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| Friday,
April 11, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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Vigilance arrests 2 docs for private practice Ludhiana, April 10 According to Mr K. S. Sidhu, SSP of the local Vigilance Bureau, the doctors were caught late last evening. He said the bureau had started a probe into their alleged assets that were disproportionate to their known sources of income. The local chapter of the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMS) has condemned the bureau action. The association has questioned the right of the Vigilance Bureau in taking such an action against the government doctors. Vigilance sources said movable and immovable property worth over 40 lakh had been traced in the case and documents were being verified. The government doctors in the state are paid a special non-practising allowance by the government. Mr Sidhu said the accused doctors were running a clinic in Urban Estate, Jamalpur. The bureau had received a complaint and a decoy patient, Ram Kumar, was sent there. He was diagnosed by the doctors and a prescription slip was issued to him. As soon as he paid a fee of Rs 100, members of the vigilance team swooped on the doctors. Two government officials, SDO Satinder Singh and ETO Harbans Lal, were the witnesses in the case. Angry at the Vigilance Bureau move, Dr Hardeep Singh, president of the Ludhiana PCMS Association, said he had convened a meeting of the doctors of the district to chalk out a strategy for combating the alleged false implication of doctors. Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, he said the issue of private practice was debatable. He said the state government had failed to clearly define the meaning of private practice. He said the PCMS has demanded that proper guidelines should be issued on what was private practice and what was not. He said the doctors were supposed to be available round-the-clock to the needy patients. He said, “How can we show the door to persons needing medical assistance?, adding that the doctors treat such patients on humanitarian grounds. He said the association would also contest the point whether the Vigilance Bureau was authorised to conduct such raids. He said the issue would be taken up with the government.
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Hosiery
traders call on Vajpayee Ludhiana, April 10 The meeting had been arranged by Mr Badal after some manufacturers approached him and urged him to take up the issue with Mr Vajpayee. The Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, a senior BJP leader, Lala Lajpat Rai, the former Deputy Speaker, Punjab, Mr Satpal Gosain, were also in the delegation. The manufacturers were represented by Mr Vindo Thapar, Mr Dinesh Lakra, Mr Sunil Mehra and Mr Ram Kishen Gupta. Mr Thapar told TNS from New Delhi that Mr Vajpayee was very positive and encouraging. He reportedly assured the delegation that their demand would be seriously considered and he would also ask Mr Jaswant Singh to find some way out, if possible. Mr Thapar said Mr Vajpayee reiterated the commitment of the NDA government of providing an industrial-friendly environment in the state. The Prime Minister reportedly spent about half an hour with the delegation. Mr Thapar said a memorandum was submitted to him. The delegation members stressed that the small-scale industry would be wiped out in case the government did not withdraw the duty. It brought to the notice of Mr Vajpayee complexities involved in case the duty was not withdrawn. Mr Thapar said Mr Badal, Mr Dhindsa and Mr Rai tried their level best to exert pressure on the Prime Minister for withdrawing the duty. These leaders pointed out to the Prime Minster that the hosiery was the mainstay of the industry in Punjab and in case the duty is not withdrawn it will shatter the state’s economy. Mr Thapar said although they were quite satisfied after the meeting, they were still not in a position to withdraw the strike. He said further course of action would be decided after taking other manufacturers into confidence. But he expressed confidence that something would come out as the Prime Minister had shown keen interest to resolve the issue. Meanwhile, all hosiery units remained closed for the 12th day today as they were awaiting the details of the meeting. However, most of the manufacturers did not appear quite enthused over the outcome of the meeting, saying Mr Vajpayee had not committed anything except for the routine assurance. But they hoped that in due course of time some thing might come out. |
