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Quirky MC using debris to fill
up road cave-in crater!
Ludhiana, August 25 MC officials claimed that they were filling up the crater with sandy soil. But when they were told that the area is filled with debris, they said they would look into the matter. After incessant rain in the city on August 12 and August 13, several road cave-in incidents had occurred in the city, with the worst one being a crater which was formed after a road caved in near Kaka Marriage Palace at Gobind Nagar. Sonu, a truck driver, died when the truck fell in the crater. His helper had sustained injuries. After this incident, the Chief Vigilance Officer and his team had visited the site to find out why the road had caved in. The police department had registered an FIR against the MC and the Public Works Department for causing death due to negligence. Now, the MC has started filling up the crater, but instead of using sandy soil, it is using debris. Kirpal Singh Aujla, an area resident, said the MC was indulging in wrong practices. If the crater was filled with debris, it would leave ample space between the material. “The road may cave-in again. The best way is to fill it up by using sandy soil, but it seems the MC is ignoring all norms and using debris instead. The debris will not settle down and will affect the quality of the road,” he said. BB Goel, executive engineer, Municipal Corporation, said they were using sandy soil. But when told that debris was being used, he said: “Then I will have to check it.” The best way to fill such road cave-in sites was to fill them up with sandy soil, he admitted.
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Cops going easy on drunk driving
Ludhiana, August 25 Surprised by the small number of ‘challans’ (fines) handed out for drunk driving, Kamal Anand, a Right to Information Act “activist”, said: "Only 194 ‘challans’ have been issued for this offence during the past two years and that too in a city whose residents are notorious for drinking in their vehicles. This leaves little doubt that the local traffic cops are lenient on drunk driving”. In the period between April 2009 to March 2011 only 369 people were fined for smoking while driving. Surprisingly the traffic cops did not issue fines for vehicles without headlights and wrong overtaking, which are major factors behind the rising number of road accidents. What is more, only 16 people were fined during these two years for having red beacons atop their vehicles. And, if that was not enough, only 376 people were issued fines for underage driving. During this period the traffic police issued the most number of fines - 24,000 - for jumping a red light, followed by 65,958 for riding a motorcycle or scooter without a helmet and 45,161 for not possessing a valid driver’s license. Seeking details under the RTI Act has not been easy for Anand. "Getting information was a tedious task. I was not given information in stipulated 30 days following which took up the matter to Information Commissioner. It was after the Information Commissioner took cognizance of the issue that I was handed over the report," he said. Meanwhile, the traffic cops cracked the whip on city residents for haphazard parking. In the period April 2009 to March 2010 only 4,608 vehicles were fined for wrong parking with the figure rising to 22,203 from April 2010 to March 2011.
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Jan Aushadhi store stays shut, patients feel the pinch
Ludhiana, August 25 Shiv Ram Saroy, a member of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti and founder chairman of the Ann Jal Sewa, an NGO, said: "At night not only patients but also doctors face a lot of problems due to the Jan Aushadhi store remaining closed. Although there are a few chemists near the Civil Hospital these are closed at night and one has to go to the Christian Medical College & Hospital, BL Kapoor Memorial Hospital or Dayanand Medical College & Hospital to purchase urgently required medicines. We often have to get youngsters to rush to drugstores located far away at night." According to sources, for opening a chemist shop in a hospital one requires medicines for at least a hundred types of diseases. However, the Jan Aushadhi store had only 32 types of drugs before it was closed. An employee of the store said: "We are supposed to keep all sales records in our computer. As many
medicines are not yet available so the time when we open it for some work, we do not sell medicines as computers are also not functional." Meanwhile, Dr Subhash Batta, the hospital’s senior medical officer, said: "Actually the problem lies at the stockists’ end as there are no stocks of some medicines. We are searching for empanelled chemists included in the government's purchase policy as they can provide us drugs at cheaper rates”. However, he said he did not have any idea when the Jan Aushadhi store would be reopened. Medicines still out of stock The drugs that are still awaited at the Jan Aushadhi drugstore include Combiflam, Amoxicillin, medicines required for patients of ailments ranging from skin allergies, infections, diabetes and orthopaedic and heart ailments.
