Ludhiana, July 30
As the assessment of the pending challans (from 2008 to 2012) has been completed, the Municipal Corporation is all set to issue demand notices to the violators for depositing penalties (arrears) on their compoundable offences. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had issued instructions to the civic bodies of Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar in this regard.

The Assistant Town Planner (Headquarters), Kamaljit Kaur, said in the next two or three days, demand notices for recoveries would be sent to the violators in all the four zones. As per the rough estimates, outstanding recoveries are worth about Rs 20 crore. “Some might have got their compoundable violations regularised by paying fees while many others might have removed the building violations themselves. However, according to the records, more than 3,500 demand notices will be served on residents in the next two or three days,” said the ATP.

Monica Anand, ATP (Zone B and D), said since the number of demand notices was high, it would take a few days to serve all the notices on the defaulters. “But we have started serving them from today itself,” said Anand.

As per the data available with the Building Branch Department, the total number of assessed challans from 2008 to 2012 from Zone A is 731 while from Zone B, their number is 751. A total of 779 challans from Zone C have been assessed while maximum challans are from Zone D, i.e. 1,255.

The assessment of a huge number of challans was pending with the three MCs of Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana and the state exchequer was incurring losses.

An RTI activist from Amritsar, PC Bali, said the officials of the civic body were not taking it seriously, so he filed a writ in the High Court. The next date of hearing in the case, PC Bali vs State of Punjab, is on August 11.

Ludhiana, July 30
Stray cattle are causing serious problems for commuters on highways. The Ludhiana-Mullanpur stretch of the Ferozepur road has witnessing the most number of accidents involving stray cattle. The increasing number of accidents involving stray cattle has left the commuters worried.

Dr Arvinder Singh, who has been regularly commuting between Ludhiana and Mullanpur for the past 20 years, observed the stray cattle menace had increased in the Baddowal area in the past six months.

“Commuters are at greater risk during the night than daytime. Owing to low visibility at night, commuters fail to spot cattle from a distance. There have been many fatal accidents during the night. About a week ago, a couple from Mullanpur had a miraculous escape after the car they were travelling in rammed into a stray cow near Baddowal village. The couple suffered minor injuries while the car was badly damaged. The stray cow was killed in the accident,” said Dr Arvinder Singh, adding that he avoids driving car at high speed on this stretch.

The residents of Baddowal and its surrounding areas blamed the dumping of garbage by the employees of marriage palaces located in the vicinity for the rising number of accidents involving stray cattle on this stretch.

Most cattle feed on the leftover dumped by the staff of the marriage palaces on the roadside.

“The authorities concerned have not taken any step to tackle the menace. It is good that the animals feed on the leftover but something should be done to prevent them from posing a risk to commuters,” said Jagtar Singh, a resident of Baddowal village.

Youngsters studying in various educational institutes in the area also expressed concern over the stray cattle menace.

Gurpreet Singh, a BTech student, said drivers spotted cattle at the last minute and took a sharp turn to avoid collision. Some lose control over their vehicles and rammed into trees while others collide with bikes and cyclists.

Ludhiana, July 30
The third Sangat Darshan by the Municipal Corporation Commissioner, Pradeep Aggarwal, was held at the Zone A office today. Though applications of a few residents were received by the authorities, these were not thoroughly discussed at the Sangat Darshan. The applicants, whose cases were listed for discussion earlier, were listed to and their grievances redressed.

The programme was held at the office of the Commissioner, Zone A, instead of the usual venue, the committee room, where the earlier two programmes were held.

Meanwhile, the residents, who were not aware that their grievances would not be discussed today, looked disappointed. Amit, a resident, said he had come from the Sarabha Nagar area and did not know new applications would not be discussed. “There is confusion. Though they have received my application, I don’t know when I should visit again to know about the progress of my case,” he said.

The public feels if the programme was started to provide relief to the residents, then it should be continued till their problems were solved.

Meanwhile, the officials said a few applications were submitted today and the department heads concerned were asked to report on the particular cases. “It was a busy day for the Commissioner, so not many cases were heard. The applications received today will be discussed with officials concerned later,” said the officials.

