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Fraud charge against firm
Speaking out
Tobacco sellers active near schools
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Medical experts’ cycle expedition reaches city
A cycling expedition of doctors from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in Jalandhar on Saturday.
A Tribune photograph
Convention against rent notification by government organised
Olympian wrestler all set to enter Guinness Book
Migrant labourer murdered, 2 held
5-day art exhibition kicks off
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Fraud charge against firm
Jalandhar, October 19 The applicants expressed their grouse, saying they were lured by representatives of Curo India Pvt Ltd through advertisements and hoardings and were told that the shops would be handed over to them soon. They said after they had invested money about two years ago with the commitment of getting the possession of shops in July 2012, they realised that there was only a little construction activity going on at the site, at which they wanted a meeting and detailed clarification, but the company people turned them away, giving them vague reasons to their queries. “I even got to know that there had been a litigation going on about a part of the total 3.5 lakh sq feet land. I got suspicious and did not want to waste my money any further. I stopped making payments. I sought refund, but the company people, instead, went ahead declaring me a defaulter. My investment was also declared forfeited. It was the biggest shock of my life. After paying earnest money, I had even paid two instalments. I had been just seeking clarification from the company then. Ever since I have been striving hard to recover my dues, but to no avail,” said Harcharan Singh Channi, an investor and a Kartarpur-based poultry breeder. Rahul Kumar, a UK-based NRI, said he had paid Rs 18 lakh as 25 per cent of the total payment. “I had invested in the project as I intended to run a restaurant back in India. I was told that I had been allotted a shop on the frontal side. However, later I was given a condition that I could not open my restaurant and that my shop falls at the rear of the complex. I was completely dazed at the turn of the events. I, too, stopped making payments and wrote several emails, seeking my refund, but to no avail. Taking leave from England, they forced me to come down to India to fight the case. He said he had a communication with Pawan Garg, managing director of the company, in this connection, but to no avail.” The investors who had gathered for a press conference said each one of them had paid a varied amount, ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 18 lakh. They produced clippings of various newspapers, alleging that a similar fraud had been committed by the same company in a project at Barnala. They said they were all teaming up to get an FIR lodged in this regard. The applicants produced a copy of a public notice of the company regarding the forfeiture of the amount that appeared on January 22, 2013 which has names of customers, shops allotted to them and their complete address. It reads, “It is informed to the following investors that they had applied for the provisional booking of shops in our project Curo High Street by making part payment towards earnest money. As they failed to make the payment as per the schedule, a demand letter was sent to the investors, calling upon them to make the payment within a period of 10 days of the receipt thereof. However, the said investors failed to make the payment, which constrained us to send them another letter dated December 24, 2012, informing them of the cancellation of their provisional booked and the forfeiture of the part earnest money paid by them. It was noticed that some of the investors avoided the service of the said notices, while others had provided incorrect/incomplete addresses. The present publication is published as a last resort informing the same.” Chairman of the NRI Sabha Jasvir Singh Shergill has lodged a case in the civil court against Curo India, Punjab National Bank and Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar. His lawyer Arvind Sharda said a suit for the recovery of the possession of about 17 marlas of encroached agricultural land jointly owned by Jasvir and his family members had been filed in the court of the Civil Judge at Jalandhar. He said a suit for mandatory injunction directing the cancellation of the mortgage deed entered between the company and the bank on the basis of site plan without considering fard jamabandi giving actual demarcation had also been filed. The company has reportedly sought Rs 150 crore loan from the bank. In addition, he said he had also filed a suit for his client for mandatory injunction, directing the MC to cancel the site plan for the commercial mall sanctioned by Local Government on November 18, 2009. Sharda said owing to the disputes, the MC would not be able to issue the completion certificate. He said without the certificate, the company would not be able to execute the sale deed to the individual buyer. Company's version
