Ludhiana, August 20
The elite Mall Road is supposed to reflect all that is best in Ludhiana. The high-rise buildings, the well-decorated and displayed showrooms and top-brand outlets. But regretfully there is no parking space available anywhere along this "elite" shopping mall.

According to officials of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, all the showrooms and commercial buildings have specified parking space mentioned in their building plans which they had submitted for approval. But once they got the approval, they converted the parking space into showrooms.

The high land prices are too tempting to let them think for a while about the proposed building plans and the parking space. After the completion of the building, the building owners are supposed to get the "no-objection certificate" from the corporation. The NOC is issued only after the building is inspected and the details are verified- whether it has been constructed according to the sanctioned plan.

The officials said most of the buildings on the Mall Road do not have the NOC from the corporation. They keep on running their business establishments without the mandatory NOC. It is not that the corporation has not been dong anything. From time to time, the officials keep on issuing notices for removing the encroachments or the unapproved portions of the buildings. But somehow they manage to hold on by using influence with some politician or an officer.

Mall Road is the costliest location in the city in terms of land prices. A small showroom is worth crores of rupees. The showrooms also fetch a handsome rent. Most of the building owners have converted their basements, which were supposed to be meant for parking according to the original plan, into showrooms and rented these out. With the result there is no parking space left and the vehicles are parked on the roads.

A survey by The Tribune along the Mall Road revealed that none of the commercial buildings had any parking space left either in front of it or in the basement. Even those buildings which are currently coming up have not kept any provision for parking.

Ludhiana, August 20
It was a gang of 20 drug addict youths, who had carried out the daring operation of freeing an under-trial from a PRTC bus near Amaltas hotel on Ludhiana-Jalandhar highway on August 14 evening.

The under-trial, Surjit Singh, an alleged notorious drug smuggler was still untraceable but five members of the gang, specially formed for the purpose, have been arrested.

Investigation so far suggests all the youths, employed with a sand mining contractor, freed the smuggler so that the supply of drugs to them could continue, the police said.

The cops were probing if a larger crime plot was there behind the rescue operation.

Twenty persons would not risk their life merely for getting drugs, the police felt.

Moreover, six of the absconding accused belonged to one family of Tahliwala Chhana village.

The cops also plan to question another drug smuggler, Naryan Singh, already lodged in a central jail for his involvement in the crime. Police said interrogation of the arrested accused revealed he had made the plans.

SP detective Gurpreet Singh said they have identified 11 other accused while four were yet to be identified. All accused belong to Mehatpaur and Tahliwala Channa village.

The sensational escape had shaken the police administration with questions being raised on the security arrangements in place for taking under-trials to courts.

Moreover, the two constables, who were beaten by the gangsters, were bringing the under-trial in a public bus instead of a police vehicle.

SP said those arrested were Rakesh Kumar, Sukhjit Singh alias Sukha, Harpal, Tejinder Singh and Sandeep Singh alias Lala. All of them 12th class pass.

Those absconding were Mandeep Singh alias Laddi, Surjit Singh alias Seeta, Jagdish alias Deesha, Prem, Makhan, Beeru, Narinder jit Singh, Babbu, Deepa and Jagroop Singh.

A special investigation team led by DSP Jatinder Singh Khaira, DSP Paramjit Singh, Inspector Mangat Singh, and SI Dilip Kumar had arrested the accused. They have been deputed to conduct further raids. 

Ludhiana, August 20
Glowing tributes were paid to Rajiv Gandhi on his 64th birth anniversary here today. A function was organised at the Congress Bhawan, which was presided over by the district congress committee president Jagmohan Sharma. Among others present on the occasion included the district youth congress president, Dimple Rana.

The leaders and workers paid floral tributes to a portrait of the former Prime Minister. They resolved to work for the ideals set by the late Prime Minister. Speaking on the occasion, Jagmohan Sharma said, Rajiv Gandhi, like his mother Indira Gandhi, had laid down his life for the unity and integrity of the country.

