Ludhiana, September 1
Thieves struck at an automated teller machine (ATM) of ICICI Bank on the Hambra road, near Kali Mata Mandir, and decamped with Rs 18.32 lakh. The bank authorities had loaded Rs 25 lakh in the ATM on Friday, said the bank sources. It was learnt that the machine had been non-functional since Friday evening due to some technical snag.

The thieves first pried open the shutter and then went on to break the ATM.

A bank team, which visiting the spot, told the police that about Rs 18.32 lakh was lying in the machine when the theft took place. They said a team from Bengaluru would reach the city soon to safely take out the “black-box” (containing a CCTV camera and recorder) from the ATM.

When the security guard arrived at the ATM booth this morning, he found the ATM broken and the cash missing. A gas cutter is suspected to have been use by the thieves to break the ATM.

Ludhiana, September 1
With the Ludhiana-Chandigarh rail link becoming operational for quite some time now, the Northern Railway has introduced yet another train between the industrial hub of the state and Chandigarh to meet the festival rush. The mega city is already connected with Chandigarh through the Intercity Express and the Superfast Express which run daily between Amritsar and Chandigarh.

According to railway officials, the festival special pair of trains (04417/04418) will run daily between Ludhiana and Chandigarh from September 1 to November 15, 2014, making, in all, 152 trips. The train will leave Ludhiana at 9 am and reach Chandigarh at 12.10 pm. On the return journey, it will depart from Chandigarh at at 1 pm and arrive Ludhiana at 3.25 pm. The train will have halts at Dhandari Kalan, Sahnewal, Lall Kalan, Samrala, Khamano, New Morinda, Kharar and Mohali.

Another festival special trains introduced by the railways to operate from September 1 to November 15, 2014, through Ludhiana is 04403/04404 tri-weekly train from Anand Vihar (New Delhi) to Udhampur. It will leave Anand Vihar at 9 pm on every Monday, Thursday and Saturday and reach Udhampur at 11.35 am. From Udhampur, the train will depart at 2.35 pm every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday and reach Anand Vihar at 6 am.

The Anand Vihar-Udhampur Festival special train will have stoppages at Ghaziabad, Meerut City, Sharanpur, Ambala Cantt, Ludhiana, Jalandhar Cantt, Pathankot and Jammu Tawi stations.

In addition to festival special trains, the Northern Railway authorities have introduced several new trains in the revised time table to take effect from September 1, 2014, to provide more connectivity to Katra, the base camp for Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine and several other major cities.

Among the new trains, which would commence their commercial run later this month and pass through the city, are 22923/24 Katra-Bandra Terminus (premium express weekly), 22313/14 Katra-Sealdah (premium express weekly), 22679/80 Katra-Yeswantpur (Karnataka) premium express weekly, 19415/16 Katra-Ahmedabad (express weekly), 15655/56 Katra-Kamakhya (Assam) express weekly, 22921/22 Amritsar-Bandra Terminus (premium express weekly), 22125/26 Amritsar-Nagpur (AC express weekly), 15531/32 Amritsar-Saharsa (jansadharan weekly), 14611/12 Amritsar-Gorakhpur (express weekly), 14613/14 Chandigarh-Ferozepur (express daily), 22941/42 Jammu-Indore (express weekly and 14155/56 Jammu-Kanpur (express bi-weekly ).

As per the new time table, the pair of trains (14011/12) running weekly between Delhi and Hoshiarpur (via Ludhiana) will run daily from the date to be notified separately by the railway authorities.

Ludhiana, September 1
A 32-year-old woman was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar area on the Dugri-Dhandra road today. The woman has been identified as Kamaljit Kaur, a panchayat member and block samiti member. While her husband Inderjit Singh Ladda, who has absconded, and in-laws maintained that Kamaljit committed suicide by hanging herself, the victim’s parents alleged that their daughter was killed.

Her parents accused Inderjit Singh Ladda of their daughter’s death and making it appear like she had committed suicide.

The police registered an abetment-to-suicide case against the suspects under section 306 of the IPC. The case has been registered on a complaint of Surjit Singh, Kamaljit Kaur’s father.