Ludhiana, July 30
Lukewarm response to the Senior Secondary Residential School for Meritorious Students has put a question mark over its future. Many persons from the field of education have been raising objections to the construction of the school from very beginning.

The school provides education, food and residential accommodation free of cost to students. However, only 252 students have come forward against 500 seats.

While the school comes under the Education Department, the authorised body to run the school is the Society for Promotion of Quality Education for Poor and Meritorious Students of Punjab.

People from the education field have attributed the lukewarm response to the school to the failure of state government and the Education Department in gaining students’ confidence. While there were a few takers for the school for meritorious students, students made a beeline for Government Senior Secondary School, PAU, which is a few metres from the meritorious school.

Earlier, Professor Jaipal Singh, from SCD Government College, opposed the construction of the school on the college land. According to him, the state government is the least concerned about education and it has no interest in running these schools. He alleged that the ruling party had an eye on the prime land.

Sounding an optimistic note, Professor Ashwani Bhalla said the number of students will increase in the next session.

“The Education Department officials should work to enrol at least 500 students from the district. Now, we have to observe the functioning of the school. There are possibilities that this experiment of the government would be successful.

Showing the concern about the low number of students, Ishwarjot Cheema, executive member, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, said: “It is strange that more than 5 lakh bricks have been used to construct the building in a short period. But the government has failed to encourage 500 students to get free education. The intention behind this project is to grab the prime land of SCD Government College. We will raise the question in the state Assembly session”.

Ludhiana, July 30
In a major twist in the drowning of 14-year-old Lovepreet Singh, whose body was found on the banks of the Sutlej on July 26, it has come to light that the victim knew how to swim.

In a startling revelation, Lovepreet’s mother Simran Kaur said her son used to swim when he was seven only. He could not drown in knee-deep water.

“He was murdered in cold blood and the police are trying to shield the killers. The FIR has the names of three suspects, Yagram Yadav, his son Ravi Yadav and an unidentified person, while there is no mention of Kartik, Rithik and Yuvraj, who were hand in glove with the suspects. At the time of making a statement for the registration of a case on July 26, the names of Kartik, Rithik and Yuvraj were duly mentioned but no case has been registered against them,” said Simran Kaur.

She went on to claim that none of the accused, against whom a murder case has been registered, has been arrested so far.

She said being a migrant leader, Yagram Yadav enjoys a lot of political clout. “The police are succumbing to political pressure and want to hush up the matter by delaying action,” said Simran Kaur.

Yagram Yadav and Ravi Yadav also face allegations of teasing Lovepreet’s sister. The matter was being investigated by police officials.

“I am sure Kartik, Rithik and Yuvraj were sent by Yagram and Ravi to kill my son. There were injury marks on my son’s body. I demand an independent probe from a senior police officer into the case,” said Simran Kaur.

Lovepreet had left with Rithik, Kartik and Yuvraj. When he did not return till evening, Simran started looking for him. In the morning, she was told that her son had drowned in the Sutlej. His body was found on the banks near Kasabad.

The police have registered a murder case against three persons.

Marewal (Koom Kalan), July 30
Residents of villages in the Koom Kalan area, which has witnessed massive industrial development, are living under the fear of cancer. At Marewal village only, 10 persons have died of cancer in the past some years while four are fighting disease in different hospitals.

According to information, around 171 villages fall under the Koom Kalan CHC. A survey of the area, undertaken by the Health Department about a year ago, has revealed that there are around 900 suspected cancer patients, of whom 121 have been diagnosed with cancer.

Ram Singh, Sarpanch of Marewal village, said industrial units discharge their effluents into the village nullah, leading to pollution of underground water. He said this polluted water might be the cause of the rising number of cancer cases in the area. He said no department was concerned about their problems.

A family of Marewal village has lost two of its members while one is fighting for life. The head of the family, Nachatar Singh Fauji, has been admitted to a cancer hospital in Ludhiana, says his Surmukh Singh. Surmukh Singh said his eight-year-old son Lovepreet Singh died of blood cancer in 2010. They spent about Rs 5 lakh on his treatment but couldn’t save him. He said his sister-in-law Kamaljit Kaur had also died of cancer one year ago. They are under heavy debts due to recurring medical expenses on the treatment of the members of the family.

