J A L A N D H A R    E D I T I O N

Post-Firing Felons
I-tax dept gears up to raid defaulters
Amritsar, December 15
Undeterred by the firing and assault at Jalandhar recently, officials of the income tax department have decided to launch a campaign against tax defaulters in the border region.

Hope for 1,213 as regularisation begins
Jalandhar, December 15
Bringing hope for its 1,213 safai karamcharis and their families, the municipal corporation, Jalandhar, has started the process of regularisation of their jobs in the new safai committees.

Protest against ‘mazar desecration’
Kapurthala, December 15
Protesting against the alleged desecration of a “mazar” (tomb) by the president of Sultanpur Lodhi municipal council a few days back, activists of the BJP, the BSP and the Shiv Sena burnt his effigy here today.

Save Amritsar airport, Majithia urges PM
Amritsar, December 15
The central government should come forward to save the international airport from going into oblivion in view of the marginalisation of operations from Amritsar airport which could further have negative impact on the ongoing trade activities in the area.

Ex-servicemen set to get polyclinic in town
Nawanshahr, December 15
Due to lack of the facility of an ECHS polyclinic in the district, thousands of ex-servicemen and their dependants have to face a lot of inconvenience to avail medical treatment.

Signature campaign to declare Pak a terrorist state
Hoshiarpur, December 15
The fact that Afzal Guru, the mastermind of the Parliament attack, had not been brought to book till date due to political reasons, caused disappointment not only to the countrymen but also the families of the martyrs who laid down their lives while protecting the highest institution of democracy of the country.

Protest against power shortage
Kapurthala, December 15
Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) activists held a protest rally here on Monday to express its resentment against the acute power shortage in the state that too in the winter season. The activists, led by sena state coordinator Jagdish Kataria and district president Arvind Titu, held the protest march from Sanatan Dharam Sabha Bhavan which passed through various bazaars and culminated in the district courts complex where a rally was held.

Novel Protest: Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) activists place a garland of fused bulbs and candles on a poster of the CM in Kapurthala on Monday.

Bus stand to be ready by May
Hoshiarpur, December 15
“Without the involvement of people, development of an area is not possible and I have tried my best to make the town pollution-free and prosperous in every respect,” said minister for medical education and research, parliamentary affairs, labour and forest Tikshan Sud.

Prepare lists of encroachments, DC asks MCs
Kapurthala, December 15
In what may be termed as the first step to initiate anti-encroachment drive in the district, deputy commissioner J.M. Balamurugan directed the executive officers of municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Kapurthala district to prepare lists of encroachments in their respective areas within a week.

Traffic Snarls
Hazardous parking goes unchecked
Nawanshahr, December 15
Although the police, with a view to regulating the traffic on the main roads and chowks like Chandigarh Road, Chandigarh Chowk, Ambedkar Chowk, Banga Road, etc., has prohibited parking of vehicles in front of the shops, hotels and restaurants, etc.

Vehicle owners defy an administration order on parking in Nawanshahr. Photo: Parmod Bharti

Post-Firing Felons
I-tax dept gears up to raid defaulters
Sanjay Bumbroo/TNS

Amritsar, December 15
Undeterred by the firing and assault at Jalandhar recently, officials of the income tax department have decided to launch a campaign against tax defaulters in the border region.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Abha Rani Singh, additional director of income tax, Amritsar, who also holds the additional charge of Jalandhar division, said after the incident there was a misconception among the people that income tax officials were terrified and had thus aborted the raids.

She said the team members were all set to conduct more raids on various business establishments which were on the defaulters’ list.

Abha said during the raid, which continued till midnight, incriminating documents and money worth several crores of rupees were found at the residence of the property dealer Yash Pal Khanna and his son Rohit Khanna, who had earlier fled after firing at the raiding party but later surrendered to the police on December 11.

The additional director said investigations were on and they would be able to detect the unaccounted money to the tune of Rs 12 to 15 crore.

She said the department had been keeping a tab on them for the past couple of years and Khanna had filed returns showing an annual income of Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh.

She said they became suspicious when they came to know about the sprawling house worth Rs 2 crore owned by him in the Model Town area. She said the accused also possessed four bank lockers.

Urging the business community to cooperate during such raids, Abha said the department would soon start such raids in Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts.

Hope for 1,213 as regularisation begins

Jalandhar, December 15
Bringing hope for its 1,213 safai karamcharis and their families, the municipal corporation, Jalandhar, has started the process of regularisation of their jobs in the new safai committees.

