The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Farooq backs reopening of Ferozepur border SP Sharma and Anirudh Gupta Tribune News Service Ferozepur, April 15 Lauding the Congress-led UPA Government for making concerted efforts to give impetus to the bilateral trade ties with Pakistan, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah today said he will meet the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to exhort him to take up the cause of the re-opening of the Hussainiwala-Kasur border for trade and transit with his Pakistani counterpart. Abdullah was here on a private visit to attend a convocation ceremony at the Genesis Dental College which had to be cancelled at the last moment due to the sudden demise of one of the college passouts in an accident at an unmanned rail crossing today. “I will also raise in the Union Cabinet as well in Parliament the issue of the re-opening of Hussainiwala border which was closed in the aftermath of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war,” Abdullah said. He further said “Ferozepur was one of most prosperous towns and a flourishing trade centre when this border was opened. However, following its closure, the booming trade disappeared and the entrepreneurs of the area got discouraged.” Abdullah said the opening of the route with Pakistan will give a tremendous thrust to the economy of the entire state. While talking to media persons, Abdullah vehemently ruled out that he was in the contention for the post of the President of the country. “I am happy where I am,” he said. Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, MLA, Guruharsahai, Anoop Singh, President, DCC, SK Sharma, DGP, Raminder Singh, Commissioner, Paramraj Singh, DIG, Ferozepur Range, S Karuna Raju, DC, Hardial Singh Mann, SSP and Dr Kamal Baghi besides other senior civil and police officials were present on the occasion. Earlier, Abdullah was received at the MES Inspection Bungalow by senior officials of the administration. Kashmiri woman staff seek transfer to Valley Several Kashmiri women who are working in the railway department in Ferozepur today met Dr Farooq Abdullah with a request to get them transferred to the Valley. Rohanazir and Arifa Gilani, both of who are working as helpers in the mechanical department at the DRM office here, said there were at least 15 women from Kashmir who are posted here. Arifa said all of them were facing a lot of problems as they have been detached from their families. “Our children are in Badgam in Kashmir. Our families are there. It is very difficult for us to stay here,” said Yasmeen. Rohanazir said even the weather in this part of the state did not suit them. “One of our colleagues has a six-month- old baby. She also faces problems here in managing the child along with her duties,” said Aalia. Abdullah assured them that he would look into the matter and take up the issue with the ministry concerned.
	Tragedy turns college function into condolence meet Anirudh Gupta Ferozepur, April 15 Celebrations turned into grief for hundreds of dental graduates who had come here to receive their degrees at the hands of Dr Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, during the annual convocation of the Genesis Dental College, which was scheduled to be held at the college premises here today. However, due to the tragic death of one of the college passouts, identified as Singh Shamine, in an accident occurred at an unmanned level crossing just a few hours before the ceremony was to begin, the programme had to be cancelled at the last moment. Dr Farooq Abdullah, who was the chief guest on the occasion, however, arrived at the college to share the grief and express his condolence to the college faculty and the students. A pall of gloom descended over the entire campus. Dr Kamal Baghi, the chairman of the college, said the moment the shocking news came to knowledge, it was decided to cancel the function and convert it into a condolence meeting. Dr Amarjit Singh Gill, director-principal of the college, said Shamine had even participated in the rehearsal held for the convocation in the college today in the afternoon. He said after participating in the drill held for the function, Shamine had gone to meet his friend but never returned as his car collided with a train at an unmanned crossing just a few km from the college campus. Shamine was a 2005 batch student and hailed from Dalhousie. Dr Farooq Abdullah, along with the guests, observed a two-minute silence for the departed soul. In his address, he exhorted the students to become good human beings and serve the mankind. “The doctors were earlier considered as divine beings. However, now people think they have become just money making machines,” he said, and added, “I hope you will rather serve people with missionary zeal besides becoming efficient dentists.” On the occasion, Abdullah presented the degree of the deceased student Singh Shamine to his classmates in an emotionally charged atmosphere. After the condolence meeting, Abdullah interacted with the college students and faculty members. He said more such institutions should be set up in the remote border areas. Student killed as train rams car at unmanned level crossing A 2005 batch student of the local dental college, Singh Shamine, died on the spot when the Accent car in which he was travelling, collided with the Ferozepur-Ludhiana passenger train at an unmanned level crossing ( C-85) at village Saidowala near Mallanwala. The car was dragged for hundreds of metres after it hit the fast moving train. SSP Hardial Singh Mann said the body has been sent to the Civil Hospital for post-mortem examination. Shamine’s father Paramjit Singh is a resident of Dalhousie. The members of the faculty and classmates expressed deep shock over the untimely death of Shamine.
