Ludhiana, November 20
In what could come out to be a huge drain on the finances of cash-strapped Municipal Corporation, the contractor entrusted with the maintenance of streetlight points on national highways passing through the city has been found to be cheating the civic body.

At several places, metal halide (MH) lamps were replaced with mercury vapour lamps while the bills, both for cost of replacement and maintenance, were submitted for MH lamps, the cost of which is higher than the mercury vapour lamps.

The irregularity came to light during an inspection carried out by the MC Commissioner, Pradeep Aggarwal, who was accompanied by Additional Commissioner Satwant Singh and Deputy Mayor RD Sharma.

The MC officials found to their utter shock that a large number of MH lamps, originally fitted on the national highways stretch from the Ferozepur Road octroi post to Jagraon Bridge, from Jagraon Bridge to Sherpur Chowk and on the elevated road were replaced with mercury lamps. The cost of an MH lamp is roughly 80 to 90 per cent more than a mercury vapour lamp.

At the same time, the contractor claimed cost of replacement and maintenance charges of streetlight points for MH lamps as against mercury vapour lamps, which cost less and their maintenance charges are also on a lower side.

The MC chief summoned the Superintending Engineer (Electrical), SP Singh, on the spot and asked him to take action against the erring contractor. It was decided that if the contractor failed to replace the mercury vapour lamps with the MH lamps within a period on one week and did not pay back the excess amount collected from the MC against the replacement and maintenance costs, a criminal case would be lodged against him for fraud and cheating.

According to SP Singh, the field staff of the MC had been deployed to identify the streetlight points having mercury vapour lamps. Initial survey had revealed the number of such streetlight points to be around 700 on Ferozepur Road and Old GT Road.

On the basis of the actual number of streetlight points where the mercury lamps were fitted in place of the MH lamps, recovery proceeding would be launched against the contractor, he said, adding that the issue of higher maintenance charges claimed by the contractor would also be taken to its logical conclusion.

Cost factor

At several places, metal halide (MH) lamps were replaced with mercury vapour lamps while the bills, both for cost of replacement and maintenance, were submitted for MH lamps, the cost of which is higher than the mercury vapour lamps.

Ludhiana, November 20
Inauguration of the ill-equipped mother-child hospital at the Civil Hospital has been postponed. Earlier, Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani was to inaugurate the hospital on November 21. Keeping in view the lack of proper infrastructure and staff, the inauguration has been postponed. Though the minister will visit the hospital on November 21, he will not inaugurate it.

The basic requirement of the 100-bedded hospital has not been met so far. “The doctors and paediatricians are being shifted from the Civil Hospital’s gynaecology department while the other staff is being arranged from within the district. I have also written to the Director, Health, in this regard. Since no fresh appointments have been made so far, I am making the best possible arrangements,” said the Senior Medical Officer, Dr RK Karkara.

Even the intensive care unit and the newborn unit are not ready yet. The old beds and other furniture are being painted and repaired. “The ICU is not ready yet and we are working on it. The beds furniture from the Civil Hospital will also be used in this hospital. At present, we have 40 beds while the remaining are yet to come,” added Dr Karkara.

The Civil Surgeon, Dr Subhash Batta, said: “The Health Minister will visit the hospital and launch the Urban Health Care Mission from Ludhiana. However, the hospital will be inaugurated soon, not tomorrow,” added Dr Batta.

OPD in A Block started in a hush-hush manner

The OPD at A Block was started in a hush-hush manner on Wednesday as the hospital was slated to be inaugurated on November 21 earlier. The doctors and staff from the gynaecology department are examining patients without proper infrastructure. 

Ludhiana, November 20
It has been more than two months since a woman was abducted, raped on the banks of the Sutlej and was kept in illegal confinement for four days, but the accused are still at large.

The woman, a mother of two children, was allegedly thrown out of the house by her husband, accusing her of infidelity. He presumed that she had eloped with a man and after being dumped she was concocting a kidnapping story.

The victim had taken shelter at a local gurdwara. There, she met social activist Jagshir Singh, who took up the issue with the authorities concerned.

Initially, the police kept dilly-dallying. But when the matter was highlighted in the media, a case was registered against Naresh Kumar, a resident of Bharti Colony, his accomplice and aunt Gulabo for kidnapping and raping the woman.

Sources said a few days after the registration of the case, Naresh left the country to avoid police action.

