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BMI Airlines set to withdraw operations
MC short on house tax recovery
City eateries high on re-utilising oil and ghee
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Illegal firecracker units prosper in dist
'Foreign docs preferring fellowships in India'
Dr Raman Mittal addresses mediapersons in Amritsar on Wednesday. Photo: Sameer Sehgal
Heroin worth over Rs
2.50 cr seized
5 held with narcotic substances
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BMI Airlines set to withdraw operations
Amritsar, October 24 Harpreet Singh, a passenger, said it was really a convenient journey to land directly from Europe in the home state. He said after the withdrawal of Air India’s Amritsar-London-Toronto flight from October 31 in 2010, the NRI community in Europe, in general, and in the UK, in particular, had to travel to Delhi Airport, which was extremely exhausting and cumbersome. Rajinder Singh said the direct link to Europe was of great convenience. He said his daughter was settled in London and their family members frequently flew to that place. Another big jolt is to perishable cargo, which facilitates the export of perishable goods from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to Europe. The Perishable Cargo has been handling the export of baby corn, snow pea, sugar snap, okra and other vegetables to London since July 2006. The export was suspended for a year following a dry spell and Air India had withdrawn its Amritsar-London-Toronto flight on October 30, 2010. The exporters had then shifted their base to the Delhi airport. The export of fresh cargo had resumed only after the introduction of thrice-a-week to and fro direct service by the BMI on the London-Almaty-Amritsar section from October 14, 2011. Exporters said they would have to once again shift to Delhi to export the fresh farm produce. They felt it was faster, cheaper and easier to transport fresh vegetables from Himachal Pradesh and Ludhiana to Amritsar. Besides costing more, it would now take longer to shift the cargo to Delhi. Countries like Thailand, Kenya and Guatemala would gain at the cost of India. Sarbjit Singh, an exporter, pointed out that it would take eight hours or more, compared to three hours now, to carry the cargo by road to Delhi, where cargo trucks would have to cope with snarl-ups and face entry restrictions during the day. The adverse foreign exchange rate had already affected vegetable exporters in the region. The withdrawal of the flight would now make it impossible for them to compete in the international market, he added. After remaining affected for a year, the export of the perishable cargo had seen a turnaround with the start of the BMI flight, as around 202-tonne produce was exported from October 2011 to March 2012. Now, the exports stood at an average of around 30 tonnes every month. While over 1 lakh kg fresh vegetables were exported in 2006-07, the next year saw the volume go up to 2.78 lakh kg. The volume of vegetable export continued to grow. In 2008-2009, it reached 6.23 lakh kg and the following year saw an export of 9.08 lakh kg. However, this would come down to zero as no other direct flight was available. The journey of perishable cargo has never been smooth. Initially, Jet Airways used to operate the flight, but once the private airlines pulled out due to recession, Air India filled the breach. Later, the BMI followed, which is now again going. Officials handling the perishable cargo said the move was a jolt as the main export season of perishable cargo begins in winter and there would be no flight at that time. They reasoned that the Armavia’s Amritsar-Armenia flight would not serve the purpose of export of fresh farm produce, as it would involve multiple handling and change of aircraft. They said multi-handling and exposure to different climatic conditions adversely affect the quality of fresh produce, besides increasing the input cost, which ultimately jack up the prices of the produce.
