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Sidhwan Canal goes the Budda Nullah way
Ludhiana, August 22 Just a day after the DM issued the ban orders following the direction of the Punjab and Haryana High court, the canal continued to be polluted. The orders would remain on papers only in the absence of any proper official machinery that could effectively enforce the ban. There is no check on the mushrooming of the slums on both sides of the canal. With politicians protecting the slums as safe vote banks, as exposed by the media in last elections, the canal is on way to be polluted akin Budda Nullah, where clear water used to flow once. Such a slum situated near the bridge had eaten into the brick lining on a bank of the canal. The garbage heaps identifies the canal line. A survey by The Tribune along the canal bank revealed the garbage continued to be dumped along the banks. Rag pickers were seen rummaging through the heaps. Thanks to the official apathy and unconcerned attitude of the city residents, the Sidhwan Canal has been used as a convenient dumping ground for years. The canal could have been an excellent excursion spot for the tourists but now it leaves a trail of filth along the city. Two years ago, at the instance of the Irrigation Department, the police had registered cases against several persons for throwing garbage. But with no arrest or follow up action, the pollution continues.
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Car bazar major hurdle
Kanchan Vasdev Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, August 22 Just within a decade, things have come to such a pass that visitors to this market indulge in road rage for every inch of parking space. It is literally a madhouse on the road in the market as hundreds of cars are seen parked haphazardly leaving little space for the traffic to pass. Besides visitors to the market, the area witnesses a huge rush of people on any working day as the office of Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) is located in this market. To cap it all are the offices of Ludhiana Stock Exchange, major banks and many other financial establishments. Though the LIT office boasts of its own parking space, it proves too small considering the number of visitors to the office. The watchman of the office says that the parking is enough only for the vehicles of the staff itself. The visitors are advised to park outside the gate. The pressure of parking remains on the main road and parking lots auctioned by the Municipal Corporation. Even these lots are insufficient to take pressure of the parking which finally spills on the roadsides. Though the Feroze Gandhi market has huge parking lots but the situation has gone from bad to worse. In fact this is the only place in Ludhiana where the issue of insufficient parking space has gone to the high court also. The property dealers and traders association of the market had knocked at the doors of the court after holding car bazaar dealers responsible for the mess that the market continues to be. Even the administration remained on tenterhooks to resolve the issue. The car bazaar dealers, who hold car bazaars in this market every Sunday, keep their second hand cars parked in the parking lots. This reduces the space for the visitors and hence the problem. The HC had directed the administration to stop holding of car bazaars some time ago but the menace continues even today. ‘‘The car dealers have encroached upon almost the entire space in the market and there is no space left for the customers to the markets. The cars put on sale block lanes, bylanes, pavements and even a green belt in the market,’’ said Col Harjap Singh, an office-bearer of the association. The traders and car dealers have been at loggerheads for the same reason. Traders say they resent the inconvenience caused to the visitors and shopkeepers who had spent crores of rupees while buying property in the posh area.
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Coins melt away from market
Ludhiana, August 22 The coins which were in such a huge abundance only a couple of months ago that people wanted to get rid of these, are barely available now. The worst hit are small retailers and bus conductors who find it difficult to pay small balance to people. It is learnt that the coins were being melted for being used in industry. One such example is that of shaving blades. It is estimated that people who melt these coins, redeem several times more from these than their face value. At least two shaving blades can be made from a single coin which sell for at least Rs 7 each. And the manufacturers make about Rs 3 to 4 per blade, thus, redeeming at least thrice the price of the coin. Compared to Re 1 and Rs 2 coins, the Rs 5 coins have not gone short. This is for obvious reasons. Because Rs 5 cannot fetch as much as the coins of lesser denomination after these are melted. Senior officials of some leading banks also confirmed that they had got reports of shortage of coins. They said although nothing could be said with certainty, there were apprehensions that the coins were being used for “other purposes” also. This has led to massive shortage. Some nationalised banks have chests for coins which they get from the Reserve Bank of India. The officials pointed out that it was very difficult to trace the coins once they were melted. Equally difficult is to find out the people who melt these. They said although this is a serious offence, so far no case had been made out against anybody. They said only good intelligence feedback can provide some leads that could help in tracking the “coin mafia”. However, during recent months, there were reports that some people would ask for the coins and pay more for them than their actual denomination. Hundred coins of Re 1 were bought between Rs 125 to Rs 150, depending on the bargain. Once the banks got alerted, “coin traders” also vanished and they now seem to be operating clandestinely. A number of shopkeepers and retailers The Tribune talked to, said for the last three months, they had faced an acute shortage of coins. “Earlier we would be flooded with coins so much so we found it difficult to dispose these of, but now we have to search for these,” said Raman Kumar, a shopkeeper.