Ram Singh and Surmukh Singh said four other villagers are also fighting cancer. They demanded immediate testing of underground water and cleaning of the nullah to save precious lives.

The SMO, Koom Kalan, Ajit Singh, said their department had surveyed the area but they were not aware of such a grim situation in Marewal village.

Meanwhile, the XEN of the Pollution Board, Ludhiana, said they had directed the industrial units against discharging acidic water into the nullah. 

Jagraon, July 30
Residents of localities situated alongside the Disposal Road, Jagraon, are a harried lot due to the pathetic condition of the road. Residents have accused the government of negligence in this regard.

According to area residents, the road has neither been constructed nor repaired for more than five years now. With the passage of time, the condition of the road has become worst from bad. Thousands of residents of localities such as Shastri Nagar, New Shastri Nagar, Grewal Colony and several others have been facing tough time due to the alleged delay caused by the authorities in constructing the road.

“The road was last constructed about five years ago and since then the Municipal Council authorities have not even repaired the road even once. We have to pass from this road everyday and it is really tough to travel on this road,” said Mukesh Kumar, a resident of New Shastri Nagar.

The residents claimed that before the last assembly elections, leaders of various political parties had promised them of constructing this road on priority basis. But after the poll, the promise has not been fulfilled yet. More than two and half years have passed since the assembly elections, said a resident.

“We raised the issue again during the recently-held Parliament elections and we were assured by the leaders of the political parties, including those from the ruling party, that the road will be constructed at the earliest. The construction work is yet to see the light of the day,” rued Inderpal, another area resident.

The residents are now hoping that the road would be constructed before the Municipal poll to be held in the near future.

The executive officer, Jagraon Municipal Council, Davinder Toor, said he is aware of the problems being faced by the common people due to the bad condition of the road.

“The road could not be constructed due to the lack of funds with the Municipal Council. But now the road will be constructed soon,” said Toor.

Doraha, July 30
After reading the report about Preeti Sharma securing first position in the class despite financial hurdles in Ludhiana Tribune, NRI Surinder Saini has written to Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, of wishing to extend support to Preeti for the completion of her bachelor’s degree programme and her post graduation, in case she wishes to pursue one. Preeti is a student of Guru Nanak National College.

The NRI said the cost of the books and the tuition fees, too, shall be borne by him. Saini has also offered to start a scholarship programme in the college and help other students as well, who need financial assistance to pay for their tuition fees, including the cost of books.

Preeti Sharma has topped BA-I in her college. Her father is a labourer and she had to take tuitions to pay for her fees. The college has provided her financial assistance but she has four other brothers and sisters as well. Being the elder one, the burden of paying their fees and earning money for the family is on her shoulders.

Dr Narinder Sidhu, principal of the college, said, “The college is in all gratitude for the NRI who has been generous enough to promise support to Preeti and help students who have the caliber but not the means to excel. The college tries to provide as much financial assistance as possible to the students who belong to the economically weaker sections of the society. Preeti too had been provided assistance and she has brought laurels for the institution. She is a befitting example for others to follow who, despite of sound economic background lag behind in studies.”

Ludhiana, July 30
Rural areas, particularly backward areas, are benefiting from the availability of internet facilitated by the Controller Communication Accounts, Punjab. Whether it is education, or official work, downloading forms or calling abroad, internet has become an indispensable part of our life.

This was stated by Kuljitpal Singh Mahi, SAD, Ludhiana West, during a workshop organised by the Controller Communication Accounts, Punjab Circle (CCA Punjab).

Earlier, people in villages had to rush to cities for using internet. But with this scheme, even students would now be able to compete with those in urban areas, added Mahi.

The controller, Controller Communication Accounts, Punjab Circle, SS Gupta, said the aim of this scheme is to provide internet facility and help the panchayats, students, villagers, NRI and their relatives to connect with each another.

She further said this is a government-supported subsidised scheme running via BSNL through the internet cafes. The charges for internet usage at these cafes are only Rs 5 per hour, as compared to the market price of Rs 30 per hour.

