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UNDP rains Rs 200 cr hope on slum dwellers
Ludhiana, August 18 The MC, government of Punjab and UNDP have signed a tripartite memorandum of agreement to provide basic services to urban poor including improved housing, water supply, sanitation, education, community facilities and necessary education to the slum dwellers. The state government would provide 20 per cent of funds under the programme. The local body has identified as many as 200 slums within the city's municipal limits that would be benefitted. Being an industrial city, Ludhiana attracts a number of migrants from U.P., M.P., Bihar and Orissa, who do not get a comfortable place to live and hence live in clusters erecting shanties at several places. Dr Ambedkar Nagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, F-Block, some parts of Model Town, Tajpur Road and Humbran Road are major slums while many shanties have come up in almost all parts of the city, as per MC's survey. ‘‘They put a lot of pressure on city and its resources. To deal with the situation we have set-up an Urban Poverty Alleviation Cell and are in the process of employing social scientists to make MC's plan a success,’’ said Vikas
Partap, commissioner, MC. He added that they had even set-up their core group of officials who were recently sent to Pune to study similar projects that had changed the lives of many slum dwellers in the past. Two officials had studied the programmes, who would help the local body in executing the plan with their gained expertise. ‘‘This would be another successful story of transforming the slums completely. Besides getting houses and other civic amenities, the slum women would be provided with day care centers for their children, who can get better life than accompanying their mothers to their workplaces. Emphasis would be laid on the education of these children,’’ said Partap. The commissioner said for the past 30 years, a lot has been done for the welfare of rural poor. But nothing much has been done for the urban poor who spend their life in slums. This is for the first time that something has been thought for the slum dwellers in Ludhiana, who are usually under fire from residents as well as the authorities, who treat them as encroaches.
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Cong leader’s son booked in gangrape case
Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 18 Three members of the family of the victim’s in-laws, including her husband, are among the accused. Former MLA from Dakha, Malkit Singh, on the other hand alleged that the police, in an effort to please SAD leaders, was trying to implicate his son falsely. As the victim had earlier accused the police of allegedly shielding the suspects the SSP, Khanna, has constituted a Special Investigation Team, headed by SP (H) Darshan Singh Mann, to probe the allegations levelled by the victim. Meanwhile, the Punjab Human Rights Commission has also directed SSP, Khanna, to investigate and report why a report was not registered at the initial stage. According to an FIR registered on the statement of Pawan Deep of Gidri village, her husband Malwinder Kumar, Parminder Kumar (brother-in-law), Rekha (sister-in-law), Gogi son of Malkit Singh, former Congress MLA, Gurjit Singh, panch, Harmel Singh, Harpreet Singh and Malkit Singh of Gidri village, had allegedly conspired to abduct her from near a PCO at the village and gangraped her by keeping her in illegal confinement at religious places at Kiratpur Sahib and Anandpur Sahib for many days. She was set free by the accused last Sunday. “When I was returning home after getting my mobile recharged on August 28, they forcibly dragged me into a car and took me to a religious place at Kiratpur Sahib. They kept me forcibly in a room at Kiratpur and later at Anandpur Sahib,” Pardeep told the police. The police was yet to confirm exact
role of the accused, as some of them had been booked for criminal conspiracy. Sources revealed that Gautam Cheema
SSP, Khanna, had constituted an SIT to probe the matter. Darshan Singh Mann, SP (H), Rattan Singh
Brar, DSP, Payal, and Surinder Kaur, Inspector, had been inducted in the special investigation team. Rattan
Brar, DSP, Payal, a member of the team said the case had been registered on the directions of the
SSP. “However arrests will be made only after verifying allegations levelled by the victim,” said
Brar. Sources revealed that the victim had strained relations with her husband and other members of her in-laws family. She had sought intervention of the Punjab Human Rights Commission in getting the accused booked. The commission had reportedly directed
SSP, Khanna, to find out the reason for not getting the report registered at Payal police station. Meanwhile, Malkit Singh former MLA, has accused the police of implicating his son in the case. “If the SAD leaders can go to the extent of harassing our family members by implicating them in false cases, they should register cases against us also,” he added.
