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MC bows to pressure
tactics
Ludhiana, March 21 The MC officials were accompanied by a large posse of police, but they failed to carry out the proposed demolition of 22 shops, allegedly constructed on the government land. The MC team had returned empty handed from Gur Mandi in a similar manner when shopkeepers and a few religious activists asserted that the shops were a part of the Mahavir Temple Trust. Taking a cue from the failed demolition drive at Gur Mandi, the shopkeepers of Talab Bazaar also made an attempt to give a religious colour to it by making claims that the shops in this market were an extension of the Talab mandir. The weak-kneed approach of the civic administration towards blatant encroachments on the government land has raised a question mark on the so-called 'action plan' of the MC to clear encroachments from the government land as per the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. As the MC team, led by Municipal Town Planner Raj Kumar, Assistant Town Planners Kanwaljit Kaur, Monica Anand, Rajinder Sharma and Bankey Bihari arrived at the market along with a heavy police force under the leadership of ADCP Nilambari Jagdale, the shopkeepers started raising slogans against the MC. They termed it as an act of 'sacrilege' against the Talab mandir. Persistent attempts by the MC and police officials to persuade the protesting shopkeepers to disperse and let the MC team carry out its assigned task went unheeded. Amidst heated arguments by both the sides, the MC officials agreed to the offer by the shopkeepers that they would produce documents of the ownership of the land on which shops had been constructed on Monday. They also vowed to abide by the decision taken by the MC top brass. Failed bids Two failed bids for demolition of shops in Gur Mandi and Talab Bazaar have come as a damper for officials of the building branch of the MC. More often than not, they have to perform their duty against heavy odds. "Unless the MC takes a tough stand against pressure tactics, especially against those trying to give a religious colour to what is simple and pure unlawful occupation over government land, carrying out demolitions to clear encroachments will become difficult for us," said an MC official. Though no shopkeeper admitted to it, it was learnt that certain functionaries of a self-styled religious body had collected a huge amount from the shopkeepers of Talab Bazaar with a promise of getting the proposed demolition stalled indefinitely.
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3 killed in road mishaps
Ludhiana, March 21 In another incident, a person was crushed to death by a bus. The deceased has been identified as Hira Bahadur, a resident of Sector 32, Chandigarh Road. Mukat Bahadur, nephew of the deceased, said the incident took place when his uncle was alighting from the bus. Before he could react, the bus ran over him. The police has registered a case against bus driver Mahinder Singh, a resident of Moga, under Sections 279 and 304A of the IPC for reckless driving resulting in death. In a separate incident, Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Atam Nagar was killed after being hit by a pick-up vehicle. The incident took place on Tuesday evening when Sanjay Kumar, along with his father Brij Mohan, was on his way home from Sahnewal. When they reached near Dhandari Kalan, a pick-up vehicle hit the cycle he was riding following which he lost the control and fell. The accused managed to flee, said the deceased’s father. Sanjay was rushed to Apollo Hospital where he died last evening. |
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Jail inmate chews off fellow’s thumb
Ludhiana, March 21 The incident took place this morning when Rajiv returned to his barrack after meeting his family. He entered into a heated argument with Roshan Lal, who was frustrated as no one came to meet him. The argument turned ugly and during the scuffle, Roshan Lal chewed off Rajiv’s right thumb. The guards overpowered Roshan Lal and took him to a separate cell. A report has been prepared against Roshan Lal and a case has been referred to the Division No 7 police station for necessary action, said Jail Superintendent SP Khanna. Rajiv and Roshan Lal, along with their accomplice Jaspal, had committed a robbery at the house of industrialist Rajesh Jain at Rishi Nagar in January. The trio had injured Rajesh's wife Sugandha Jain, her son Sakshar Jain and a servant before fleeing with gold jewellery and cash worth over Rs 1 crore. They were nabbed by the police on the same day. |
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Robbery case solved, 6 held
Ludhiana, March 21 The victim, Suresh Kumar, an employee of Diwan Gas Agency, was on his way to a bank near the police lines to deposit Rs 3 lakh when armed assailant intercepted him in Deep Nagar and fled with cash. Suresh was thrashed by the assailants. He somehow managed to reach the main road. The city police had to face embarrassment the Commissioner of Police had launched a fleet of PCR motorcycles that day. Until now, it was suspected that the gas agency employee might have hatched a conspiracy to usurp the money. The accused are involved in a series of snatchings. Besides sharp-edged weapons, the police has seized a mobile phone and Rs 28,500. Addressing a press conference, ADCP-I Nilamberi Jagdale said the accused, identified as Rahul, Sunny Dhir, Ankit Chopra, Sunny Kumar, Raj Kumar and Shammi Kumar, were nabbed following a tip-off at a police check post in the Jassian area. She said Raj Kumar, the kingpin of the gang, was already facing several snatchings and robbery cases. She said that beside robberies, the accused had committed three snatchings in the Division No 7 area.