All the agency-holders were called to the workshop, today, to help resolve issues, if any.

On the occasion, prizes were given to agency-holders for providing good facilities.

Ludhiana, July 30
Residents have been making a beeline to buy rakhi envelopes from the post offices. The cost-effective and water-resistant envelopes are largely preferred by residents than the fancy ones available in the market.

Shipra, a resident, said, “Considering the rainy season, I prefer the envelopes available in the post office anytime. I find these envelopes to be a much safer option since they are waterproof,” said Shipra.

“Earlier, when I used to send rakhis in fancy covers, the envelopes used to get squishy due to rain. Since then I’ve been using these envelopes for sending rakhis,” added Shipra.

“Not only do they sure that the rakhis stay in good condition, but since they are especially printed by the Postal Department, it has a feel good factor about it. My brother loves receiving rakhis in these envelopes,” said another resident.

Senior Postmaster SP Pahwa said these envelopes are very popular among the residents.

Available in two colours, they have a picture of rakhi and also bear a logo of the India Post.

“It is a good gesture by the Postal Department to make special envelopes for the festival,” said Ishita, another resident. “This reflects the humanitarian side of the government,” she said.

Rakhi envelopes at the post offices are quite a rage each year, said another official at the post office.

“The envelopes are reasonably priced at Rs 7.5. Something similar in the market would have cost much more. These envelopes are quite reasonable and safe,” said Aman, another resident. 

Ludhiana, July 30
The time when soaring prices have become a pain in the neck for everyone, one can imagine the fate of staff from 40 schools who have been waiting for their salaries for the past nine months.

Running under the National Child Labour Project, each of these schools have a crew of five employees and is issued a grant of Rs 17,000 per month by the Central Government. These schools provide free of cost education to slum children from the age of 9 to 14 years.

The employees serving here received their last salary in the month of October 2013. A lady teacher said, “Prices of commodities are increasing day-by-day. I have not received my salary after October 2013. I meet my kitchen expenses by giving a few tuitions.”

While another employee said, “We pinned up hopes on the Modi government that they would streamline the problem of our salary but all in vain.”

Each such school has a strength of 50 students upto Class V where they are imparted free of cost education for four hours. To encourage education each child is provided with books, uniforms, etc along with a stipend of Rs 150 per month.

To start with there were 20 schools running under the National Child Labour Project in the year 2001 in the Ludhiana district. The number of schools increased to 40 last year only i.e. on June 4, 2013. Although the number of schools doubled last year in Ludhiana district but the Central Government has been releasing the budget of only 20 schools. 

Ludhiana, July 30
Dr Sriranganathan Nammalwar, director, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Diseases (CMMID), VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech University, USA, visited Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University for two days on an invitation by Dr SNS Randhawa, director of Research-cum-Dean PGS, GADVASU.

Dr Randhawa informed that Dr Sriranganathan was an eminent scientist in the field of veterinary microbiology and zoonoses (diseases that can be passed between animals and humans) and he was one of the those pioneer team members who developed Brucella strain RB51vaccine in USA which was used worldwide for control and prevention of brucellosis disease in dairy animals.

Dr Sriranganathan interacted with the faculty and PG students and delivered two expert lectures on vaccine production and targeted nano drug delivery. He also visited the different departments of college of veterinary science and interacted with the PG students.

VC Dr VK Taneja interacted with Dr Sriranganathan and discussed about the formulation of collaborative research proposal between GADVASU and Virginia Tech University under the supervision of Dr Nammalwar. They laid emphasis on strategies for control of brucellosis in Punjab. On the second day of the visit, a brain storming session was organised under the chairmanship of Dr SNS Randhawa for exploring collaboration opportunities between both universities.

Ludhiana, July 30
The Army recruitment rally which was scheduled to commence from August 1 and was ending on August 7 has been postponed still unscheduled period.

In a communique issued from the office of the District Public Relation Officer (DPRO) stated that the recruitment rally was called off due to some unavoidable reasons. Quoting Major Karnail Singh, he said the next date for the recruitment would be announced shortly.