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Bid to grab Dharmendra’s land
Dango (Pakhowal), August 18 Though Dharmendra rarely visits his birth place, his dilapidated ancestral house and two acres of prime land on the Ludhiana-Pakhowal road exist in Dango village. He was born in this ancestral house. Inquiries from villagers revealed that some persons tried to erect a boundary wall around a disputed land near the agriculture land of the actor. They allegedly tried to include his land also inside the wall. However, second generation cousins of Dharmendra, who till the land, prevented the alleged land grabbing. The erected wall was demolished. Cemented bricks are still lying there in a heap. One of Dharmendra’s cousins Daljit Singh told The Tribune today that they had foiled a similar attempt to grab the actor’s land a few years ago also. Mohinder Singh, a patwari and now posted in Raikot, revealed that the land belonging to Kewal Krishan, father of Dharmendra, was transferred in the name of the actor in 1994. Dharmendra is usually associated with Sahnewal where his father had shifted after his birth. He had for unknown reasons stayed away from Dango village, but had refused to sell the ancestral land as an apparent move to stay connected to his roots. Two years ago, he had made a surprise late night visit to Lalton village where he studied initially and his father was posted in a school. Later his father was transferred to Sahnewal. Village sources revealed that Dharmendra and his relatives were not on good terms but none tried to infringe upon the rights of the other. Sources revealed that a few years ago someone went to Mumbai with an offer to buy land from Dharmendra. The actor reportedly felt offended and offered to buy all land owned by the prospective buyer.
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Forensic report sought
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, August 18 Police sources revealed that Puri has been booked on suspicion. He was not seen in the clip even though there was huge circumstantial evidence against him. Puri has been booked and suspended for allegedly outraging the modesty of a couple in illegal confinement in the Division No 8 police station. The statement of the constables seen in the MMS will also be important in pinpointing that Puri was calling the shots in the MMS.
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Govt House Allotment
Ludhiana, August 18 According to official sources there are at least about a dozen bureaucrats and the police officers who are ‘overstaying’ in the government houses allotted to them during there tenure in the city. The local administration finds it difficult to get the houses vacated from them for the obvious reasons that all of them have and continue to be "colleagues". Some aggrieved officers, who have been posted to the city for months together but were yet to get official accomodation told The Ludhiana Tribune that they had made representations to the officers. They observed, it was not fair on the part of their predecessors to continue occupying even after getting posted out. "Ideally an officer should vacate the house as early as possible after his or her transfer, but it has been months, rather years in some cases, when the officers have not moved out", regretted an officer, who is waiting for his turn. Most of these houses are located in the posh Rakh Bagh area and Mall Road. These houses have sprawling lawns measuring between half to one acre. In normal course the rent of such an accomodation would run into thousands of rupees a month. Given the ideal location these houses have the officers are invariably reluctant to vacate these, in some cases, for years. Another officer said, this was happening mainly in Ludhiana. There may be some isolated cases in other cities like Jalandhar or Amritsar, but here things are really bad. He remarked, “ultimately someone may be forced to file a Public Interest Litigation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to get the unauthorised occupants evicted”. The officers posted here and without accommodation have a genuine problem. It is difficult to get a suitable accommodation in a city like Ludhiana where rents are so high. “Half of my salary would go in paying the house rent if I am to live in private accommodation”, said an officer. J.K Jain, GA to DC, when asked to give detailed information on the issue, said he could not comment on it as this additional charge had been given to him only a few days back. “It will take sometime to gather all details and the exact number of such houses could be told after looking at the files”, he said. Meanwhile, Ashok Goel, XEN Provincial Division, PWD, B&R, said the chairman of the House Allotment Committee, the Deputy Commissioner, had given them in writing that the house was allotted to the other official. “We request the officer concerned (transferred or retired) to vacate the house within two months. The permission of another four months of stay is given by higher authorities. There are some conditions under which the officer can retain the accommodation by paying double rent”, he said.
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Lakhowal gets cabinet rank
Ludhiana August 18 Speaking on the occasion, Lakhowal thanked the Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal for reposing faith and confidence in him. He said, he had always tried and would continue to come up to the expectations of Badal and the people he represented. He said, he would continue to remain a representative of the farmers and watch their interests, while at the same time performing his duties with all sincerity and commitment. Lakhowal said, the SAD-BJP government was "very sincere" about solving the problems of farmers and a good beginning had already been made. He said, the farmers’ issues were being taken up on priority basis by the Chief Minister.
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PSEB slaps fine on MC for kundi connection
Jagraon, August 18
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DC gives away tri-cycles
Mandi Gobindgarh, August 18 The chief guest distributed tri-cycles among five physically challenged persons -- Parmeshri Razat, Bodh Singh, Jaspal Singh, Amar Singh and Rupinder Kaur. Society chief Karamjit Singh Bittu said the society had solemnised the marriages of girls from the low income group families and organised medical and blood donation camps. Gurpreet Singh, DSP, Amloh, Som Dutt Sharma and Ashok Chopra, general secretary and press secretary of the society, respectively, also spoke on the occasion.
