Ludhiana, June 24
The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) turned out to be second time unlucky as it failed to sell through public auction a chunk of land measuring 8.18 acre on the main Ferozepur Road (a national highway), right in front of the Mini-Secretariat here today. The site was earlier offered for sale at a reserve price of Rs 415.71 crore on February 17.

In a virtual action replay of the earlier auction, PUDA Additional Chief Administrator Kuldeep Singh, along with other officials, kept waiting at the site. As there were no bidders, the auction was called off. Not even a single person had deposited the eligibility fee of Rs 5 crore to participate in the auction proceedings.

As far as the auction of the government land in the city under the optimum use of the vacant government land policy goes, this was the largest single chunk of land to be sold through a public auction by PUDA or any other institution. The strategically located sprawling area had been under the control of the Canal and Irrigation Department of Punjab for the past many decades and was offered for sale under the scheme.

The reserve price of the piece of land was Rs 1.05 lakh per square yard (Rs 1,25,580 per square metre) and the PUDA authorities were quite hopeful of selling it for well over Rs 1,000 crore.

According to the offer document, the freehold land could be put to commercial or group housing use, depending upon the development plans of the buyer. However, the ground coverage of 40 per cent and 30 per cent would be permissible in case of commercial or residential use respectively.

The chunk of land has a floor area ratio (FAR) of 1:3 with unrestricted height subject to clearance by the Indian Air Force and construction of the basement would be allowed only in the parking zone of multi-level parking.

PUDA hopes dashed

The reserve price of the piece of land measuring 8.18 acre on the main Ferozepur Road (a national highway), right in front of the Mini-Secretariat, was ~1.05 lakh per square yard (~1,25,580 per square metre) and the PUDA authorities were quite hopeful of selling it for well over ~1,000 crore.

Ludhiana, June 24
The city police arrested a jeweller and his car driver with 310 gm of heroin. The accused, identified as Shiv Kumar, alias Shimbu, a resident of Vikas Nagar, near Pakhowal road, and Baj Singh, a native of Tran Taran, were nabbed at children’s park near the Civil Hospital last night.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime, MS Dhesi said the duo was travelling in a car and was nabbed at a naka following a tip-off.

Shimbu runs a jewellery store in Sarabha Nagar. Shimbu was booked nearly two years ago in a case under the Arms Act. Baj Singh is facing two cases of drug peddling.

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Crime, Jaswinder Singh said during the preliminary information, it had come to light that the accused procured the contraband from Amritsar and it was smuggled from across the border. After procuring the contraband, the accused sold the contraband in the city at a premium.

Both the accused are durg addicts. While 50 gm of heroin was found on Shimbu, 260gm of heroin was recovered from Baj Singh’s possession.

The international price of the recovered heroin is about Rs 2 crore.

Ludhiana, June 24
The parking space in Feroze Gandhi Market, an upmarket commercial hub, was auctioned for Rs 30.5 lakh for six months. Half a dozen bidders made offers during the auction conducted by PS Ghumman, Joint Commissioner, MC, and other officials.

In an earlier instance on June 6, 2014, the highest bid for the parking area had gone up to Rs 1 crore. However, the bidder did not deposit the security within the stipulated period.

Ghumman said the parking lot would be handed to the bidder on specific conditions that parking tickets would be issued at a single place for parking of vehicles anywhere inside the market. Further, the contractor will be required to install a ticketing machine and also put up barricades on two entry points, on Ferozepur Road and Pakhowal Road.

He said though the bid was comparatively lower than the earlier ones, the underlying purpose was to provide better parking facilities to the public and to curb the possibilities of overcharging and harassment of people.

easy parking

The contractor would be asked to issue tickets at a single place for parking of vehicles anywhere inside the market. 

Ludhiana, June 24
The protest by fishery students of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) today entered its 24th day today.

The students have been sitting outside Gate No. 5 of the university and asking the authorities for jobs. After spending so much money on their studies, the students are left with no future as the government is not filling vacancies. Khushwinder Singh, one of the students, said they were not going to call off the protest till the government gives them jobs. “Even the Cabinet minister has stepped back and asked us to do masters degree but what is the point in studying further when the government is not ready to provide us jobs,” he said.

Ludhiana, June 24
The district task force had rescued as many as 52 child labourers and issued penalty notices to 29 employers during the recently celebrated National Child Labour Week.