Not satisfied by the sections of the FIR, her parents have pointed finger at the police for siding with the suspects. Davinder Singh, Kamaljit’s brother, claimed that it was a murder but the police had registered a case of abetment to suicide to shield the accused.

Davinder and Inderjit work in the same factory. He said last night he visited Inderjit’s house. Inderjit complained him about his sister, Davinder added.

Davinder assured Inderjit that he would discuss the matter in the morning and left for his house in Shimlapuri. At midnight, Inderjit called Davinder and said his sister had committed suicide by hanging herself from a ventilator of the house.

Dismissing Ladda’s claim, Davinder said he killed his wife and hanged her body to make it appear as suicide. He locked the door from inside and came out by scaling the wall.

Ladda’s two children (a 10-year-old boy and eight-year-old girl) were reportedly sleeping along with their grandparents in a house in the neighbourhood.

Jagraon, September 1
A resident of Gorsian Makhan village died of snake bite. The deceased has been identified as Gurpreet Singh, alias Peetu (34), a mason. According to information, Gurpreet was working at a well in the village when he was bitten by a snake.

According to investigating officer ASI Gulzar Singh, Peetu didn’t get to know that a snake had bitten him and he continued with his work. In the evening, he returned to his home and went to sleep after having dinner. The family members of the deceased came to know about his death when he did not wake up this morning.

As the family members did not know about the cause of his death, they informed the Sidhwan Bet police. The police took the body in its custody and sent it for post-mortem, which confirmed that the victim died of snake bite. — OC

Ludhiana, September 1
A 40-year-old man was electrocuted after coming in contact with overhead high tension lines at the Inter-State Bus Terminus here. The deceased has been identified as Manoj Kumar of Dasuya.

The victim came in contact with the high tension lines while he was clearing the way for the bus.

The investigating officer said the bus terminus authorities had complained about the loosely hanging wires. The investigation is on.

Ludhiana, September 1
On one hand councillors have been raising a hue and cry as almost all development works have come to a standstill due to the paucity of funds, many of them come in the way when the authorities try to collect “development charges” from areas, which have been regularised to “protect their vote bank”. Sources in the department concerned feel if these development charges (one-time) were collected from the public, the MC will be in a sound financial position.

According to a survey conducted by a Delhi-based company last year, there were around 350 “illegal” colonies. Of them, around 100 colonies were regularised later. As per the rules, the MC has to collect development charges from such colonies. But, whenever the MC tries to collect development charges from these colonies, politicians and councilors create a “mess”.

“Crores of rupees are spent on laying roads, water supply pipelines and sewerage but residents are never asked to pay development charges, leading to the financial crunch in the MC. The one-time development charges, if collected, will generate revenue worth crores of rupees for the financially-starved MC,” said the official.

Owing to the poor financial status of the MC, contractors have stopped work on various projects as payments are not being made to them on time. The city bus service has already stopped operations for the past more than a month. The MC has no funds to clear the outstanding bills of the company. Officials in the civic body feel the MC should start thinking seriously about generating funds from other resources or else it won’t survive.

Raising concern over the current financial status of the MC, SAD councillor Tanvir Singh Dhaliwal said it had become too difficult to face the public as the works in wards had come to a standstill. And the only way to bring the MC back on track is finding more revenue resources.

“As per rough estimates, up to 40 per cent of the water and sewerage connections in the city are not legal. These should be legalized, so that the MC gets additional revenue. Second, wastage of water should be stopped. Residents keep on wasting water by washing cars, pavements, corridors of their houses daily. The first 500 litres should be provided free of cost and beyond this consumption, one paise per litre should be charged. By imposing such rules, not only more revenue will be generated, but also wastage of water could be checked to a great extent. The authorities should not succumb to any pressure if the MC has to be taken out from this financial mess,” said Dhaliwal.

Ludhiana, September 1
Several teachers’ bodies and unions have opposed the orders of the Education Department to make arrangements for the speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 5. The government will observe Teacher’s Day as ‘Guru Utsav’.