	New vehicle owners ‘double-taxed’ Balwant Garg Tribune News Service Faridkot, April 15 Owners of new vehicles, beware before getting your new vehicle registered with the transport department! Some times, the vehicle owners end up paying up almost double the tax in the area that he is liable to pay under the Punjab Motor Vehicle Act (PMVA). As per the PMVA, the tax is to be levied on the original price of the vehicle. But many a time, the transport department charges the tax not only on the original price but includes the value added tax (VAT) also in the original price for levying the motor vehicle tax (MVT). There are many instances when vehicle owners paid more than their liability. Surinder Singh purchased a new Innova at its original price of `9,13,926. He paid `1,25,664 as VAT to the Punjab sales tax department. At the time of the registration of his vehicle, the transport department even included this VAT amount in the original price of the vehicle, thus calculating the price of the vehicle as `10,39,591. Vikas Aggarwal is another victim of this “dual” taxation. At the time of the registration of his car, the transport department in Faridkot included the VAT amount in the original price of the vehicle, thus charging MVT on the VAT amount also. “As per the Punjab Government Motor Vehicle Taxation Act and a notification dated November 23, 2011 (a copy of which is in the possession of TNS), the MVT is to be levied on the actual price of all vehicles, excluding the VAT or any other tax”. But the district transport offices in the region are imposing taxes on the original price and the VAT amount of a vehicle, said Parshotam Betab, an advocate who filed a complaint against the transport department in the District Consumer Forum, while challenging the dual taxing of his client Vikas’s car. Once the Consumer Forum questioned the transport department, the department retreated and registered the vehicle at its original price, excluding the VAT amount, said Betab. With the addition of the VAT amount in the original price of the vehicle, a vehicle owner not only ends up paying more MVT but the tax rate also gets increased in some cases. The MVT in Punjab is charged in four slabs. In the first slab, every vehicle of a value up to `5 lakh is charged 2 per cent as tax; for the vehicle priced above `5 lakh, 4 per cent tax is levied, for vehicles priced above `10 lakh, tax is levied at 6 per cent and all vehicles of the value of above `20 lakh are taxed at 8 per cent. In Surinder’s case, if he pays the MVT on the actual price (`9,13,926) of his vehicle, his tax slab is 4 per cent but if the VAT is included in the original price, then his tax slab is 6 per cent (with `10,39,591 calculated as the price of the vehicle). District Transport Officer, Faridkot, NS Brar, assured of looking into the matter. He said there might have been some confusion in the interpretation of the PMVA by the subordinate staff.Bare facts z As per the Punjab Motor Vehicle Act, the tax is to be levied on the original price of the vehicle. z There have been cases in Faridkot district where the transport department levied tax also on the value added tax (VAT) that the vehicle owner had paid while making the purchase thereby burdening him with an unlawful and additional charge. z Further, due to the error at the level of the transport department, the owner of the vehicle sometimes have to pay more tax than what he is liable to pay. z The reason for the same is that there are four slabs under which motor vehicle tax is charged in Punjab. By adding the VAT to the original price of the vehicle brings it under the upper tax bracket. Resultantly, the owner ends up paying high percentile of tax.
	Beware! Robbers on the prowl in white Maruti car Archit Watts Tribune News Service Muktsar, April 15 The terror of a white Maruti car is growing in Muktsar district, as its occupants, three women and a man, are reportedly robbing people of their valuables by offering them a lift. In the last one month, four such incidents have been reported at different places in the district, in which these criminals robbed four persons of their jewellery. However, the police is still groping in the dark, as no arrest has been made in this regard so far. A majority of the victims were those who had been waiting for a bus and easily got ready to take a lift from them. The latest incident was reported on Wednesday, when a resident of Malout, Darshana Rani, was robbed of her earrings. The woman has alleged to the police that she along with her husband was waiting for a bus to go to Hoshiarpur at the Malout bus stand in the morning on April 11, when a woman came and started interacting with her. “Meanwhile, a car in which two women and a young boy were sitting, offered them a lift saying they were also going to Hoshiarpur. As soon as she sat in the car, they robbed of her earrings, valued at about `80,000 and dropped her near the LIC office, a few meters away from the bus stand,” the woman stated in the FIR lodged at Malout city police station, yesterday. Similarly, another incident happened with a couple from Kotkapura, Balwant Singh and Balwinder Kaur, a few days ago, when they were waiting for a bus at the Kotkapura chowk here. “Some persons came in a white Maruti car and offered us a lift, which we easily accepted as women were also sitting in it. But after travelling just a few meters, they robbed me of my jewels,” the couple has told the police. In another incident, a couple from Faridkot became the victim of these car- borne criminals and lost their valuables. Earlier, a woman who had come to attend the bhog ceremony of her relative at a private resort near the bus stand here also became their victim. Narinder Pal, SP, Headquarters, Muktsar, said, “We are trying our best to arrest these robbers. Earlier, a gang operating in the area was busted by the Kabarwala police. But it seems they have again become active after being released on bail.”
	Minister takes on sand mafia Our Correspondent Fazilka, April 15 Fazilka MLA and cabinet minister Surjit Kumar Jyani has exposed the nexus of the sand mafia who were charging an exorbitant price from the common man. The contractors had been charging nearly three times more the price of the sand than the stipulated price fixed by the Punjab government. The minister had last month fixed a complaint box outside his office here and had invited the people to put their complaints in it. He had assured of looking into the complaints himself. As a result, hundreds of complaints started pouring in. The consumers pointed out that the sand contractors had been charging an exorbitant price. Taking cognizance of the complaints, Jyani himself laid a naka on the freedom fighter road, the entry point of the town, and started checking the tractor-trailers loaded with sand. On enquiry, he found that the contractors were charging an excess price of `6.60 per cubic feet (PCF) instead of `2.60 PCF, fixed by the Punjab government. He asked the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Charandev Singh Maan, and the police authorities to initiate action against the mafia. In another complaint received from the box, Prem Kumar of village Saidoke had complained that a junior engineer in the Powercom had allegedly been demanding bribe for changing the damaged transformer despite depositing the government charges. Prem Kumar demanded action against the official concerned. The minister then asked the DSP Fazilka to book the erring official if the complaint was found to be correct. “The Powercom officials have been directed to replace the transformer immediately,” informed ADC Mann. Later, while talking to mediapersons, MLA Jyani reiterated his resolve to fight against the corruption prevailing in the government machinery.