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Protesters squat on tracks, rail traffic goes haywire
Ludhiana, February 21 As protesting trade union workers squatted on railway tracks near Giaspura, Dhandari, Gurdwara Dukh Niwaran and Jagraon Bridge, several trains were delayed by hours causing inconvenience to passengers. The New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express, the New Delhi-Amritsar Shan-e-Punjab, the Amritsar-Dadar Express, the Ludhiana-Ferozepur passenger and the Ambala-Ludhiana passenger trains were held up at the Ludhiana and Doraha railway stations for three to four hours. Similarly, the Jammu Tawi-Indore Malwa Express, the Flying Express and the Ludhiana-Hissar passenger trains were also delayed for more than an hour. Station superintendent RK Sharma said the rail traffic resumed after 2.30 pm. “However, some of the trains that reached their terminating points three to four hours behind schedule will be running late during their return journey in the evening," he added. As the trains had an unscheduled halt at Ludhiana and other nearby stations, the passengers on board these trains and those waiting at the railway station had a harrowing time. |
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No end to commuters' woes
Ludhiana, February 21 The passengers had to board private buses to reach to their destinations. RS Grewal, general manager, Punjab Roadways, said 127 buses of Punjab Roadways remained off the road today. “The roadways had to bear a loss of Rs 18 lakh in Ludhiana alone,” said the GM. Managing director of the PTRC from Patiala DPS Kharbanda said the corporation had to bear a loss of Rs 20 lakh in Ludhiana. The private bus operators had a field day today. Swaranjit Singh, a daily commuter from Jagraon, said the private bus operators charged more fare. “But we had no other option but to board private buses,” he said.
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ATMs run out of cash
Ludhiana, February 21 Normal banking operations were hit as employees of public sector banks struck work for the second consecutive day today. Even the shutters of some of the ATMs in the city were down after they ran out of cash. Though many banks fed additional cash in the ATMs to meet the cash needs of customers, it proved insufficient. "I was taken aback to find that there was no cash in the ATM. I went to another ATM, but there was no cash in it. So, I had to withdraw money from the ATM of a private bank," said Keshav Rai, a city resident. "The banks will remain close for two days due to strike, but we will have to pay interest on loans, which is not fair. Whenever there is a strike, the interest on loans should not be added for that particular day," said Badish Jindal, president of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association. "We have informed the customers about the strike and had asked them to withdraw the money in advance. In any case, they can take the help of ATMs of private banks," added a bank official.
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Desperate bid to stay afloat
Interestingly, MC Commissioner RK Verma also holds the additional charge of GLADA’s Chief Administrator and the chairman of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust. And in the wake of severe financial crunch gripping the civic body, the MC can always seek a bailout package by way of soft loan from the other bodies only if these are flush with funds. After the MC had raised a substantial amount of Rs 83 crore from the sale of a prime piece of land and 45 SCO sites in the past couple of months, it’s the LIT and GLADA who are going to put a few sites, prime chunks of land and built-up properties worth Rs 152 crore under the hammer in the next fortnight. The freehold commercial sites, residential flats, sites for multi-storeyed residential complexes and hotel sites to be sold through the open public auction by GLADA include a 8,615 square yard hotel site in Sector 32-A with a reserve price of Rs 51.69 crore (on February 22), 20 residential flats in Sector 40 on Chandigarh Road with a reserve price of Rs 1.92 crore (February 28), two chunks of land measuring 12,826 square yard and 12196 square yard for multi-storeyed residential complexes in Sector 40 on Chandigarh Road with a reserve price of Rs 25.65 crore and Rs 24.39 crore, respectively (March 4), and five SCF sites and 10 booths in Dugri Urban Estate-III with a price tag of Rs 8.84 crore and Rs 9.07 crore, respectively (March 6). The Ludhiana Improvement Trust will put under the hammer 42 commercial sites and built-up properties with a floor price of Rs 13.66 crore on February 26. Sources say unlike the Municipal Corporation, GLADA was in a better financial position until the state government ‘burdened’ it with several development works. “Financial grants to several institutions, taking up the six-laning project of Ferozepur Road from Sidhwan Canal to Octroi post, construction of an underpath on railway crossing on Lodhi Club Road, sharing the cost of the Express Highway from Neelon to Ludhiana and taking up sewerage and water supply projects in many other towns had put a big drain on the finances of GLADA," maintain sources. The poor financial health of the body notwithstanding, GLADA could always cough up a sizeable amount for development works and infrastructure development projects in the city to be executed by MC or other government or autonomous institutions, said a GLADA official.
