The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Candidates struggle to check poll expenditure
Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 18
Candidates of various political parties are finding it tough to keep the poll expenditure under control.

Not just have they been forced to restrict their poll-related expenses, they have also been made to appoint some finance experts as their account agents, but also have been made to maintain their expenditure registers, get these scrutinised by the expenditure observers and assistant observers thrice during polls and made to add in more expenses noted by the surveillance teams in their shadow registers.

While the ECI is getting strict, candidates and their agents are getting smarter finding loopholes in the system. As the expenditure registers for the Jalandhar (Central) constituency were being compared yesterday, the agent of Manoranjan Kalia, the BJP candidate, is said to have come armed with an array of excuses such as getting it in writing from the owners of palaces, wherever he has held rallies that they did not charge anything from him.

The concerned officials took it long to convince the candidate’s agents that the expenditure has to be added and after a long discussion an amount of Rs 2000 was added into his expenditure register for using JK Palace at Rama Mandi as the venue.

During the scrutiny of Adampur candidates yesterday, the nominees of political parties had reportedly said that the expenditure of flags and banners be not repeatedly added as the same flags and banners were being taken along from one rally to another.

The expenditure monitoring teams of all ROs, however, have got busy viewing various CDs recorded by the video teams, counting each chair, registration numbers of all vehicles used, flags, tents, podiums, mikes, orchestras and other items used and adding the same into their expenses list in the shadow registers maintained by assistant ROs.

Jaitley, Badal to campaign for BJP candidates

n Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will be in Jalandhar on January 20 evening in connection with rallies to be addressed in favour of the three BJP candidates. One of the rallies will be held at JK Palace in Rama Mandi in support of BJP's Jalandhar (Central) candidate Manoranjan Kalia. The next will be for BJP's Jalandhar (West) candidate at Narula Palace on 120 feet road. The third will be for BJP's Jalandhar (North) candidate KD Bhandari at Sodal Road near JMP factory.

Constituency Watch
Jalandhar central
Drug trade, lack of amenities key issues here
Bipin Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 18
Completion of an over bridge besides laying of sewerage and water supply lines as well as the maintenance of streets and streetlights is part of the development works achieved in Jalandhar Central constituency. Yet lack of storm water drainage system, play grounds, water logging and inadequate dumping of garbage continue to put the lives of residents to great inconvenience.

Kazi Mandi area known for rampant drug trade is located in the heart of the city. The menace has been going on unchecked for the past several decades. All kinds of drugs are available here, sources say.

Lack of sanitation facility could be gauged from the fact that heaps of garbage and filth dot every nook and corner in a majority of the residential colonies here. With no provisions to route storm water, knee-deep water accumulates in the streets of several colonies while the situation becomes cumbersome in the residential colonies located in the low-lying areas.

Railway lines-Delhi-Jalandhar, Jalandhar-Amritsar, Nakodar-Jalandhar, Jalandhar (Cantonment)-Jammu that pass from the constituency have become a cause of concern for the residents. The level crossings on these tracks remain closed for 6 to 8 hours a day. Long queues can also be seen at these level crossings thus putting commuters to great inconvenience.

These railway lines have also have been proving death traps as many lives have been lost in train accidents. Many people have even committed suicides by jumping before the trains here.

Though residents praise their MLA Manoranjan Kalia, people living in certain colonies adjacent to the Regional Centre of Guru Nanak Dev University, in Ladhewali, accuse the government of meting out step-motherly treatment to them when it comes to providing them basic civic amenities.

Residential colonies, including Himachal Colony, Sangam Vihar and some others still lack roads, streetlights and sewerage lines. The constituency has an inadequate number of playgrounds.

Playgrounds and parks in the area are instead being used as lavatories by labourers. Heaps of trash and garbage force the children to opt for indoor games instead of going outdoors.

Areas of concern

n Lack of storm water drainage system, playgrounds, water logging and inadequate dumping of garbagex

n Notorious for drug trade, the Kazi Mandi area in the heart of the city needs to be checked

n Heaps of garbage and filth dot every nook and corner of residential areas

n Delhi-Jalandhar, Jalandhar-Amritsar, Nakodar-Jalandhar, Jalandhar (cantt)-Jammu railway lines remain closed for 6 to 8 hours

n Residential colonies such as Himachal Colony, Sangam Vihar lack roads, streetlights and sewerage lines

Fact File

n Total number of voters: 1,41,752

n Male voters: 73,933

n Female voters: 67,819

Manoranjan Kalia, Beri face each other after 20 years
Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 18
It is not for the first time that Congress nominee Rajinder Beri and BJP candidate Manoranjan Kalia are pitted against each other in the Assembly polls from the Jalandhar (Central) constituency. The duo had started their political career at the same time by contesting against each other 20 years ago during the MC elections.

While Kalia had emerged winner in 1992 by nearly 600 votes, the fight of the twosome is also being keenly watched this time. There also is another common factor between the two. Both of them reside in the same Central Town Colony, parted by just three lanes.

