Amritsar, July 21
An undertrial at the Amritsar Central Jail entered into a spat last evening with fellow inmates and later assaulted the Jail Deputy Superintendent and Jail Warden when they intervened to defuse the situation.

Jail Deputy Superintendent RK Sharma said the inmate in question, Ravinder Singh, had a heated argument with two other inmates when he was called up to complete some official formalities in the office.

“After he quarrelled with other inmates, I intervened. He assaulted me and Jail Warden Jagdev Singh as well. He tossed Jagdev Singh’s turban. He also abused us. At last, we had to register a case against him,” he said.

A case under Section 295-A/298/353/186 of the IPC has been registered against the undertrial who is already facing murder charges.

“It is true that clashes inside the jail occur among gangs which are either formed inside the jail or they already happen to know each other beforehand. Clashes on petty issues in most of the cases are stage managed,” he said.

On May 21, undertrials Prabhpal Singh and Lakhwinder Singh clashed on the jail premises which took serious turn. Prabhdyal brutally assaulted Lakhwinder with a sharp-edge weapon made from a spoon. The attack fell short of being fatal and Lakhwinder was saved.

After investigation by the jail authorities, it was found out that the clash was apparently staged to help them escape from jail.

“Some even try to hurt themselves so that they would be shifted to hospital. Then they try to make an attempt to escape or to get drugs or mobiles,” the jail official said.

Amritsar, July 21
The Excise and Taxation Department’s new directive regarding e-trip application on intra-state and inter-state movement of certain goods has sent the businessmen and industrialists into tizzy while it has offered another issue to the opposition Congress to criticise the SAD-BJP coalition government.

A yarn manufacturer, Kamal Dalmia, said the amendment in the VAT rules was a bolt from the blue and the government did not bother to take the opinion of the business community.

The department through an amendment in the Punjab VAT Rules, 2005, incorporated Rule 64, 4 as per which the prescribed procedure for furnishing information in respect of intra-state trade or commerce of specified goods — cotton, vegetable oil (edible and non-edible), yarn, plywood, sarson, iron and steel (excluding scrap) — was made mandatory.If the bills come out to be Rs 50,000 or more, the businessmen will have to send a tax bill.

The public notice issued by the department reads that any transaction covered by multiple invoices with total value of all invoices exceeding the prescribed threshold, where the consignor and the consignee are the same and the goods are transported through the same vehicle, shall be considered a single transaction for the purpose of minimum sale.

It stated that the persons concerned dealing with the specified goods, before putting the same into transit to any intra-state destination, for trade or commerce by any mode of transition, shall submit information in Form VAT-12-A, through Virtual Information Collection Centre on the official website of the department. After tendering of the aforesaid information through electronic mode, these persons must take electronic generated receipt bearing unique number allotted to such traders as a proof for submission of the said information. The aforesaid receipt shall be a necessary document along with the goods receipt, trip sheet, log book, bill, cash memo, sale invoice, vehicle's record, in which such goods are being transported or delivery challan etc as the case may be, as a proof for such transaction.

It has also fixed the maximum transaction time for delivery of such goods from one destination to another. Six hours for distance up to 100 km, 10 hours for distance up to 200 km and 14 hours for distance above 200 km.

Similarly, inter-state transaction of the five commodities iron and steel, goods hosiery, readymade garments, rice, nut bolts, with minimum of Rs 50,000 would have to undergo the aforementioned procedure. These traders and manufacturers will have to seek permission by giving information at the department website.

MLA and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president OP Soni said the government had implemented e-trip at all transportation channels, including, air, railway, dry port/import of goods within the state and it would ruin the business. He said the move would completely destroy the business. He alleged that the move was fraught with the mischievous planning of the Akali-BJP government to uproot the citizens of the state. He demanded immediate withdrawal of the amendment.

Amritsar, July 21
The ministerial staff association has decided to gherao the residence of Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal at Jallandhar on August 8. The association is protesting to get the anomalies in their pay scales rectified.

Association general secretary Jagdish Thakur said: “Earlier we had held a symbolic protest by wearing black badges. We want that government should hold talks with the employees so that confrontation can be avoided.”

He said in view of the general public interest, the government should not delay talks as it would force them to go on indefinite strike.

The Health Department employees association held a meeting to discuss various problems of the employees under the chairmanship of Rakesh Kumar. Association senior vice-president Sanjeev Anand said the association had members from all cadres of the Health Depatrtment. Considering the present scenario, the employees were required to unite irrespective of their cadre, he added.

Amritsar, July 21
With the arrival of monsoon, the miseries of Ghanupur Kale residents have compounded, as in absence of any drainage system, the filthy water has accumulated on the roads and vacant plots turning them into small ponds. These ponds have become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and insects, while it is also contaminating the underground water.

The inundated roads have made the life of residents nothing less than a hell. The villagers met former chairman, Water Supply and Sewarage Board, and apprised him of the problems being faced by them.

The basic reason behind their plight is slow pace of work on the sewerage plant being installed under JICA project. With the start of monsoon, the work has been completely stopped. In the absence of any disposal, the sewerage water is inundating the roads, while the foul smell emanating from it has further compounded the village folks miseries.

“The residents have to wade through the over-flowing sewerage water, which got accumulated on the bumpy roads, which have been dug up for laying the sewerage lines. The digging up of roads has damaged the earlier drainage system,” said Rattan Singh Randhawa, president of Mohalla Sudhar Sadbhawna Committee, formed by the residents.