Mohit Singla, Assistant Director (Factories), Labour Department, said: “There are two different wings of the Labour Department, the labour wing and the factory wing. They have rescued 26 child labourers each from different places. The factory wing has issued penalty notices to seven employers. The process of challaning has been initiated under the Factories Act 1948. Afterwards, challans will be lodged in the court.”

The factory wing rescues child labourers from factories and industrial units.

Baljit Singh, Labour-cum-Conciliation Officer, Circle-V, Ludhiana, said: “The labour wing also rescued as many as 26 child labourers from dhabas, shops, etc. We have issued penalty notices to 22 employers. The process of challaning has been initiated under the Child Labour Act-1986, Minimum Wages Act-1948 and the Payment of Wages Act 1936.”

The district task force had celebrated National Child Labour Week from June 9 to June 15 and raided different places. Baljit Singh said: “Some of the rescued children were restored to their parents while the rest were handed to the Social Security Department. These children were sent to the Child Shelter Home at Dusrehna village, near kurali, in Ropar district.” 

Ludhiana, June 24
The Administration with the help of NGOs keep rescuing child labourers, but their efforts often prove futile as the children are deprived of education.

After the children working as labourers are rescued, they are either handed over to their relatives or are sent to children home. Despite RTE Act mandating free and compulsory education to children aged between 6 and 14, only a few children are able to reach the classroom.

Dinesh Kumar, an activist, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, has been actively participating in rescuing child labourers. He said rehabilitation of child labourers was a must. “They should be imparted education.”

“The sad part is that due to various reasons, the children are back to the grind after a few days. Unable to make ends meet, parents send their wards to work,” said he.

“The RTE has made it mandatory that education is the fundamental right of every child, but if they’re not going to schools but only working, the right is violated. Even their recruiters and parents can be booked for the violation. Awareness about the Act needs to be created,” he added.

Although various laws and acts, including the Right to Education (RTE), are in place to prevent such exploitation, they remain only on paper. “The children are seen working in fields, fireworks units, footwear, carpets, glass and cloth industries, restaurants and food joints,” said Monika Khurana, president of the Children and Women Welfare Council.

He added that unlike migrants, the children avoided going to schools as they did not get money there. “They’re ready to work in inhuman conditions for meagre salaries, but not ready to study,” said Livtar Singh, a senior citizen.

Shyamabai, who works as a domestic worker, said she did not have money to educate her children. “My husband works in Nepal. I can’t send my wards to a government school as they may get hurt while playing,” he said.

Forty schools are being run under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) in the city, but there are no takers.

What is NCLP?

The scheme was started to impart education to child labourers. But after the enforcement of the Child Labour Act, 2006, child labour was banned. Under the scheme, children aged between 9 and 14 must pass Class V within three years. Schools for the children are being run with the help of NGOs.

Jagraon, June 24
At least four youths from various villages of the Jagraon area are, reportedly, stranded in the trouble-hit Iraq.

Two of these (Ranjit Singh and Gurmeet Singh) hail from Rauwal village, while other two are from Salempura (Sukhwinder Singh) and Gorsian Makhan Singh (Gurjit Singh) villages near Sidhwan Bet.

Names of these youths came to the fore today, when Jagraon Sub-Divisional Magistrate Apneet Rayat visited families of these youths.

Sukhwinder’s wife, Balwinder Kaur, said he had gone to Iraq to earn livelihood for the family around two-and-a-half years ago. He recently visited the village and returned to Iraq two months back.

“At that time, we did not know that the situation would become so troublesome in Iraq; otherwise, we would have not allowed him to return,” said Balwinder Kaur.

Sukhwinder has two children: four-year-old Amandeep Kaur and two-and-a-half-year-old Amanpreet Singh.

“We speak to him almost every day. Though he is safe, we are spending sleepless nights due to the worsening situation in Iraq,” said Balwinder Kaur.

Gurmeet Singh’s mother, Simarpal Kaur, said: “I had a short chat with my son yesterday. He told me that he is doing well and there is no danger to his life. Still, we get horrified when we hear the news of people being killed in Iraq.”

Ranjeet Singh’s family too is worried about his fate.

“The Indian government should step up efforts to bring our children back as soon as possible,” said his grandfather Harbans Singh.