He said Rajiv Gandhi was a great visionary who had launched the country onto the path of modern development, particularly computerisation. He said he was the architect of the modern India as programmes initiated by him have borne the fruits now.

Ludhiana, August 20
Even after getting an official letter of appointment as Group C clerk with district administration on March 18, 2005, Kuldeep Singh, son of a riot victim is a dejected man today.

Thanks to the petty clerical objections raised by the concerned department, 27 years old Kuldeep Singh is literally trapped in proverbial official red tape. One person in the department asks him to pay Rs 20,000 for joining the post whereas the other clerk tells him that another person had already been recruited at his place. Going through a tough period, Kuldeep Singh feels harassed and “tortured” by the concerned department for not making him clear about the real picture.

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Kuldeep Singh said he had lost all the faith in the system. He said despite repeated attempts, he was not allowed to meet the deputy commissioner to know the status of his job. He said one of the clerks had recently told him since the vacancy was already filled, he should wait till more posts were advertised under the quota, by the state government. "I still possess the appointment letter issued to me, that stands nowhere", he asked.

There seems to be a bleak future for Kuldeep Singh as two other kin of riot victims, who got letters the same day, had already joined their respective government duties almost a year back.

The letters were issued to all by the Rehabilitation Department on March 18, 2005. He was just four years old when his father was killed in the infamous anti-Sikh riots at Delhi in 1984. The entire family is dependent on a meager amount of pension that his mother Jasbir Kaur gets, which is just Rs 2500.

"My mother has high hopes from me. She does not know the whole situation. She is waiting for me to join the duty. I do not have enough guts to tell her the truth. She will be in a shock after knowing this", said Kuldeep Singh adding that his mother had faced great difficulties while upbringing him. He said he had even contacted the area counselors and politicians to help him out.

"Despite assurances by all of them, nothing fruitful has been done", he said.

He said the department had also raised objections over the Red Card (riot victim card) many times. After lot of difficulties over the raised objections, he was able to convince the clerical staff at last. Kuldeep Singh has already represented his case in the weekly Sangat Darshan several times but to no avail. 

Ludhiana, August 20
Guru Nanak Girls College in Model Town volunteered to establish a blood donation camp on the campus.

Over 50 students and staff members came forward to donate blood at the camp, organised by Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) in the college premises here today.

Motivating the students for the noble cause of voluntary blood donation, principal of the college Dr Charanjit Kaur Mahal impressed upon them to make blood donation a way of life.

She asked the students, as well as the faculty members to ensure that each one of them contributed regularly for this humanitarian act. Voluntary blood donation on regular basis, she remarked, will do a lot of 
good to thousands of critically ill patients, who were in desperate need 
of blood.

In order to dispel the misplaced apprehension of the youth about adverse effect of blood donation on the health of the donor, Dr Sonia Gupta from the department of transfusion medicine of DMCH, who had come to organise the camp, volunteered to become the first donor at the camp.

Immediately after blood donation, Dr Sonia started attending to other volunteers and continued the process of collecting blood as well as looking after other activities 
at the camp.

Thereafter, enthusiastic groups of volunteers from among the students and staff members donated blood at the camp.

Dr Mahal lauded the continuing efforts of Dr Amarjit Kaur, professor and head of transfusion medicine at DMCH for promoting the cause of voluntary blood donation in the region.

Interacting with the students, Dr Amarjit Kaur focused on the need for blood donation while stressing that blood collected from voluntary donors was most safe for those in need of blood transfusion.

She further said the blood was thoroughly screened for all communicable diseases before transfusion.

Ludhiana, August 20
The city police enforced one-way traffic for morning and afternoon hours outside Sacred Heart Public School here to check traffic jams.

The new plan was put in place finally today after much deliberation. The students and parents were informed two weeks ago about the diversion of vehicles.