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Civic body uploads form on website
Ludhiana, February 21 For seeking details regarding their properties, the city residents are to provide information such as its size, location, water, sewerage ID number, year of construction, type of structure and use of property to the employees of a private company, which is presently carrying out a survey in the city. Out of the 37 blocks in the city, officials of a private company are carrying out the survey in four blocks (number 21, 26, 28 and 36) of the city. The survey started on February 6. The company will complete the survey in 60 days. The MC uploaded the performa on its website as the company has only obtained the details from around 10,000 residents out of
total 4 lakh properties in the city. This information is required under Section 108 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, and refusal to disclose information attracts penal action under Section 108 (3) of PMC Act. PS Ghuman, MC Joint Commissioner-cum Nodal Officer (Property Tax), said: "The performa is simple. But as residents are not aware of its contents and it takes a lot of time to fill it whenever the surveyor visits the property. Whenever a surveyor visits the property, residents are out on duty. That is why we have uploaded the performa on our website. The residents can even take out printouts of this form and fill it so that even if they are not at home, some other person present in the house can provide details to the surveyors," said
Ghuman.
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Aanganwari workers stage dharna in city
Ludhiana, February 21 The workers demanded that aanganwari workers should get minimum wages of Rs 15,000 per month, while the helpers should get minimum wages of Rs 10,000. Besides, they should be provided pension and gratuity benefits. The workers said that though the government had increased funds for the meal, it had not increased the money for fuel. The workers were finding it hard to cope up with the situation. Besides, the Panchayat and other officials from the local bodies were "unnecessarily harassing and interfering" in their work. The workers also said that there should be reservation for elementary teachers training and auxillary nursing midwives by the government. The workers said that they should be given promotion after three years of experience and not after 10 years.
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A mockery of education system
Ludhiana, February 21 The students from classes VIII to IX failed to reply to most of the questions and the lame excuses made by their teachers were that "they hardly come to the school" or "they may be feeling shy/scared to answer". A Tribune team, along with the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), Rishipal Singh, District Eduction Officer (Secondary) Paramjit Kaur Chahal and other employees of the education department, visited the school. The questions were asked from science, maths, English and Hindi textbooks. About 850 students are taught by 35 teachers. The visiting team asked one of the teachers to give students a numerical which none of them could solve. When the students of Class VIII were asked to explain tenses, they drew a blank. On reading a sentence, "The peon is ringing the bell", a few students said it was future tense while others said it was "present indifferent tense". Seeing such a state of affairs, the ADC (D) said it was "unfortunate" and "criminal" on the part of teachers who were "ruining" the future of innocent children. On being asked why the students were not able to answer the questions, one of the senior teachers replied, "We teach students from Class VI onwards, the foundation of these students at the primary level is weak. As we are already overburdened, we cannot focus entirely on the students."