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Potato glut keeps profits cut Ludhiana, April 10 Enquiries by Ludhiana Tribune revealed that the farmers in the district were selling 80 kg of potatoes for Rs 60 to Rs 80, but retailers were selling five kg of potatoes for Rs 20 and even more. ‘‘We are hardly earning 10 to 12 paise per kg. We are buying potatoes for Rs 3.90 and selling for Rs 4. Even then people come here and haggle with us stating that the prices have fallen. I have never seen potato prices going down in this season.’’ said a retailer in the Sarabha Nagar market. Mr Avtar Singh, a farmer, said he was surprised to see that he had sold potatoes for 75 paise per kg a fortnight ago and when he himself had gone to the market he was surprised to see that sellers were earning around 300 per cent profit. ‘‘Then I decided that if I would go to Apni Mandi in the city, I will be able to sell these directly to the consumers and that, too, at a cheaper price. So I visited the mandi and sold the patatoes for Rs 10 per three kg,” he added. Meanwhile, cold storages in the city are full with potatoes. Some storage owners have put ‘‘No space’’ boards outside the godowns. A large number of farmers were seen waiting outside cold storages. The farmers are even ready to pay Rs 50 for a bag of 80 kg to be kept in the storage till November 1. Mr Bhupinder Singh Grewal, owner of Fateh Cold Storage, near Haibowal, said his godown had a capacity of 50,000 bags and it was full till the first week of November. He added that farmers were still requesting him to provide them space, but he was not able to do so. PAU experts called for a policy at the government level and stated that a rule should be framed that should ensure that the farmers should get at least one third of the market price. Dr Amrik Singh Sidhu, Head, Department of Vegetable Crops, PAU, Ludhiana said it was ironical that the farmers were facing losses worth lakhs of rupees and at the same time consumer was getting potatoes at the usual price. |
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Rs 2,779 crore annual credit plan for city Ludhiana, April 10 Out of a total outlay of Rs 2,779 crore, an amount of Rs 2,181 crore had been earmarked for the priority sector lending and Rs 598 crore for the non-priority sector lending. The priority sector lending of Rs 2,181 crore would include Rs 822 crore for the agricultural sector, Rs 43 crore for allied activities, Rs 712 crore for the non-farm sector and Rs 600 crore for other priority sector. Mr Agarwal said the plan was prepared by Punjab and Sind Bank that happened to be the lead bank of the district. He called upon bank officials to implement the annual credit plan fully so that the youth could be provided gainful self employment. Mr G.S.Malik, Assistant Manager, Lead Bank Office, Ludhiana, said Punjab and Sind Bank had received all such plans, including last year's credit plan. This year the credit plan had been enhanced by Rs 526 crore and there was an increase in priority sector advances by about 28 per cent. He added that targets for 1,000 cases during the past year had been fully achieved. Addressing the meeting, Mr Sumer Singh Gurjar, Additional Deputy Commissioner (D), exhorted the lead banks to give more priority to the agricultural sector for providing loans. Mr R.S. Chhatwal, Zonal Manager, Punjab and Sind Bank, assured the district administration full cooperation and said Rs 21 crore had been earmarked for government-sponsored schemes.
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Kanwaljeet
calls it ‘a year of taxes’ Amloh, April 10 He said the farmers would have to pay Rs 60 to 178 per horse power as electricity tariff. The farmers would also have to pay canal water cess to the Irrigation Department at a rate of Rs 80 per acre per annum even if they did not use canal water, he said. He said the abolition of octroi in the towns was merely a change of mode of revenue collection. The imposition of two per cent tax in the name of development tax would heavily burden the people, especially the farmers who would have to pay Rs 4,000 to 8,000 and Rs 1,000 to 16,000 on a new tractor and a truck, respectively. |
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MLA inaugurates project Ludhiana, April 10 Mr Davar was addressing a function to mark the inauguration of a project for the construction of road in the Ganesh Nagar area, passing through ward Nos: 56, 57 and 58. The Municipal Corporation Commissioner focussed on various ongoing projects for infrastructural development. The councillors of the three wards namely Ms Malkiat Kaur, Mr J.S. Chadha and Mr Parveen Bansal were present, among others. Later, the Commissioner inaugurated a tubewell in ward No: 56, which will augment the water supply to surrounding colonies, including Vijay Nagar and Indira Colony. |
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Girls in focus on ‘ashtmi’ Ludhiana, April 10 Young girls, symbolic of Goddess Durga, are invited in groups of five, seven or nine. Two girls, Meenu and Shanti (in the photograph), were delighted to get good food , a red duppata each today. They said, “Some residents of Jamalpur had specially invited us. After washing our feet, they applied “tikka” on our foreheads. Gave us good food. We could not believe our luck when they gave us Rs 10 each. We have never got so much money in our life. We wish this day comes more often.” Though some people will celebrate “kanjakas” tomorrow on “navami”, the last “navratra”), the fact remains that young girls are in great demand and are worshipped. “It is ironic that the people who fast for a Goddess to give them strength and pay obeisance, honour the girl child at least twice a year, go for foeticide!. Women ought to be respected 365 days a year and not on special days." said Prof N.S. Tasneem. |
