Ludhiana, December 7
The transfer of the five Ludhiana Improvement Trust colonies has been lingering on for a long time and is yet to see the light of the day. This issue had rocked the MC General House meeting yesterday as the Akali Dal as well as the Congress councillors sat on the floor in protest.

Akali councillor Tanvir Singh Dhaliwal rued that the transfer had been "sabotaged" on the behest of a senior BJP leader, who was from the city and had lost the last Assembly elections.

These colonies include Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Rajguru Nagar, Maharishi Valmiki Nagar, Bharat Nagar Extension and Sant Isher Singh Nagar. The colonies will be transferred to the MC for maintenance as per the provisions of the Punjab Town Improvement Act.

Despite the fact that both LIT and the MC had even passed resolutions during their respective general body meetings and even the state government had approved of the proposal.

While speaking to The Tribune, Tanvir Singh Dhaliwal, a senior Youth Akali Dal leader and councillor from Ward Number 59, said that the file related to the transfer of these colonies was stalled on the behest of a BJP leader. “The BJP leader wants that the transfer of colonies should take place when he is in power, whereas the MC as well as LIT have passed the resolutions in this regard and the MC had also started development works in these colonies,” said Dhaliwal.

Dhaliwal raised the issue in the MC General House meeting yesterday and it was supported by Akali Dal councillor Paramjit Kaur Shivalik, chairman of the Congress councillors Balkar Singh Sandhu, besides some other councillors. All of them sat on the floor in protest.

Tanvir openly announced in the House that a particular BJP leader was sabotaging the transfer process. “When the MC House passed a resolution in this regard, there should not be any problem. But he (BJP leader) is creating hurdles for his own vested interests. Is he above the House? We are all elected representatives while he lost the Assembly elections with a big margin. How can someone who has lost the Assembly elections with a big margin challenge the authority of 75 councillors, who have reached the MC House by winning elections?” questioned Dhaliwal.

Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria was quick to respond and directed MC Commissioner Rahul Tewari to take up the matter with the Local Bodies Ministry at the earliest. He also announced that the stalled development works in these colonies should be resumed as LIT had already deposited funds for the same.

Ludhiana, December 7
A 28-year-old woman was bludgeoned to death in a room of a factory unit at Golden Avenue in Hambra village here today.

The victim was identified Suman. The police are suspecting the involvement a friend of the victim’s husband behind the killing.

The incident came to light when Dinesh, the victim’s husband, came to the house in the afternoon and was shocked to find his wife’s body lying in a pool of blood.

The police found a piece of cloth lying near the body. It is suspected that the accused first attacked the victim on her head with a heavy metal and then strangulated her.

Anjali (10) and Ankush (5), the victim’s children, said that their uncle Pardeep (Dinesh’s friend) was fighting with their mother.

A woman, living in the neighbourhood, saw Pardeep leaving the house.

The woman said that Pardeep had blood stains on his clothes. She said Pardeep scaled the wall and fled.

Joginder Singh, ADCP-III, said the mystery behind the killing would unfold only after Pardeep was arrested. While in another incident, a 28-year-old man, who was thrashed nearly a fortnight ago by his neighbour, succumbed to injuries.

The victim has been identified as Vijay Kumar. Alka Rani, victim’s wife, said her husband was thrashed by Vishal and his accomplices 15 days ago.

As Vijay was poor, he was not admitted to a hospital and was being treated at home.Today his condition worsened following which he died. The police have taken the body to the Civil Hospital. The Investigating Officer said that action would be taken after the postmortem report was received.

Samrala December 7
A person was killed while his wife suffered injuries in a road accident near Ghulal village on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh road. The deceased was identified as Rajpal Singh (45), a resident of Lalheri village, while his wife has been identified as Malkit Kaur. Rajpal Singh and his wife were on their way to Samrala on a motorcycle. When they reached Ghulal village, a Honda City car coming from Chandigarh side hit their motorcycle.

