Jalandhar, September 26
In a bizarre incident, a Class IV student of Government School Bilga remained locked all night on the premises and was found in an unconscious state this morning. While an aunt of the girl Navpreet Kaur had got a missing report lodged with the Bilga Police Station last night ever since she did not return from her school, the school staff found her lying on the premises this morning.

SHO Rupinder Singh and ASI Nirmal Singh were immediately called to the school and the girl was shifted to the Civil Hospital, Bilga. She was treated the day through, discharged later this evening and sent home.

While her aunt Sarabjit Kaur is said to have reported that the girl could have gone back into the campus to sip in water from a cooler, remained unnoticed by the staff and got inadvertently locked in, there is another version as per which the girl was upset, had hid herself and did not want to go back to her place.

The cops revealed that they found a slip in the pocket of the girl mentioning that she missed her mother and wanted to be with her in Jalandhar since she was uncomfortable staying with her uncle and aunt at Bilga. The ASI said while the girl who probably was scared at the revelation refuted that it was her writing, which they later matched with her writing and found to be hers. “The girl’s mother has been called tomorrow to know her version and to counsel her to take care of her daughter on priority,” said the cops.

Jalandhar, September 26
While the Punjab Colonisers and Property Dealers Association is opposing charging fees as per square yard instead of per acre for regularising illegal colonies, the district administration has warned that it would be forced to initiate punitive action against all those illegal colonies that fail to get themselves regularised before October 7, the last date of regularisation.

The Punjab Colonisers and Property Dealers Association president Kultar Singh Jogi said they would not submit applications till the state government calculated the regularisation fees on the basis of collector rates applicable on agricultural land.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam warned that the state government would be forced to take strict action against all those illegal colonies that fail to get themselves regularised before October 7.

Presiding over a meeting to review the progress of the regularisation of illegal colonies in the district, the DC said that the district administration was extending all possible cooperation to individual residents and colonisers in getting their forms filled at different camps organised in various colonies so that most of the people could avail this last opportunity.

Roojam said people should come forward to avail this opportunity and warned that there would not be any extension of the last date as the policy had been finalised by the Punjab cabinet. After October 7, the district administration would launch a punitive action against residents, plot holders, developers and promoters under the PAPR Act 1995 under which an FIR would be lodged against the guilty that would also result in the disconnection of power and water supply, he added. Going one step further, the DC said that no more illegal colony would be regularised after October 7 and it might result in the demolition of illegal structures.

The DC asked all officials concerned to launch the campaign of regularisation of illegal colonies in a coordinated manner so that there was no difficulty faced by the applicants.

Jalandhar, September 26
The City Commissionerate has constituted a new special investigating team (SIT) for probing Dalit Vicky's mysterious death case on August 16.

Commissioner of Police Ram Singh set up the new SIT following a delegation of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leaders, including its district general secretary Kamaldev Jandusingha, met him in this regard. The new SIT is headed by ADCP (Crime) Harpreet Singh Mandher, ACP Somnath and police division number one SHO Balbir Singh.

The old SIT included ADCP Naresh Dogra, ACP Dalbir Singh and Rama Mandi SHO Bimal Kant.

BSP MP Avtar Singh Karimpuri also raised this issue in the Rajya Sabha early this month in which he alleged that the Jalandhar police had implicated Nathpal in Vicky's murder case.

Raising the issue of Nathpal in the Rajya Sabha on September 3, Karimpuri said that Nathpal's nephew Vijay Kumar Dhilwan had been allegedly murdered by the ruling Akali councillor Balbir Singh Bittu during post-Vienna protests in Jalandhar in 2009.

Karimpuri said that Nathpal was the main witness in the Vijay murder case and had also been pursuing the case for the past four years. Though the Punjab Police "under pressure" of the ruling SAD submitted inquiry report in the court to get cancelled FIR against SAD councillor registered under Section 302, the court rejected it and now the murder case was being pursued by Nathpal against SAD councillor in the court, he added.

Karimpuri said another Dalit Vicky died under mysterious circumstances on August 16 this year and Nathpal was framed in this case.

Jalandhar, September 26
Members of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha here today held a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office to protest against the alleged nexus among drug smugglers, politicians and the police responsible for destroying the lives of youths in the state.

Activists from across the state gathered at the Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Hall, from where they took out a rally to the DC’s office, protesting against the practice.