Gurjit Singh’s father, Amar Singh, said: “Gurjit lives around 1,300 km away from Baghdad. We speak to him daily and he told us that he is safe.”

The SDM, after his visit to the homes of these youths, said: “I spoke to some of them over phone and they told me that they are safe.”

She said the administration would extend every possible help to the family members of these youths.

Rayat said the government had been informed about the four youths.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 24
Adequate government medical facilities continue to elude people in the region. Though residents heaved a sigh of relief when the work on a 25-bed community health centre started at Dehlon recently, the authorities have failed to provide the sanctioned staff strength to the existing centre.

Work on the Rs 6-crore project was formally inaugurated by legislator Darshan Singh Shivalik and former minister Jagdish Singh Garcha three months ago—over two years after Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had laid its foundation stone on October 6, 2011.

Shivalak had to raise the issue repeatedly in the Assembly to kick start the project. However, to date, adequate facilities seem to be a distant dream with the sanctioned strength of staff, including doctors and paramedical staff, not made available to the centre yet.

Residents, led by Paramdeep Singh Deepa, said a large number of doctors and paramedical staff was shifted from the medical centre after former health minister Lakshami Kanta Chawla left the post.

Today, against the sanctioned strength of 12, only one medical officer is at the disposal of the senior medical officer, Dr Jasbir Singh.

The sanctioned strength includes four specialists.

Although, a well-equipped diagnostic laboratory has already been established, patients have to schedule their visits according to the availability of the technician, as he is available for only three days a week.

Against the sanctioned strength of 16, there are only four Class IV employees, and there is only one sweeper employed instead of three.

All three posts of driver and one post of operation theatre assistant are vacant and two pharmacists perform duties of three persons.

However, all seven posts of staff nurse are filled.

Acknowledging the problem of staff shortage, SMO Dr Jasvir Singh said the available members of the staff had to put in extra efforts to tend to the patients.

Besides taking care of nearly 150 patients in the out patient department daily, the hospital staff has to conduct postmortems and medico-legal examinations for cases from at least 58 villages in the region.

Ludhiana, June 24
Dr Labha Singh Kheeva has been unanimously elected as the president of Kendri Punjabi Lekhak Sabha for the term 2014-2016. Today was the last day for withdrawal of nominations.

Election officer Janmeja Singh Johal said: “Two more office-bearers have been elected unanimously. They are Manjeet Kaur Meet as vice-president (reserved for women) and Amritbir Kaur as secretary (also reserved for women).”

Now, there are two contestants for the post of general secretary; Dr Karamjit Singh and Des Raj Kali.

For the senior vice-president, the contest is between Sulakhan Sarhaddi and Atarjit. There are seven candidate for the four posts of vice-president: Sukhcharan Singh Sidhu, Tarlochan Jhande, Hardeep Dhillon, Jasveer Jhajj, Ram Murti, Deep Devinder Singh and Maan Singh Dhindsa.

For the secretary’s post, there are five contestants: Surinderpreet Ghaniya, Sukhdarshan Garg, Karam Singh Vakeel, Dr Kanwar Jasminderpal Singh and Varghis Salamat.

The biannual elections will be held at Punjabi Bhawan on July 13. There are 3,137 members who will vote during the poll.

Ludhiana, June 24
The star cast of the Punjabi film “Punjab 1984” was in the city to promote the film slated for a release on this Friday.

Diljit Dosanjh, Sonam Bajwa and Anurag Singh were present along the producer, Manmord Sidhu.

“The movie depicts the horrible times in 1984. It is a story of a mother who spends her whole day sitting outside the police station and there is no one to listen to her,” said Sidhu.

This saga of a mother’s pain and a son’s fight has been aptly portrayed by Kirron Kher and Diljit Dosanjh.

“Making ‘Punjab 1984’ has been a life-changing experience for me. I have realised what extraordinary courage these seemingly ordinary and simple women in villages of Punjab have,” said Diljit Dosanjh.

Sonam Bajwa said she was extremely happy for being chosen for the role.

Ludhiana, June 24
The state government has decided to fund the treatment of ailing Sufi singer Barkat Sidhu.

He is suffering from cancer and is undergoing treatment at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital. Apart from the government, many other organisations have also come forward to help the ailing singer.

The NGO Roko Cancer, reportedly, has decided to bear the cost of the singer’s lifelong treatment.

Members of Malwa Sabhyacharak Manch, too, met the singer and lent financial help to him. 