Rajpal died on the spot while his wife suffered serious injuries. She was rushed to the Civil Hospital, where her condition is stated to be critical.

The police said they had registered a case under relevant sections against the car driver and had impounded the car. They said the driver tried to flee the scene after the accident.

Rajpal was a sanitation worker. He had remarried Malkit six-seven months ago. He had two children from his first marriage.

Ludhiana, December 7
Thieves struck at a mobile shop on Tibba Road and decamped with cash and mobile phones worth Rs 3 lakh. Pawan Kumar Gupta, owner of the mobile shop, said he had suffered losses to the tune of Rs 3 lakh.

In another incident, thieves took away cash worth Rs 50,000 by smashing the windscreen of an SUV parked near Kalsian Gali in Miller Gunj. Harjit Singh of Kadian village said he had come to the city to buy garments. He said he had parked the car in front of the shop. When he came out of the shop, he was shocked to find the windscreen broken. He said the thieves took away a bag containing Rs 50,000 in cash. Later, the police found the empty bag near a gurdwara.

Ludhiana, December 7
Hosiery traders are a relieved lot after the Railways authorities made 20 bogies available to clear the pending hosiery parcels lying at Ludhiana Railway Station.

Sources in the Railways said 20 bogies had been made available to transport hosiery parcels to their destinations and it was expected that five to six more bogies would be added in the process very shortly.

“Finally, my consignment reached its destination after lying at the railway station for 10 days. It is a good step taken by the Railways and we hope some more bogies will be provided to clear the orders,” said Suresh Kumar, a hosiery trader.

After waiting for five days, Tarsem Singh, another trader, had decided to send his parcels by road, but after visiting the railway station, he was delighted to see that the pending consignments were being cleared and sent to their respective destinations.

“Now, since bogies have been made available for the hosiery industry, I will be sending the parcels through train only. Transportation by road is a costly affair, but we are left with no option, as the parcels get delayed. Now, my consignment will reach its destination,” he said.

Ludhiana, December 7
There seems to be no end to the rivalry between Independent councillor Daljit Singh Grewal and Akali MLA Ranjit Singh Dhillon.

During the MC General House meeting yesterday, councillors from different political parties had urged Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria to intervene in the matter.

But Grewal seems to be in no mood to compromise. “He is a liar and I cannot even think of a compromise. I am fighting for the right of my area residents. The sad part is that the Mayor is openly supporting MLA Ranjit Singh Dhillon,” he said.

Both Dhillon and Grewal have been at loggerheads since the last Vidhan Sabha elections and their supporters have clashed in the past as well. Whenever both of them are in news together, it's always over staking claim to some development project. Before the Vidhan Sabha elections, they both were SAD councillors from wards 2 and 8, respectively.

Dhillon had contested the elections on SAD ticket from the Ludhiana East constituency while Grewal had contested as an Independent from the same constituency. At that time, Grewal had managed to secure close to 22,000 votes and Dhillon won with a margin of around 4,000 votes.

MLA Ranjit Singh Dhillon said, “I am a dedicated party worker and have full respect for the MC house because I have remained a councillor thrice. If my party or the house directs me to do anything, I will follow the orders. My main agenda is development and ward 8 falls in my constituency. I will continue the development work in my constituency,” he said.

On June 23, the supporters of MLA Dhillon and councillor Grewal clashed at New Shakti Nagar in the Basti Jodhewal area after which an attempt to murder case was registered against Grewal and his supporters.

Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria said he was willing to intervene in the matter. “We are like a family and members should not fight over trivial issues."

Ludhiana, December 7
The Association of Aided-Schools of Punjab has threatened to hold a stir if a meeting with the Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, was not convened till December 14.

A state-level meeting in this regard was held under the leadership of president of the association Gurcharan Singh Chahal, at Ramgarhia Senior Secondary School, here today.

Chahal said the neighbouring states like Haryana had also merged their aided-schools with the government schools for the welfare of students and teachers, but state government is not paying any heed to the long-pending demand.