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Pangolin gets new home
Ludhiana, August 22 The animal was brought to the city in a gunny bag and released into the forest in the presence of experts. It took just 10 minutes to disappear from the place. The Pangolin, named in the Red Data book of International Union for conservation of Nature as it is nearing extinction was spotted by students of Lawrence School, Jalandhar on their campus on Tuesday morning. They contacted Dr G.S. Bedi of PFA Jalandhar, who in turn informed about this animal to Dr Sandeep K. Jain, honorary wildlife warden and chief coordinator CAPE- India, who identified it as a Pangolin. Bedi also informed forest officials at Jalandhar who reached the site and decided to take it to Tiger Safari, Ludhiana. Dr Jain however spoke to chief wildlife warden, Punjab, to allow its rehabilitation instead to keeping it in captivity. The animal was examined by veterinary doctors and declared it fit to be released. CWW instructed the range officer to release it in forest area near a water reservoir. It was moved from Jalandhar in a Tata 407 in a wet gunny bag. Dr Jain said it was an adult animal and was in good health. He added that the Pangolin is a mammal having some characters of a reptile and was an endangered species. It was protected under Section l of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Found rarely in the foot hills of Shivalik, the Pangolin is also known as scaly ant eater as it thrives upon ants, white ants and smaller
insects.
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Customer turns thief; trader suffers
heart attack
Ludhiana, August 22 Hari Krishan Gupta, the 60-year-old trader in chemicals and candles, was under treatment at the Hero Heart DMC Hospital. His brother and business partner, Shiv Narayan, said an unidentified youth decamped with
lakhs of rupees from their shop. “The youth came on a two-wheeler and asked for a can of a chemical. My elder brother, who was handling the shop counter, came in the inner room to fetch the chemical. When he came back, he saw the youth taking out money from the locker. The trader tried to catch him but the youth sped away on his scooter. Hari Krishan collapsed on the road only. The Kotwali police was investigating the matter.
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People urged to make use of sangat darshan
Ludhiana, August 22 He also directed the officers to give maximum time in their offices for the redressal of problems and to remain personally present in the programme to ensure responsive governance. Presiding over the event here yesterday, 16 complaints out of the pending 39 were disposed off and 46 new complaints were received. In a case of cross complaints, two complainants from Jamalpur residential colony, Jasbir Singh and Harpreet Singh, got the notices from EO, PUDA, to close their illegal shops being run in the residential flats of PUDA. Both submitted complaints against each other to get the illegal shops of the other party closed. Gram Panchayat of Lalton Kalan village complained regarding the illegal construction of a boundary wall by a private coloniser to disrupt the flow of irrigation minor and complained that it has also affected the irrigation of their fields. The DC directed the Xen, Irrigation, to get the encroachment vacated and submit the report next week On a complaint of Bahadur Singh of Malik village regarding the demarcation of land as mentioned in the sale deed, Gurjar asked the SDM, Jagroan, to give the demarcation. The DC, on the complaint of Harpal Singh, an ex-serviceman of Jand village, regarding illegal encroachment on a passage to his house by another person, forwarded the required material to BDPO, Pakhowal, for early disposal. Darshan Singh of Nurpur Bet complained that the wastewater of his house has been blocked due to the construction of a drain by the neighbour at higher level, on this, he directed the BDPO to inquire and take immediate action for the disposal of the complaint. Others present on the occasion included Mr. Priyank Bharti ADC (D), K.P. Brar, ADC (G), Amrit Kaur Gill, SDM (W), Jagvinder Jit Singh, SDM (E), Gurlovleen Singh, SDM, Jagraon, Sukhdev Singh Mann, SDM, Samrala, Sukhminder Singh Gill, SDM, Khanna, Mukand Singh Sandhu, SDM, Raikot, J.P. Singh, DDPO and Inderpreet Singh Kahlon, district revenue officer.