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Lowering
rates of income tax sought Ludhiana, April 10 Mr
Juneja, who has recently been nominated to the Regional Direct Tax Advisory Committee, stressed the need for creating an atmosphere for better understanding between the Income Tax Department and the public as well as for voluntary compliance. With the widening of income tax base, the tax collections would increase and pave the way for rationalisation of income tax rates. He said the number of income tax payees had gone up from 1.16 crore in 1997-98 to around 3 crore. Similarly, the tax collections had also shot up from Rs 38,000 crore to almost Rs 90,000 crore during this period. |
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Photographer
who loves adventure Ludhiana, April 10 Jessu, Jaskamnwar, a B.Ed student of BCM College of Education, is holding an exhibition of his photographs of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh at the college. It is obvious from the photographs that he is greatly enamoured of natural beauty of hills, dales and water falls. His lens has captured the rich natural beauty of Ladakh. He says, “I never took any lessons in photography. I learnt by trial and error. I started with an ordinary ‘Hot Shot’ camera. I undertook the hazardous journey to give the message to people to save environment. Naturally, I was scared at times. I ran out of rations and water. I was severely dehydrated and when I returned home, I looked like a prisoner that had escaped from a ‘Nazi Camp’. Army men were helpful to me as they gave me rations.” Undeterred by the hardships of the first trip, he again undertook a cycling trip to Ladakh, but this time with 15 boys to start with which dwindled to 5 persons. The foreigners they met on the way thought them to be crazy to be using non-geared cycles, but Jessu Jaskamnwar says, “Since no one sponsored the trip, we could not afford geared cycles. A cycle trip provides one with a lot of opportunities to shoot pictures. One has to rest when tired, so one has plenty of time to pick nice angles. Moreover, we wanted to tell the people that if one can use cycles to reach Ladhak, then surely people can use cycles for shopping and covering short distances and save the environment.” His photographs titled ‘Chalo dildar chale’ shows a few mountain horses leisurely strolling whereas ‘Mountain sculpture’ impresses with beautifully mountains formed by erosion. Other photographs like ‘Road to Chushul,’ ‘Lush green Indus valley water’ have captured the beauty of landscape. Jessu Jaskamnwar has an insatiable appetite for adventure and again took a trip on cycle in 2000. He carried information about AIDS and shared it with people of Ladakh. He even went up to Kargil, and Siachan Glacier. He has worked as a photojournalist with two English dailies. He says, “As a teacher, I can reach to students at the grassroots level. If I am able to motivate a few students to save the environment, I think I will be satisfied.” |
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31 mass marriages
solemnised Ludhiana, April 10 He announced a grant of Rs 25, 000 for the club. Earlier, he laid the foundation stone for the construction of drains and pavements at Mundian Kallan village and presented a cheque for Rs 1.25 lakh. Addressing the gathering, Mr Birmi said during this financial year, around Rs 1, 000 crore would be spent to carry out different development project in the state. |
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Local youth killed in USA Ludhiana, April 10 Amit emigrated to the USA in August, 2000, on a student visa after he was offered fellowship to do his Ph.D by Taxas University, Austin. He had been working on a revolutionary project in computer software. Son of Mr Jagmohan Garg, DGM, Indian Bank, Chennai, he was a brilliant student. He had joined IIT, Delhi, in 1995. He had completed his B.Tech in 1999.
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PEDA organises camps Ludhiana April 10 Mr Anupam Nanda, Project Officer, PEDA, said the motive of the camps were to popularise the concept of harnessing solar power and information about the subsidy pattern of various schemes. He said the total cost of the project is Rs 3.30 lakh and each beneficiary will have to pay only Rs 35,000 and rest will be given as subsidy by the department. |
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Nihang killed over dispute Ludhiana, April 10 The police identified the accused on the basis of the statement of Sangram Thappa, a watchman. |
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Duplicate
CDs seized Ludhiana, April 10 Police sources said a case under the Copyrights Act was being registered. The shopkeepers downed their shutters in protest in the afternoon. |
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Rs 419 cr loans disbursed Ludhiana, April 10 Mr Bhargava said, “The PNB’s housing loan scheme also comes with longest repayment period of 25 years and a person can own a house by just paying Rs 900 per month per lakh of loan for 25 years”. |
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