Ludhiana, July 30
As the Prassana Company– which was running the City Bus Service in Ludhiana, has not shown any interest to continue with its services again in the city, the officials of the Municipal Corporation held a meeting with the representatives of the Consulting Company- Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services, to discuss what other options could be explored to run the service at the earliest.

At the same time, it has been made clear that it will take at least two months to start with the services again even if Net Cost Model was adopted.

The Additional Commissioner Municipal Corporation, Ghanshyam Thori, who held the meeting with the representatives, said till date City Bus Service was being run on Gross Cost Model. “We have asked the consultants to provide details and other options as the same consultants were hired for Amritsar City Bus Service, which remains in profits. If fresh tenders are to be floated, route-wise contract has to be given or one contractor will be asked to take care of entire routes- all options are open. Another meeting will be convened soon with the consultants,” said Thori.

In Net Cost Model, everything will be taken care of by the interested company or the bidder and it will be decided later (keeping in mind all the conditions) that the contractor can give to MC in return.

Meanwhile, the officials are of the view that in present conditions, MC was bearing losses every day but if the new model was adopted and even if nothing was given to MC in return, there will be no liability on MC and city residents will be able to get smooth services from city buses. 

Ludhiana, July 30
Private schools have to submit all the authentic details to the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) to get approval of the examination centre at the schools. The board will not refund the security and cancel the examination centre of those schools, which would provide wrong information about the school infrastructure.

The board has several conditions to give the approval of examination centre to private schools. Some schools often hide facts from the board to get an approval.

During inspection, the flying squad teams wrote in the report that the schools do not have the required infrastructure, which is a necessary condition to get the approval.

As per the directions of PSEB, the examination centre should be on the ground floor but there are several schools in city which run the centre on the first second and even third floor.

Some of the schools don’t have proper lighting in the examination halls. The students can be seen sitting in verandas of schools.

Sukhdarshan Singh from Anti-Copying Front stated that there were only 30 per cent schools in the district which fulfill the conditions of PSEB. He demanded that the board should conduct a physical inquiry before approving any examination centre.

The last date for the submission of applications to get the examination centre is August 31.

Gurinderpal Singh Bath, secretary, PSEB, said, “We will examine all the applications thoroughly. A committee will be constituted for the inquiry of claims of schools. We will grant the approval to those schools, which fulfills the conditions of the board.”

Ludhiana, July 30
Neonatology team (paediatrics) of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital today saved a rare case of hydrops fetalis (a lethal condition which occurs due to blood group incompatibility among husband and wife, and leads to death of foetus inside the womb).

Neha from phillaur, Ludhiana, lost her baby thrice due to the disease before finally delivering a baby girl.

Neha’s blood group was A negative and husband was A positive. She was pregnant three times, but her baby could not be saved as the babies suffered from this fatal disease and all babies died during the pregnancy period.

During this pregnancy period, she got a proper check-up done from her gynaecologist Dr Ashima Taneja, Prof and Head, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, DMCH, and she again developed the same problem. She was 29 weeks pregnant (7 months) when the foetus had again developed swelling and would not be able to save the baby.

Doctors planned to deliver the baby immediately as the baby would not survive if the pregnancy was continued for even one more day.

After many complications, she delivered the baby. Even after birth the baby was handed over to the mother at a weight of 1.4 kg on the 17th day. 

Ludhiana, July 30
The last date for filing income tax (IT) returns is July 31 and the website of the Income Tax Department is responding slowly. Taxpayers are having a tough time uploading their returns. Meanwhile some tax payers are facing problems due to the newly prescribed system of generation of PIN on mobile and e-mail id.

“During the last days, the website of the department responds slowly. It is taking nearly half an hour to upload one return,” said Karminder Singh, a taxpayer.

Anup Kumar Jain, president of the District Taxation Bar Association (DTBA), said the new system of generation of PIN was time consuming.

“Due to some technical flaws in the website of the department, PIN is not being received on the taxpayer’s mobile within the prescribed time. Due to this, the process of e-filing income tax returns becomes slow and time consuming,” he said.