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Fragrance pervades PAU
Ludhiana, February 21 Chief guest Dr DS Cheema, Dean, College of Agriculture, PAU, after paying tributes to Dr MS Randhawa said, "An ardent lover of flowers, Dr Randhawa left a rich legacy which has been maintained and preserved by the university." He said flower cultivation was a lucrative venture, Dr Cheema said it was a good source of income generation for the farmers and a viable option for diversification in agriculture. He appreciated the artistic creativity of the students, who tastefully decorated the flower arrangements on varied topics such as "Rising sun", "Earth laughs in flowers", "Soaring high, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" and "Beauty in diversity". Dr Ramesh Kumar, director, Directorate of Floricultural Research, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, said there were 23 coordinating centres in floriculture, located in different agro-climatic zones of the country. "The PAU is one of the leading national centres and its contributions are always highly appreciated everywhere," he said. Dr Kumar said, "Love flowers, bloom like flowers and be flower cultured." He lauded the participation of students, nurseries and government institutions like Directorate of Horticulture, Punjab, and the officials of horticulture from different districts. Dr Kushal Singh, head, department of floriculture and landscaping, said the students of city schools and colleges had showcased their talent beautifully by designing flower ornaments, button holes, bracelets, garlands, earrings, and hair rings with various varieties of flowers. Different varieties of foliage, cactus, ferns, bonsai plants and flowers like nemesia, gazania, daisy, dahlia, candytuft, calendula, phlox, petunia, salvia and marigold have been put on display.
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Lecture
Ludhiana: An extension lecture was organised by the Guru Nanak Girls College by the PG department of fashion designing on Thursday. The lecture was organised in collaboration with textile committee, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. SS Mohan (AD, Textile Committee), Pankaj Kumar and Rajeev Kumar were the resource persons. They interacted with students. Principal Dr Charanjit Mahal welcomed the resource persons. Seminar
The Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women organised a seminar on "Role of hygienic environment in preventing female ailments". Dr Vaneet Kaur, a gynaecologist from Apollo Hospital, was the chief guest. She spoke on various topics related to women's health and problems they faced in their lives. College principal Dr Parveen Kaur Chawla welcomed the guest. — TNS
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Sports day
Ludhiana: HVM Day Boarding School, New Subhash Nagar, organised its sports day on Thursday. School president DP Sharma declared the meet open. The students from pre-nursery to Class V participated in various events, including 100 m race, three-legged race and lemon race. School principal Meena Sharma highlighted the importance of sports and physical education for the holistic development of students. School president DP Sharma distributed prizes among winners. VP Joshi, sports in charge, Gopal Krishan and Sanjeev Kumar were present on the occasion. Contest
The Tribune organised Cognizance Scrapbook Competition for the students of classes VI and X from November 27 to December 31, last year. About 15,000 students from Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Ludhiana participated in the competition. Students from Ludhiana, Gunpreet Kaur of DAV School and Mehar Kaur Bhatia of Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School won a desktop as the second prize. The students, who won consolation prizes, are Diksha Sharma of BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School; Ishaan Chandhok of Bharti Public School; Ishita Gupta of Kundan Vidya Mandir School; Sanjeet Singh of DAV Public School; Bhavya Jindal of DPS School; Raman Kumar of CFC Public School; Diya Vir Kaur of DAV Public School; Jatin Kapoor of DAV Public School; Reet Gill of DPS School; Dhriti Madan of DAV Public School; Navkaran Singh of Guru Nanak Public School; Sonali of CFC Public School; Savitri Kaura of KVM School; Mehak Singhal of DAV Public School; Paramveer Singh of BCM Arya School; Dinmani Malhan of Sacred Heart Convent School; Irina Cheema of Sacred Heart Convent School; Sonika Garg of Anand Ishar Senior Secondary School; Hasrat Boparai of Green Grove Public School; Ayushi Verma of USPC Jain Public School; Prayaspreet Singh of GGN Public School; Karan Kaura of Greenland Senior Secondary School and Ankita of Amrit Indo-Canadian School. Graduation ceremony
The annual day and graduation ceremony of Penguin Castle Preschool, Udham Singh Nagar, was held on Thursday. Prem Kumar Gupta, secretary, DMCH Managing Society, was the chief guest while Paramjit Singh Ghuman, Joint Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, was the guest of honour. Students presented bhangra, couple dance, modelling show and choreography. Seshal and Devesh recited poems. Niyant danced to the tune of “tum hi ho bandhu” while Gurnaksh set the stage on fire with her performance on “kadi saadi gali aya karo”. Graduation certificates were given to students. — TNS
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Undertrial alleges torture in police custody
Ludhiana February 21 He was medically examined for the third time at Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, today and the report is awaited. However, the SHO concerned denied the allegations. Sanjiv Kumar, SHO, CIA-1, said, "Jatinder Singh is a hardcore criminal and is trying to mislead the investigation. His allegations are baseless. We got him medically examined twice i.e. on February16 and 17. There was no sign of burn injury on his body. He has already faced a police case under Section 307 of the IPC ". Kumar said, "The police nabbed Jatinder Singh with 52 kg poppy husk on February 15. He was presented in Court on January 16 after getting him medically examined. He was sent to one-day police remand." Meanwhile, Jatinder Singh said, "My lawyer filed an application in court to get me medically examined." Jatinder was caught with poppy husk from his native village Ayali. Jatinder alleged that the SHO had tortured him on the night of February 15. He further said that the CIA staff recovered 18 kg poppy husk from his possession and not 52 kg . He said that the police were trying to make its case strong.