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UID process begins at five post offices
Ludhiana, August 25 The project was inaugurated by the Senior Superintendent of Post Office, RL Meena. Sandeep Kumar Shorey, inspector at the post office, said the work would be started by next week at the remaining post offices, including those at Clock Tower, Miller Ganj and Model Town. “Residents have already started thronging the head office at Bharat Nagar. UIDs are already being made in Punjab by the Food and Supplies Department. The Central Government has also asked post offices and several banks to do the needful to speed up the process,” he said. The UIDIA has tied up with the India Post for making “Aadhar” cards and several sub-agencies have been hired to complete the task. “The main server will be with the UIDAI. All agencies will compile the data and send it to the UIDAI for the issuance of cards,” he said. The District Food and Supplies Controller, Rajat Oberoi, said the state government had nothing to do with the UIDs made by the post offices. “The UIDAI is the nodal agency, which will get all the details from the country at its main server. The state government will also send its data to the UIDAI,” he said. |
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NRI robbed of cash, jewellery on train
Ludhiana, August 25 "I was scheduled to catch a flight to Canada tonight, but thieves slipped away with my purse. I had kept gold ornaments, cash, my passport and a return ticket in it. I have lost everything,” said Tripta. After she came to know about the theft, Tirpta informed her relatives in Jalandhar and asked them to come to the city. She reported the matter to the police. Meanwhile, the GRP has registered a theft case against unidentified persons and started investigation. |
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250 kg of banned polybags seized
Ludhiana, August 25 During the raids, which were conducted in the Field Ganj area, PPCB officials recovered banned polythene bags from four traders and a shopkeeper. Polythene bags were banned in the state from May 1 under the Punjab Plastic Bags (Manufacture, Usage and Disposal) Control Act prohibiting the manufacture, disposal and usage of polythene bags from virgin plastic of thickness not less than 40 microns. PPCB executive engineer Rajiv Sharma said that raids were conducted on the premises of four traders, including Raj Lifafa Store, PS Traders, Prince Lifafa Store and Ram Nath and Sons. “Banned polythene bags were recovered from Lovely Bakery in the Field Ganj area. We were shocked to see that 1.5 quintals of polythene bags were recovered from Raj Lifafa Store alone,” said Sharma. The polythene bags recovered from these stores were sealed and sent to the PPCB office in Patiala. PPCB officials said now they would initiate action against the erring traders.
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Gold rush halts, prices down by
Rs 2,600
Ludhiana, August 25 Simultaneously, economists feel that the rocketing prices are bound to come down President of the Ludhiana Jewellers’ Association Anand Sekri said he had never witnessed such downfall in gold prices. "This is for the first time that prices have come down by Rs 2,600 in just 24 hours. Twenty four carat gold was sold at Rs 28,600 per 10 grams, on August 23 and today one can buy it for Rs 26,000 per 10 grams. Such crash has come as a shock for all jewellers, buyers and even bookies. We are not clear whether the market will be up or down tomorrow. There is uncertainty in the market,"said Sekri. General secretary of the association Manoj Dhanda said the prices had come down due to increased margins in commodity trading. "The buyers hardly turned up for gold-buying today as the downfall in prices has come as a shock. We cannot say anything whether these are going to increase or decrease in the next 24
hours,"Ludhiana Stock Exchange chairman Padam Prakash Kansal said the way the rates had increased, have decreased the same way. He said the commodity market is purely based on institutions, speculations, and manipulations. With an increase in the margins in commodity trading, the purchasing power of buyers has decreased, resulting in the reduced prices of gold to such low in just 24 hours M S Sidhu, an economist said things that rise very fast, fall very quickly. He said the prices of had increased more than expectations, so these were to come down once, which is natural.