Jatinder Khurana, executive member of the Indian Taxation Advocates Association, said: “Lawyers are the worst-affected. After the amendment, one email id can be used for filing 10 returns. Since we are professionals and people in large numbers come to us for filing their returns, we have to log in into a new email id after a few returns, which is very time consuming. The web portal of the department is also slow and a lot of time is consumed in uploading one return”.

“Keeping in view all these difficulties, the last date for filing returns should be extended,” he said.

“From the past 10-12 days, the web portal of the department is working exceptionally slow and is not being able to cope with the increased online traffic. It has affected the work of all professionals,” said Sanjeev Bhandari, secretary of the DTBA.

The DTBA has also shot a letter to the Finance Minister requesting him to extend the last date for filing income tax return to August 31.

Ludhiana, July 30
On a call given by the state committee of the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Punjab, activists of the Ludhiana unit today held a massive protest rally at the Mini-Secretariat against the “Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property Act - 2014,” passed by the Punjab Government recently.

Terming the legislation as repressive and undemocratic, DP Maur, general secretary, Joint Council of Trade Unions, and OP Mehta, general secretary, AITUC, Ludhiana, termed the passing of the Bill as a hidden agenda of the Akali-BJP Government to curb the constitutional right of protest by the people.

They said the Punjab Government had failed to fulfil basic needs of the people like jobs to educated and uneducated youth, check rising prices, basic amenities like clean drinking water, healthcare, education, security to women, pension and salary to its employees, check drug menace and rising crime.

“To add to the woes of the people, the government had imposed additional financial burden in the form of property tax, hike in vehicle registration tax, exorbitant fee for regularisation of colonies and toll tax. The electricity tariff had been repeatedly increased, which had upset the budget of the common man,” AITUC leaders said.

Kartar Singh Bowani, vice-president, All-India Kissan Sabha, Punjab, charged the state government with failure to fulfil its promises made during the election campaign.

“There is no job security for the workers and employees recruited on a contractual basis have not been regularised. The discontentment and unrest among the working classes has led to protests,” Bowani said.

He said the government was coming up with such laws to curb the democratic voice of the people being raised against its failure on all fronts while asserting that laws already existed to deal with damage caused to public and private property and there was no need to bring out any new law.

Among other speakers at the rally were Kewal Singh Banwait (PSEB Employees Federation), Vijay Kumar (Municipal Corporation), Gurmail Singh Medley (PSSF), Feroze Master (Hosiery Workers Union), Ram Chander, Tuntun (Construction Workers Union), Manjeet Singh Buta and Pardeep Singh (Punjab Roadways).

Ludhiana, July 30
Being the last day for voluntary disclosure scheme (VDS) for extension of connected load for various categories of consumers, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has announced that all its offices will remain open on July 31 despite it being a gazetted holiday.

PSPCL chief engineer (Central Zone) Rachpal Singh said all PSPCL offices would receive applications for the extension of load from domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural consumers, which would be processed in due course.

The power utility had launched the VDS in March 2014 for a period of three months. Subsequently, it was further extended till July 31, 2014.

Rachpal Singh said the scheme had received an overwhelming response and a large lumber of consumers had come forward to get their load extended under the scheme. — OC

Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, July 30
The All-India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA) is opposing the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill. “We have been agitating against the FDI hike in the insurance sector from 26 per cent to 49 per cent. Our opposition is not based on any partisan reasons but on the grounds of its impact on the national economy. 

We firmly believe that the financial sector is the key to national development and liberalisation of this sector is fraught with dangerous consequences. The global financial meltdown and the consequent economic crisis vindicate our understanding,” said Amarjit Singh, divisional secretary, Northern Zone Insurance Employees Association.

Though the government says that despite a hike in the foreign capital, the management control will remain with the Indian partners but this plea is unconvincing for the insurance sector employees.

“Even with 26 per cent equity, the foreigners are heading a number of insurance companies. There is a need to mobilise small savings of the people for investment in the social and infrastructure sector. The hike in foreign equity limit will only help the foreign capital to gain greater access and control over the household savings to the detriment of the national economy,” stated Amanulla Khan, president, AIIEA in a letter written to the Finance Minister.

