J A L A N D H A R    E D I T I O N

Thick blanket of dust covers city
Jalandhar, March 20
The city residents today were in for a surprise as weather remained dusty with cool winds blowing throughout the day. The dusty weather caused poor visibility across the city and its periphery. In the afternoon, a thick blanket of dust covered the entire city.

No funds with MCs, big challenge for minister
Jalandhar, March 20
After taking over the Local Bodies Ministry, Bhagat Chunni Lal is facing a big challenge of ensuring resources to fund-crunched Municipal Corporations for carrying forth various development projects in the urban areas.

Dwindling sparrow population
Loss of natural habitat to blame: Experts
Jalandhar, March 20
It is not only the urban areas but the countryside has also witnessed a massive decline in the population of house sparrow in the past three decades.

Gurdaspur chef does city proud
Gurdaspur, March 20
The prestigious Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA) has invited renowned chef Arti Thapa to attend the ‘Culinary Congress’ slated to be held at Bangalore from March 22 to 24.

MLA’s petrol pump looted
Batala, March 20
Four persons allegedly looted Rs 1.5 lakh from the manager of a petrol pump here yesterday. Vaishno Dass, manager of Abhijay Filling Station, owned by local Congress MLA Ashwani Sekhri, was about to leave for depositing the money in a bank.

Thick blanket of dust covers city
Kusum Arora/TNS

Jalandhar, March 20
The city residents today were in for a surprise as weather remained dusty with cool winds blowing throughout the day. The dusty weather caused poor visibility across the city and its periphery. In the afternoon, a thick blanket of dust covered the entire city.

However, there was no change in the temperature owing as mercury touched 25.4 degrees Celsius. The minimum was recorded at 18.3 degrees Celsius.

The Met department at Adampur Air Force Station said in the next 24 hours the sky would remain cloudy. Sources at the Met department also said the dusty weather condition is prevailing not only in Punjab but also the entire northern region.

No funds with MCs, big challenge for minister
Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 20
After taking over the Local Bodies Ministry, Bhagat Chunni Lal is facing a big challenge of ensuring resources to fund-crunched Municipal Corporations for carrying forth various development projects in the urban areas.

Voted back to power, the minister is also clearly not in favour of imposition of any new taxes to the urban voters, including property tax or octroi which can otherwise help the MCs collect enough funds for their revival. He clearly ruled out any such plans during his interaction with the media recently.

The only option left with him is to evolve means to nab thousands of defaulters of house tax and illegal water connections so as to raise a fixed regular income of the MC. Senior Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Bhatia said for the same reasons there was a plan to enhance the house tax recovery targets to Rs 25 crore from Rs 18 crore being levied currently.

Bhatia said a meeting of the building branch had been fixed for tomorrow afternoon at Mayor House so as to pull up the officials for expediting recovery by levying composition charges.

Mayor Rakesh Rathour is pinning hopes on clearing of legal hurdles for selling of 63 shops in the basement of the administrative complex.

Dwindling sparrow population
Loss of natural habitat to blame: Experts
Bipin Bhardwaj/TNS

Jalandhar, March 20
It is not only the urban areas but the countryside has also witnessed a massive decline in the population of house sparrow in the past three decades.

Modification in architecture, hazardous radiation emitted by cellphone towers, excessive use of pesticides and replacement of native plants by exotic varieties are some of the factors behind the dwindling population of house sparrow, claim ornithologists and bird lovers, who criticised the authorities for not taking any concrete steps in this regard.

The ornithologists say loss of natural habitat and decline in the reproductive efficiency because of egg sheath infector are some of the major reasons of its dwindling population.

The Punjab government has not organised even a single programme to educate the public on the World House Sparrow Day that falls on March 20 every year. Certain NGOs, however, observed the day at some places today.

Dharinder Kumar, Chief Wildlife Warden, said no project had been undertaken with regard to house sparrows. "There is a need to educate the people about house sparrow and its conservation. The government has done nothing in this regard,” said Gurmeet Singh, president, Nature Conservation Society, Punjab.

Gurdaspur chef does city proud
Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, March 20
The prestigious Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA) has invited renowned chef Arti Thapa to attend the ‘Culinary Congress’ slated to be held at Bangalore from March 22 to 24.

For Arti Thapa, who is the Head of the Food Production Department at the Gurdaspur based Institute of Hotel Management, Nutrition and Catering (IHMNC), the invitation extended by the IFCA is yet another feather in her cap. She has already bagged the prestigious ‘Lady Chef of the Year Award’ given jointly by the Indian Culinary Association (ICA) and Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in 2010.

MLA’s petrol pump looted

Batala, March 20
Four persons allegedly looted Rs 1.5 lakh from the manager of a petrol pump here yesterday. Vaishno Dass, manager of Abhijay Filling Station, owned by local Congress MLA Ashwani Sekhri, was about to leave for depositing the money in a bank.

Just when he started from the petrol pump, situated on the Batala-Amritsar road, four persons on two motorcycles attacked him with sharp-edged weapons.

They took away Rs 1.5 lakh from the glove box of his scooter. The victim has been admitted to the local Civil Hospital. — OC