The secretary of the association, NN Saini, said, “In the last meeting with the Education Minister, SS Maluka, an assurance was given that a meeting with the CM will be convened in near future. If the leaders fail to listen to the grievances of aided-school teachers by December 14, the association will resort to agitation path.” 

Ludhiana, December 7
The Association of Private Unaided Schools of Punjab alleged that providing quality education to students in present era has become a herculean task, due to the growing pressure from the local government, Central Government, judiciary, RTI and RTE Act.

The Parents Association was, however, found to be raising hue and cry over the exorbitant fee being charged by the private schools, working under CBSE and ICSE. The members of the association highly resented the violation of the CBSE directions by denying free education to the single girl child in the family.

The president of the Private Unaided Schools of Punjab Association, Rajesh Rudra, said the RTI and RTE Acts have come as a bolt and was making things worst. “The government has already declared the schools as a social industry and it must take an initiative to call the members of the association to discuss issues such as, road tax, property tax, inflated electricity bills, RTE and RTI. The government should help schools recover from the financial burden, especially heavy taxes and also provide electricity at subsidised rates. In Punjab alone, there are about 2,000 schools which provide employment to four lakh individuals,” said the president. Meanwhile, a meeting in this regard was also held here today. The parents, on the other hand said the schools must realise how it feels when one is put under unnecessary financial burden. “If they listen to the demands of parents in a patient manner then we will also stand by them in their struggle,” said a parent.

Ludhiana, December 7
A Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme on ‘Infectious diseases’ was conducted in the Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMC) here today.

It was jointly organised by the departments of medicine and microbiology and Dr Abraham G Thomas, director of CMC, was the chief guest on the occasion.

The participants in this CME included distinguished faculty members from different medical colleges, specialists in district hospital and other government hospitals, medical officers and private practitioners from the state of Punjab. The aim of the CME was to improve the understanding of common infectious diseases relevant to clinical practice and interpretation of microbiological results.

The head of the department of microbiology, Dr Aroma Oberoi, spoke on the topic ‘Role of a clinical microbiologist in the present era of pan drug resistant bugs and no drugs’. Oberoi mentioned the importance of clinical microbiologists in tackling the emergence of anti-microbial resistance.

Shereen Rachel Varghese from the department of Microbiology educated the audience on the various mechanisms of drug resistance.

Head of the department of medicine, Dr Mary John, delivered talk on ‘Antibiotic stewardship’. She stressed on the need to have an antibiotic stewardship programme in the hospitals to prevent the emergence of drug resistance. Dr Jency Koshy from the department of medicine spoke on ‘Pre-ART work up in HIV infection’, in which she educated the audience on the importance of work up before starting anti-retroviral therapy. Dr Divya Deodhar fom the department of medicine delivered a lecture on ‘Syndromic approach to acute undifferentiated fevers’. Deodhar gave an overview of the clinical diagnosis of undifferentiated fevers.

Dr Sanjay Rajpal from New Delhi spoke on newer diagnostic methods in tuberculosis, in which he updated the audience on the newer tests for the diagnosis of tuberculosis.

The scientific sessions were chaired by eminent professors from CMC such as Dr Anna Mani, Dr Nitin Malhotra, Dr Vandana Berry and Dr Chanchal Gera. The in-charge of the scientific session was Dr Vipin Sam Alexander. The masters of ceremony were Dr Eshani Dewan and Dr Chris Baby.

Ludhiana, December 7
Milk is the nectar of life and is an essential component for the growth and maintenance of human health in general and especially among children in the growing stage. This was stated here today by Dr Suresh Tandon, vice-chairman, Punjab School Education Board, while delivering his address on the occasion of prize distribution ceremony. The ceremony was held to felicitate the toppers of English essay competition on ‘Milk is nectar of life’ conducted by the Indian Dairy Association North Zone on the occasion of World Milk Day.

Dr Tandon stressed upon the students present in the function to understand the significance of milk for their health and ensure that milk is an essential part of their daily diet. Tandon advised the gathering to remain vigilant against the miscreants who indulge in adulteration and production of spurious products.