“There is threat of spreading of an epidemic given the pitiable civic conditions prevailing in the area for past several months. The agony is that the concerned authorities and political leaders have turned a blind eye towards our plight,” said Gurkirpal Singh, another resident.

“The work on sewerage had started about a year back, but it is far from completion. It has become very difficult to ply vehicles on the potholed road,” said Ashok Kumar, secretary of the committee.

Dr Chawla while speaking on the occasion said the work has been halted till August 15 due to monsoon. He said drainage problem would not be solved until the sewerage treatment plant, the work for which is underway, would start functioning. He said he would do his best for solving the problems of area residents as soon as possible.

Amritsar, July 21
City-based industrialists claim that the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited’s (PSPCL) three-day weekly off cap on large-scale industries has hurt the business interests of the sector.

The Focal Point Industries Association (FPIA) in a communiqué to PSPCL chairman KD Chaudhary termed the move “unjustified”.

FPIA secretary general RS Marwaha said as per the latest instructions issued on July 13, the medium-scale industrial units had been spared from any scheduled power cuts. He said the large-scale industries were being charged the highest power tariff by the PSPCL.

It meant that the government earned the higher revenue from large-scale consumers and still this category was being victimized, he claimed.

“It means that the PowerCorp is foregoing income from the highly-paid consumers,” he said.

Sandeep Khosla, another industrialist, said instead the PowerCorp must have imposed two days (48 hours) off on the general industry. He said exercising the 72 hours power cut against a segment of the industry would mean excessively bleeding one sector. The large-scale industrial units would not be able to register impressive growth, he added.

The PSPCL in its memorandum issued on July 13 also imposed four weekly-off days (96 hours) on arc/induction furnaces consumers fed from category-2 and category-3 feeders.

Another industrialist said there was a satisfactory monsoon in the state and and the water level at the Bhakra Nangal dam had recently been reported to be touching the danger mark. All these factors point towards enough indigenous power generation capacity but the large-scale industry is being made to pay by running their machinery on generators and hence making their products uncompetitive in the market.

Labourers and artisans, especially daily wagers, would be the worst sufferers as their working days have been curtailed. A weaver said his income depended upon how much he weaved. Prolonged power cuts mean decline in production and less availability of work.

Amritsar, July 21
Two women have died in two separate road mishaps in Amritsar rural area in past 24-hours.

Darshan Kaur, a resident of Pakhapura village, died when a truck hit her cycle near Jaintipur bus stand.

Prabhjot Singh, an eyewitness and the complainant in the case, said he was going to Batala on his motorcycle while the victim, who works in a threadmill in Shekhupura village, was going to work on her cycle. Prabhjot works in a private factory in Batala.

He said a speeding truck (No HR-38-B-3499), which was coming from Amritsar side, hit Darshan Kaur’s cycle, following which she died on the spot. The driver of the truck fled from the scene after the accident.

A case under Sections 304-A, 279 of the IPC has been registered against the unidentified truck driver.

In another road accident Sarabjit Kaur, a resident of Lalu Ghuman village, was killed when an SUV hit her motorcycle. She was returning home along with her father-in-law Beant Singh from Amritsar when the incident took place near Bohru village.

Harpreet Singh, husband of the deceased, told the police that the unidentified driver of Innova, bearing number PB-02-BR-0200, came from the wrong side and hit his father’s motorcycle. He said Sarabjit Kaur sustained serious head injury, which led to her death while his father was also seriously injured in the accident.

Amritsar, July 21
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed an insurance company to pay an amount of Rs 87,481 to a local resident who was refused medical claim earlier.

The forum has also ordered the company to pay nine per cent interest on the amount along with Rs 2,000 as litigation expenses.

Bansi Lal Arora, a resident of Quila Bhangian, had filed a complaint against the State Health and Allied Insurance Company stating that he had bought an insurance policy by paying a premium of Rs 5,868.

He said he was hospitalised and he incurred Rs 87,481 as expenses on his treatment. He alleged that his claim for the insurance was denied by the company.

The insurance company, however, claimed that as examined by their team of doctors, the complainant had cirrhosis of liver and that he had advanced portal hypertension with gastric varices and it takes more than a year to develop. The complainant, the firm claimed, concealed the material fact of the disease that already existed, thereby violating the terms and conditions of the policy. Therefore, it further claimed, the complainant was not entitled for any claim.

The forum observed that the insurance company could not produce any medical record of the complainant to prove that he had prior knowledge of liver cirrhosis before buying the policy. It further said the company had produced any medical expert who could depose that he treated the complainant for cirrhosis of liver prior to getting the policy by the complainant.

It held that the claim by the firm that the complainant had concealed the fact while buying the policy was totally unjustified and it had wrongly refused the claim of the complainant.

Amritsar, July 21
Beas police has booked two persons in an abetment to suicide case. Harbhajan Singh, 45, committed suicide, by consuming some poisonous substance. Baldev Singh, brother of the deceased, lodged a complaint with the police that the two accused identified as Ajmer Singh and his father Satnam Singh, residents of Gajiwal village, have cheated his brother.

He alleged that his brother had sold all his land and property to a religious dera for Rs 29 lakh. He said on June 23, the two accused took him to Rayya on pretext of buying a tractor. The accused fraudulently got the tractor transferred in their name while withdrawing Rs 5 lakh from his account. Baldev lodged a complaint against the two accused at Beas police station under Section 420 and 34 of the IPC.

Baldev said his brother went into depression after the incident. He consumed some poisonous substance on July 19 and died in the hospital last evening following which a case under Section 306 (abetment to suicide) was registered against the two accused.