Social activist Jagshir Singh of Mullanpur said while the victim was running from pillar to post for justice, the accused were roaming scot-free. Sources said recently, the victim, along with the social activist, met ACP- North, Dhruv Dahiya. After listening to the victim’s ordeal, the ACP-North asked the Salem Tabri SHO to bring the case file and initiated investigation under his supervision, said social activist Jagshir Singh. While speaking to The Tribune, the ACP said: “Efforts are on to nab the accused. If they manage to evade arrest, then proceedings to declare them proclaimed offenders (PO) will be initiated.” Sources said a few days after the registration of the case, Naresh left for abroad to avoid police action.

Ludhiana, November 20
While the city police are putting in all efforts to arrest seven criminals who conned Rakesh Gupta, owner of Khushiram and Son’s Sweets, out of Rs 20 lakh at Sarabha Nagar by posing as income tax (I-T) officials, it has come to light that the fake IT raid was executed after a thorough planning.

Police sources said nearly a month before the strike, the members of the gang visited the house posing as passport office employees for a passport verification. During the visit, the members of the gang reportedly took down the details of all members of the family and left the house.

A relative of Rakesh said the imposters visited the house in October when Rakesh was attacked and was undergoing treatment at the hospital. There was utter confusion in the house and the police were not informed about the previous incident, said the relative.

In the meantime, the police have formed five teams to probe the case. These teams are carrying out separate investigations.

While one team is looking for Toyota Innova in which Rakesh and his wife Neelam were taken by the imposters to arrange more money from their relatives, the other team is trying locate the shop from where the swindlers procured police uniforms.

Sources said the police had questioned a few suspects from the Sidhwan Bet area.

“We have learnt that a person claiming to be a passport office employee had visited the house on the pretext of verifying the address. But he returned after members of Rakesh’s family told him that it was not the address he was looking for,” said ACP-Crime Jaswinder Singh.

Ludhiana, November 20
Residents of Ward Number 57 are facing numerous problems such as insanitary conditions, inadequate parking space and stray cattle. The ward, which has posh localities, is no exception when it comes to the pathetic condition of roads.

Stray cattle can be seen roaming on the roads. Heaps of garbage lying on roadsides give residents a tough time. Residents say it is difficult to pass these garbage heaps, especially during the monsoon. With the main road has been encroached on by vendors, commuters find little space to drive. The situation becomes worse during the festival season.

Poor state of affairs

* Over 1,000 employees/officials yet to get salary for October.

* Previous month too, it was released two-three days before Diwali.

* In the past many months, employees have to protest and stage dharnas to get their salaries.

Ludhiana, November 20
The elections of the Ludhiana Effluent Treatment Society (LETS) have been called off. Fresh orders will be issued tomorrow. The elections were scheduled to be held on December 10.

Raminder Singh, secretary-cum-director, Industries, and chairman, LETS, said the existing election procedure had been suspended and fresh orders would be issued tomorrow.

“Candidates’ nomination were rejected for reasons which were not valid.

There was a lapse on part of the management and not on part of candidates.

List of members was also not updated.

Keeping these things in view, the elections have been suspended.

The term of the society will expire on December 20. Afterwards, a new team will be formed,” Raminder said.

Ludhiana, November 20
Bharti Sanghi, who is passionate about cooking, started making traditional delicacies about 10 years ago at her home. She used to make Rajasthani, Marathi and Gujarati dishes.

She started with a winter wear business after her marriage. Later, she turned to her passion that is cooking.

“I did not got any formal training in cooking, my interest in it grew as a child while helping her mother in the kitchen. With the demand for her dishes growing, it has turned into a business as well,” she said.

She was now operating from Delhi and is in the city for taking part in an exhibition. But the root of her delicacies is still the traditional dishes.

“The spirit of my food is still traditional, but by fusing it and giving it an innovative touch, these not only have a better visual appeal, but taste as well. So rather than simple ‘matris’, I added methi, and more dishes. The traditional ‘gujia’ had the apple crush dishes. I made ‘gud ka paras’ as round balls. Similar touch of innovation can be seen in most of my creations,” she said.

“We should not forget the traditional cuisines, but celebrate the rich culinary traditions. For appealing to the new generation, we should rather give a twist to the traditional dishes, may be altering the shapes of items or packaging them in a different way, she says.