The chairman of the Indian Dairy Association, North Zone (Punjab Chapter)-cum- Director, Dairy Development Department, Inderjit Singh, said the main purpose was to arouse awareness among the schoolchildren about the utility of milk in their growing age.

In essay writing competition, Manisha Rani of Mai Nikko Devi Senior Secondary School, Mansa, Arshdeep Singh of St RNA Gurukul School, Hoshiarpur, and Priya Rebecca of New Senior Secondary School, Faridkot, stood first, second and third and got a cash prize of Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 respectively.

Ludhiana, December 7
The Punjab State Ministerial Services Association has called off its strike.

Members have given a 15-day notice to the state government saying if their demands were not met at the earliest, they would hold a protest at Bathinda on December 24.

Sukhwinder Singh, president of the association, said, "The association has been struggling to get their demands fulfilled, but the government seems to be in no mood to listen to our grievances."

"On December 24, we will go on mass casual leave and protest at Bathinda. The state exchequer has suffered losses to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore during the two-day strike," claimed the president of the Punjab State Ministerial Services Association.

Doraha, December 7
The Punjab state committee meeting of Marxist Communist Party of India (United) was held at KK Kaushal Memorial Bhavan, Doraha, recently, presided over by Comrade Zora Singh.

In the meeting Comrade Kuldip Singh, All India General Secretary of MCPI (U), presented a brief report on the international and national situation. State committee secretary of MCPI (U), Com Pawan Kumar Kaushal, tabled the report on the state plenum which was held at Longowal in Sangrur district and also gave a report on the organisation of the party.

Through resolutions, the state committee condemned the Punjab Government’s policy to impose property tax on common people and asked the government to withdraw its decision on property tax. The meeting asked the government to implement Justice Kuldip Singh’s report on the illegal possession of Shamlat Lands. It also condemned the state government for the sale of public property. The meeting also showed a serious concern about the increasing use of drugs among the youths.

Ludhiana, December 7
Panic gripped at a hotel on the Ferozepur road when a dead body of a Mumbai-based trader was found from the hotel room on Saturday afternoon.

The deceased has been identified as Jeyesh Jayanti Lal Shah, a resident of Mumbai. The deceased was auto parts trader in Mumbai and had come to city to attend a marriage.

The victim is suspected to have died of a cardiac arrest. The hotel staff broke open the door and found him lying dead.

Samrala, December 7
The Samrala police have arrested a youth and recovered seven gm of smack from his possession. The Station House Officer, Samrala, Surjit Singh, said a police party of Samrala Police, acting on a tip off reached near Neelon village and spotted a youth on a motor cycle, who was coming from the canal side. “On seeing the police party, the motorcycle-borne youth tried to whisk away, but was nabbed by the police party. When he was searched, the policemen recovered 7 gm of smack from his possession,” said the SHO.

The accused has been identified as 22-year-old Gurmukh Singh, a resident of Poonia village.

A case has been registered against him under the NDPS Act. The court has awarded him police custody for two days.

As per the SHO, the accused was a driver of a Machhiwara college van and had joined the duty only a week back.

Ludhiana, December 7
Secretary, sports, Punjab, Ashok Gupta expressed satisfaction over the preparations being made for the final and closing ceremony of the fourth World Cup Kabaddi slated to be held at Guru Nanak Stadium on December 14.

The secretary accompanied by Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon, director, sports, Punjab, visited the venue this evening.

The duo met officials of the administration and the police. The secretary said Chief Minister of Punjab (Pakistan) Mian Shahbaz Sharif, along with his family, is coming to watch the final.

A couple of cine celebrities, besides local artistes will be performing.

“The foreign dignitaries will be visiting their native village Jati Umra in Amritsar district, besides Badal village, Talwandi Sabo and some other places during their visit next week. A contingent of mounted police from Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, will be deployed at the stadium in honour of the Chief Minister," added Gupta.