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MC nets Rs 1.9 cr from parking lot auction
Ludhiana, March 21 The public auction was conducted by MC Joint Commissioners PS Ghuman and AS Sekhon under the supervision of Additional Commissioner Isha Kalia, who is also the Zonal Commissioner of Zone D, where the market is located. Ten bidders participated in the auction after depositing an eligibility fee each of Rs 11.3 lakh, being 10 per cent of the reserve price which was pegged at Rs 1.13 crore. However, the bidding started from a lower level of Rs 1.03 crore as the bidders insisted on lowering the reserve price to an amount on which the parking lot was given on lease last year. The highest bid of Rs 1.90 crore tilted the balance in favour of Krishan Lal & Company that was awarded the rights of managing the parking lot a year from the date of allotment.
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3 held for sneaking cellpone into jail
Ludhiana, March 21 The incident took place yesterday when Shakti and Lakhwinder Singh came to meet one of their accomplices who is lodged in the observation home after being booked in a theft case. During the meeting, they told the inmate to stand near the wall and get hold of the mobile phone. Soon after the meeting was over, Lakhwinder and Shakti threw the mobile phone inside the jail. Constable Meet Ram spotted the duo throwing the mobile phone inside the observation home. The policeman gave them a chase and nabbed them. They were handed over to the Shimlapuri police. The trio has been booked under Section 52-A (1) of the Prisons Act. |
Women helpline launched
Jagraon, March 21 While launching the women helpline number, Sidhwan Bet police station SHO Jangjit Singh said the police had installed several banners containing women helpline number 99886-22622 at different places in the area. "We have installed the banners at the bus stand, outside educational institutes and several other public places of the area. If the girls face any kind of threat or risk, they can contact the police on women helpline number. The police will respond the calls immediately and accordingly a strict action will be taken against the person, found involved in objectionable activities against the women," said the SHO Jangjit Singh. He also appealed the women to approach police on the helpline number so that the police could curb the crime against women. With the launch of this women helpline number, Sidhwan Bet has become the first police station under Ludhiana (rural) police where the women helpline number has been started. The local residents have welcomed the police initiative of starting the women helpline number. "This is a very good step by the police department to make the women secure. But this initiative will prove useful only if the police officials give quick response to the calls and take a suitable action against the wrongdoer," said Sohan Singh Salempura, a prominent social activist of the area.