This is what Bharti did with the traditional dishes, she said.

“Innovation in food is important these days,” she said, who believes making the traditional dishes visibly interesting.

Though wine is made from grapes, she has also tried making wine from Jamun last season, which tasted well. “Now, I am trying to make wine from oranges and other fruits,” she said.

Ludhiana, November 20
Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Amrit Kaur Gill has appealed to all senior citizens that they should call at Ludhiana Police Commissionerate helpline No 1090 in case of any emergency or at the time of need.

She said this while presiding over a meeting on ‘The Maintenance and Senior Citizen Act 2007’ here today.

Gill said: “The senior citizens play a prominent role in society. Our younger generation should always respect them.”

She said they were the torchbearers of society and we should make use of their life experiences. Even the District Administration was into their service.

The ADC directed district administration officials to give due respect to the senior citizens and implement the Deputy Commissioner’s orders that nodal officers should be appointed in all departments for the purpose.

She directed that boards mentioning all details about the Act as well as the nodal officers should also be placed at all police stations and hospitals.

The ADC said the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate had already started the helpline number 1090 where the senior citizens could call in case of emergency. — TNS

Ludhiana, November 20
BSNL unions and organisations protested outside the BSNL head office today in support of their demands. Balwinder Singh from the union said non-executives of the BSNL had been facing many problems that had not been resolved yet.

He said the wage revision in 2007 led to decreased pay for workers. Fixed medical allowances among other benefits were also stopped. Members of the unions said if their demands were not met, they would hold a protest on November 27.

Ludhiana, November 20
Rajat Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, flagged off a truck loaded with blankets and woolens for J&K flood victims here today from Bal Bhawan here today.

Aggarwal said blankets and woolens sent though this truck would be distributed among residents of Srinagar and other places.

He said some city residents have already sent many required items for the flood victims with the help of the Army. He thanked all people of the district for this kind gesture.

The Deputy Commissioner said people in Jammu and Kashmir had been facing a crisis for the past six months due to the natural calamity.

Supreet Singh Gulati, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana (Development); Amrit Kaur Gill, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General); AS Saiyyad Sehrish Asgar, trainee, IAS; Kuljeet Pal Singh Mahi, SDM, among others present.

Man from Kashmir seeks residents’ help

Mohsin Iqbal Goni from Kashmir was among those whose house got severely damaged during the floods that ravaged Kashmir in September. Pained to see the plight of people who were worst affected, he formed a J&K rehabilitation forum for helping those in dire need of support.

“There are families who are finding it hard to survive. Their condition is deplorable having no means of livelihood after losing everything in floods. We are seeking help of residents here to support them for at least four months to help them survive the harsh winter season,” said Mohsin, who was in the city for the cause.

“We have identified 3,274 families that are worst affected and have no means of livelihood. People can help by adopting them for at least four months. The cost of the relief material for a family for four months would be around Rs 12,000, he added.

He said: “Many people don’t contribute fearing that the money would actually reach the needy or not. We have made a proper system under which the donor can anytime check whether it has been received by them or not.”

Ludhiana, November 20
A meeting of the Punjab unit of the All India Jat Mahasabha was held at the Circuit House here today under the presidentship of Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon.

Office-bearers of the Punjab unit were introduced during the meeting. It was discussed that the government should also give reservation to Jats in Punjab.

Gursimran Singh Mand, secretary of the Punjab unit of the All India Jat Mahasabha, said: “The meeting was also attended by Major Singh Dhillon, in charge, Malwa Zone-1, and Damanjeet Singh, president of Ludhiana district.”— TNS

Accuses state government of discrimination

The SSA and RMSA Teachers’ Union office-bearers said women teachers working under the two Centre-sponsored schemes were given only three months of maternity leave. “It is an example of sheer discrimination against contractual staff. How can the state government adopt different parameters in such cases?” questioned district president of the union Amandeep Singh.

After several “futile” meetings with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the union has decided to call a state-level protest rally in Ludhiana on November 23.

Ludhiana, November 20
Irked by the delay in releasing the their arrears, teachers and employees of government-aided private schools will protest outside the District Treasury Office tommorrow.

Office-bearers of the Aided Schools Teachers’ Union today alleged that the third instalment of their arrears had been released by the Education Department in the first week of September, but the Treasury had failed to disburse these further.