Teachers claimed that in the absence of the basic infrastructure in school, it is hard for them to make provision for the suggested items.

The Education Department has instructed the schools to arrange television sets and generators. Ironically, the department has not released any funds to schools for making these arrangements.

As per the directions, it is mandatory for all the schools to make the arrangements for speech. Teachers have also opposed the timings of speech. Students are supposed to stay in schools from 8 am to 5 pm. As per the directions, the speech would be telecasted from 2.45 pm to 4.45 pm.

Ramnajeet Singh from Democratic Teacher’s Front said, “The Education Department have asked schools to arrange TV sets. Obviously, the DTH dish or cable connection has to be installed too. Who will pay for that? Who will pay for the generator? Moreover, how will the students of primary classes listen to a two-hour long speech of a politician?”

“The teachers are disturbed with these orders. The day which is dedicated to teachers would become the worst day for teachers as they have to work as per the directions to save their jobs. It is an unwanted harassment. The speech should be delivered in the morning or within the school timings. It is injustice to forcefully keep the students in school just to listen to the speech,” said Dharmajit Singh, president, Master Cadre Union.

Bhushan Khanna from Government Teacher’s Union said, “The school in which EDUSAT and other digital equipments are available will have an easy way. But most of the primary schools do not have the required equipment. The speech should not be held mandatory for all the students.” 

Doraha, September 1
Educationists all over the state have taken exception to the Centre and Punjab Government’s mandate to the teachers and students of government schools to listen to the Modi’s ‘tele bhashan’ on the occasion of Teachers’ Day on September 5.

A former principal and chairman of the Punjab Educationist Forum, Tarsem Bahia, said, “Such a dictate not only goes against the spirit of recognising teachers’ contribution to the nation, but also robs the students and teachers of their constitutional right and freedom to make a choice between listening or not listening to a tele-programme”.

Dr Kuldip Singh, president, Panjab and Chandigarh Teachers’ Union, said, “Modi first needs to explain if we are living in a democratic or dictatorial set up. How can a leader force the teachers to stay up till late in the schools?”

A former president of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union, Prof KBS Sodhi, said if the teachers and children feel a need to listen to his speech, they can do so sitting at their homes as well.

This irrational move has earned the wrath of teachers, children, parents and the educationists at large, said a former Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union chief, Prof RS Brar.

Ludhiana, September 1
Following the recent move of Bhasha Vibhag, Punjab, to wind up the stenography course at the Ludhiana Centre, the interested applicants have been left with no option but to switch over to private institutes to pursue the course.

Earlier, students used to pursue this course free-of-cost at the Language Department. But now, students will have to shell out more than Rs 8,000 for pursuing the annual course of stenography.

Sukhminder Singh, one of the applicants, said, “I was really happy to be doing this course without spending a single penny. But, now that the department has winded it, I will have to take the course’s fee from my parents. The department has not taken a right step.”

More than 300 applicants, both from Scheduled Castes and general category, had applied for this course at the Ludhiana Centre.

Sarvan Singh, father of an applicant, said, “My son was interested in pursuing this course from Bhasha Vibhag. But now we have opted for a private institute. We will have to pay Rs 10,000 for the one-year stenography course. It is ridiculous that on one side the government claims of helping the unemployed youth but on the other side, it has closed down the free course.”

Another applicant said, “Due to this decision of the department, our fate is now uncertain. To do this course from a private institute means spending a big amount of money, this is not justified at all.”

The department has decided to end this course due to a shortage of staff. Not only Ludhiana, but Mansa and Bathinda Centres have also been shut down.

The senior assistant, Bhasha Vibhag, Ludhiana Centre, Bhupinder Kaur, said, “The department has not issued any fresh instructions. The course has been winded up.”

Meanwhile, before winding up the stenography course, the Language Department did not, reportedly, inform the applicants.

The applicants came to know about it when they came to submit their forms on August 20 at the Punjabi Bhawan. The last date for submission of application for general category was August 22 and for Scheduled Caste category, it was August 25.