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100 dogs vaccinated for rabies
Samrala, August 18 Around 100 dogs were vaccinated for rabies and 134 large animals were treated by experts and out of these 10 animals were operated. The MLA, Samrala, Jagjeewan Singh Kheernian, and the local SDM, Baldev Singh Mahal, were the chief guests of the function. While Kheernian inaugurated the Atta-Dal scheme, Mahal inaugurated the plantation of saplings. Pardeep Aggarwal, deputy general manager, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Ludhiana, and Dr Vinod Gupta, registrar, Veterinary Council, Punjab Chandigarh, presided over the function. Aggarwal announced the adoption of the village and Dr Gupta told the audience about the role of veterinarians. Dr Indu Bala, an eye surgeon, Civil Hospital, Samrala, examined about 400 persons in the camp. Dr Paramjeet, deputy director, Ludhiana Animal Husbandry Department, and Dr Ashok Sharma, senior veterinary officer, Samrala, along with Hardev Singh, senior manager, OBC, Samrala, urged the audience to get the maximum benefit of the central and Punjab government schemes for the eradication of unemployment. Kartar Singh Mehdoodan, an Akali leader, Jasbir Singh Bondli, chairman of the PADB, and Satvinder Kaur, wife of former minister Jasdev Singh, were also present at the function.
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Sullage floods Sahnewal streets
Sahnewal, August 18 The sewer water has not only flooded the streets but also has at times entered the houses of the residents, thus making the situation all the more deplorable. The drainage system has got choked to such an extent that even a little rain leaves the streets in a miserable condition. Even in normal conditions, the streets of this ward are a pool of filthy water. Not only has the roads of this ward become impassable but also the entire area has been rendered unfit for living. The streets are narrow and constant water accumulation has only helped multiply the problems of the people. The residents are passing through really testing times as the dingy condition in which they are forced to live is only helping them to acquire various water born diseases. They fall an easy prey to infectious diseases like diarrhoea, gastroenteritis, jaundice, typhoid etc,. A resident of this ward rued, “This is not for the first time that we are encountering such a problem. It has been for years together but now the situation has got out of control, as we are unable to breath in such dingy conditions. The foul smell emitting from the sewer water is unbearable.” “A two-wheeler rider finds it difficult to drive through the streets and a pedestrian is forced to remain confined to his house due to waterlogging, added another resident. A teacher of a local school, who resides in this area, said, “The nagar council has been informed about the deplorable unhygienic conditions of the ward but not a single employee has visited the ward even once, leave aside taking remedial measures. Our children have become sick due to unhygienic conditions and the aged people too find it difficult to tolerate such conditions any more.” On the other hand, the nagar council has got a major internal split, due to which all developmental and sanitation works of the town have received a major setback. As the Akali councillors are levelling charges of misappropriation of funds on the Congress president of the nagar council, Ramesh Kumar Pappu. Asked about the deplorable condition of ward No. 8 and the absence of any remedial measures, the council president, who is also the councillor from this ward, replied that he was not empowered to spend a penny on either the cleanliness or uplift of the town unless all charges against him were withdrawn. The residents on the other hand are crying foul and apprehend that a major out break in the area is not far to seek in the wake of existing situation.” As the Akali councillors and the Congress president is fighting for the chair, it is we people who have been left entirely at the mercy of fate, with no authority coming to our rescue,” a resident burst.
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Loans of Rs 1,400 cr waived
Ludhiana, August 18 He was addressing a function organised to distribute financial assistance to the victims of thresher accidents at Grain Market, Khanna, today. The minister also presented cheques amounting to Rs 3 lakh among 15 beneficiaries. The CPS further informed that the government has also waived off pending loans worth Rs 14 crore which were in the name of 26,000 Dalits and economically weaker families. They would also bear half of the fee of Scheduled Caste nursing students. Khalsa said the government had also established a dedicated social security fund of Rs 482.46 crore to release regular pensions under various schemes of social security departments. He further claimed that SAD-BJP government had, immediately after coming into power, enhanced the amount of grant for the construction of houses for the homeless SC families from Rs 20,000 to Rs 50,000 per unit. The SAD-BJP government would watch the interests of farmers and eight hours of regular power supply was being provided during the paddy season. Later, at another function organised at Lalheri road, Khalsa inaugurated the subsidised atta-dal scheme in the constituency by distributing the commodities among the beneficiaries. He informed that the state government had relaxed the criterion for Below Poverty Line (BPL) eligibility by raising the national bar from Rs 7,200 per annum to Rs 30,000 per annum and had extended this benefit to approximately 14 lakh families in the state. Sukhdev Singh Libra, MP, said it was only SAD- BJP government which had launched pro-people welfare schemes whereas the Congress governments had always exploited the votes of the poor people and did nothing for their welfare. Others present on the occasion, included Jatinder Singh, president, Youth Akali Dal, Lakhvir Singh Kalal Majra, Devinder Singh Khatra, Jatinder Singh, president, Depot Holders Association and Rajinder Singh,
councillor.