The vehicles now reach the schoolgate from the leisure valley side and leave from Pakhowal road. The huge volume of traffic was cleared in 15 minutes today without snarls. Senior officials, including SSP R.K. Jaiswal were monitoring the situation today.

Parents and drivers were mainly responsible for the mess on a relatively wide road, as they were parking their vehicles haphazardly. Surprisingly, cops were also a part of the jam. Most of them are gunmen, who come to ferry children of officials of different departments.

To top it all, many drivers would park the vehicles in the wrong lane.

Ludhiana, August 20
An ultrasound scan centre in Raikot has been sealed and its registration suspended for four weeks by the sub-divisional appropriate authority Dr G.L. Gill for discrepancies in registration record and violations of the provisions of the PNDT Act.

The civil surgeon Dr Sat Pal Sharma, who is also the district appropriate authority under PNDT Act, said a team of officials, led by district health and family welfare officer Dr Reena Sandhu, had inspected five ultra sound scan centres - Gurkeerat Hospital, Sheela Jain Hospital, Bengali Institute of Health Sciences, Lajjawati Jain memorial Hospital and Sandhu Hospital, all located in Raikot sub-division.

After the inspection team found certain irregularities in the record maintained by Bengali Institute of Health Sciences, the sub-divisional authority under the PNDT Act, ordered suspension of the registration of scan centre and sealing of the scan machine for a period of four weeks.

Ludhiana, August 20
A literary function was organised by the literary body Sirjandhara at the Punjabi Bhawan here last evening to release and deliberate on a recently published poetry collection "Piyar de Rabab" (Music of Love), written by Surjit Singh Lambra.

Darshan Singh Shiwalik, MLA was the chief guest while Gurbhajan Gill, vice-president of Punjabi Sahit Akademi and Manjit Kaur, district education officer (secondary) were the guests of honour.

In his presidential address, Shiwalik said the poetry of Surjit Lambra was from his heart touching a variety of social causes, including education, women empowerment, work culture, and inspiration to the youth.

Gurbhajan Gill highlighted the straightforwardness with which Lambra has conveyed his viewpoint in his various poems.

Karamjit Singh Aujla, President of Sirjandhara appreciated the efforts put in by Surjit Singh Lambra in compiling his original poems in the book.

Kulwant Jagraon and Manu Sharma Sohal presented papers on the newly released book and recited selected verse from the book.

Earlier, the author recited selected poems in his melodious voice and said his mother was the inspiration for him who showed him the way to call spade a spade. His ninety-year-old mother, Shanker Kaur was among other family members present on the occasion.

Ludhiana, August 20
A 15-feet wide nullah along the Malhar Road has literally vanished in just about a decade. The space has been encroached upon by the business establishments that have come up along the road over these years. In fact it was a small stream that would emanate from the canal near Model Town Extension and would pass through various areas and end up in the canal near the Ferozepur Road. Over the years, it dried up and a small nullah remained there. While in the Model Town area, it was filled up to widen the road, nobody knows what happened to it after it reached the Pully Wala Chowk, where there are traffic lights now. There is no sign of the "pully" (small bridge) either.

Right from the traffic lights on the intersection of Malhar Road and Pakhowal Road, the entire space has been encroached upon. The residents of the area disclosed that it was not long ago when the, nullah, which had already dried up, was visible. But, the business establishments along the Malhar Road, with apparent connivance of the officials of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, encroached upon it. Today there is no trace of the nullah.

It is learnt that the 15-feet wide nullah still exists in the records of the municipal corporation and the revenue department. From time to time, some people, particularly the residents of Gurdev Nagar, that bordered the Nullah, had raised the issue with the government. But with the powerful and influential people being the culprits, no action was taken. It is learnt that orders were also issued about the demolition of all the structures that have come over the nullah. But every time these were scuttled. The commercial buildings along the Malhar Road which had encroached upon the nullah are in the list of the buildings that are supposed to be demolished across the city.

