Hoshiarpur, April 30
For the integrated development of Hoshiarpur as a tourist destination, the union ministry of tourism has finally approved a proposal of the directorate of tourism, Punjab.

According to official sources here on Wednesday, after its recent visit to Hoshiarpur, a team of the Union ministry of tourism has finalised 15 components of this project, for which it has granted Rs 397.89 lakh to complete the venture.

The Director, Punjab tourism, would be the nodal officer for this project and monitor the execution of the work.

The state government would execute the project through the Punjab heritage and tourism board, Chandigarh, and would ensure that the work is started immediately to avoid escalation of cost.

The project should be commissioned within a maximum period of two years from the date of issue of sanction and any cost escalation on account of delay etc. would be met by the state government and no reimbursement would be made by the central government on this account.

In the integrated development of Hoshiarpur as a tourist destination project, at least two tourist information centres would be set up in the district at a cost of Rs 22.50 lakh at major entry points in the existing government buildings along the highways.

Environmental upgradation of Bajwara Fort and Sheeshmahal would be done at a cost of Rs 37.22 lakh and Rs 92,000, respectively.

Sadhu Ashram and the VVRI and Khankah of Shami Sahib (a renowned classical singer before partition) would be developed as special tourism destinations at a cost of Rs 61.55 lakh and Rs 22.38 lakh, respectively. Besides, the CNI church would be renovated at a cost of Rs 5.13 lakh.

Dera Baba Charan Shah and the samadhi of Maharani of Kapurthala would be made a combined tourist destination at a cost of Rs 43.02 lakh. The Kali temple, Mansa Devi and heritage trail in Dholbaha would be developed as a heritage tourism destination at a cost of Rs 77.40 lakh.

Besides, the Dholbaha dam, Gurdwara Garna Sahib, the samadh of Jaiju Shah at Jaijon, leisure tourism destination Shah Nehar barrage, Talwara, and integrated leisure tourism destination Chohal and Saleran would also be developed by spending Rs 53.24 lakh, Rs 7,000, Rs 2.06 lakh, Rs 41.59 lakh, Rs 31.21 lakh, respectively.

Sources said with the completion of the project, the economy of the district would get a boost.

Jalandhar, April 30
Citing family problems as his reason for resignation from the post of vice-chancellor of Punjab Technical University, Dr S.K. Salwan said he wanted to quit the job so that he could spend time peacefully with his kin at his hometown in Ajmer.

Serving on the post since February, 2004, he said he was waiting for the government to relieve him from the post. “I had submitted my resignation before the Punjab Governor and university chancellor Gen S.F. Rodrigues.

He told me to continue but when I told him about my problem, he took my resignation and appreciated my step,” he said as he worked in his office here today.

Dr Salwan’s wife had been putting up with him here in the city but she had gone back to Ajmer two months back. She is a Hindi poetess and the VC often enjoyed reciting couplets from her writings on various occasions.

The VC’s colleagues pointed out that he seemed quite upset after the recent strike by the university staff demanding their regularisation. “Ever since the strike occurred, the VC seemed to be somewhat disturbed and showed lack of interest in work,” they said.

The news of VC resigning from his post made the PTU staff a bit apprehensive about the university affairs.

“The semester results are to be declared. The CET is around the corner and university is receiving applications for addition of seats, new courses and setting up of new campuses. All these works cannot go on smoothly with the senior-most functionary resigning at the same juncture,” the staff said.

But the VC differed on the issue and said everything was in place. “There is a system for execution of every job and I do not think there will be any problem with my quitting from the post,” he said.

Of late, the VC had not been keeping well. He had remained admitted to military hospital in Jalandhar cantonment for a long time last year due to some complications.

Jalandhar, April 30
UK-based Caparo Group of Industries will pump in Rs 2.5 crore more to strengthen the functioning of the Caparo School of Excellence for Manufacturing and Material Technology, a joint venture with Punjab Technical University.

“Earlier the Caparo group had invested Rs 5 crore on the construction of the building on the land given by the PTU on lease, but due to lack of funds the management could not provide the desired academic facilities to students,” PTU vice-chancellor S.K. Salwan said.

The Caparo group wanted the lease of 10-acre land to be handed over to it so as to enable it mortgage the same for taking a loan for the arrangement of funds, Salwan said, adding that the demand was categorically rejected by the board of governors of the PTU.