Alleging that the anti-drug campaign raged by top politicians through newspapers and media was a mere cover-up, activists alleged the said political leaders were actually shielding the drug trade.

They alleged that rather than starting an extensive and widespread campaign against the smugglers or the policemen and politicians shielding them, the police was letting the big fish go scot-free and only a few erring men were being captured with miniscule amount of drugs to justify the campaign.

Citing the statement given by former DGP Shashikant in the high court, NBS activists said the former DGP had clearly stated that the drug trade in the state was worth Rs 10,000 crore. They said the claims of the report by the DGP being sent to the Home Department - which also states that top Cong and SAD politicians shield the drug trade - not being made public by it, makes it clear that drugs were being smuggled by top leaders in the state.

Activists also alleged that thte issuance of 19 licences for liquor factory, inaction on the issue of drug peddling in jails and opium-smuggling rackets being busted proved that the state was dealing with a big crisis, which was clearly being overlooked by the political class and laid bare its false claims on stopping drugs.

Sending a demand letter to the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, through the DC, activists demanded that the report sent to the Home Department by former DGP Shashikant should be made public.

They demanded that Jail Minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur should be immediately dismissed for letting the flow of drugs prevail in jails and as per the instructions of the high court, all liquor vends be removed from main roads. The activists also demanded an investigation into the causes of the death of journalist Jasdeep Singh Malhotra.

NBS activists Sandeep Arora, Kashmir Singh Mandiala, Veer Kumar, Rajvir Singh Bal, Sonu Arora, among others, addressed the rally.

Jalandhar, September 26
Even though the whole administration is blowing the trumpet on the necessity of having the Aadhaar card, many senior officials in the district administration have not even linked their Aadhaar cards with their LPG connections so far.

These include the outgoing Divisional Commissioner SR Laddhar and ex-Deputy Commissioner Shruti Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Praneet Bhardwaj, Police Commissioner Ram Singh, Senior Divisional Magistrate Iqbal Singh Sandhu and many more. What’s more, most of them have not even made their Aadhaar card despite completing the two phases of the Aadhaar card enrolment in the district.

“I am entitled to only LPG subsidy, but many others are in urgent need of the DBT programme which is being disbursed under various educational, women and child welfare schemes like Janani Suraksha Yojana etc. We first want to facilitate those, but now in the final phase, I will get my Aadhaar card made on a priority basis,” said Praneet Bhardwaj, ADC (General), Jalandhar.

Most of the officers said that due to the heavy workload in the office, they sometime did not get time to look into personal things. “When I was in Amritsar, I tried many times to get it made. But every time, I got stuck in some work or the other. But now, it is on top of my agenda,” said Ram Singh, Police Commissioner, Jalandhar.

Meanwhile, a lukewarm response was given by consumers, a day after the Deputy Commissioner directed the gas agencies to facilitate the linking of the consumers' Aadhaar card with their bank. Only five to seven consumers, on an average, went to their respective gas agencies for the linking process.

“People don’t realise that Aadhaar card may not be mandatory for the consumers, but so far, it is the only way to get the subsidy on the LPG. Therefore, everybody should make it on a priority basis,” said Harvinder Singh of Daman Gas Agency, having the largest number of consumers (22000) in the district.

However, the lead district manager (LDM) confirmed that those consumers who had linked their cards with the LPG connections had started getting the advance subsidy of the LPG in their account. “But unfortunately only 1 lakh out of the 22 lakh population have linked their bank account with the Aadhaar card so far,” said Jagdish Narang, LDM, Jalandhar.

What happens when you link your Aadhaar card with your LPG connection

As soon as you book your first LPG cylinder, you will immediately receive Rs 435 as subsidy in your bank account. This will be the advance subsidy that you use for buying the cylinder with non-subsidised price.

As soon as you get the first delivery of the cylinder, an amount equivalent to the subsidy (floating rate) will again be deposited into your account. This will be your subsidy for the next cylinder you book.

This will continue for nine cylinders in a year. After nine cylinders, you will be eligible for the subsidy only in the next year.

The best part of the scheme is in cases when somebody else books LPG using your consumer number in your absence, or without your knowledge, you might lose one cylinder from your quota. But your account will receive subsidy, and you are not obliged to pay it back to anyone! So far, those who booked gas like this and sold it on the black market got away without being caught, even when they used the subsidy meant for you. This measure effectively curbs black marketing of the LPG.