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Another NRI-centred movie from Harbhajan’s stable
Ludhiana, August 18 Talking to The Tribune here today, Mann said, Punjabi cinema was being revived. He said some good movies that have come or were in the pipeline had given a fresh lease of hope for its long term survival. When asked why Punjabi cinema, unlike Punjabi music, had not been able to create an impact, he said, now the film producers were working on it. He pointed out, earlier Punjabi film productions were individual efforts. Now some well placed groups have appeared on the scene. He said, he had done extraordinarily well with the Punjabi diaspora and now he was focusing on Delhi, where there is large Punjabi population. Today Mann also released the music CDs of ‘Mitti Waajaan Maardi’ in collaboration with the Big Music company. The film is a joint venture of Adlabs and Punjab Movies International, and will be released later this month. Ace cinematographer and director of several super hit Punjabi films, Manmohan Singh has shot this film at various locations in Punjab and USA. The cast includes Harbhajan Mann and new face Japji Khaira (Miss World Punjaban 2006) in the lead roles. The supporting cast includes veterans of Punjabi and Hindi films like Deep Dhillon, Kanwaljit, Dolly Minhas Matto, Mahi Gill, Vivek Shauq, Gurpreet Guggi, Rana Ranbeer and others. Story, screenplay and dialogues are by Baldev Gill, lyrics by Babu Singh Maan, editing by Manish More, audiography by Narinder Singh, music by Sureinder Bachan, dances by Bhupi, cinematography by Harmeet Singh and is produced and directed by Manmohan Singh.
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Sahitya academy pays tributes to Dil
Ludhiana, August 18 Terming Dil’s demise as an irreparable loss to Punjabi literature, Patar said Dii was not only a strong proponent of the Naxalite wave but had also remained unperturbed by oppression in social life. Patar, who has recently returned from a trip abroad, recalled how devoted Dil was to poetry on the one hand while on the other, he fought tooth and nail for his principles and faced economic adversity throughout his life. “He deserved more than what he got from life, institutions and government", opined Patar. “His poetry will always inspire the generations to come and Punjab will also remember his contribution. The Punjabi Sahitya Academy, Ludhiana, had honoured him with "academy award" two years ago.
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Seminar on Warehousing Bill on
August 21
Ludhiana, August 18 Dr Nawab Ali, deputy director general (engineering), ICAR, New Delhi will inaugurate the programme. Dr Pitam Chandra, ADG (PE), Dr R.T. Patil, Director CIPHET and S.C. Batra, regional manager, Central Warehousing Corporation, (CWC), Chandigarh will also be present on the occasion. The lectures and field visits will be conducted by scientists and officers of CIPHET and
CWC.
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Cyclist hurt in mishap
Jagraon, August 18 The local police has registered a case under Sections 279, 337 and 427 of the IPC on a complaint of Balwinder Singh of Muktsar against the unidentified car driver, who fled the spot.
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NRI felicitated
Ludhiana, August 18 Bawa was accompanied by Pawan Garg, secretary, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Rajeev Bawa, secretary, Banda Bahadur Brigade, and youth leader Harinder Singh Grewal. Speaking on the occasion, Bawa said the members of the Punjabi community settled in the USA had enthusiastically participated in the function held by the Bairagi Mahamandal to observe the martyrdom day of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur. In particular, younger brother of Jagtar Singh Grewal, Avtar Singh, had made all the arrangements for the function in gurdwara in Seattle. Bawa said it was heartening to see during these celebrations that the Punjabis had immense respect for the martyrs. “The members of the Punjabi community in Seattle have committed that every year they will be celebrating birth anniversary and observing the martyrdom day of Banda Bahadur, who was known as a saint soldier and liberator of the farming community.”