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College authorities issue 15 driver’s licences
Ludhiana, August 25 Now, principals of colleges can issue licences to students. District Transport Office provided a software to colleges. Baljinder Singh, principal, ITI College, said, “ Earlier, students used to spend a lot of time by standing outside the windows of District Transport Office for getting a licence. But now they will not have to line up at the DTO”s office. It is indeed a time saving project.” Information related to posters and sign boards will be provided by the transport department. Explaining about the project, Ashwani Kumar Sharma, District Transport Officer, Ludhiana said, “In the first phase, the department chose 12 government colleges to issue licenses. In the second phase, private colleges will be roped in.” It was learnt that more than 50 per cent students wanted that licences be issued by college principals.
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Celebrating festivals their own way
Ludhiana, August 25 “As we meet on the fourth Thursday every month, we celebrate all festivals,” said Shammi Bindra, director of the club. The women don't miss their monthly meetings to catch up with one another, celebrate together and of course participate in lucky draws. Rajni Bector, an entrepreneur, said she was once a part of the club. For some, it’s time to enlarge their "circle". For Neera Gupta, former president of the club, it’s an opportunity to catch up friends. She is the Group Manager for Tupperware and believes club meetings are important not only for recreation, but also for making new friends. For Inderjeet and Kiniya, it was an "exhibition" of household products that made their day.
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Dharna by health workers continues
Ludhiana, August 25 Today we held a meeting with Health and Family Welfare Minister Satpal Gosain in Chandigarh to discuss our demands. But he has sought 15 days to fulfil our demands. So we have decided to continue our agitation against the health department." She said, "Contractual employees from different districts will also stage a dharna and we will support them. But now we have postponed our state-level protest of September 4, which was schedueld to take place at Bharat Nagar Chowk."
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Burns unit to be functional by Nov
Luhdiana, August 25 Some labourers of the contractor also left the work as they claimed they saw ghostly figures near the construction site. Sub-divisional officer Gurpinder Singh, under whose guidance the building is being constructed, said: “The work has picked up pace now and we hope to make this unit functional by November." The burn unit will have 30 beds. The Civil Hospital has already received 33 beds out of which 15 will be provided to the gynaecology ward and remaining to the burn unit. For the time being, patients with burn injuries are being treated in other wards. Dr Subhash Batta, senior medical officer, Civil Hospital, said: “I hope it would be functional by November."
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Infighting within SAD comes to the fore
Ludhiana, August 25 Both Bains and Gabria are political opponents and have been opposing each other in public for long. Simarjit Singh Bains, whose elder brother Balwinder Singh Bains is contesting on a SAD (B) ticket from the Ludhiana South constituency, alleged that Gabria was supporting independent candidate Surinder Singh Ryait, a businessman from the Ramgarhia community, who is also contesting from the same constituency. On the other hand, Gabria as well as Ryait have refuted these allegations. Simarjit Singh Bains alleged that now everyone in the city knew that Gabria was behind Ryait filing his candidature for the SGPC elections. “Even his personal assistant and close aide Sohan Singh Goga was present in the function, which was organised to honour Ryait in Ram Nagar area of the city on August 21. Several other Gabria aides have been supporting Ryait for the SGPC elections and this clearly shows that he was working against the party,” alleged Bains. Gabria refuted the allegations and said, “Though Goga was present in the function, where Ryait was honoured, he had nothing to do with that particular function. I have spoken to Goga and have restricted him from indulging in any such thing. But the thing is that Ryait as well as Goga are both Ramgarhias and they have their own family connections. I want to ensure that I am with the party and if Bains says anything against me, I am not going to respond to it,” he stated. “Ryait is an independent candidate. He has even organised meetings against me. So how can I support him? It was Bains, who had fielded candidates against the party candidates during the Ludhiana municipal corporation elections. Even now he is supporting some candidates who are contesting against our party,” claimed Hira Singh Gabria.