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Delegation visits farm varsity Ludhiana: A 27-member delegation of the California Agriculture Leadership Foundation, the USA, visited Punjab Agricultural University on Thursday to explore potential areas for collaboration, share farm experiences and learn about agricultural business, economics, education, research and transfer of technology. The delegation, comprising farm experts and emerging agriculturists, was led by Dr Charles Boyer, Dean, College of Agriculture, California State University, the USA. It was accompanied by Karmdeep Bains, fourth generation progressive farmer, California. During their interaction with the senior officials, heads and faculty of various departments of the university, the delegates deliberated upon the water treatment system, crop improvement technologies and cold storage facilities. Warm send-off
A farewell party was organised at the Punjab Agricultural University to bid adieu to the registrar of PAU, Dr RK Mahey. PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon, senior officials, heads, and faculty of various departments of the university were present. Calling him a versatile personality, Dr Dhillon said Dr Mahey had carved a unique niche for himself and had set up an excellent example of an outstanding alumnus, a proficient teacher and a seasoned administrator. Dr Mahey maintained the decorum, integrity and uprightness of his office throughout his tenure as the Registrar. Director of Research Dr SS Gosal; Director of Extension Education Dr MS Gill; Dean of Postgraduate Studies Dr Gursharan Singh and Dean of the College of Agriculture Dr DS Cheema shared their nostalgic moments and highlighted the accomplishments and contributions of Dr Mahey.— TNS
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Trains halt at Khanna, Doraha for two hours
Khanna, February 21 The halt was due to the on-going two-day nationwide strike called by the trade unions. The trains could resume their journey only after the tracks were cleared. Several passengers were forced to call off their journey and terminated their trips and left for their homes on private vehicles. Both trains were Amritsar bound and remained stranded Khanna and Doraha railway stations. Lalita, a passenger who was going to Beas, said that she had been waiting for a very long time. The Khanna GRP Chowki in charge said that the traffic on these routes would become operational only after the tracks were cleared. He said that the trains came to a halt as the protestors had blocked the railway tracks near Ludhiana. The passengers had a harrowing time waiting for the train to resume journey.