The classes were to start from September 1.

Ludhiana, September 1
CM Parkash Singh Badal, visited the city to inquire about the health of veteran Akali leader Jagdev Singh Talwandi at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) today.

Jagdev Singh Talwandi, former President of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, (SGPC) Amritsar, has been undergoing treatment at DMCH from last some days. He is on ventilator and stated recovering the health condition.

Ranjit Singh Talwandi, son of Jagdev Singh, informed about the health condition of Jagdev Singh Talwandi to the CM.

He asked the doctors to take care of Talwandi. Speaking about the leader’s contribution to the SAD, Badal stated that Talwandi played a significant role to serve the Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat. He is a prominent personality of Sikh Panth. “We pray for his good health,” said Badal. While interacting to the media persons, Badal said visits of the PM to other countries are a positive sign for the nation. Reacting on the Modi Government’s move to observing the Teachers’ Day as “Guru Utsav” he said there is nothing bad in celebrating Guru Utsav but we will decide after discussing the issue with education minister Daljit Singh Cheema. 

Jagraon, September 1
The workers of Jagraon unit of the Congress party have been in a state of confusion in absence of proper leader to lead the party activities in Jagraon constituency. The party high command has failed to appoint halqa in-charge (constituency in-charge) of the party in Jagraon for last many months.

Earlier, Isher Singh Meharban, former minister, was halqa in-charge of the Congress party from Jagraon. But after Meharban left the Congress party and joined Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) during the recently held Parliamentary polls, there is no leader to lead the party activities in the constituency. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 1
Amar Shaheed Library at a gurdwara of Latala village has almost changed the lifestyle of the residents here.

While elderly persons have shun bad habits such as gossiping and sitting idle, youths and children of the region have starting searching their role models in storybooks and autobiographies of great men and women of the nation.

Social activists led by Baljeet Singh, secretary of the committee running the library, feel appreciative of their friends who donated items of progressive literature to pave the way for establishing a library at the village three years ago.

While paraphernalia and costly books were contributed by donors, including NRIs from the village, the management committee of the village gurdwara was kind enough to provide a room to accommodate the library.

Appreciating the role of office-bearers and activists of other social, religious and educational organisations of the village in educating villagers about the significance of reading habit for personality development, Baljeet Singh said the coordinated efforts by all had resulted in the improvement of personality among the children and the youth.

“A majority of the children visiting the library have developed good habits and moral values,” said Baljeet Singh. In routine, the library opens for certain hours in the morning and evening. Efforts are being made to keep it open on special occasions. — OC

Ludhiana, September 1
Soon, an escalator will be installed at the railway station to provide safe mobility. Railway officials today held a meeting to chalk out a plan.

They said the escalator would be installed near the newly constructed railway foot overbridge and that the work would be completed within six months.

Although the foot overbridge connects the station’s entry points with all platforms, senior citizens and differently-abled persons find it difficult to reach the platforms in the absence of a ramp. With the installation of the escalator, the long pending demand of passengers will be fulfilled.

“It’s strange that the officials took so long to recognise the need,” said a senior citizen. He added that the station should have more than one escalator. On the old city side, one escalator will be installed. There won’t be any moving staircase on the Civil Lines side. Ravinder Sharma, Station Superintendent, said: “The higher authorities have given a green signal to the installation of the escalators. We will try to complete the project on time.” 

Ludhiana, September 1
Dengue cases have surfaced in various parts of the city. Fourteen cases have been reported so far. Eight patients are from Ludhiana while the remaining are from Amritsar, SBS Nagar, Patiala, Bathinda and Jalandhar.

The Municipal Corporation and Health Department have formed teams to create awareness. Pamphlets are being distributed and fogging is being carried out. Still, the number is on the rise. As per records, more than 850 confirmed cases of dengue were reported last year from Ludhiana alone. Larvae were found at Rajesh Nagar, Shivpuri, BRS Nagar, Shakti Nagar, Sham Nagar, Islam Gunj, Amar Pura, New Kundan Puri, Kundan Puri, Shimla Puri, Jammu Colony, Sherpur, Ashok Nagar, Shahi Mohulla, Peeru Banda, Dugri, Dal Bazar, Fateh Gunj Mohalla, Shahi Mohalla, Purani Sabzi Mandi (Arayian Gali and Prem Gali), Janta Nagar, Subhash Nagar and Chand Cinema. MC officials said fogging was being carrying out in the areas on a regular basis.