How to link your Aadhaar card with your bank account

First method: Go to any nearby branch of the bank in which you have a bank account and ask the bank executive there that you want to link your Aadhaar number with your bank account. They will help you in linking your Aadhaar number with your bank account.

Second method: Download the form from your LPG distributor website, fill it up completely and submit the completed form either in your bank branch or submit it to your LPG distributor.

Third method: Most of the centralised banks notify their customers through Net-Banking facility and SMS to submit their Aadhaar number to their respective banks. Customers can either send SMS as per the bank’s instructions or submit Aadhaar number online. 

Jalandhar, September 26
Fifteen students from the remote villages of Nubra valley from the western Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir visited the Army Vajra Corps headquarters as part of an educational-cum-motivational tour under operation Sadbhavana on Thursday.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC), Vajra Corps Lieutenant General AK Bakshi welcomed and interacted with the students. As part of the project Operation Sadbhavana, the Indian Army undertakes various campaigns to develop literacy, women empowerment, public health and relief and rehabilitation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Apart from Jalandhar, the students will also visit Chandigarh, Agra, Lucknow and Amritsar. They would also be meeting President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi. The students will also visit places of national heritage such as the Qutab Minar, Jantar Mantar, Lotus Temple, Jama masjid and India gate during their visit to Delhi.

The trip will also provide most of the students with their first opportunity of a train journey and will make them aware of their country’s heritage and also motivate them to form part of the national mainstream by excelling in their studies.

Jalandhar/Kapurthala, Saptember 26
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the SAD-BJP government has decided to spend Rs 100 crore in each assembly constituency in next three years. Addressing public rallies at Bammianwal village and Basti Danishmandan, Sukhbir said the focus of the Punjab government was to make Punjab the most advanced state in the country in all areas, including industry, education, health and agriculture and within next three years this goal would be achieved and government would spend Rs 100 crore in each assembly constituency.

While laying the foundation stones of various development projects worth Rs 32 crore, including sewerage treatment plant at Bammianwal village and water supply project with a cost of Rs 22 crore, Sukhbir promised that the Jalandhar city would witness record development in next two years. He said Rs 1,492 crore would be spend on development works in Jalandhar, including basic infrastructure, 100 per cent sewerage and water supply, roads, concrete streets, etc as per the master plan prepared for the city.

Exhorting the people to root out the Congress-led UPA government from the Centre, Sukhbir said the time has come to wipe out this anti-people government. He said the formation of the NDA Government was the dire need for the sake of the country since the UPA government was in severe economic and political crisis. He said NDA would be the right option for India and Indians, which were facing scams, corruption, inflation, price rise and total collapse of governance in UPA-II regime. Sukhbir said not only common man but traders, industrialists and businessmen were reeling under price rise and the ill-managed policies of the UPA government.

Meanwhile, talking to media persons after addressing a public rally in Wadala village in Kapurthala, Sukhbir said the Punjab Government had finalised a unique plan to provide all the facilities to the masses through online systems. He said Punjab has put more than 100 public services under the Right to Service Act, which had curtailed the red-tapism. He said, “Till date more than one crore people have availed the services under the RTS Act and Punjab witnessed 97 per cent success rate of this act.”

Forest and Labour minister Punjab Bhagat Chuni Lal thanked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for giving further pace to development works in Jalandhar city. Later, in Kapurthala Sukhbir laid the foundation stone of the railway overbridge near Wadala village at a cost of Rs 34 crore, a link road from Hamira to Lakhan Khurad at a cost of Rs 4.03 crore and inaugurated a road from Razapur to Kular laid at a cost of Rs 8.62 crore.

Jalandhar, September 26
The Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, is all set to introduce health cards for its students and employees to ensure the provision of more organised health services to them and to keep a track of their medical histories during their stay in the institute.

The NIT administration will shortly be releasing these health booklets for all the students and employees.

The move, initiated on the suggestion of Dr Tarun Sehgal, health officer, NIT, has been taken by Dr SK Das, director, NIT, Jalandhar, to provide the students with extended health services on the pattern of IITs.

The booklet will contain all the information regarding the patient’s ailments and the medicine prescribed for the ailments in it.