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MC short on house tax recovery
Amritsar, October 24 Those who have influence and political patronage never bother to clear their dues. Against the set target of Rs 22.50 crore till March 2013, the MC’s house tax wing could only fetch Rs 7 crore. This is not even the 50 per cent of the total recovery target and there remain just five months ahead. It is estimated that the MC, already going through a severe fund crunch, could earn Rs 10 crore more in taxes if it gets serious about tax collection. Last year also, the house tax wing, which was to recover at least Rs 18.5 crore till March 31, was at least Rs 4 crore behind the target. Contrary to their image, the liquor contractors who owed taxes have almost cleared their backlog, whereas the big shopping malls, owned by influential strata which owes house tax amounting to crores of rupees, have managed to escape the MC’s scrutiny. It has been learnt that almost 80 per cent of the liquor contractors have cleared their dues.Meanwhile, two house tax officials Darshan Singh and Jatinder Uppal left no stone unturned to fill the MC’s kitty. Out of 44 cheques worth Rs 9 lakh, 33 cheques worth Rs 6.5 lakh have been cleared. When in June-July, the MC had initiated the mass-sealing drive of the properties of defaulters, a substantial number of them had issued cheques to evade it, but later, they made the payments stop in the banks. This time, the MC was reluctant to carry on the sealing drive, following a judgment passed by the court regarding a particular property in Kabir Park barring the sealing of the property. Even as this judgement was made in a particular case, the MC has taken it as a "generalised judgement", insiders said. At present, there are over 19 malls, which owed huge amount in terms of house tax and the CLU (change of land use) charges, estimated to be between Rs 4 to 5 crore per annum. The MC had been unable to realise the dues. Though the house tax wing has collected Rs 1.10 crore from Alpha One Mall, the MC did not possess the dues of Celebration Mall on Batala Road; Central Mall, Alantra Mall, JK Towers and Croma Mall, all located on the Mall Road, the sources said. Owners of these malls earn in crores by leasing out their property to multinational firms and franchisees, but these don’t pay the taxes. It has been learnt that among the defaulters, one of the renowned hoteliers in Ranjit Avenue had a tax liability of around Rs 10 lakh. He even issued a cheque for Rs 5 lakh to the MC team when it had gone to seal the hotel in April, but later the cheque was dishonoured by the bank. Official speak Apart from the big defaulters, there are over 2,000 such property owners who owe not so big amount but have stopped paying us house tax after lodging their objections. As an immediate step, I have recommended to clear this lot, which would fetch us something between Rs 2.5-Rs 3 crore. For big houses who evade taxes, I am going to procure their list in a day or two and stern action would be taken against them. — Bakshi Ram Arora, Mayor Our recovery department has been instructed to be firm and they are committed to their duties. We are very particular when it comes to paying taxes. All have to obey the norms, irrespective of anybody's influence — Dhrarampal Gupta, MC Commissioner
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City eateries high on re-utilising oil and ghee
Amritsar, October 24 Dr Suraj Shoor, a local doctor, said wrong eating practices and bad trends were responsible for this aberration. "A majority of halwai shops serving puris and pakodas are located in the walled city," he said.
"Traditionally, puri is a popular meal in breakfast and people here prefer to savour these and serve these to their guests." He said it was a matter of concern that people hardly bother to verify the hygienic and nutritious quality of these. Cooking oils function as a heat transfer medium and contribute to the flavour and texture of food for culinary purposes. Dr Shoor said studies regarding the effects of cooking in repeatedly heated cooking oils were needed to be conducted, as the practice was rampant here. Meanwhile, some studies indicate that the consumption of saturated fatty acids induced hyperlipidemia, causing the progression of atherosclerosis compared to unsaturated fatty acids. He added that it had been noticed that oil and ghee were being repeatedly used despite turning black. He said constantly heating these diminished the quality of the food. He urged the authorities to carry out laboratory tests to verify what impact did it have on human beings after the consumption of the food cooked in re-heated oil/ghee. District Health Officer Shivkaran Singh Kahlon re-heating oil and ghee for the preparation of food diminished the nutritious quality of the food. Besides, repeated heating makes oil and ghee free radicals, meaning the food is left without any nutritious value in it. Repeated heating makes oil and ghee turn black. He said apparently heating oil over and over again could cause various ailments. He said it was anticipated that constant consumption from these could cause ulcer, damage liver, even hepatitis B. He said in this case people need to be more informative and vigilant. "I have already issued an advisory to all schools, colleges and hospitals to avoid selling junk and deep-fried food in their canteens." Dangerous proposition
Repeated heating makes oil and ghee free radicals, meaning the food is left without any nutritious value in it. Repeated heating makes oil and ghee turn black. Apparently heating oil over and over again could cause various ailments. It was anticipated that constant consumption from these could cause ulcer, damage liver, even hepatitis
B. — Shivkaran Singh Kahlon, District Health Officer
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Illegal firecracker units prosper in dist