An official of the Health Department said residents should maintain cleanliness. They should not let water accumulate outside their houses. Water coolers should be dried twice a week and tyres should not be kept on rooftops. “Both the MC and the Health department are at the receiving end, but in risk-prone, congested areas, the residents do not maintain hygiene,” said the official.

Ludhiana, September 1
The State Transport Department is prospering money-wise. The target for the department till July was Rs 40054.83 crore and the department has earned Rs 40445.91 crore.

This was stated by Anurag Aggarwal, Principal Secretary, Transport, at a recently held meeting. Anil Garg, District Transport Officer, Ludhiana, said, “The target for Ludhiana district till July was Rs 283 crore. We are short of Rs18 crore.

It takes officials a lot of time to monitor different works. We need time to achieve the target.”

The District Transport Department has been grappling with acute staff shortage.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 1
Residents of the town are up in arms against the civic body. They said if sanitation workers would not call off their stir, they would throw garbage outside the MC office on Tuesday.

The town looks like a dumping site. One can see garbage strewn in every nook and cranny. With sanitation workers refusing to call off their strike, the residents have been at the receiving end.

The workers have been protesting for the past four weeks, but nobody is persuading them to resume work and clear the garbage from the streets. Social activists are hesitating to intervene and the residents apprehend that the situation is bound to go out of control in case efforts are not made to persuade members of the Safai Mazdoor Union to call off their strike.

Office-bearers and activists of various organisations led by former president of the Municipal Council and patron of Ahmedgarh Bachayo Morcha Jatinder Bhola threatened to dump garbage on the premises of the MC office. “Not even a single official is ready to listen to the grievances of the agitating workers and the situation is worsening each passing day. We are living in a hell,” said a resident.

The workers said they would intensify their stir if their demands were not met. Maintaining that the situation had arisen due to the apathetic attitude of the authorities, Satnam Singh, president of the local unit, said a decision would be taken following the state body leaders’ instructions. 

Ludhiana, September 1
PPC Club quelled a strong challenge from Ranjit Club before romping home victorious 3-0 to win the title in the men’s section of the Senior Ludhiana Baseball Tournament which concluded at the Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women, Gujjarkhan Campus, Model Town, today.

Earlier, in the semifinals, PPC Club drubbed RS Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, 9-2 and Ranjit Baseball Club thrashed Arya College for Boys 7-2 to settle for the title clash. In the match to decide the third place, Arya College defeated RS Model Senior Secondary School 8-2 and had to content with a bronze medal.

Harbir Singh Gill, organising president, Ludhiana District Baseball Association, distributed prizes. Sukhdev Singh Aulakh and Gurdeep Singh, office-bearers of the association, were also present.

Ludhiana, September 1
Students of Kundan Vidya Mandir, Civil Lines, performed exceedingly well in the Ludhiana Sahodaya School Badminton Tournament held at Tagore Public School, Aggar Nagar, yesterday.

In the girls U-14 category, Prerna Dawar, Tanvi Kaushal, Sanya, Simartana and Ganga Kapoor proved their mettle to bag the first position and in the boys U-14 section, Adam Pratap, Aayan Gupta, Ankit Goel, Harjot Singh Saini and Lakshay secured the third position.

Mitaksh Gandhi, Lakshay Singla, Rachit Gupta, Jasleen Singh Saini and Navam Jain secured the first position in the U-14 category. In the boys U-19 category, Aditiya Gupta, Rohan Dhanda, Mohul Goel, Akshit Khullar and Ishan Gupta proved their superiority to secure top honours. The boys team carried away the overall trophy. Navita Puri, principal, KVM, appreciated the students’ efforts and motivated them to achieve greater heights.