A ward-wise list of a majority of the existing staff was put up on the walls of the MC office. The candidates whose names appear in the list have been called for interview on December 23. Mayor Rakesh Rathour said all those employees, who were currently of the age of 47 years or less, were being taken in the new committees. He said while the employees were currently getting emoluments of Rs 2,880 per month, they could get up to Rs 8,000 after they got regularised. — TNS

Protest against ‘mazar desecration’
Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, December 15
Protesting against the alleged desecration of a “mazar” (tomb) by the president of Sultanpur Lodhi municipal council a few days back, activists of the BJP, the BSP and the Shiv Sena burnt his effigy here today.

They held a protest march which culminated in front of the SDM’s office. Condemning the act of the council president, they demanded registration of an FIR against him for hurting the religious sentiments of a community. They also submitted a memorandum in this regard to naib-tehsildar Tarsem Singh.

Save Amritsar airport, Majithia urges PM
Sanjay Bumbroo/TNS

Amritsar, December 15
The central government should come forward to save the international airport from going into oblivion in view of the marginalisation of operations from Amritsar airport which could further have negative impact on the ongoing trade activities in the area.

Stating this to the media, while laying foundation stones of eight development projects worth Rs 8.72 crore, minister for information and broadcasting Bikram Singh Majithia urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to immediately take action to save the only international airport in the state.

Majithia inaugurated two 66-KVA power grids at Dhadde and Wadala Veeram villages, set up at a cost of Rs 3 crore each, and two science blocks at government schools at Chawinda Devi and Mattewal costing Rs 18 lakh and Rs 15 lakh, respectively. Besides, he also laid the foundation stone of the Bhoma-Bhangwan, Babowal-Kairon Nangal via Darike, Sialka-Kaji Kot and Sidhwan-Rupowali Brahmana link roads. The minister said the people of the country would dethrone the UPA government headed by the Congress as it had failed on the core issues of internal security, inflation and fixing appropriate prices of petroleum products.

Reiterating his firm commitment to develop Majitha as a model constituency of the state, the minister urged the people to personally supervise the ongoing development projects so that the real purpose of the projects could be achieved.

Meanwhile, SAD MLA Inderbir Singh Bularia this evening called on union minister of state for youth affairs and sports M.S. Gill and submitted him a memorandum demanding not only to urge the existing airlines not to withdraw their operations but also to convince new international airlines to commence their operations. The further urged the minister to make concerted efforts for ensuring the availability of electronic data interface (EDI ) system and bonded cargo facility at the airport. Gill reportedly assured the SAD leaders that he would bring the issues to the notice of ministries concerned and the Prime Minster.

Ex-servicemen set to get polyclinic in town
Parmod Bharti

Nawanshahr, December 15
Due to lack of the facility of an ECHS polyclinic in the district, thousands of ex-servicemen and their dependants have to face a lot of inconvenience to avail medical treatment.

Lieut-Col Jernail Singh, district president, Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association, while sharing the problem with The Tribune, said though the Army authorities had empanelled Raja Hospital in the town under the ECHS scheme, to avail the facility of medical treatment here, the ex- servicemen and their dependants had to visit ECHS polyclinic, Jalandhar, to get their cases, except emergency, referred to Raja Hospital.

Besides facing the inconvenience of going to Jalandhar, the ex-servicemen belonging to the district have also been facing the indifferent attitude of the ECHS there in referring the treatment cases to Raja Hospital, alleged Lieut-Col Jernail Singh. He alleged that the authorities at the ECHS, Jalandhar, preferred private hospitals in Jalandhar than the empanelled hospitals at Nawanshahr for referring cases for treatment. Quoting figures, he said only five cases had so far been referred to Raja Hospital from Jalandhar, though the hospital was empanelled under the scheme in August this year. On the other hand, as many as 27 emergency cases have been treated at the hospital here.

The Ex-Servicemen Welfare Association, while bringing the issue to the notice of the higher authorities, has raised the demand of setting up an ECHS polyclinic in the district.

The association had suggested that the ECHS polyclinic might be started in a rented building till the completion of Sainik Sadan which would also house the ECHS polyclinic, said Jernail Singh.

In response to its representation, the association has been informed that the District Sainik Welfare Office had taken up the matter of setting up of an ECHS polyclinic in a rented building. Besides, it has also been proposed to the authorities to sanction a weekly visit of a medical team to Nawanshahr for referring treatment cases of ex-servicemen and their dependants to the empanelled hospitals.