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Address common man’s problems
This mega city and industrial hub of Punjab is becoming uninlivable with each passing day. While earlier Mayor Nahar Singh Gill boasted of introducing sky train in the city, the present BJP Chief of Punjab promises to convert Ludhiana into Shanghai. But both of them probably thought that being in power, they could summon a genie who, when ordered, would fulfil their promises in a jiffy. Former LMC Commissioner S.K Sharma, a pet civil servant of farmer Chief Minister, made a sweeping statement that Ludhiana would be made one of the most model cities of the world. All of them, however, seem to be oblivious to the ground realities. The politician and administrators should realise the difficulties being faced by people. Broken and pot-holed roads are repaired every year, while the repaired ones should last for at least three years. At many places not even half of the roads are available for vehicle use due to encroachments of various sorts. Roads become canals during rainy season thanks to choked sewerage and non-functional flood-water drainage system. Maintenance of parks is shabby as many of these have become dumping grounds. Those responsible for the upkeep of basic amenities should attend to the above mentioned deficiencies at the earliest. Dr I.S Kalra Ludhiana
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Shopping, a hassle at malls
Ludhiana, August 18 City residents complain of poor billing, absence of facilities like proper parking and shortage of sales staff at most of these centres that leaves them bitter after spending their money at these outlets. Talking of a prominent shopping complex, Reema Verma, a resident said: "After selecting a lot of items and spending over three hours in the process, I had to wait for almost an hour merely to get the billing done. To top it, I was told that that computer was not able to read codes of certain items as a result of which I had to leave them. It has not happened once, but several times and now whenever I have to shop I prefer my neighbourhood kirana walla." Another resident, who went to purchase grocery at one of these retail outlets said: They were offering heavy discount on apples and the same was being constantly announced. I too picked them up but was asked to wait. When I queried about the reason I was told that due to the power cut, their computer was unable to key in rates of discounted items. I had no option but to come back empty handed. Residents said that despite claims of being one stop shops, most of these outlets are out of stock for many items during most days of the month. "Initially I was quite happy that I could shop in an air conditioned environment even if I had to pay more. But after visiting this large shopping outlet, I realised that I had to re-visit or shop from some where else. It is very sad that consumer does not have very many options and is forced to resort to the old systems." Complaints of wrong billing and overcharging are frequent. "Worse is if one has to replace an item you have to visit several counters to return that single item," said Mukesh Arora disappointedly. While companies claim that their staff is well trained, residents complain that many times staff here is rude. "I went to do my monthly ration shopping but one of the workers there constantly stood to keep a check that made me feel quite uncomfortable. If they have CCTVs why should they make their customers feel bad," questioned Surjit Singh, a resident of Dugri.
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Industry seeks freight equalisation
Ludhiana, August 18 “Country’s landlocked states like Punjab must have dedicated ports in the other nearest states with coastal lines. A national policy can be defined after discussing the pros and cons so as to benefit the landlocked states,” said P.D. Sharma, president of the Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Regarding freight equalisation, Sharma said Punjab was located far away from the sources of major inputs of the industry. Similarly, it is away from ports. “In the current economic regime much of business depends upon imports and exports. So industry here gets imported industrial inputs at a very high cost due to heavy element of freight.” Even in case of finished products the industry from the state had to sell goods at distant places in the country bearing heavy burden of freight, which made freight a critical issue, the chamber added. Stating that freights were already rising and were likely to rise further mainly due to rising cost of fuels and other factors, the chamber said it would have an adverse impact on the industry if freight equalisation was not implemented. If freight equalisation was done, any company could sell branded products at the same rate in every part of the country.
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Investors cautioned against short-term approach
Ludhiana, August 18 Analysis of the mutual fund industry's sales data for equity funds for one-year period ending June 29, 2007, shows gross sale at Rs 90,516 crore of which sales in existing schemes were at Rs 68,350 crore and NFO sales stood at Rs 22,166 crore. For the same period, redemptions were at Rs 69,127 crore, a little over the number reported for sales in existing schemes. Effectively, net sales for the industry at Rs 21,388 crore show that the growth in the industry in terms of sales (not AUM) has come through NFOs. "World over, advice given to investors is that the long-term performance track record of a fund is one of the key parameters to look for when choosing a mutual fund. In India, we see greater enthusiasm for new fund offers while several top performing funds don’t even find a place in the investors' consideration set. No doubt, NFOs are necessary to broaden the market with new asset classes and innovative products, but, in the investors' interests, existing funds should be marketed equally actively," the company added. According to the company the relaunch of its equity fund received a good response. It said the fund was supported by new advertising campaign that focused on the fund's "go anywhere". The Fidelity Equity Fund has no market cap bias, no sector bias, no style bias and therefore straddles the small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap universe of stocks as well as the growth and value styles of investing. Sandeep Kothari, Fund Manager, Fidelity Equity Fund, said, "The go-anywhere approach of the fund allows flexibility in portfolio construction without an inherent bias towards any sector or market cap. Stocks that find a place in our portfolio reflect our conviction in these stocks that is based on learning as much as possible about the company through our rigorous research process."
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