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Students suffer, courtesy PSEB
Ludhiana, March 21 The helpless students and their parents said that they could not anything since it was grossly wrong on the part of the Board officials, who had set the date-sheet. Tejinder Singh (name changed), one such student said that he had to take Maths compartment examination under the golden chance on March 18, evening time (2-5 pm). "At the same time, we had our Punjabi compulsory exam on March 18, evening time. How could we take two exams simultaneously? since it was the last chance to clear the Matriculation exam, I preferred to take this exam. AS far as Punjabi exam of class XII is concerned, I will take the exam again", said the student. The parents of the students said why should they suffer because of wrong date-sheet set by the Board Officials. "We contacted the local teachers, who tried to call the Board officials but to no avail. Our children will be declared having compartment in Punjabi exam in class XII and they will have to sit again to take the exam. Board could have set date-sheet in a right manner so that students would not have suffered", rued Karam Singh, a parent. The General Secretary of Government School Teachers' Union Parveen Kumar said that he was aware about a dozen students of class XII, who failed to take their Punjabi exam due to the clash of dates, "They took their Maths exams, for which it was their last chance. But this callousness on part of the Board was uncalled for. Why should the students suffer? They will have to wait now to take the Punjabi exam again", said Parveen Kumar
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Govt employees intensify stir
Ludhiana, March 21 Employees of other government departments also joined them today. A protest rally was taken out outside the Deputy Commissioner's office. A number of union workers from the agriculture department, Public Works Department, health department, Deputy Commissioner office and Punjab Roadways joined the protesting employees. Sukwinder Singh, member, Punjab State Ministerial Services Union, said if their demands were not met, they would go on a pen-down strike from March 25 to 26. President of the Punjab State Ministerial Service Union Harpreet Singh Grewal said the employees wanted revised pay scales. "We are not receiving pay scales under the Assure Carrier Progress Scheme. The government has not made any fresh recruitments," said Harpreet Singh Grewal. "With the implementation of the Right to Service Act, workload has increased. Politicians get the credit, but we are ignored," Sukhwinder Singh, state president, Punjab State Ministerial Staff Service Union.
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1,100 students
conferred degrees in govt college
Ludhiana, March 21 The students were also honoured with Roll of Honour and College Colours. In his address Maluka congratulated the graduates on their proud moment. He also expressed his joy at the achievements of the college and congratulated the Principal and the faculty. The Chief Guest exhorted the student to set new goals and aims in life. He said education was very essential and transformed the personality of a person. He further added that education in real sense means becoming good human beings and not merely acquiring bookish knowledge. Roll of Honour Ritika Gupta, Alisha Sharma, Gurpreet Kaur, Manpreet Kaur,Mishika Arora, Ekta Jain, Inderpreet Kaur, Avneet Kaur,Rachandeep Kaur, Kiran, Richa Bhardwaj, Bharti , Arshpreet kaur, Asama Grover, Mehak Dhand, Poonamdeep Kaur, Swati Jain, Deepali Lakanpal, Jasdeep Kaur, Ranvir Kaur,Nagma Mirza, Kulwinder, Parvinder Kaur, Kirandeep Kaur, Jagroop Kaur, RavinderKaur.
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PAU authorities construct wall
Ludhiana, March 21 It is worth mentioning that an incident of theft was reported at maintenance store near gate no 3 at PAU campus on March 9. — TNS
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40 lakh saplings to be planted this year
Ludhiana, March 21 According to Forest Survey of India, the forest cover from 2001 to 2011 got depleted from 2.69 per cent during the last decade to 1.79 per cent last year. When asked the Divisional Forest Officer Daljit Singh Brar, he said with uncertainty that the current forest cover in the district might be 3-4 percent. He said that as part of the government's Greening Punjab Mission launched last year, 40 lakh saplings would be planted in the district this year. In addition to commercially-viable trees like eucalyptus, barma, a couple of varieties of ficus, trees like neem, peepal, banyan etc would also be planted. During his recent visit to PAU, HS Gujral Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Punjab, said that 4.5 crore saplings were ready and would be planted in the state over the course of next year. But residents say that more plants are needed as the city has a tag of being one of the most polluted cities in the world. "The government should think about reducing the pollution,” says Aman, a resident. — TNS
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Education Minister’s rap for DEOs
Ludhiana, March 21 He said even after one month if they failed to send proper lists to the department, they would be suspended. The minister stated this during the annual convocation of the Government College for Girls today. He said he was getting the lists from every district on the policy and if discrepancies were found, action would be taken against the authorities concerned. Maluka said teachers were getting handsome salaries from the government and it was their duty to impart quality education to students. "Copying will be not tolerated and teachers/superintendents found guilty will be punished. Besides, the schools getting poor results will be closely monitored. Teachers will be transferred and will be sent for a three-month training," said Maluka. On the issue of associate schools, the minister said they were given two more years to get the affiliation. He said out of the 1,600 teachers who remained on long leave, 600 teachers were dismissed and notices were sent to the remaining 1,000 teachers. "If they fail to respond to our notices, they will also be dismissed," he said. The government was going to recruit more English teachers. Maluka said 4,000 new teachers had already been recruited. On the implementation of the Right To Education Act, Maluka said letters were being sent to all Deputy Commissioners to provide a list of schools which had failed to get registered. "We are going to take strict action against the defaulters from April 1," said Maluka.