Managing director of Curo India Pvt Ltd Pawan Garg has said that the amount had been forfeited, as the investors did not follow the payment schedule given to them. “It was part of our agreement. We had even got published a list of defaulters in the newspaper. All those who have followed the schedule have been allotted shops. Those making
allegations against us are actually small brokers who had been planning to get profit manifold and rotate shops. Some of them had even moved Consumer Forum against us where they have lost the case.” Regarding the ongoing litigation with the NRI Sabha chairman, he said it was only about a small portion which is part of our open setbacks. “This litigation is not going to have any impact on the investors,” he said. Kamal Soni, AGM, sales and marketing, said the amount forfeited was close to Rs 90 lakh. “The investors have been exaggerating the figure. We have all the receipts and record to prove our point.” Curo High Street has been projected as a commercial complex which would combine the atmosphere of high-street market and comfort of a shopping mall, with visitors getting a feeling like Model Town Jalandhar, Sector 17 Chandigarh and Connaught Place New Delhi. Kamal Soni, AGM, sales and marketing, Curo India Pvt Ltd, said prominent brands such as KFC, McDonalds, Aditya Birla, Madura Garments (F&L) and Cinemax 5 Screen Multiplex, with a seating capacity of 1,000 were taking space. There will also be a huge hypermarket at the basement level which will cater to around 8,000 neighbourhood families, the company has been claiming. The project got cleared from the MC in 2009. |
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‘Poor roads, infrastructure to blame for road mishaps’
Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, October 19 Two passengers on board a bus from Dhilwan to Kapurthala died in an accident at Kanjli on October 16. A 21-year-old biker from Wariana village lost his life on the badly potholed road Kapurthala Road on October 15 after hitting a bus of Kapurthala Jail. Eighteen persons from Bholath town of Kapurthala died and 40 got injured as the mini-truck they were travelling in fell into a gorge during their return from Chintpurni on October 10. Jalandhar Tribune talked to a cross-section of people to know as to what they had to say about the measures that the administration, police and the Municipal Corporation need to adopt for the safety of the commuters. A Majority of the residents blamed it on the extremely bad condition of roads, poor infrastructure and violation of traffic norms. Jagvir Singh, an NRI, said, "The condition of roads in Jalandhar has gone from bad to worse. The entrance to the city itself from Phagwara or Ludhiana side lies badly tattered. I have myself seen so many accidents happening in front of me at Rama Mandi or PAP Chowk where the size of potholes has been ever-increasing. I really wonder why the civic authorities or the NHAI have just failed to bother." Dev Sharma, a chemist shop owner, said, "I had met with an accident when my scooter skidded on the scattered gravel on the broken Guru Nanakpura road on August 28. I got fracture on a finger of my left hand and thumb of my right hand, besides wounds on my legs. Since I am the solo working man in the family, I had to keep my shop closed from the day of the accident till October 2 as I could not use either of my hands for this period. It was an awful experience." Raman Kumar Sahil, a resident of Maqsudan, said, "I have not seen such a bad condition of roads for the past 10 years. It is extremely difficult to balance a two-wheeler on broken roads. I am a daily witness to so many accidents primarily because of the roads having not been repaired by the MC. Roads must be repaired on a priority basis." Aditya Sharma, a businessman, said, "I have my residence and work place on the Kapurthala road. In fact, I cannot call it a road, for the length and width of the road is far less than the size of the potholes. I have seen horrible accidents happening here. Just a few days ago, a woman and her child fell off from an autorickshaw. Mishaps are too common here, but I really wonder why the authorities have not woken up for the cause." Dr Dinesh Jaggi, an ayurveda specialist, said, "The condition of roads even in posh colonies like New Jawahar Nagar and Model Town has also become bad, as the authorities have failed to fill potholes in time. Whenever I have to take my 85-year-old mother along for some work, I take extra caution, but she still feels jerks and yells with pain." Sukhwinder Bajwa, a medical representative, said, "I have my two children who go to school by autorickshaw. Each time I get to know that they are late home from school, I just pray for their safe return, especially in view of bad condition of roads and accidents happening every now and then. These broken roads have become extremely dusty and we inhale a lot of foreign particles daily for the same reason, which I fear can affect our health."