The business establishments which are alleged to have encroached upon the nullah include Basant Food Joint, the Kesar Complex, the erstwhile Malhar Cinema, where Flamez has come up and big and other small shops and big showrooms. Since some of the owners enjoyed a lot of influence and power during the previous Congress regime, they ensured that no action was initiated in the matter.

A Gurdev Nagar resident disclosed that it was not that the Congress government alone did not take any action, even its predecessors did not do anything either. "We do not have any hope even now, because the people who have encroached upon the land are too big and influential and it does not take them much time to influence the powers that be", he said.

Ludhiana, August 20
Hundreds of Nokia customers heaved a sigh of relief as the company started checking and replacement of its mobile handset batteries at one of the retail outlets in the city. Over 300 customers got their batteries examined at the outlet here.

The advisory by the company a few days ago that its BL-5C batteries manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Company of Japan between December 2005 and November 2006 could potentially experience overheating, which resulted in panic among customers.

Even as the company offered to replace the batteries free of cost, massive lack of knowledge among people on the process of getting their batteries checked or replaced was adding to the problem.

"The company sent us 100 new batteries yesterday keeping in mind the worry it was causing among customers. So far over 300 people have got their batteries examined and we have already replaced some 30 of them which were manufactured during the period mentioned by Nokia," said Harjinder Singh, owner of Nokia outlet in Sarabha Nagar.

He added the company had promised to send more batteries soon as the existing stock was consumed.

Post advisory; people had queued outside most retail outlets only to be disappointed as they were told that the batteries were not to be replaced through outlets. The company's decision of offering examining or replacement at outlet has brought much relief to customers who were skeptical as to whether their batteries would be actually replaced.

"I was worried about the duration it could take for the company to replace my battery. After spending so much on the mobile one, one does not want to suffer. However, as I got the battery replaced at the outlet today I am much relieved," said Randeep Singh, a businessman from Gurdev Nagar.

According to the company, its buyers can send an SMS or call at a help line or visit the company's website wherein they can check if their battery needs to be replaced. In case a battery does need a replacement, the company stated that it would send it through courier at a customer's doorstep free of cost.

"I am yet to hear of someone having received the battery through courier. It would take some time, which is why most people are worried," said Pankaj Sharma, a resident.

With 52 models of Nokia carrying these batteries a large number of people were worried. However, the initial phase of panic seems to be gradually ebbing.

The company, through media and also on its website has asked its consumers to SMS their identification number or post it to company through its website. After identifying the problem, the company said the advisory applied to only 46 million batteries manufactured by Matsushita between December 2005 and November 2006.

So far approximately 100 cases of over heating have been reported globally. No serious injuries or property damage have been reported.

Traffic hazard is causing much inconvenience to public due to increase in number of multiplexes, shopping malls, and cinema halls in the city. The maximum inconvenience is occurring due to Malhar Road's PVR multiplex where SSP’s vehicle also faced traffic problem. In particular, residents of Sarabha Nagar and Gurdev Nagar are much affected. The cause of parking problem is that certain office blocks have been constructed in the parking area at Malhar Road's PVR. It should be ensured that a parking lot is according to sanctioned site plans and these are used only for parking purposes

Further, all the owners of such type of complexes should depute their own security network so that traffic may be regulated properly.

Ashok Juneja, Ludhiana

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Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 20
Khanna police has booked a youth of Bhari village under Section 307, IPC, for allegedly attempting to murder another youth of Amloh Road Khanna area last evening. Another youth who had tried to protect the victim was also injured. The accused was not arrested so far. Dispute over nonpayment of loan of Rs 5, 000 by the accused was reported to be cause of rivalry.

Dupinder Joshi alias Chabutari of Bhari village in this district was booked for allegedly attempting to murder Lakhwinder Singh alias Pali of Amloh road area at Khanna last evening. The accused attacked the victim after intercepting him at a busy area near Lalheri Chowk of the town. While the victim received many stab injuries in abdomen, at shoulders and legs, Ashok Kumar a passersby who tried to defend him was also injured in the incident.