Union president Savinderjit Kaur said if the government failed to act, they would be forced to resort to protest.

Union press secretary Davinder Rehan said studies were bound to suffer due to the protest, for which he held the government responsible.

“The government implemented the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission in 2009, but failed to pass on the benefits to teachers working in aided schools,” he said.

Hitting out at SAD-BJP government for its “myopic” policies, union general secretary Gurmit Singh Madnipur demanded that pending salaries be paid to teachers of primary schools as well.

Ludhiana, November 20
A three-day national symposium on “Agricultural Diversification for Sustainable Livelihood and Environmental Security” concluded at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) today.

Chairing the concluding session, Dr Gurbachan Singh, chairman, Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board, and president, Indian Society of Agronomy, said although the country had achieved food security, it happened at the cost of natural resources.

He said in states such as Punjab, Haryana and the western parts of Uttar Pradesh, there was a strong need to shift some area to fruits, vegetables, agro-forestry, oilseeds and pulses.

“Diversification in terms of crops, enterprises and cropping systems is essential to make farming a profitable business,” he said. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, Nov 20
A family of Lehra village situated on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla road had a miraculous escape after a speeding truck (HP 12 D 7485) barged into their house breaking pillars and poles installed on the sides of the highway last night.

No family member was hurt in the mishap as they were sleeping in rooms situated away from the highway.

SHO, Dehlon, Amandeep Singh Brar said a case would be registered only after receiving written complaint from the victims.

Reportedly, the driver of the loaded heavy truck had left Sangrur town at about 11 pm on Wednesday and barged into the house of Gurnam Singh at about 12 in the midnight. Though the police are yet to ascertain the exact reason behind the mishap, it is suspected that the driver fell asleep behind the wheel and lost control over the vehicle.

The truck broke a few pillars, poles and electric cables installed along the roadside before colliding with the house situated at some distance from the main road.

Sarpanch, Lehra village, Nirmal Singh said owners of the truck would not be allowed to take away the vehicle till the family was not compensated for the loss. 

Dehlon, November 20
Followers of Baba Gurmukh Singh Lalton have threatened to launch a coordinated movement if the police fail to arrest the miscreants, who had allegedly vandalised the statue of the Komagata Maru ship martyr at his native village Lalton Khurad around 48 days ago.

Making announcement, office-bearers and activists of the Komagata Maru Centenary Celebration Committee took out a protest rally near the statue and staged a dharna in front of the Lalton police chowki blocking the Kartar Singh Sarabha Marg on the Ludhiana-Raikot road near here today.

The protestors alleged that the Administration had failed to protect the memorials of freedom fighters and martyrs.

Though the statute installed at Government High School had been vandalised thrice till now, the Administration had failed to identify the miscreants in all cases.

Leaders alleged the statue was first vandalised on December 26, 2005, and then on July 11, 2009. It was also vandalised on the intervening night of October 3-4 this year.

The Lalton police had initiated a probe into the matter after registering a case against unidentified miscreants. However, no arrests have been made so far.

Responding to a call given by the Komagata Maru Yadgari Committee, followers gathered in front of the house of the martyr and marched through streets before paying tributes at the statue of Lalton. They raised slogans against the Civil Administration and the police.

“In case the administration fails to identify and nab the suspects without any further delay, we will be forced to strengthen the struggle with the help of patriotic organisations, civic bodies and political parties,” threatened the followers of the Baba Lalton. 

Ludhiana, November 20
The two-day long ‘Road to Safety Programme commenced at KVM School, Civil Lines, here today. As many as 50 police officers and 75 drivers of commercial vehicles took part in the programme conducted by the representatives of the Institute of Road Safety Education.

Commissioner of Police Pramod Ban inaugurated the programme and stressed on the need of traffic awareness to curb accidents.

Meanwhile, traffic police officers were told to shun the pre-conceived notion that only the drivers of bigger vehicles were at fault during the mishap.

Though, it was the responsibility of drivers of bigger vehicles to ensure safety of riders of two-wheelers and drivers of smaller vehicles, yet it has been observed that at times drivers of smaller vehicles were also at fault.

“It has been observed that vehicle drivers blindly approach the highways paying scant regard to the vehicles coming from both the sides. This often leads to accidents,” said Rahul Verma, a traffic expert.