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Be ready to shell out more for stationery goods
Ludhiana, February 21 As per sources, there will be an increase in wood-free grade papers. Earlier, in February, the Offset Printers Association had announced an increase of 15 per cent for the printing and packaging industry due to sudden increase in the rates of paper by almost all the major paper, paperboard and craft paper mills. "The printing and packaging industry is already suffering due to unavailability of skilled/semi-skilled workforce and an increase in the cost of raw material may once again force the printers to increase their prices. With the hike in price of wood-free paper, which is used generally for text book and note book printing, the cost of text books and note books for school children are set to rise from the next session," said Parveen Aggarwal, president, Offset Printers Association. Prices of paper and other raw material used in the printing and packaging industry has doubled in the past seven years. The input labour cost has also increased by 38 per cent during the same period but the rate of printing has only increased by 20 per cent in the same period. — TNS
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Ludhiana scan
Sunil Kant Munjal was felicitated with "Wall of Honour" during a recently held International Healthcare Summit in London on the theme "Transferability and Affordable Healthcare Services in Emerging India". The Royal Society of Medicine organised the event which was attended by senior members of the Indian and British Governments, including politicians, entrepreneurs, businessmen, policy makers and 300 delegates. Campaign
The Aam Aadmi Party's campaign against property tax intensified, with thousands of residents voicing angers and opposing the same. Aam Aadmi Party district convener Harjot Singh said, "While house tax is levied on commercial and residential establishments, the new proposed tax will be levied on residential holdings spread over 50 sq yards. Meeting
The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) is organising a buyer-seller business meet. The event to be held on February 22-23 aims at providing business opportunities to small auto component manufacturers, especially Tier 2 and Tier 3 companies of Punjab, including Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jalandhar and adjoining areas. BKU raises demand
A meeting of the Bharti Kisan Union was held on Thursday. Bhupinder Singh, member of the union, said they were planning to "gherao" Parliament on March 18. He said they had given an ultimatum to the Central Government to follow the recommendations of Dr Swaminathan Commission recommendations. Strike by BSNL workers
The strike by the BSNL unions entered the second day on Thursday. The non-executive staff of the BSNL gathered in front of the general manager's office at Bharat Nagar. The workers are demanding that the BSNL should not be disinvested and the VRS should not be enforced in the BSNL. They are also opposing the price hike, attack on public sector undertakings and violation of labour laws. Promote Punjabi
Chairman of the Malwa Sabhyacharak Manch Krishan Kumar Bawa said only those who loved their mother tongue were true Punjabis. They should promote the language. Concert
The Punjab Cultural Society will organise "Afsane Sartaj", a live concert of Satinder Sartaj, on March 2 at 6 pm at Guru Nanak Bhawan. Clinic opened
Jiva Ayurveda has opened a new Jiva Ayurveda Clinic in Ludhiana. The clinic was inaugurated by Dr Partap Chauhan, ayurvedic medicine expert. Launch
Avon Cycles launched two new models on Thursday. Onkar Singh Pahwa, MD of Avon Cycles, said they had added two new models Paragon and Falcon to their booster series. The models will be displayed at the cycle expo starting on Friday. Three more models Magic, Passion and Skyland will be added to the series. Memorandum submitted
President of the National Organisation of Government Employees KR Tripathi and Indian National Bank Employees Congress, Deputy General Secretary Dr Shiv Gupta and Indian National Trade Union Congress vice-president Sunder Lal Mehta have jointly submitted a pre-budget memorandum to the Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, for raising the income tax limit to Rs 3 lakh in view of the rising inflation. Achievements highlighted
DLF Pramerica Life Insurance Co. Ltd. shared an update on the company's performance in Ludhiana and its continual commitment to Punjab. At a press conference organised by the DPLI to mark the fourth anniversary of its branch in Ludhiana, Maninder Sood, executive vice-president, DPLI said, "We have secured the lives of more than 3,000 customers in the city and collected over Rs 10 crore as new business premium."— TNS
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Two arrested with narcotics
Ludhiana February 21 Sub Inspector Harbans Singh, SHO, Dehlon, and In charge, Anti-Narcotics Cell said that the police arrested Rajinder Singh (46), a resident of SAS Nagar, Shimlapuri, with 20 boxes of illicit liquor. Rajinder Singh was caught while crossing a police checkpost at Partap Nagar on his scooter.ASI Tarsem Singh recovered two boxes of liquor from his possession. "After the investigation, the police recover 18 more boxes of illicit liquor from Rajinder Singh's possession. Many cases have been registered against Rajinder Singh for smuggling liquor", Harbans Singh said. Meanwhile, ASI Satpal Singh arrested Kamal Garg, resident of Inder Nagar Daba Road, with 1,200 capsules of Parvon Spas and 25,000 habit-forming pills from T Point, Alamgir Sahib. The police presented the accused in court. Land grab case The city police has registered a case against six persons for grabbing 100 square yard plot at Prem Nagar in the Daba Road area. The Daba police said Suresh Kumar, resident of Adarash Colony, Daba, registered a complaint against Nitaya Nand, his wife, and five unidentified persons, for grabbing his plot. Suresh Kumar alleged that he had bought a residential plot on August 8, 2008, from Ram Lalan, resident of Prem Nagar. Nitaya Nand and his accompanies removed his wooden gate from the plot and installed a new gate. When Suresh Kumar opposed their act the accused beat him and threatened to kill him. The police has registered a case under Sections 448, 323, 506,427 and 149 of the IPC. ASI Nirmal Singh is investigating the matter.