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Stress on clarity of concepts for teaching
Ludhiana, August 25 Teachers emphasised on involving students at every step while teaching. Need to incorporate new methods, including multimedia, was also highlighted. Mohua Khosla, one of the spokespersons who spoke on teaching of mathematics, said it was important to give examples while teaching the subject. Clarity of concepts and basics is the premise of teaching any subject. The students should be allowed to use their own reasoning for solving problems and to develop analytical skills. Nerotma Sharma, another speaker, said to teach language perfect pronunciation and grammar were essential. Inductive methods of teaching are important, she added.
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Fight against corruption intensifies
Ludhiana, August 25 Anna Hazare has become a brand name. Businessmen are cashing on his popularity. More over religious shrines are also attracting devotees by organising ‘havans’.
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City schools stand out
Ludhiana, August 25 Students from 150 schools affiliated to the CBSE from Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir participated in the exhibition. The exhibits were evaluated by a team of experienced judges from Punjab Agricultural University. Chief guest RJ Khanderao, regional officer, CBSE, Panchkula, gave away merit certificates to students. This exhibition is organised every year at eight regional levels. This year it was organised at twelve venues all over India. The best 15 exhibits from each venue will be displayed in the national-level CBSE science exhibition in Delhi in October. The best 15 exhibits selected for the national-level exhibition: Theme (Green energy): Delhi Public School, Amritsar; Carmel Convent School, Chandigarh; and Springdale Public School, Sherpur, Ludhiana. Theme (Community health and environment): Army Public School, Beas, Kapurthala; Green Land Senior Secondary Public School, Jalandhar. Theme (bio-diversity-conservation and sustenance): Army Public School, Janglot, J&K; General Gurnam Singh Public School, Sangrur. Theme (agriculture and technology): Manav Mangal Smart School, Mohali; S Teja Singh Kandhari Senior Secondary Public School, Patiala. Theme (transport and communication): Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Sector 26, Chandigarh; Police DAV Public School, Jalandhar; DAV Public School, Hamirpur, HP; Green Land Convent School, Dugri. Theme (mathematical modelling): KVM Public School, Ludhiana; Swami Sant Dass Public School, Jalandhar.
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Neha crowned Miss Teej
Ludhiana, August 20 Chief guest Dr TL Joshi appreciated the efforts of staff and students and congratulated one and all. Swings were the main attraction. Pannu, in charge of women section, proposed the vote of thanks. She congratulated the winners. Neha Kundra of BCom-III was adjudged Miss Teej. Dance, rangoli making mark celebrations KHANNA: Teej was celebrated at AS College for Women here. Khanna SDM Inderjeet Kaur Kang was the chief guest. Students presented various items like lok geet, dance, rangoli and giddha. Shagun Sharma was crowned Miss Teej, while Prabhjot was declared first runner-up and Anurag second runner-up. In bangles wearing contest, Nisha stood first, while in fancy-dress competition, Harpreet bagged the first position. College principal Dr Meenu Sharma proposed the vote of thanks.
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Memorandum submitted
Ludhiana, August 25 Supporting Anna Hazare's campaign, they demanded that corruption be curbed.
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Station superintendent honoured
Ludhiana, August 25 Among 22 recipients of the railway safety award in the division, Sharma is the only station superintendent chosen for the coveted award, which was presented to him by senior divisional safety officer RV Singh.
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New rly foot overbridge by year-end
Ludhiana, August 25 The Northern Railway Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of Ferozepur division, MM Singh, said work on the new foot overbridge at the railway station was being accorded top priority. Estimated to cost Rs 2 crore, the overbridge will be 20 feet wide against the 8-ft width of the existing bridge. He said pillars and some other components of the foot overbridge, fabricated at the railway workshop in Jalandhar, had already arrived and the foundations had been constructed. The work was expected to commence in a few days. Singh, who was in the city for the meeting of the divisional railway users’ advisory committee hosted by the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings, said the staff situation was being reviewed to deploy sufficient number of employees both at the reservation centre and the current booking counters. “A proposal has been mooted to set up a reservation counter at the booking office on the Civil Lines side for the convenience of the public. We are also on the lookout for some more suitable off-location sites for railway reservation in different parts of the city,” he said. Some industry-specific issues like introduction of more trains on trunk routes to cope with heavy traffic and making provisions for additional wagons for speedy clearance of parcels, were discussed at the advisory committee meeting.