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Atta-dal scheme inaugurated
Khamano, August 22 He said people who deserve this scheme would be taken under this scheme. He also announced a grant of 50, 000 for village school and 1 lakh for a shed at Shamshan ghat. He declared that development works would be done at war footing. Sukhdev Singh, president circle akali dal, Kheri Naudh Singh, Sukhdev Singh Gharcha, Shamsher Singh, Pal singh, sarpanch Paramjeet Kaur, Bhajan Singh, some of the senior leaders of akali dal and a number of people were present at the gathering.
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Alumnus donates money to CMC
Ludhiana, August 22 Dr John Pramod, director, CMCH, said the funds would bring some relief to needy patients. According to Dr Mathews, out of this amount, 400 pounds were collected in a space of just three weeks, primarily by selling sweets, crisps, muffins, drinks etc. during break and lunch time by his daughters. Another contribution of 170 pounds was raised by holding a quiz night. The girls also managed 250 pounds through Marks and Spencers showroom. Dr Mathews, who did his masters in orthopaedics from the CMC in 1981, is presently placed with the department of works and pension in the UK. His wife, Raj, is a senior sister at the Wartford general hospital and is in charge of eight theatres catering to different specialities. In their brief interaction with media, the Mathews were full praise for the training and experience they got at the CMC, which had seen them rise in a foreign land.Dr Mathews observed, "The medical facilities in India are very good and the hospitals have a high standard. The doctors have a very high commitment towards their patients."
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Recalling Partition and freedom
Sixty years ago on August 15, 1947, we rejoiced less at attaining freedom from the British rule and grieved more at the partition of the country. The cost seemed to be too high for the bargain that spelt doom. In late 1945 and early 1946, we the college students of three colleges in Amritsar, namely Khalsa College, Hindu College and Govt College (women), gathered at Jallianwalah Bagh, after chanting for long on the roads the slogan “Lal Qile se aaye awaaz Sehgal, Dhillon, Shah Niwaz” On the sacred soil of the Bagh we spent many hours, while Dr Satyapal thundered on the stage against the delaying tactics of the British regime in granting freedom to his countrymen. In between the speeches on those sunny wintry days, we listened to patriotic songs, such as Nandlal Noopuri's “Main watan da shaheed haan, meri yaad bhula deinee”. Or Janab Bismil's famous couplet “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna abb hamare dil mein hai Dekhna hai zor kitna bazoo-e-qatil mein hai” To us, under the spell of the sacrifices made by Netaji Subhash Chander Bose's Azad Hind Fauj, freedom seemed to be at the next bend of the road. Again in Jallianwalah Bagh, Colonel Gurbakhsh Singh Dhillon addressed the swarming crowds with the assurance that freedom had already been won, although undeclared so far. Dr Saifuddin Kitchlu's two sons who were with us in Hindu college, Amritsar, excelled each other in delivering rousing speeches on the stage. We clapped vociferously when the younger one, my classfellow, raised his voice after lifting up the right hand and uttered “Sar pai kafan baandh liya hai hum nein.” Later “The freedom at midnight” dampened our spirits and gloom descended on our minds. The horrifying aftermath of loot, arson and slaughter turned our dreams of freedom into nightmare of barbarity. The great exodus from both sides bamboozled the minds and the resultant confusion became worse confounded. Still in that utter darkness, we groped for a ray of hope. At last we saw a glimmer at the murky horizon, when Faiz Ahmed Faiz beckoned us “Chale chlo ke woh sahar abhi nahi aayee”. To look back, “the midnight's children” are now 60 years old. They were born in India after the attainment of freedom. They can, of course, hold their heads high, as their motherland had shattered the chains of slavery before their birth. Thereafter, the country could find its honourable place in the comity of nations. Political freedom is no mean achievement by all standards. It's like getting one's 'birthright', in the words of Lokmanya Tilak. What Rabindranath Tagore envisaged a long time ago had been transformed into reality “Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake”. Still freedom from many maladies, in various walks of life, has eluded us all these years. It has not been possible to seek freedom from the evil of illiteracy. The spread of education has fallen short of the target. It can, indeed, serve as harbinger of socio-economic revolution. But ignorance has gripped the minds of a large number of people, both in urban and rural areas. Ignorance has led to strong beliefs in superstitions. These beliefs have weakened the social structure. Freedom from moral degradation, indiscipline and sectarian outlook is also the need of the hour. Freedom from the scourge of diseases has not been attained so far. The basics of health education have not been propagated in earnest. Sufferings of individuals in hospitals have not been mitigated, as the treatment is costly as well as cumbersome. Furthermore, medical education is beyond the reach of the common man, as the fee-structure is elite-oriented. Indeed, we need many more freedoms from the wrongs in social, religious and political circles to breathe freely under the canopy of real independence. — N.S.Tasneem
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Conserve environment
The importance of trees for our ecological system can hardly be over-emphasised. Alarmed at the rapid deforestation in the country and its adverse effect on our environment, the government had started vanmahotsav during which new saplings are planted with pomp and show. But unfortunately, as soon as the ritual is over and the photographs of VIPs planting trees have appeared in the newspapers, the whole programme is forgotten. Hardly 10 per cent of saplings grow into trees, thanks to the lack of care and nursing. The adverse effects of neglecting trees are already visible in the abnormal changes in the climate pattern. Global warming and depletion of ozone layer are the main effects of neglecting trees besides hundreds of others. The authorities are requested to look into this serious problem, otherwise, a day will come, when we may find it difficult to breathe. Lalit Gupta Ahmedgarh (Sangrur) Readers are invited to mail letters (not more than 200 words) at "ludhiana@tribunemail.com" or post the same to The Tribune, 1, 2 Improvement Trust Building, Badaur House, Clock Tower, Ludhiana.