Ludhiana, June 24
NGOs and residents believe that the government must do more than merely rescuing child labourers. The common opinion is society can do its bit by imparting vocational training to children rescued from dhabas and factories.

Sharwan Kumar, founder, Nishkam Sewa Ashram, said: “The government rescues the children, but fails to rehabilitate them. Their parents cannot afford to send them to schools. Under such circumstances, they are forced to work and earn their livelihood.”

“If the government gets them admitted to schools, there is nobody to buy them uniform and books,” he said.

He said, “The government should come up with rehabilitation schemes. Vocational training will help them learn and earn.”

Child labourers are not spotted only in cities, but also in villages. Sharwan Kumar said, “I have come across many children whose fathers drink and do nothing. They force their wards to earn money.”

Kanwalprakash Singh Waraich, a businessman, said, “The children do not have any social security. Even after getting admission in government schools, chances of a bright future are bleak. The government must open some vocational institutes.”

Dr Amarjit Singh Hayer, former head of the department of journalism, languages and culture, PAU, Ludhiana, said, “Society needs to look at things from a different perspective. Rescuing them won’t serve the purpose, they need to be rehabilitated. They should be taught skills as per their age.”

He said there should be special schools for such children.

Ludhiana, June 24
The issue of misuse of parking space by private hospitals and nursing homes has been hanging fire for the past six months even after the Municipal Corporation had issued show-cause notices to some 40 defaulters for parking of vehicles of their staff as well as visitors on a roadside while the dedicated parking area was being used for other purposes.

That the MC authorities lack will to take action against the erring hospitals and nursing homes is evident from the fact that in response to the complaints lodged by Rohit Sabharwal, president, Council of RTI Activists, Director, Local Government, Punjab, Secretary, Local Government, Punjab and the Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) of the Local Government Department have repeatedly directed the civic body to act against the hospitals for violation of building bylaws and misuse of parking area.

In a letter that was sent to the MC Commissioner on April 25, 2014, the CVO of the Local Government recalled that the directions of the Director, Local Government, made on February 19, 2014, and Secretary, Local Government, Punjab, issued on April 12, 2014, in this regard, had not been followed.

It is learnt that under pressure from the MC administration, owners of the private hospitals and nursing homes had approached Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to come to their rescue. The hospitals under notice from the MC have pleaded that most of them either did not have a dedicated parking area or parking space shown in the original building plans had been put to other use in order to provide better healthcare to patients.

While it could not be officially confirmed, many hospitals, charged with violation of building bylaws, had also offered to get the offences compounded on payment of stipulated fee.

Highly placed sources revealed that the MC authorities had been instructed “not to rush things” over misuse of parking space for the time being and instead to explore the possibility of giving relief to the defaulting health institutions where offences of violation of building bylaws were compoundable.

“A meeting of the representatives of hospitals, MC officials and senior government functionaries to sort out the issue might take place soon,” the sources maintained.

Ludhiana, June 24
The Excise and Taxation Department will maintain a register to keep a tab on visitors and most importantly to see their satisfaction level.

Every visitor coming to the office will have to give his/her mobile number and other details.

Senior officials of the department said instructions had been issued by the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Anurag Verma.

District Taxation Bar Association (Sales Tax) president Arun Kanwal appreciated the move. “Sometimes, we fail to meet officials and our visits go unnoticed, but now our visits will be recorded in the register. The step will yield good results,” he said.

Kulwinder Singh, a trader, said: “We keep making rounds of the department to get our work done and the officials are unaware of the same as they are busy. Every official should see the register before leaving. The register should be reviewed at the head office every month,” he said. “Now, our visits won’t prove futile,” the trader stated.

Instructions

Senior officials of the department said the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Anurag Verma, had asked officials to keep a tab on visitors.

Ludhiana, June 24
A high-level team of the state government today inspected sites where rehabilitation centres could be constructed.

Vinni Mahajan, principal secretary, Health department, KJS Cheema, special secretary to Chief Minister, Punjab, Vikas Garg, special secretary, Health Department, who is also the nodal officer for the anti-drugs drive of the state government, Dr Ajit Awasthi from the psychiatry department of the PGI, Chandigarh, and Dr D Basu visited various parts of the city.