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Tobacco sellers active near schools
Jalandhar, October 19 The Tribune team on Saturday along with an NGO posed as health officials raided two such stalls which are very close to the district administration complex only to find out that the fire behind the smoke is being lit by some of the top politicians and bureaucrats of the district. The Cigarettes and Tobacco Products Act (COPTA) prevents the sale of such products within 100 yards of any educational institute. A migrant Shankaran from Uttar Pradesh is selling cigarettes and other tobacco containing products near Government Polytechnic for Women, Ladowali road, for the past so many years. Surprisingly, he was never challaned by the district health officials. The Tribune team asked for some cigarettes, to which he took out some cigarette boxes hidden behind the packaged snacks packets and asked to choose the brand. As soon as the team said that they were from the Health Department, he smiled and named a few top officials from nearby government offices as his customers. As soon as the team revealed that they are from media and started clicking photographs, he immediately ran away leaving the shop open. In another instance, a migrant Mangal Singh from Ayodhaya is running the stall at the railway crossing near Doaba Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Ladowali road, for more than 10 years. As soon as the team visited him, he took out a visiting card of a top political leader (female) from his cash box and dialed the number and handed the mobile to the Tribune correspondent who was posing as the health official. The lady on the phone asked the name of the correspondent to which she replied that being on duty she can’t reveal her name. On this, the lady started shouting and abusing as to why we are troubling the young man again and again? “Once civil surgeon has given permission to him to run the shop here, what is your problem? You first check as to how many officials from your department smoke. I know that your visit is politically motivated and I will not let you challan this boy,” said the woman leader from a top national political party. Looking at the sad state of the district where a political leader is supporting a stall near the school to sell tobacco products rather than guiding him to sell items like stationery, etc is quite worrying. “This sometimes can prove very dangerous. Nowadays, many cases related to spraying of drugs on branded candies are being reported from various parts of the country. Punjab being a severely drug addicted state is highly prone to such tactics by the drug peddlers. With this modus operandi, the children unknowingly become habitual to the drug and later become drug addicts. We have to stop this immediately,” said Surinder Saini, director, Jalandhar Welfare Society, working within the field of drug de-addiction amongst youth. While the district administration has already started to work towards making the district tobacco free, some challenges like migratory labourers, corruption at various levels of the Health Department and political pressure will definitely prove to be big hurdles for them. Out of 42 districts declared ‘tobacco free’ in India, 12 districts are from Punjab only. The state government has now set the deadline for 10 more districts, including Jalandhar to declare tobacco free by December 25 this year. When contacted, Praneet Bhardwaj, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) assured that strict action would be taken against these stall owners and they will be removed out of the school‘s vicinity immediately. “We will take immediate action against them and will also ensure that sale of all types of tobacco products near the educational institutions in the entire district should be stopped with immediate effect,” said Bhardwaj.
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Medical experts’ cycle expedition reaches city
Jalandhar, October 19 Led by Dr Unni Karunakaran, the organisation’s first international president who is a doctor of Indian origin, the expedition made a brief stop here, from where Dr Unni and Jalandhar-based Dr Sanjiv Sharma cycled 10 km and stopped over at a hospital this evening. Associated with the MSF for the past 18 years, Dr Unni is undertaking a 5000-km cycle trip from Srinagar to Triuvananthapuram (where the team will reach within the next three months). The object of the cycle trip is to create awareness about MSF. Dr Unni will be lecturing at medical colleges, social gatherings and visiting medicine factories along
the way. He will also do fund raising. Excerpts from a brief conversation The Tribune had with the doctor: Q. Tell us about your work and objectives in India. A.
We have only been working in India since 1999. We have worked in Kashmir, Bihar, Nagaland, Manipur and Mumbai. We work primarily is strife-torn regions, conflict or disaster-hit zones or areas hit with epidemics so we started with an earthquake-hit region in 99, have worked on the treatment of multi-drug resistant TB in Mumbai, among other projects. Q. MDR TB is quite a problem in the region as well. What have your experiences been on the front? A.
I am not quite aware of its extent in Punjab, but TB has one of the highest number of patients in India. Due to the lack of proper surveillance in the country, it is a big problem. In fact, the MDR poses a great threat in all regions across the world where it is prevalent, but India does share quite a substantial burden. Q. Compared to other countries visited by you, where would you rate India in terms of its capability to fight various medical crisis? A.
In urban areas, India has a high capacity to deal with diseases and medical crisis. People have access to specialists and good treatment. But an alternative reality exists in the rural areas. People in villages have little or no access to proper medical treatment. And India has a huge burden in terms of malnutrition, Hepatitis C among other diseases. Though it has skilled doctors, much more needs to be done in the filed of medicine. Q. What do you perceive about Punjab in this field? A.
Punjab is one of the more developed states. There is a good level of basic healthcare in the state unlike places with serious health problems like Bihar, MP, Rajasthan, UP and MP. Q. What is the ultimate purpose you aim to achieve with this expedition? A.