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Most brick-kiln owners snub plea to plant trees
Ludhiana, August 25 PPCB chairman KS Pannu told the Ludhiana Tribune the brick kiln owners were urged to plant three rows of saplings in the factory premises. “Some of them who said there wasn’t enough space to plant three rows were told to plant two rows. However, they were instructed to plant at least one row of saplings at every brick kiln”, he added. "The brick kiln owners have been asked to plant the tree saplings during the season, that is, till September 30. We’re getting feedback from several districts and brick kilns have begun following our instructions. After the due date we’ll take suitable action against defaulters", said Pannu. However, Sarabjit Singh Dhillon, general secretary of the Brick Kilns Association, said most brick kiln owners appeared dismissive about the PPCB’s directive. "Barring a few none of the kiln owners have begun planting tree saplings at the premises. The step taken by the board is welcome as it’ll improve the city’s environment and we must all realize our duty to work towards this. Air pollution levels in city are already alarming and need to be curbed", said Dhillon. “There were about 270 brick kilns in the city. And each sapling costs about Rs 10. It’s not that the kiln owners don’t want to implement the PPCB’s directive but they have adopted a carefree approach on it. However, a few owners have begun planting tree saplings at their factory premises”, he added. |
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Number of bogies in Jan Shatabdi to be doubled: DRM
Ludhiana, August 25 In an interaction with members of the industry at a meeting convened by the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) here today, he said the construction of the remaining portion of motorable railway overbridge between Old City and Civil Lines would commence latest by year-end. Among other railway infrastructure development projects for the city in the pipeline were an the ROB from Veer Palace on the Chandigarh Road to the GT Road (awaiting recommendation and financial share from Punjab government) and the widening of level crossing on the Ludhiana-Dhuri railway line. In a detailed memorandum submitted to the DRM, CICU general secretary Avtar Singh demanded an end to “harassment” to the trade and industry under the garb of checking of entire lot of goods by various departments, including the sale tax, custom, the central excise and the railway police. These departments ought to be asked to carry out random checking at the railway parcel booking office, if required. Similarly, search and inspection of personal baggage in long distance trains should also be curtailed, the memorandum stated. Raising the issue of delay in the clearance of outward bound parcels, the CICU said the goods, especially hosiery and knitwear, booked for long destination stations were left in the open for a number of days causing damage due to inclement weather. Calling for providing additional wagons for speedy clearance of parcels, the industry asked that parcels and packages be handled carefully to avoid damage and should also be sent to destinations in a time bound manner. Among other demands listed in the memorandum included providing special compartment for senior citizens in all trains, starting a train between Ludhiana and Ajmer with convenient timing for the pilgrims or extension of train - already running from Amritsar to Jaipur, further to Ajmer, upgradation of Ludhiana railway station on the pattern of Jaipur and Gwalior, introduction of pre-paid auto-rickshaws and taxis and renovation of foot overbridge stairs on all platforms. |
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VC inspects parking sites on PAU campus
Ludhiana, August 25 Dr Dhillon found that two-wheelers and four-wheelers were parked unevenly outside College of Agriculture and Students’ Home near Thapar Hall outside the communication department. A security guard said, “Students and visitors park their vehicles on narrow roads, which causes inconvenience to others.” Sugandha, a student, said at times students parked their motorbikes in the middle of roads. “It is good that the VC inspected the parking sites. Today we were asked to park our two-wheelers at parking lots,” she said. |
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Steel manufactures oppose excise dept demand notices