However, there is a stark difference in the way both of them are leading their campaigns. Having remained minister for two terms and being the son of ex-minister Manmohan Kalia, Manoranjan is known for his flamboyant style. Kalia has several party workers to his aid to manage his house-cum-office as he goes about campaigning, plan his programmes and rallies, keep updating database of voters on the computers and ensure that meals are served to all his supporters.

Beri, who on the other hand has a very simple lifestyle, has a few relatives including his cousins and nephews to manage his office which is located just a few metres from his residence. Even as he and his wife Uma Beri have won three consecutive MC polls, he is a first time contestant for the Assembly polls. While his wife goes about with the women jatha, his son Anmol Beri, whose studying in DAVIET, is canvassing among his youth circle.

Kalia, being single, has his two sisters Nandini Sharma from Chandigarh and Mohini Rupal from Delhi to his support these days.

The BJP candidate has also come up with handouts which his supporters are distributing during his campaign. In the handouts, he has taken credit for having been able to renovate Civil Hospital and get the project of Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) approved during his previous tenure. He has also mentioned about having doled out an amount of Rs 324.11 crore for Khalsa College ROB, BMC flyover, schemes of JIT, renovation of Guru Gobind Singh Stadium and Northern India Institute of Fashion and Technology during his current tenure.

Beri, on the other hand, is banking on his people-friendly approach, clean image and his easy accessibility for the masses for the past 20 years.

Burglars strike at temple, boutique
Our Correspondent

Jalandhar, January 18
Burglars today struck at a temple located at Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar and decamped with cash.

Chairman of Icchaadhari Shiv Mandir Davinder Pal said someone apprised him that locks of the temple were broken.

On reaching the temple, he found the locks of the donation box broken and cash missing.

In another incident, thieves decamped with cash, a computer and readymade clothes from a boutique located at Shakti Nagar.

The boutique owner Kanika Jain said when they came to open the shop this morning, they were stunned to see the locks of the main shutter broken and shop was ransacked.

Drugs seized

In a joint raid by officials of health department and the police at chemist shops at Bhurmandi and Ramamandi, a huge cache of habit forming drugs were seized last evening.

Inquest legal proceedings had already initiated against the medical store owners. In charge, narcotics cell, Somnath said the police had received a tip-off that drugs were sold at a few shops located in Bhurmandi and Ramamandi localities.

The police along with drug inspectors Jai Kar and Amarjit Singh initially raided Guru Nanak Medical Hall at Rama Mandi, where 8486 tablets, 988 capsules and 83 syrups were seized.

At Master Medical Hall located at Bhurmandi, officials recovered 51 bottles of syrups, 396 capsules and 500 tablets.

The values of the seized drugs is said to be around Rs 68,000. the seizure report has already been sent to the higher police authorities, health officials and the election commission for further action.

Restaurant gutted

A restaurant, Cremica Fast Food near Company Bagh Chowk, was gutted in a fire late night. Restaurant owner Ashok Kumar said the fire broke out around 10 pm following an LPG cylinder leak. “I asked my workers to replace the gas cylinder. However, the gas supplying pipe remained loose,” Kumar said. The moment the fire was lit, the flame suddenly spread in the shop. Sources said when the fire broke out, a few customers were sitting inside the shop, but were rescued.

20 gram sevaks under MNREGS left in lurch
Kusum Arora
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, January 18
An official communiqué issued in back date declaring the termination of the services of around 20 gram rozgar sevaks under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) has stirred a hornet's nest.

The orders of termination of services of the employees have surprisingly come at a time when the election code of conduct is already in place. The employees have received the official letter on January 16, a copy of which is in possession of The Tribune.

This has sent the rogzar sevaks in a tizzy as the letter mentioned that their contract had expired on July 31, 2011. However, employees claimed that they had been getting their wages (Rs 3,200 per month) till November. "Even yesterday, we came to the office and marked our attendance. If our services were terminated in July, then why the department kept on releasing the wages?" they questioned.

However, the letter reads that according to the directions of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), the services of gram sevaks stands terminated as their contract was over on July 31.

Left in the lurch, the gram sevaks submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner. They also met Punjab Youth Congress chief Vikramjit Chaudhary.

Talking to The Tribune, Vikramjit said: "This is in stark violation of the election code of conduct, which came into force on December 24 in the state. We have the proof of the salary slips of these GRSs, which states that this is a deliberate decision of the department and the state government against them. The fact that SAD-BJP government had been out to derail the MNREGS now stands out in the public."

He also said that their services were terminated, as they were involved in an agitation against the state government for the implementation of MNREGS in August. "I will take up this matter with Congress general secretary, Rahul Gandhi as he had been monitoring its implementation in the state. The GRSs are paying a heavy price of raising their voice against the state government", he added.

Jalandhar Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Praneet Bhardwaj said their contract terminated on July 31 and that there was no violation of the code of conduct. "As their conduct and work was found to be unsatisfactory, their contract stands cancelled, hence the termination," he added.

n Termination orders came when the poll code is in place
n Were nvolved in an agitation against the state government for the implementation of MNREGS
n Were getting their wages till November
Authorities say contract terminated in July