“A meeting with Lord Swraj Paul was held in New Delhi on April 15 in which it was decided that a new MoU will be drafted and signed between the two parties with the negative clause on transferring the land by the PTU and the Caparo group will pump in Rs 2.5 crore to strengthen the academic infrastructure of the school,” Salwan said.

“It has been conveyed to the Caparo group that if it is not interested in running the school, the PTU will run it on its own, but Lord Paul has shown keen interest to operate the school and agreed to pump in more money for it,” he added. — PTI 

Jalandhar, April 30
Expressing concern over the rising incidents of fire in the fields of standing crop of wheat allegedly due to short-circuit in the transformers of the Punjab State Electricity Board, PSEB chairman Y.S. Ratra has issued instructions that such cases should personally be examined by senior officials of the board and if the PSEB’s fault was found, the prescribed financial relief should immediately be given to the affected farmers.

Ratra in a circular instructed that officers of the rank of junior engineer, SDO and executive engineer should personally visit the spot and probe the cause of the fire and if it would be due to the short-circuit in the PSEB’s transformers, immediate financial relief as per the prescribed rules of the state government, Rs 5,000 per acre, should be released to the farmers, additional deputy commissioner S.P.S Marar said.

This decision has been taken in view of the large-scale incidents of fire in the fields of standing crop of wheat in the state, the sources said. — PTI

Jalandhar, April 30
The Group C and D employees of the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, on Wednesday staged a dharna to protest against the recommendations of the sixth pay commission.

Sarvjit Singh, convener of the action committee and joint secretary of the staff council of the organisation, said the recommendations were a cruel joke on both categories of employees. The price rise had played havoc with the household budgets and the hike announced in their salaries was too meagre, he added.

“We were expecting that the commission would look into this aspect and announce a handsome hike in the salaries but the recommendations have come as a shock to all of us,” he pointed out.

How they could be expected to make ends meet when the minimum salary had been fixed at Rs 6,600 per month, he said.

Keeping in view the rise in the net national product from 1995 to 2006, the minimum salary should have been Rs 13,000 per month.

Another union leader Brij Mohan said the pre-revised pay scale of JEs I and II should be increased from Rs 6,500-10,500 to Rs 7,450-11,500.

Similarly, the pre-revised pay scale of SEs and SSEs should be upgraded to Rs 10,500-15,200 and they should be given the status of a gazetted officer, he added.

The time-bound career progression scheme should be changed so that the employees were able to avail the benefit after 10, 20 and 30 years of service.

The leaders also flayed the decision of the commission to prune government staff strength by 10 lakh.

Jalandhar, April 30
Cops of the Patiala police today raided the house of Sukhwinder Singh, alias Sukhi, former terrorist-turned-police cat, in the Mota Singh Nagar locality but went empty handed as Sukhi has already been absconding from his house for the past nine months.

The policemen reached the house of Sukhi in the afternoon to arrest him in a case registered against him at Tripari police station of Patiala district, sources said, adding that the servant of Sukhi informed the police that his master had not turned up for the past nine months when the house was raided by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau immediately after the arrest of former Director-General of Police (DGP) S.S. Virk.

When the raid was conducted at Sukhi’s residence nine months ago, he managed to give the slip to the vigilance cops as a few minutes before the raid he fled. — PTI

Jalandhar, April 30
The sports forum has urged the state government to take cue from its Uttar Pradesh (UP) counterpart and quash the Value Added Tax (VAT) on sports goods.

In a press release issued here today, forum president Sanjay Kohli said the UP government has recently scrapped VAT on sports goods from April 1 this year. “We want to bring the sports goods industry of Punjab at par with UP and this initiative we need a helping hand from the government,” he added.

Recently a 12-member delegation led by Sanjay Kohli met Daljit Singh Cheema, advisor to Chief Minister, and apprised him of the urgent need to bring about a change in taxation system.

He thanked Cheema for extending a positive response to their long-pending demand. The members of the delegation included Sanjay Kohli, JC Kohli, Prem Kumar Uppal, Lalit Sawhney, Sham Sunder Nayyar, Kapil Kohli, Nitin Mahajan, Balbir Singh, Vikas K. Jain, Rajneesh Kohli, Sudhir Malhan and Arun Savara.