Khanna, August 25 Almost all notices have been issued on the objection raised by the audit wing of the Central Excise Department. Recently, demand notices were issued demanding excise duty on the cash discount given by the assessees to their raw material suppliers on early payment while the industrialist says the demand of the excise duty has no concern with the cash discount given on early payment. Show-cause notices are issued to rolling mills on the basis of audit objections also that these units have shown wastage of steel more than 2 per cent while the department has not mentioned any criteria fixing two per cent wastage. The industrialist says that the technical committee of iron and steel formed by the Central Steel Ministry has already declared that the wastage in iron and steel industries can be more than 10 per cent. Recently, five big steel manufacturers have formed a common front “Confederation of Indian Steel Producers Association (CISPA)” in which representatives of the All India Steel Re-Rollers Association (AISRA), the Steel Re-Rolling Mills Association (SRMA), the All India Induction Furnace Association, the Cold Steel Manufacturers Association and the Iron and Steel Scrap and Ship Breakers Association have been taken in executives. A delegation of CISPA under the chairmanship of AISRA president Vinod Vashisht met the chairman of the CBEC and submitted a memorandum stating that the audit officials were adopting a pick-and-choose policy. |
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2 held with poppy husk
Jagraon, August 25 It has recovered 76 bags of poppy husk and 4.8 kg of opium from a canter and a Swift Dezire car. Both the vehicles have been impounded. The market value of the seized drug is said to be around Rs 1 crore. The police said both the accused were partners and were staying at Akalgarh Colony of Sanaur in Patiala district. One of the accused Dharamjit Singh was wanted in several cases. In February, 2009, Dharamjit had escaped from police custody in Ludhiana during a hearing. He was arrested with 33 bags of poppy husk. He had been on the run since then and the court had declared him a proclaimed offender. Ludhiana SSP (rural) Amar Singh Chahal said a joint team of police officials from Sudhar and Raikot led by Raikot DSP Pirthipal Singh arrested both the accused late last evening from near Kelley village near Sudhar following a tip-off. He said during preliminary investigation the accused had admitted that they used to purchase drugs from MP and Rajasthan and then sell it to their customers in Ludhiana. “Even after escaping from police custody in Ludhiana in 2009, Dharamjit kept smuggling drugs at different places. He used to keep changing his residence and areas of drug supplying to dodge the police,” added Chahal. SSP Chahal said the accused had set up a huge network of big and small level drug suppliers in the area. The police is yet to produce the accused in the court. Some other revelations are on the cards in coming days.
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Thieves flee with container truck
Ludhiana, August 25 The driver said when he returned, he was shocked to find the truck missing. He immediately informed Gupta and the police about the incident. Gupta’s factory unit is located in Phase-II of Focal Point, which is just 2 kilometres from the container depot. The truck was parked in the middle of a long queue of other trucks. The police is confused how the thieves managed to flee with the vehicle as it was parked in the middle of a long queue of trucks. Around a week ago, thieves fled with a truck containing industrial material of Ludhiana Stealing Rolling Mill.
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Loveneet to represent country basketball
meet in Italy
According to Teja Singh Dhaliwal, honorary general secretary, Punjab Basketball Association (PBA), Loveneet had participated in the Youth Asian Basketball Championship. “A trainee of the Ludhiana Basketball Academy, Loveneet has made the city as well as state proud,” added Dhaliwal. Teja Singh, along with office-bearers of the PBA, wished Loveneet Singh best of luck for the upcoming event.
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Manan hammers ton
Ludhiana, August 25 The four-day match started after lunch break and the play was called off early by one hour because of rain. Chaman Lal Malhotra XI skipper Karan Goel’s decision to field after winning the toss turned out to be miscalculated one as IS Bindra XI batsmen faced little challenge from inconsistent bowling by the Malhotra XI. Manan Vohra played the anchor role for IS Bindra XI as he remained unbeaten on 139 runs. He also figured in two useful partnerships. First, he was engaged in a 73-run partnership with Himanshu for the second wicket. Manan and Gurkirat Mann added 134 runs for the unbroken third wicket. At the close of play, Manan (139) and Gurkirat (48) were at the crease. IS Bindra XI lost both Ranji players-Himanshu for 30 runs, while Ravi Inder for 14.
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Ludhiana, August 25