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Mandi Ahmedgarh, February 21 The police has also recovered a cheque of Rs 2.5 lakh that was received by them from a resident of Kalakh village three weeks ago. The accused were identified as Khatira of local Ward Number 4, Sukhwinder Singh Bhola of Uksi and Hardev Singh of Dudhal village under the Malaudh police station. Sukhdev Singh Virk, deputy superintendent of police, Amargarh, informed that a police party had arrested the accused who had allegedly forced Mohinder Singh of Kalakh village to part with a huge sum of money by detaining him at Khatira’s house, the kingpin of the gang. Investigations revealed Khatira was a drug pedder and ran the illicit trade under the garb of a beauty parlour in a rented room belonging to the complainant at his Kalakh village. With the intention to extract money from Mohinder Singh, Khatira called him to her house, situated in Ward Number 4, on the pretext of paying room rent on January 30. According to the plan, when Mohinder Singh reached Khatir’s house her accomplices Bhola and Hardev Singh stripped him there as they were hiding in the house. The accused then threatened to get him booked in a sexual assault case if he did not pay them the desired amount. The matter was settled at Rs 2.5 lakh for which Mohinder Singh signed a cheque. However, the victim lodged a complaint with the police. A case under Sections 384, 385, 386 and 120-B of the IPC was registered against the suspects and the trio was arrested from different places last evening. Further investigations revealed that Khatira was booked for possessing 330 gm of opium, six months ago. Though some more persons had been duped in a similar manner in the past, the victims did not lodge complaints for fear of social stigma. — OC
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Man held with habit-forming drugs
Jagraon, February 21 The accused has been identified as Chamkaur Singh, a resident of Hathur village. ASI Parwinder Singh said the accused was arrested from the outskirts of Chakar village near Jagraon yesterday during a routine checking by the police. The police recovered 44 bottles of cough syrup and one lakh toxic tablets. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered.
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Man shot in Bharthla Randhawa village
Khanna, February 21 As per information, the youth identified as Babbu (25), was at his house when car -borne persons called him outside his house and shot him in the head. He was injured seriously and he died on his way to hospital. He was running a DJ shop in the village and at the time of the incident he was present at his home. Jatinder Singh Aulkh, SSP, Khanna, confirmed the incident and said that the police had got some vital clues from the family and was probing the matter. He said that a case was registered in this regard and the guilty would be nabbed soon. He said that the police was investigating the matter.
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Man gets 10-year jail in rape case
Ludhiana, Feburary 21 He was sentenced to undergo 10 years rigorous imprisonment. A fine of Rs 10,000 has also been imposed on the accused. He was also sentenced to three years imprisonment for trespassing into the girl’s house with a fine of Rs 3,000. However, both the sentences will run concurrently. The accused was not entitled to any leniency keeping in view the nature of offence he had committed, remarked the court while dismissing the plea of leniency put forward by the accused. A case under Sections 452 and 376 of the IPC was registered against the accused at the Haibowal police station on September 13, 2007, following the statement of the victim. The complainant had stated to the police that she was washing utensils in her house, when the accused entered the house. The accused took advantage of the situation as there was no one at home and the victim was alone. The accused forcibly took her inside the room and threatened to kill her brother and mother if she raised the alarm. He then raped her, she added. The accused pleaded innocence and claimed that he was being implicated. But after appreciating the evidence on record, the court found the accused guilty and sentenced him accordingly.
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Ludhiana, February 21