Sources said a surprise test of policemen was conducted and it was observed that a majority of them were not aware of the basic traffic rules. Beside policemen, MC and PWD employees will attend the session tomorrow. 

Ludhiana, November 20
An interactive session on ‘Being a young entrepreneur’ was organised on the campuses of Punjab College of Technical Education (PCTE), GNA University and Lovely Professional University.

Young Indians (Yi), an integral part of Confederation of Indian Industries, took the initiative to mark the Global Entrepreneurship week which started from November 17 till 23.

Yi Ludhiana Chapter conducted a series of sessions dedicated to young entrepreneurs. It was attended by more than 650 students. The events focused towards budding entrepreneurs.

Sushil Arora, Co Chair, Yi Ludhiana Chapter, engaged the students through various activities. He also mentioned about the RPM theory and highlighted its benefits in their life and the use of same techniques in the field of entrepreneurship.

Aabhas Dalmia, Co Chair, entrepreneurship and skill development, Yi Ludhiana Chapter, shared the strategies and techniques that he had employed to help the sales grow. He told the students how to delegate responsibility to employees, set clear expectations and systems of accountability, keep financials sound and look for expansion opportunities.

Amit Juneja, Co Chair of Yi Ludhiana Chapter, got many innovative ideas from the students. With the help of various videos he guided the students to be kind, innovative and apprised them of the new horizon of Entrepreneur Social Responsibility (ESR) through his presentation. 

Ludhiana, November 20
Members of the Textile Hosiery Kamgar Union and Karakhana Mazdoor Union today protested outside the DC office against the anti-worker reforms in labour laws as a part of the new policies of the Modi Government.

Criticising the so-called labour reforms, the labour organisation demanded the cancellation of the anti-worker policy. A memorandum regarding this has been sent to the government through Rajat Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana. The protesters said the workers had struggled hard to gain the legal labour rights. 

Ludhiana, November 20
The city police has registered a case against Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Chandigarh road area, for raping and duping a woman Rs 6 lakh. The victim told the police that she met Sanjay last year during a religious occasion where the accused sedated her by offering her tea laced with sleeping pills.

She said the accused raped her and made the video of the crime on his mobile phone.

The victim said the accused took Rs 6 lakh from her by blackmailing her. He warned the victim that if she failed to give him money then he put would the video on the Internet.

Later, the victim mustered courage and reported the matter to the police. The Jamalpur police has registered a case and have started investigations.

Case registered

The city police have booked a man for posting nude pictures of his former wife on the facebook account of her relative. The accused has been identified as Amarjit Singh of Phase-I, Dugri.

The victim has stated that she got married to the accused two years ago.

She alleged that she had parted ways with her husband after she came to know that he was a drug addict.

The victim said in September the accused posted her pictures on her cousin’s facebook page.

This caused a huge embarrassment for her and her family members. She reported the matter to the police.

Soon after receiving the complaint, SHO, Anil Bhanoot registered the case under various sections of the Information and Technology Act (IT- Act) and started investigations.

Theft at house

The police have registered a case against unidentified persons for committing a theft in the house at Kunal Colony in Mundian. A case has been registered on the complaint of Ashutosh Jha.

The complainant has stated that he left the house to visit the house of his relatives along with his family on November 16. On the evening of November 18 when he returned, he was shocked to find the house ransacked.

He said the thieves had decamped with gold ornaments, necklace, earrings, locket and Rs 2,000 cash from the house.

Travel agents booked

The city police have registered a case against two travel agents for duping a resident of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar of Rs 4.19 lakh on the pretext of sending him to Canada.

Inderjit Singh, SHO, Model Town Police station, said a case had been registered against Jatrinder Singh Bajakhana and his aide Bittu Danewalia. It had been registered on the complaint of Bakshish Singh.

The complainant said the accused had taken Rs 4.19 lakh from him on the pretext of sending him abroad. Bakshish said the accused could not send him abroad and usurped his money as well. Later, he approached the police and got the case registered against them.

Ludhiana, November 20
The annual athletics meet began at GGN Public School here today. The chief guest, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, motivated the students to participate in all events taking place in the school and make use of all facilities made available to them.

“You must study hard and play hard to become good students,” said Bedi.

Giving her own example, she said she became a national champion in tennis at the age of 16 and Asian champion at the age of 20, while standing first in the college in academics as well.

On the first day of the meet, schoolchildren took part in various events. Races were held under different categories.