Amritsar, October 24 As Divali is inching closer, illegal hoarding and manufacturing of firecrackers in and around the district is becoming a cause of concern for the police. One such place is Anngarh, which raises questions over the government's functioning in the city. Infamous for bootlegging and drug addiction, Anngarh is also known as "mini Sivakasi" of Amritsar due to a large number of illegal pyrotechnics (fireworks) and cracker units being run with impunity. (Sivakasi is a city in Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu where hundreds of units manufacture firecrackers). The number swells further as many small-scale units come up during Divali season. Sources say they operate in violation of the Explosives Act and also without the requisite licence. Only a few persons in the whole area have valid licences. Although the manufacturers claim they have taken precautions like water and sand storage to deal with an emergency, it seems to be more of a formality. Ironically, a large number of children and women, all lacking basic training, are involved in the manufacturing of crackers in these units, operating from their dingy houses in Anngarh and its surrounding areas. According to estimates, this illegal trade does annual business of over Rs 4 crore. The administration has totally failed to come out with any plan to end this illegal trade. A resident of the area said several dons had sprung up in the area and had been controlling the trade with political patronage, while the police and administration looked the other way. It is pertinent to mention that during the past three years, the police registered negligible cases in this regard, as investigations are never followed. Official speak It is a known fact that Anngarh has been a notorious place for all kind of illegal activities, including the manufacturing of illegal firecrackers. It is for the police to crack a whip against them. The role of the corporation is that we just demarcate a site, but the verification of the site and whether the rules are being followed or not is the job of the police only. — Bakshi Ram Arora, Mayor The licencing procedure for dealing in firecrackers is foolproof and this season no licences to make or store crackers have been issued so far. If someone applies for the licence, our team inspect the site whether it complied the safety precaution and stipulated guidelines or not. Just three days back, we made arrests of those persons who were dealing in fireworks without having any valid permission. We have issued guidelines to the police posts, in whose areas the firework units are located, to act tough against the erring units. — Ram Singh, Commissioner of Police
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'Foreign docs preferring fellowships in India'
Amritsar, October 24 This was stated by Dr Gangadhar Sunder, an ocuplastic surgeon and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, National University of Health System, Singapore. Ocuplastic surgery means opthalmic plastic and reconstructive, oculofacial or eye plastic surgery. It is surgical sub-speciality of ophthalmology that deals with the medical and surgical management of deformities and abnormalities of eye. Dr Gangadhar was here to participate in the three-day national conference on oculoplastic surgery "Balle OPAI -2012" being organised by Dr Rohit Om Parkash Eye Institute in collaboration with the Association of Amritsar Academy of Ophthalmology here. Dr Gangadhar interacting with the media revealed that ocuplastic surgery is relatively new speciality in the field of ophthalmology. There is dearth of oculplastic surgeons all over the world. He was amazed to see the cutting edge technique and quality of eye care being provided in India. Dr Raman Mittal, chief organiser of the conference, said there are just 70 ocuplastic surgeons in India, while in Punjab there are just a couple of oculplastic surgeons. He said as the road accidents have increased on Indian roads the role of ocuplastic surgeons have increased. While detailing about the conference, he said it would be formally inaugurated on October 27 by world renowned Dr Namperumalsamy from Madurai. He said this was for the first time that such a super-speciality oculoplasty conference of this level was being held in Punjab. He said about 300 specialists in varied fields related to ophthalmology (eye) and related fields would congregate and share experiences and ideas during this interactive conference. These include ophthalmic plastic surgeons, dermatologists (skin), ocularists, general ophthalmologists, paediatric (children) ophthalmologists, orbital (around eye) surgeons, general plastic surgeons, maxillofacial (face) surgeons, ophthalmic pathologists.
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Heroin worth over Rs
2.50 cr seized
Amritsar, October 24 Those arrested were identified as Karmanjit Singh and Ravinder Ravi, both residents of Bhuse village. The accused were nabbed from the Islamabad area, where they had arrived to deliver an effigy of Ravana. The police recovered the contraband which was hidden in the speaker boxes of a tractor-trolley. The police authorities revealed that the accused took the consignment from a person in between when they loaded the effigy from the Lohgarh area and unloaded in the Islamabad area. The effigy was meant for Dasehra in the area. The CIA staff took the contraband and the two accused in their custody for further investigations. The police was looking for the person from whom they have procured the consignment. The police sources revealed that a manhunt had been launched to arrest the absconding accused who was learnt to be in the possession of more narcotic material.
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5 held with narcotic substances
Amritsar, October 24 Prabhjit Singh of Gali Masit Wali, Dam Ganj, and Ashok Kumar of Bhagwandas Sarai, Putlighar, were arrested by the CIA staff when they were trying to flee near the Gujjarpura area. The police party, which was patrolling the area, got suspicious of their movements while they threw a packet. During search, the police recovered as many as 7,600 capsules of habit-forming drugs. In a similar incident, the police recovered 1,520 capsules from the possession of Sarabjit Singh Dhapai. He was also trying to escape from a police team, which saw him throwing a polythene packet. During search, the police seized the contraband.
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There is a reverse trend being witnessed in the medical profession wherein foreign doctors are preferring fellowships in India as compared to past several years when most of the Indian doctors used to go to famous hospitals in foreign countries to do their fellowships, especially in the field of ophthalmology.