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VAT target goes up by 25 per cent
Ludhiana, March 21 Badish Jindal, national president of the Federation of Association of Small Industries of India, condemned the increase in VAT target. "As the growth is stagnant, such announcements will only discourage us," said Jindal. Jatinder Khurana, taxation professional, said with everything going online, it was not easy to evade taxes. He said the department should ensure the availability of C Forms as the department was always short of these forms. He stated that the department's functioning was not restricted to the budget announcements, as it could increase
VAT and surcharges on items anytime.
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DBA elections: Four candidates file papers on last day
Ludhiana, March 21 On the last day, former vice-president of the DBA Vijay B Verma staked claim to the post of president. Last time, he had lost the elections by a margin of 40 votes. District Bar Association president Jagmohan Singh Warraich, vice-president Ashok Sharma, former chairman of the Bar Council Harish Rai Dhanda, former president Naval Kishore Chhibber, Lawyers Brigade president Sanjiv Malhotra, Sham Sunder Ahuja and Rakesh Sharda are backing Verma's candidature. For the post of secretary, Rustam Pal Singh and SP Singh filed the papers today. Deepjot Singh Ahluwalia had filed the papers yesterday. For the post of finance secretary, Hari Om Jindal filed the papers. Returning officer NPS Gahir said the documents would be scanned tomorrow. The candidates can withdraw till March 23.
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Draw of lots for liquor vends today
Ludhiana, March 21 Within the Ludhiana MC limits, the number of applications increased from 4,800 last year to 5,500 this year. “The number of vends within the MC limits has gone up from 353 to 423. There are 16-17 vends in each group while last year the number was 14-15. The licence fee for one group is Rs 14.25 crore,” said Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Kanwalpreet Brar. The Deputy Commissioners have also been appointed as observers in their respective districts. The successful allottees will have to deposit 1 per cent of the licence fee on the spot. Under the corporation area, the fee will be 2 per cent. An allottee will have to deposit 5 per cent (after adjusting the initial deposit) of the licence fee within 48 hours of the draw of lots. The remaining 10 per cent will have to be deposited within a week of the draw of lots. However, a licence holder can pay five per cent amount of security by April 15 with 1 per cent interest per month.
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State budget elicits mixed response
The increase in VAT target has left the industry high and dry. The government should have cleared the pending VAT refunds before increasing the target.
The industry was ignored in the state budget and not even a single announcement was made for the city which is considered the Manchester of Punjab. The demand of the industry to set up a permanent exhibition centre was not taken into consideration Sushil Malhotra, hosiery manufacturer
Ashok Juneja, chairman, Punjab Plywood Manufacturers Association The proposal to abolish 5.5 per cent of VAT on school bags, pencils, erasers, sharpeners, geometry boxes, colours, crayons and water bottles was hailed by students. Madhani, lemon squeezer, roller and rolling pins, mats and brooms will be available at affordable prices
The government will be giving tablets to students. It turned out to be a student-friendly budget. Now, poor students will not be deprived of quality education as the government will give them scholarship. Gaurav Soni, student
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High drama at Aadhaar centre
LUDHIANA, March 21 The woman alleged that staff member hurled comments at her while she was standing in queue. She objected to it and called the police. On the other hand the staff deputed to make Aadhar cards slammed the allegations as baseless and stated that the woman was breaking the queue when she was told to stay in queue, she indulged in a heated argument and called the police. Gang of swindlers busted With the arrest of four persons, the city police has claimed to have busted a gang of swindlers who had sold the 4.2 acres of land owned by two brothers in Chhapar village to a woman of Barnala for Rs 37.80 lakh, by formulating forged documents. The accused have been identified as Sandeep Singh, resident of Dhanno village in Sangrur, Sultan Khan, resident of Dhadewara village, Anvar Khan, resident of Chhapar village and Rachpal Singh. The SHO Sadar police station, Amandeep Singh Brar, revealed that