This health card will be inevitable for all the members interested in seeking health treatment. Before taking the decision of making health cards, director Dr SK Das had visited various IITs and collected information regarding various health facilities available in there.

Dr AK Jana of the health centre said the health booklet was almost ready and would be released soon. 

Jalandhar, September 26
The CA cell of the BJP has demanded extension of the last date of filing of the IT returns of audit cases and the simplification of the procedure for the same.

State convener of the cell Surinder Anand said, “The last date of filing income tax returns is September 30 for cases which require compulsory audit from CA, failing which there is a penalty provision of 0.50 per cent of annual sales subject to maximum of Rs 1.5 lakh.”

This year the government has changed the procedure of filing income tax returns where audit is compulsory. Such cases include those where annual sale is Rs 100 lakh or more and where net profits are less than 8 per cent of annual sales. In the revised system, scanned copies of balance sheets and audit reports on bulky and complicated softwares are also to be uploaded along with income tax return.

He said, “The CAs are feeling helpless in timely filing of these returns as the revised system consumes a lot of time and energy and also the computerised infrastructure of the Income Tax Department is not in a position to bear the additional load.” He said the department had revised the software for twefth time in few days.

The convener has alleged that the government had proved a failure in updating its infrastructure despite repeated representations. CA Surinder Anand said instead of simplifying the procedures the government was complicating the things and it was becoming almost impracticable for the professionals to handle huge work load within such a limited time.

He further said with the revised procedures, CAs were forced to increase their fee which the businessmen were not in a position to bear keeping in view the recession in the market.

Phagwara, September 26
A 71-year-old renowned Punjabi poet Anoop Sharan is spending his days at an old age home near Phagwara.

Anoop Sharan, who was born in Nadhals village near Sialkot in Pakistan in 1942, arrived in India at the age of only five years along with his parents who settled in Qadian in district Gurdaspur. He got his primary education from Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Gurdaspur, and from Sikh National College, Qadian. There he met poet Shiv Kumar Batalwi, Jaswant Singh Rahi and Ram Singh Dutt and started writing poems in 1960 i.e. at the age of 18 years. He then set up ‘Sahitya Kala Kendra’.

Sharan had written 10 books and is presently writing another book on the life of Guru Gobind Singh i.e. “Shabad tau Talwar Tak” which would soon be released. Sharan, who has one son residing in Qadian, came to the old age home at Saprod village after the death of his wife Jasbir Kaur, 11 years ago, and now shifted to the old age home of nearby Virk Ashram since last year.

Though he has a long list of his friends, including Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee president Partap Singh Bajwa, Ex-DGP Delhi Ashok Abrol, Dr Manu Sharma PhD, who often come to the ashram to meet him, but his livelihood source is only Rs 2,000 per month pension from the Language Department, Punjab. Sharan had written six more books, which could not be published due to financial crisis. He expressed his wish for an early initiative from the government’s side to publish these books.

Jalandhar, September 26
Dutch Mentor Paul Pos gave an interactive presentation on ‘Connectivity’ during the International Design Week-2 being organised by the Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar in collaboration with Willem de Kooning Academy for Fine Arts and Design (WdKA), Rotterdam, Netherlands. Design week-2 is centred on the theme of “Cultural Transformation through Design”. The thrust of his presentation was that transformation comes from learning and learning brings a change. He showed slides that conveyed that design depended on client, research, process, product, creativity, and selection. Small exercises were given to the students to demonstrate how creative process works.

Placement drive

In continuation of its endeavors to suitably place its students, 101 students who shall pass out in the year 2014 from various disciplines were selected by Wipro Technologies Limited in the campus placement drive held at the DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology, Jalandhar, on September 23 and 24. To the delight of the institute, all the selected students shall join Wipro Technologies in July 2014 and have been offered an annual package of Rs 3.25 lakh.

LKC sports teams win medals

Swimming and water polo teams of Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar, have bagged first positions in inter-college competitions of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. Principal of the college Dr Gurpinder Singh Samra said the college teams won the competitions with record points, and Aman Ghai made six new records. He also informed that the players of the college are being provided specialised training at camps in Bangalore.

Sports Committee president elected

The principal of Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya, Dr Rekha Kalia Bhardwaj, has been re-elected as the president of GNDU Sports Committee (Women). The staff members congratulated Dr Bhardwaj for her achievement. She said her motive was to work for the betterment and promotion of sports in the colleges.