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Woman stabbed, assailants at large
Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 22 The assailants, whose number was yet to be ascertained, stabbed the Sukhdarshan Kaur (65) twice in neck. The incident took place when she was watching TV in her bedroom and her husband, a skilled shooter, was sitting in the adjoining room. According to a complaint lodged on the statement of Malwinder Singh Dhaliwal, son of late Mohinder Singh Dhaliwal, founder of the town, some unidentified persons had attempted to murder his wife by stabbing her in the throat with a sharp-edged weapon on Monday night. The assailants seemed to have left the place after mistaking her to be dead. "While I was watching TV in my room last night, my wife dragged herself into my arms and said that some “servants” had tried to kill her. Before I could bargre out with my gun, they fled under the cover of darkness," Dhaliwal told the police. As the victim had bled profusely, she fell unconscious and was shifted to a private hospital here. Finding her condition critical, doctors at the local hospital referred her to a multi-specialty hospital at Ludhiana where she was operated upon by a team of surgeons. As the incident took place in a well-protected area, the investigating team suspects that the assailants were known to the landlord family.
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11 booked in dowry cases
Ludhiana, August 22 Veena allegedly committed suicide after she could not take the suffering any more at her in-laws’ house in Kitchlu Nagar. On the complaint of her mother, Palo, a resident of Ferozepore, the deceased’s husband Subash Kumar and in-laws Mohan Lal and Sheela were booked. In another incident, six persons, including three women, were booked for dowry harassment case, filed by Renu Rani, a resident of Prem Nagar. She alleged that her husband Ravinder was harassing her for dowry since their marriage
in 2003. She approached the police for justice when she was beaten with iron rods on August 19. The police has registered a case against Ravinder, Balehswar, Sushila, Reena, Veena and Pawan Raj, In the third case, Kulwinder Singh alias Boota, Nony, Pritpal Singh, all residents of Bhutta village were booked for harassing Sarbjit Kaur, wife of accused Kulwinder. The complaint was lodged by her brother Gurmit Singh.
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BSNL auto-cheque collection machine opened
Ludhiana, August 22 BSNL general manager S.K. Nigam, while inaugurating the facility, informed that the machine would work round the clock and would issue a receipt to the customers, thereby saving their valuable time spent in the payment of bills during working hours. He said the process had been initiated to install four such machines at Mata Rani, Dholewal, focal point and Khanna telephone exchanges in Ludhiana telecom district. Speaking on the occasion, Sandeep Bhatia, head of marketing at Forbes Technosys Limited, the company which had developed the cheque collection machine under the brand name "Forbespay", said the BSNL had entered in a tie-up with the leading player in the banking and utility automation industries in the country for setting up such centres in 16 states.
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Canara Bank holds road show
Ludhiana, August 22 The roadshow was flagged off by
K.R. Vadhyar, assistant general manager. He said the bank had already launched a special campaign to open savings and current accounts in all its branches. “By conducting the roadshow we aim to bring more awareness about our products among people,” he
added. Vadhyar further said the bank, that recorded a business of Rs 2,40,000
crore, had set a target of increasing this figure to Rs 2,90,000 crore in the current year. On the ‘mega campaign’, he said the bank would open 1 million Can Saral Accounts this year.
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