Signature campaign to declare Pak a terrorist state
Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, December 15
The fact that Afzal Guru, the mastermind of the Parliament attack, had not been brought to book till date due to political reasons, caused disappointment not only to the countrymen but also the families of the martyrs who laid down their lives while protecting the highest institution of democracy of the country.

This was stated by social activist and managing director of Raj Group of Diagnostic Dr Raj Kumar who paid floral tributes to the martyrs from the police and paramilitary forces on the anniversary of the terrorist attack on Parliament.

Afzal Guru should be hanged at the earliest and a law framed to deal with terrorist cases and implementation of their decision within a month on the pattern of China and Israel.

About 40,000 terrorists had been languishing in various jails of the country, leading comfortable lives there and were still hatching conspiracies against India, said Kumar, demanding complete sealing of the borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh to stop infiltration of terrorists.

He said a signature campaign would be launched to get Pakistan declared a terrorist country. 

Protest against power shortage
Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, December 15
Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) activists held a protest rally here on Monday to express its resentment against the acute power shortage in the state that too in the winter season.

The activists, led by sena state coordinator Jagdish Kataria and district president Arvind Titu, held the protest march from Sanatan Dharam Sabha Bhavan which passed through various bazaars and culminated in the district courts complex where a rally was held.

Addressing the rally, Kataria and Titu urged the general public to teach a lesson to the candidates of the SAD-BJP alliance in the coming Lok Sabha elections for not fulfilling their promises. They demanded uninterrupted power and drinking water supply in the town.

The march was held to protest against the daily power cuts, alleged corruption in government departments and sky rocketing prices of essential commodities.

Bus stand to be ready by May
Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, December 15
“Without the involvement of people, development of an area is not possible and I have tried my best to make the town pollution-free and prosperous in every respect,” said minister for medical education and research, parliamentary affairs, labour and forest Tikshan Sud.

Stating this at a function, organised by 36 NGOs, to facilitate him here last night, Sud said the construction of the general bus stand, which had remained suspended for more than six years, was in progress. The air-conditioned bus stand with all modern amenities would be ready by May next.

The reconstruction project of the town bridge on the Bhangi choe, which was declared unsafe for the vehicular traffic, would soon be started to connect the old town with its newly developed areas on the other side of the choe.

Construction of a causeway in the choe between the Baba Balak Nath shrine and the Shakti Temple was also in progress. An environmental park would be constructed at Naloian at a cost of Rs 1 crore, said Sud. He appreciated the activities of all the NGOs for doing commendable work in the social field.

Coordinator of 36 NGOs Dr Raj Kumar appreciated Sud for his efforts to help, including financial aid, to achieve the desired results to help the downtrodden.

Later, presidents of all the NGOs were honoured by presenting them siropas by the minister.

Prepare lists of encroachments, DC asks MCs

Kapurthala, December 15
In what may be termed as the first step to initiate anti-encroachment drive in the district, deputy commissioner J.M. Balamurugan directed the executive officers of municipal councils and nagar panchayats in Kapurthala district to prepare lists of encroachments in their respective areas within a week.

Balamurugan said today action would be taken against the violators under section 146 of the Punjab Regional Town Planning and Development Act, 1995.

Presiding over a meeting of the executive officers, executive engineers and district officers, the DC also directed them to submit a lists of encroachments in their respective areas by December 22 in order to launch an anti-encroachment drive. — TNS

Traffic Snarls
Hazardous parking goes unchecked
Our Correspondent

Nawanshahr, December 15
Although the police, with a view to regulating the traffic on the main roads and chowks like Chandigarh Road, Chandigarh Chowk, Ambedkar Chowk, Banga Road, etc., has prohibited parking of vehicles in front of the shops, hotels and restaurants, etc. on the main road here, nothing concrete is being done to implement the orders.

Due to the haphazard parking of vehicles in front of the shops, hotels, restaurants, etc. on the main road has been posing a great traffic hazard. A few months ago, the police had marked “yellow lines” on the roads and given instructions to the shopkeepers not to allow parking of vehicles beyond the yellow lines. The police has also put up several signboards on the railing of the road divider, making the people aware of the prohibitory orders. But neither the orders are being complied by anyone nor the traffic police seems in a mood to enforce the orders. As a result, the haphazard parking of vehicles beyond the yellow lines continues to cause traffic jams on the main road.

Residents demand proper implementation of prohibitory orders to check the haphazard parking of the vehicles and to remove temporary and permanent encroachments on the main road to ensure a smooth flow of traffic.