities have been citing the frequent use of Tullu pumps by residents as reason for the scarcity of water in the city. The Municipal Corporation has installed over 450 deep-bore tube wells and about 200 shallow tube wells in the city to ensure regular supply of water. But every year several areas of the city face water crisis due to low pressure. The sources revealed that the water augmentation scheme announced in 2002 by the then Chief Minister was just a political gimmick as no funds were released by the state government. Even in the few areas where the Municipal Corporation has laid pipes, residents are not getting water. Councillors have raised the matter a number of times, but nothing has come out of it. Power cuts in summer further add to the miseries of residents as tube wells can’t be operated and water supply is affected.
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‘Operation walk’ brings a smile to many
Surinder Kaur said: “Prior to surgery I wanted to die, but now I want to live for my family and society. I have been experiencing joint pains for the past six years. I started taking painkillers as well as some medicines from quacks. This totally damages my hipbones and I became bed ridden. I have two sons. One is doing engineering and other one is still in a school. My husband, Kuldeep Singh, don’t have any permanent job. He had spent a lot of money on my treatment.” She thanked the doctors and warned people against getting themselves treated from quacks. Rajinder Kaur (53), a resident of Dugri, who got her knee replaced in January, said, “ Now I can walk without pain. I had lost hope but thanks to doctors I can now go to a gurdwara, market or even morning walks.” Amritpal Singh (56), a businessman who lives in Mohar Singh Nagar, also got his knees replaced here. He, however, added, “Sometimes I experience pain.” At least 59 patients had got their knees and hipbones replaced under “Operation Walk” in January. Out of these 47 patients were treated free of cost by Dr Paul Khanuja, Director, Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopaedics, USA. Dr Paul was today satisfied with the overall health of the patients as none of them had developed any complications and were relieved of significant pain and deformity.
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Summer hockey camp
ends
Ludhiana, June 26 The participants were made aware of basic hockey rules, training, speed, and endurance besides match practices. Trainees were also told about the latest trends introduced by hockey federation while playing on astro turf, importance of physical fitness, proper rest, diet and conditioning. On the concluding day, district hockey association secretary S Ajay Pal Singh Punia, who is also president of the PAU Sports Club, was the chief guest. The title of disciplined player was awarded to Sumit Nagi of Class X and Avtar Singh of Class XI got award for senior dedicated player. 
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At many places, manholes have been constructed, but the Municipal Corporation has not covered them. In the past, many lives have been lost after people fell into such “death traps”. MC Commissioner AK Sinha said he would soon get the manholes covered.
Ludhiana, June 26