Jalandhar, June 13
Over 120 kiosks and around 100 carts were reduced to ashes in a major fire that broke out at the sabzi mandi of Sadar Bazaar late on Tuesday night. Several fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames.

The sabzi mandi had been catering to a large population of soldiers, cantonment residents and villagers of adjoining areas.

The fire was so severe that it engulfed the vegetable and fruit kiosks, carts parked at the sabzi mandi, three transformers and even vehicles parked by vendors. No loss of life has been reported.

The damaged kiosks and carts at the sabzi mandi at Jalandhar cantonment. Photo: Sarabjit Singh

As soon as the fire spread, Jalandhar Cantonment Board CEO Vibha Sharma, Station Commander Brigadier Arup Sen, Cantonment Board councillors, Army personnel, policemen and area residents rushed to the site to help firefighters douse the flames.

As almost all the vendors had mini LPG cylinders inside their kiosks, the fire spread wildly creating chaos. Taking a precautionary measure, the PowerCom officials immediately disconnected the power supply to the area. Residents, however, claim that had the MC fire tenders reached the spot on time, the extent of damage would had been less. It took more than two hours for the fire tenders to douse the flames. The situation came under control around 2 am. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Cantonment board councillor Avinash Sharma said: "A total of 123 kiosks registered with them and around 100 carts parked inside the sabzi mandi were also reduced to ashes. The sabzi mandi comes under the jurisdiction of the cantonment board."

Jalandhar MP Mohinder Singh Kapyee, Jalandhar (Central) MLA Manoranjan Kalia, SDM-I Iqbal Singh Sandhu, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Cantonment, Manpreet Singh, Congress leader Jagbir Brar and senior Army officers visited the spot today morning.

SDM Sandhu said they have deputed a team of revenue officials to assess the extent of loss. "The report will be submitted to Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti and subsequently forwarded to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal," he said.

A similar fire incident was reported in the sabzi mandi in May 1998. The fire broke out during the day and casualties were also reported.

Jalandhar, June 13
The BJP is likely to play the Dalit card while taking the final decision on the Mayor’s post in an effort to give a befitting reply to the Congress.

The BJP is actively considering the name of state vice-president of the BJP SC morcha Kasturi Lal, also councillor from Ward 52, for the Mayor’s post. He has been in active politics since 1977.

BJP may opt for a Dalit for the coveted post as it wants to revive its lost base among the Dalits. Moreover, the BJP got two chances to appoint the Mayor before the recent MC elections, but the party did not consider a Dalit councillor to become the first citizen of Jalandhar even as that Dalits have a considerable population in the city.

The BJP opted for councillors belonging to the general category for the Mayor’s post in 1997 and 2007. However, the Congress opted for a general category councillor in 1991 and a Dalit councillor in 2002 for the post. The BJP chose Suresh Sehgal and Rakesh Rathour for the Mayor’s post in 1997 and 2007, respectively and the Congress opted for Jai Kishan Saini from the general category in 1991 and Dalit councillor Surendra Mahay in 2002.

Party sources said that presenting its pro-Dalit face that it showed by appointing Bhagat Chunni Lal as the Local Bodies Minister in the new government, the BJP leadership is considering Kasturi’s name to send a positive message among the Dalits.

The BJP is also considering a Dalit candidate for the post due to its dismal performance in the wards falling under the Jalandhar (West) Assembly segment where Dalits are in a majority.

The BJP could win only two out of the total 17 wards in the Jalandhar (West) constituency, whereas the Congress managed 10 seats.

On the contrary, the ruling SAD-BJP alliance performed well in the wards falling under the Jalandhar (North) and (Central) Assembly segments. The alliance candidates won 12 and 11 seats, respectively, in these Assembly segments.

Kasturi is frontrunner

Kasturi Lal is in active politics since 1977. After joining Janata Party in 1977, he remained on various key posts of the BJP, the BJYM and the BJP SC morcha.

Winning from Ward 52, Kasturi Lal (2,438 votes) defeated his nearest rival Sardari Lal (1,039) of the Congress by a margin of 1,399 votes.

Kasturi Lal (52) first contested MC elections in 2002 as an independent candidate as the BJP did not allocate the ticket to him. He lost to Sardari Lal by a thin margin of four votes.

In 2007, his wife Meena Kumari contested as an Independent as the ward was reserved for women candidates. She won by a margin of 857 votes. Kasturi and his wife re-joined the BJP soon after the declaration of the MC poll results in 2007.

Kasturi Lal became the Jalandhar (South) BJP general secretary in 1984, BJP district executive member in 1988, BJP district secretary in 1989, state executive member of the BJYM in 1991, BJP SC morcha district president in 1994 and the BJP rural wing president in 1995. He is currently the vice-president of the BJP SC morcha.

His supporters also reportedly met district BJP president Subash Sood a few days ago for making Dalit leader Kasturi Lal as the Mayor this time.

When contacted, Subash Sood told The Tribune: “The party is openly considering every aspect before finalising the next Mayor. The state BJP leadership may take three-four days for taking the final decision.”

Jalandhar, June 13
In an extreme case of callousness, the body of a Lasuri Mohalla resident in Basti Danishmanda lay abandoned along a road at Avtar Nagar in the Bhargo Camp area for over four hours this afternoon due to confusion over the jurisdiction between the Bhargo Camp police and the Division No 5 police.

The family members of the deceased had to struggle to get the possession of the body. The blood-smeared body of Ajay Kumar was found along a road at Avtar Nagar in the Bhargo Camp area. Noticing the body in a pool of blood, some passers-by informed the Bhargo Camp police, but the police officials refused to remove the body saying that the spot was not in their jurisdiction. The policemen at the spot informed the Division No 5 police.