Apart from this, the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill also paves way for disinvestment of public sector general insurance companies. These companies are not only facing competition from private players but also competing among themselves.

“It is unfortunate that instead of merging these public sector general insurance companies to meet the challenges from private players, the government proposes to weaken them,” said Maan Singh, another member of the Northern Zone Insurance Employees Association.

Insurance employees from throughout the country are giving representations to the government to drop the proposal to raise FDI cap to 49 per cent and withdraw the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill 2008 in the interest of the economy and also in the favour of policyholders of the country.

Ludhiana, July 30
A vegetable stall collection contractor along with vegetable vendors staged a dharna outside the 
vegetable market at Karabara today. They staged the dharna against the prevalent extortion by miscreants from vegetables vendors.

Leading the protestors, Arjun Yadav, who was awarded the collection contract by the Punjab Mandi Board for collecting user charges from vegetable vendors, said for the past few days some goons were extorting money from vegetable vendors in lieu of placing a stall at the vegetable market.

The vegetable vendors said when they denied to give the money the goons threatened them of dire consequence.

The vendors said it was getting difficult to run the business in such hostile conditions.

The protestors also handed over a memorandum to the Mandi Board officer and the police officer concerned demanding justice.

The Mandi Board officer said the department had initiated a probe in the matter.

Ludhiana, July 30
Retired employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) are demanding from the government to empanel reputed hospitals of the city under the cashless medical facility.

Meanwhile, many ex-servicemen are facing tough times after some of the major hospitals in the city have withdrawn themselves from the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ESCHS), under which cashless medical facilities are provided. Satish Thaman, social RTI activist and member of the Ludhiana West-Sub Division Grievances Redressal Committee, has written a letter to the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare in this regard.

Thaman said he received a communique from the BSNL authorities in this regard, which stated that the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Hero DMC and Christian Medical College and Hospital had difference regarding bills pertaining to the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) rates and the authorities of the respective hospitals were reluctant to go for empanelment with the BSNL.

"The government must intervene in the matter. By not empanelling the reputed hospitals, the issue is a direct attack on human values and the pensioners," said Thaman.

He said the administration of the hospitals should be directed by the state health minister to cooperate and coordinate with the BSNL and resolve the issue of empanelment.

Meanwhile, Col RS Sohi (retd), president of Ex-Servicemen Welfare Society, during a recently held meeting said small hospitals had been left on the panel while many big hospitals had withdrawn their names from the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme.

Now, ex-servicemen are being referred to Fortis Hospital, Mohali, and travelling a long distance at this age is giving them a tough time.

Hospital representatives giving their plea said bills of huge amounts were pending under this scheme.

"The bills are paid late and a huge amount remains pending due to which we have withdrawn our name from the ESCHS," said a representative of one of the hospitals.

Ludhiana, July 30
The Health Department on the directions of the Civil Surgeon, Dr Subhash Batta, and under the supervision of the senior medical officer, CHC, Sanhewal, Dr Parwinderpal Singh Sidhu, today collected five water samples from Gyaspura, Makkar Colony, Guru Amar Das Colony, Lakshman Nagar and Guru Gobind Singh Nagar.

The department also asked the Municipal Corporation to disconnect illegal water connections from a colony near the 33-foot road.

People were advocated to keep their surroundings clean and pamphlets in this regard were also distributed.

Meanwhile, a round-the-clock medical camp is going on at Community Hall, Street No. 3, Parkash Nagar and Jawwadi after diarrhoea outbreak on July 23. Today, two patients were examined till 4 PM and both were found suffering from fever and cough. The patients, who belonged to other areas, took OPD treatment and returned home.

“The situation is under control. No patient was admitted today. As many as 285 houses were surveyed covering a population of 1,575. A total of 23 group meetings were conducted. Twenty-five ORS packets, 220 tablets of chlorine and pamphlets were distributed among the people,” said Dr Anil Verma, district epidimologist.

Now, the camp has been shifted to the sub-centre, Jawwadi Kalan, and will be held from 9 am to 4 pm till August 1.