They also went to the School of Deaf and Dumb children at Jamalpur and met the district social security welfare officer. Vinni Mahajan said to eradicate drug addiction, the Chief Minister had set up a rehabilitation board for drug addicts under which district-level rehabilitation societies would be constituted. “The board and societies will ensure rehabilitation of the drug addicts,” he said. KJS Cheema said 8,000 patients came to government hospitals every day. “At 50-bedded rehabilitation centres being constructed at the district headquarters, the drug addicts will be kept for two to six months,” he said.

Sameer Kumar, Secretary, Home Department, BK Uppal, IG (Litigation), Rajat Aagarwal, Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, Dr Subhash Batta, Ajay Sood, SDM (East), and BK Uppal were present.

Function

To mark International Day against drug addiction, the social security department will hold a state-level function on June 28. The function will be held at Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will be the chief guest while Surjit Kumar Jiyani, Health Minister, will preside over the function. Lectures, plays and other activities will be organised to create awareness.

The government is planning to honour a few drug addicts on the day. To curb the menace, the state government has started a fortnightly campaign all over Punjab.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 24
As doctors and paramedical staff at government/private hospitals and health centres are overtaxed managing treatment and counselling of drug addicts, routine patients are feeling ignored.

They are made to wait by the doctors. The recovery of indoor patients had also been affected adversely.

Almost all government hospitals and medical centres are flooded with drugs addicts. As a majority of chronic addicts are unable to take care of their needs themselves, they are accompanied by other members of their families or friends. The tendency is more prevalent among addicts whose families fear non-cooperation on their part. Karnail Singh of Maherna village said his ailing mother had to wait for long when she went to take medicines from the village hospital as doctors and staff were preoccupied with drug addicts brought by some social activists a few days ago. “This time, the doctors’ priority were the drug addicts,” said Singh.

Sarabjit Kaur of Phallewal village and Surjit Kaur of Lohgarh were among those patients who asked government doctors to give them medicines for more than usual days to avoid harassment.

The situation is no different at private hospitals and clinics. The number of patients in the outpatient departments has seen an increase.

Acknowledging the tendency, Dr Punit Hind at Hind Hospital said the organisation had to make arrangements to deal with the heavy rush of patients.

The SMOs at community health centres and Civil Hospitals of the region said doctors and staff at their centres had been advised to put in extra efforts to attend to the addicts as well as the routine patients. 

Ludhiana, June 24
The police have arrested two persons and recovered 30 grams of heroin from their possession. The accused have been identified as Balwinder Singh Sodhi and Harpreet Singh. They were nabbed near the Jalandhar bypass. The police also recovered 4,000 habit forming tablets from them.

Sandeep Singh of Ladowal and Gurjeet Singh of Hambran Road were arrested with 150 grams narcotic powder. At Salem Tabri, the police arrested Harpreet Singh and Baljinder Singh and recovered 30 grams of heroin from them.

Jagraon, June 24
Snatchers targeted yet another woman and fled with her gold earrings in broad daylight at Vijay Nagar here today.

The victim, 60-year-old Shimla Devi, was returning home when two motorcycle-borne youths allegedly snatched her earrings around 2.30 pm. Soon after the incident, a police team, led by ASI Kuldeep Singh, reached the spot and recorded the victim’s statement.

In her complaint to the police, Shimla Devi stated she was returning home after delivering lunch to her son at his shop on Tehsil Road when the incident took place.

“Two youths on a motorcycle came to me to enquire about an address. While I was speaking to them, one of them snatched my earrings. When people started assembling there on hearing my cries, both fled on the motorcycle,” she stated in her statement.

Investigating officer ASI Kuldeep Singh said the police have registered a case against two unidentified youths.

“We set up nakas across the town immediately after the incident,” he said.

Machhiwara, June 24
A 52-year-old man died after his car hit an unidentified vehicle near Machhiwara last night. The victim, Irwin Luthra, who is the president of the local Ramlila committee, was returning home from his rice mill when the accident occurred.

An unidentified vehicle, reportedly, hit his car on Rahon Road, following which the suspect fled from the scene.

Luthra sustained serious injuries and was taken to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana.

He died of his injuries at the hospital.

The deceased was cremated at Machhiwara in the presence of a large gathering. Machhiwara SHO Jarnail Singh said a case had been registered under Sections 304-A, 279 and 427 of the IPC against the unknown vehicle and unknown driver.

He said the police were trying to identify the vehicle and the driver.