Residents of the area alleged that police officials of both the police stations were not clear about their area and wasted a lot of time in removing the body.

Finally, the Division No 5 police removed the body and initiated inquest proceedings on a complaint by Kishan Lal, elder brother of the deceased. Kishan Lal revealed that Ajay was suffering from fits and had left home on Tuesday morning.

Station house officer, Division No 5, Rajinder Kumar said though the police initiated inquest proceeding, the possibility of murder could not ruled out as the body bore a deep wound on the head.

Ward 8
Name: Dalwinder Kaur
Party: Congress
Votes polled: 3,310
Margin: 2,054 votes

Earlier it was my husband and now it is me whom residents have chosen as the area representative. We will begin with completion of pending works which include laying of roads in Nival Upkar Nagar and Jaimal Nagar. A proposal for installation of a tubewell in Nivan Upkar Nagar is also pending as area residents are facing shortage of drinking water. Today, we are visiting various localities of the ward along with MC officials to have a firsthand count of open manhole or manholes with broken covers. We also plan to develop a park in Gandhi Nagar.~

Ward 9
Name: Sudesh Rani
Party: BJP
Votes polled: 1,931
Margin: 55 votes

I will venture into social welfare projects for the residents of my ward. My topmost priority will be to set up a health club for the youth. For this, I will seek assistance from some NRI youth hailing from my area whom I have helped in their times of need. I also intend to develop a park on our ancestral land in the Kot Ram Dass area. Besides, installation of tubewells is pending in Patel Nagar and Green Avenue. I will strive to expedite the pending projects, including laying of a road worth Rs 1.72 core in Pardeep Nagar and other areas.

Ward 10
Name: Simarjit Kaur Dhindsa
Party: SAD
Votes polled: 3,244
Margin: 870 votes

There is a lot of work to be done in my ward. The road work is pending in Ekta Nagar, Ladhewali, Beant Nagar, Wazir Enclave, Khaira Enclave, Kabir Avenue, Mohan Vihar and Joginder Nagar. Some areas likes Dr Ambedkar Nagar, Mehtab Nagar and Bhath Sikh Mohalla have had no development since these are undeclared areas. I also feel like doing something for the nearly 450 poor workers of Lohara Mohalla by getting loans for purchase of machinery through various government schemes. They have been engaged in measly work making surgical goods and other iron items. There also is a plan to have a park in a vacant site in Ekta Nagar.~

Ward 11
Name: Balbir Singh Bittu
Party: SAD
Votes polled: 3,885
Margin: 1,370 votes

Having been voted to power for the second term, I will try to complete various pending works. There is a lot of work to be done, for a large chunk of my ward includes undeclared area. Modern Estate, Bhullar Colony, New Dashmesh Nagar, Sainik Vihar Extension and Ajit Vihar are colonies where road and sewerage work is still pending. We are awaiting the MLA grant for such areas. The declared areas, including Dhanowali and Dhilwan, too, have ongoing sewerage and road work which needs to be completed.

Ward 12
Name: Gurmej Kaur
Party: SAD
Votes polled: 2,510
Margin: 927 votes

Since the day I have been elected, I have been holding meetings with residents of various colonies of my ward. I have been setting up committees for each colony with representatives from the welfare societies, opinion leaders and those who are volunteering to work with me for betterment of the area. From the committees, I will take a list of works pending in their areas and accordingly put these up with the officials. My husband is an architect and is showing interest for planning roads, parks and other civic facilities.

Phagwara, June 13
A newlywed couple reportedly committed suicide by jumping before a running train near Goraya yesterday night.

The deceased have been identified as 23-year-old Jaswant Randhawa, a resident Mahal village near Goraya, and 20-year-old Rimpi of Hardoseikh village near Nurmahal.

The marriage was not acceptable to the parents of the both the boy and the girl as Rimpi was Jaswant's maternal uncle's daughter.

Government Railway Police in charge Vijay Kumar said the couple tied the knot in a Phillaur court two weeks ago, but the parents of the girl disowned her. Though the parents of Jaswant were also annoyed, they later agreed and gave their consent to their marriage.

Deep mental stress due to non-acceptance of the marriage by the bride's family was said to be the cause behind the suicide, GRP in charge Vijay Kumar said.

The bodies were handed over to the family members after a post-mortem at the Phillaur Civil Hospital.

Jalandhar, June 13
The medical science has failed to detect the exact cause of varicose veins, but there are remedies for the prevention of the disease. The experts, however, list height, weight, standing on feet for long hours as some of the factors responsible for the disease, said vascular surgeon Dr Ravul Jindal.

Dr Jindal said varicose veins (enlarged and tortuous veins) can occur in any part of the body, but are mostly found on thighs and calves due to strenuous and long hours of continuous standing.

The disease is so common that two to three patients suffering from varicose veins regularly report at tertiary care hospitals in the region. Ignorance and reluctance about the disease among patients often put them in trouble as they have to undergo amputation of limbs, he revealed.

He advised the patients not to neglect the symptoms, but to get the treatment as early as possible to avoid further complexity.

Dr Jindal said: “The ailment is usually characterised by aching and heavy legs, ankle swelling, dilated bluish bulge under the skin, redness, dryness and itchiness of skin. In some people skin above ankle may shrink because fat underneath skin becomes hard.” The symptoms also include whitened, irregular scar-like patches which can appear at the ankles or patient can have chronic non-healing ulcers.

He said the disease marks indication of a malfunction of venous system and should be evaluated by vascular surgery specialist.

“If the disease is not properly evaluated and is operated upon by an inexperienced surgeon, chances of reoccurrence of varicose vein are higher,” the doctor cautioned.