Sandeep Singh mastermind of the gang managed to procure documents of the land owned by Harjant Singh and Jagroop Singh. The accused took the advantage of the fact that both the brothers were illiterate. While one of the accused, Sultan Khan posed as Jagroop Singh another as Harjant Singh. Avatar Khan of Chappar village signed as witness in the case. They sold the land to one Harjeet Kaur, resident of Nangal village in Barnala. After knowing that she was duped, she filed a complaint to the Ludhiana police. Following the investigations, it was proved that the four persons had duped a woman by posing as owner of the land and formulating fake documents. The accused were immediately arrested. One nabbed with stolen iPhone Dugri police has nabbed a person with stolen I-Phone. The accused has been identified as Tejinder Singh, a resident of Badowal. He was arrested from Kandhari Chowk, here last evening from a police check post. On spotting the police, he tried to escape but was caught. On conducting search, the police found an I-Phone from his possession. During the questioning he cracked soon and confessed that he had stolen the I-Phone. A case was registered Section 380-411 of the IPC against the accused for committing theft. One held with habit-forming drugs The city police nabbed one person and seized huge quantity of habit-forming drugs from his possession. The accused, identified as Ramesh Singh, a resident of Salem Tabri. He was nabbed from a check post at Kwality Chowk. On spotting the police, he tried to escape. The cops found his activities to be suspicious and got hold of him. On conducting a thorough search, a huge quantity of psychotropic drugs including injections, cough syrups and tablets, were found from his bag. A case was registered against the accused under the NDPS Act. Three held with smack Three persons were held with smack by Ladhowal police, here last evening. The accused have been identified as Parminder Singh of Gorshian village, Amarpreet Singh of Noorpur Bet and Jasvinser Singh of Shimla Puri. The accused were nabbed from a police check post at Giaspur. The trio was riding a motorcycle and tried to escape on seeing the police, but the cops intercepted their vehicle and got hold of them. During the search of their belongings police impounded 77 grams of smack, found from their possession. The accused have been booked under NDPS Act. Two vehicle thieves arrested The police claims to have busted a gang of vehicle lifters after they arrested two persons and also recovered three stolen motorcycles from their possession, here today.The accused have been identified as Harkesh Kumar and Shivam, residents of Mandi Ahemadgarh in Sangrur. The accused were stopped at check point at Baba Than Singh chowk by the policemen of Dharampura police post. During the investigation it was found that the duo were vehicle lifters and were visiting the area to steal another vehicle. The investigating officer, Kapil Kumar said that they could not produce any document of the motorcycle, they were riding on. After an interrogation, they revealed that they used to lift the vehicles from the city and sold to scrap dealers at throw away prices. Both are cronic drug addict and were stealing the motorcycle to buy drugs. Police has recovered two stolen motorcycles from their possession. Man alleges police inaction Ganesh Sachdeva, 66-year-old retired bank manager of State Bank of India, said his scooter was stolen from outside treasury branch located at Dr Sham Singh Road near Mall Road on February 8. He further said, though, the Division No 8 police was quick to register FIR, they did not make any effort to search the scooter. Sachdeva said the cops did not even bother to check the CCTV recording installed by the bank. Ironically, he has sent nearly 50 letters to senior police officials, including Police Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, but nothing has been done so far. 
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Ludhiana, March 21 She said she was even thrashed and thrown out of the house. She started living with her friend. She said last evening her husband called her up and scolded her following which she consumed sedatives and tried to commit suicide. — TNS
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GS Chopra, president, Taxation Bar
Association
Government school students securing 80 per cent or above will be given an annual scholarship of Rs 30,000. Another proposal which was welcomed by students was that government ITIs in the state would impart free professional education to girls~
An amount of Rs 50 crore allocated for a 24-hour power supply and free electricity to 10 lakh farmers cheered the farmers of the
state.
Rajini Arora, homemaker