Humanitarian action means a lot many things. It’s not just about getting on a plane to Africa. While doctors are respected members of society, there is also need for awareness among them to understand and speak on behalf of patients. So along the way, I want to spread this message, talk to students, professionals, and spread the word about the MSF. While Dr Unni Karunakaran is presently based in Delhi, after the expedition, he plans to continue efforts in humanitarian aid as well as his association with the MSF. About MSF
MSF (Medicins Sans Frontieres) was formed by a group of French doctors and journalists in 1971. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is the world’s biggest health care NGO. It has a budget of 180 billion euros annually, all donated by individuals to mainatian independence. In countries where health structures are insufficient or even non-existant, the MSF collaborates with authorities such as the Ministry of Health to provide assistance. Eighty nine pc of the MSF's overall funding comes from private sources. |
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Convention against rent notification by government organised
Jalandhar, October 19 DBA president Mandeep Singh Sachdev said, “In Section 36 of the act, the government is to appoint rent authorities as well as additional rent authorities for trying and deciding the petitions filed under it. But, the qualifications of the persons to be appointed have not been mentioned in the section which is a must in order to avoid inefficiency and any other complications while deciding petitions.” Convener of the All Punjab District and Sub-Divisional Bar Associations Darshan Singh Dhaliwal, said, “No committee or selection process pertaining to the appointment of the rent authorities has been mentioned in the act. There also has been no word on what may be the basis for its territorial jurisdiction and what will be the place of sitting. The Sub-section 3 of Section 36 mentions that the rent authority will have the same powers as vested in civil courts which certainly mean that the rent authority will resume the role of a judge in deciding it between the parties. All judicial appointments are made by the state government in consultation with the High Court but the act nowhere envisages such consultation process.” Gurdev Singh, another member, said, “The act has virtually curtailed the right to appeal of unsuccessful party before the rent authority. The tribunals so-constituted would be without any legal acumen and experience. In the absence of any legal member, the various legal intricacies that may emerge in a case would not be properly redressed.”
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Olympian wrestler all set to enter Guinness Book
Jalandhar, October 19 Massive crowd, including young wrestlers and sports fraternity turned up to extend warm welcome to the veteran Arjuna Awardee and Padam Shree wrestler on his home coming. He defeated Cohenjean Simon of France in the final round of the tournament which was held on October 1. Visually ecstatic Mr Kartar Singh, who is retiring as Inspector General, Punjab Police, on the 30th of this month said this was his farewell gift to the Police Department which had looked after him so well throughout his career. He also added that hard work and dedication towards sports was his basic mantra for success in the wrestling arena during all these years. He also appealed to the young stars to shed away drugs and devote their time towards sports beside studies. Double Asian gold medalist Kartar Singh was the lone Indian representative at the Veteran World Championship as other 7 members of the team were denied permission by the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) to participate in the tournament. “Thankfully, I had a valid Schenegan visa (a common visa for 26 European nations) so I managed to participate in the competition on September 28 which was an open tournament in which anyone can participate,” said Kartar Singh. Under the banner of Veteran Wrestling Federation of India (VWFI), Kartar Singh had earlier sought an order directing the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and WFI to render all necessary assistance to them in granting of visas as well as authority letters needed by them for participating in the championship. The WFI general council had expelled Kartar Singh in April this year and imposed a six-year ban on its former secretary for misconduct and indiscipline. |
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Migrant labourer murdered, 2 held
Jalandhar, October 19 When they got up this morning, they realised that Mahinder was dead, at which attacker Jalan Rashid and his son Deepak threw his body in a manhole. The whole incident remained under wraps till 6:30 pm this evening when one of the victim's friends Dongi informed his contractor about the incident, who then passed on the information to the police control room. The Division Number 7 police was alerted, which then checked the site and managed to take out the body. The two accused, Jalan Rashid and Deepak, were arrested under Section 302 of the IPC, said SHO Sukhdev Singh. All labourers were engaged in road construction work for a contractor. The victim's family, including his wife and two children, live in Bihar.
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5-day art exhibition kicks off
Jalandhar, October 19 Creations of 28 artists, including Dr Abid Hadi, Arjun Kumar Singh, Anil Gupta, Amit G, Anuradha Thakur, Amanpreet Kaur, Basudeb Biswas, Deepti Parhwal, Dr Gagan Gambhir, Gurdish Pannu, Gurucharan Singh, Harminder Singh Boparai, Dr Jaspal, Karamveer Sandhu, Mohinder Mastana, Maneet Kaur, Dr Neeta Mohindra, Pawan Kumar, Puneet Dosanjh, Dr Surjit Kaur, SK Sarkar, Sukhvinder Singh, Shikha Katoch, Suruchi, Sonali Arora, Sapna, Vikram Singh and Vijaya Sondhi have been displayed at the exhibition of visual art 2013. HOD Sculpture at the Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Basudev Biswas, said, “Art-lovers might have a look at the creations of various artists at a single place of Virsa Vihar from 11 am to 7 pm between October 19 and 23. College principal Dr Sucharita Sharma was especially present on the occasion to encourage the artists. |
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A team of experts hit Jalandhar during an ongoing cycle expedition by members of Medicines Sans Frontiers
(MSF), an
international humanitarian aid organisation that provides emergency medical assistance to populations in danger in more than 70 countries.
Jalandhar, October 19
