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Sinha reverts orders of Ghuman
MC staff happy The clerical staff on Tuesday walked out with a big smile on their face from municipal commissioner A.K. Sinha's office. They had gone to the commissioner to apprise him of the promotion of a clerk-cum-typist Rony in the building branch done by former municipal commissioner G.S. Ghuman on August 18 by ignoring 300 staff members. However, the commissioner told them that he had already passed orders for Rony to join the commissioner's office, reverting the latter's promotion
Ludhiana, September 15 While Ghuman had allegedly rendered zonal commissioner's "toothless" task by taking away most powers from them, Sinha has given them opportunity to head their zones. In one such order passed on September 10, the new municipal commissioner has given powers to the zonal commissioners to issue NOCs for commercial and industrial electricity connections. Earlier, this power was with municipal commissioner Ghuman. Similarly, the town planning wing too witnessed winds of change, with officials being given a time-limit frame to pass building plans. These orders, issued on September 10, state that for the approval of residential and commercial building plans, a building clerk has to complete his job in two days. The time-limit for a junior draftsman and draftsman is five days, while head draftsman and area town planners (ATPs) have to give sanction to these building plans in just two days. The orders issued by the municipal commissioner (a copy of which is with The Tribune) states that if the work is not completed in stipulated time, action would be taken against erring officials. Besides, ATP (headquarters) has been asked to check the registers regularly of all the four zones where the movement of building plans would be noted. However, the commissioner has missed a deadline frame for the MTP and STP. Apart from it, he made some transfers. According to sources, from now onwards ATP Kamaljeet Kaur would look after A and D zones, while B and C zones would be watched by ATP Harpreet Ghai. Similarly, MTP Hemant Batra would be governing zone A and D, while B and C zones would be looked after by MTP S.S. Bhatia. ATP Ramesh Chabbra, who was transferred to Bathinda around three weeks ago, has been finally relieved. Interestingly, he was the blue-eyed boy of municipal commissioner G.S. Ghuman. When municipal commissioner Sinha was asked about the changes, he said, "My aim is not just accountability, but even accessibility. I don't think that there is a need for public to come from their respective zones to D-zone especially to get signature of municipal commissioner on every document they need. When we have concept of zonal commissioners, they need to be utilised." He added that he wants to make corporation a public-friendly government office and delegation of powers is just a step to ensure it.
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Austere Rahul comes by train
Security
hardship The train journey of AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi caused major inconvenience to commuters at the city railway station. Many passengers were stranded and a few missed their trains as they were not allowed to enter the station due to the heavy security cover for Rahul’s visit. Commuters jostled to catch the train. The commuters who were sitting in C1-2 were a harassed lot, as their movement was restricted by SPG commandos. "We were surrounded by men in plain clothes who were moving to and fro and were frisking the luggage of the passengers," said Pujan Sharma. Some passengers had to make great effort in order to alight from the train. "It seemed impossible to alight from the train. The moment the train came to a halt, Congress workers in white clothes jumped on the train and it was actually impossible to get down. It was a very horrifying experience," said Akash Kumar.
Ludhiana, September 15 Rahul arrived at Ludhiana Railway Station amidst frenzied supporters, who were eager to catch a glimpse of the youth leader. For a number of passengers, it was a dream come true to travel along with a youth icon. It was a memorable occassion for N.S Bhatia, a resident of Amritsar, who was travelling in the C- 3 compartment in which Rahul was travelling. "I shook hand with Rahul. I was in a pensive mood, but he greeted me gleefully when I made a request to shake hand with him," said Bhatia. Sunny, a youth who also hails from Amritsar and was sitting opposite to the Rahul, said, "He was reading a newspaper throughout the journey. He got up from his chair once in the whole journey and sat again and started reading." On the other hand, every passenger alighting from Shatabdi was pointing towards C-3 (compartment No. 3) seat No. 66, where Rahul was sitting. Parminder Singh, who was sitting in C- 8, said in elation, "I am going to tell my entire family that I have travelled along with Rahul Gandhi today.” Narrating his experience, Rakesh Kumar, another passenger, said, "In the morning when I boarded the train from
the Delhi station, I had no inclination with whom I am going to travel today. I was astonished to witness heavy security on the railway station. Suddenly, news broke that Rahul Gandhi was travelling on Shatabdi. Soon, he was escorted by a group of security personnel. A whole bunch of media also boarded the train along with him. Initially, I thought he had been whisked away due to some security reason. But later it was told that he was going to visit my city for a leadership training programme." Many commuters appreciated his effort of travelling by train. "It is good that he is setting an example for the youth leaders, who flaunt their red beacon vehicles. Even on August 21, when the Capital witnessed torrential rain, he travelled by Metro to reach his residence at 10 Janpath and did not cause inconvenience to people in Delhi who were stuck in a massive traffic jam. Even today, he set an example by travelling in economy class," said Sanjeev Kumar, a Delhi resident. |
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SPG thorn between bouquets, Rahul
Ludhiana, September 15 A number of leaders and others stood with bouquets in their hands waiting to present these to Rahul Gandhi. But due to security reasons, he was not allowed to meet anybody. Disappointed, the people who had brought bouquets threw these on the platform. Punjab cops were seen picking these up from the floor. Others were seen taking these back. ‘‘I brought a bouquet for him and got it security checked at different levels. Still I was not allowed to hand it over to him, ’’ said a Congress leader. As soon as Rahul got down from the train, he was whisked away from the spot
and taken in a car to the venue of Yuva Drishti-2009 under way here. Only a few senior leaders, including PPCC president Mahinder Singh Kaypee, leader of the opposition in legislative assembly Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, AICC, spokesperson and local MP Manish Tewari, PYC president, Ravneet Singh Bittu, former PYC president and MP Vijay Inder Singla, Rajya Sabha member Dharam Pal Sabharwal, former PPCC president HS Hanspal and former minister Lal Singh were allowed to receive him. Everybody, including several Congress leaders, who had come from other parts of the state, was disappointed. The police formed a human chain and did not allow anyone to enter the cordoned-off area. The media was also not allowed to take pictures. Rahul did not stop to speak to the media. Congress leaders said they were disappointed at the treatment but they could not do anything. ‘‘We have to respect the security arrangements. There is no other alternative, ’’ said a leader. |
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Traffic blues
Ludhiana, September 15 In the absence of any alternative route plan, the commuters were made to wait for the cavalcade of Rahul Gandhi. Lawyers’ strike added to traffic chaos as they staged a dharna and blocked road in front of mini-secretariat. The situation at Bharat Nagar Chowk got tense as serpentine queues reached Fountain Chowk. The peak office hours also multiplied to traffic chaos. “The police should have made a route plan well before Rahul's visit,” said Rishabh Jain, a commuter. Amit Sharma, whose care broke down in traffic jam, said: “It is sin for the commuters to travel on city road during the time of a VIP visit. It is curse to be a common man in this country as half of the life in spent in traffic jams,” he rued. A minor accident led to a quarrel between the two commuters, which further led to traffic jam on Mall road. |
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Evening courts not from Sept 19
Ludhiana, September 15 District Bar Association president Parupkar Singh Ghumman claimed this while talking to The Tribune after a meeting with the Chief Justice this evening at Chandigarh. The meeting was attended by office-bearers of the Bar associations across the state. Terming it to be a victory, Ghumman and secretary Kamaljit Sharma said it was the result of the struggle. They said the lawyers had decided to continue the strike over the issue of exorbitant hike in the court fee for litigants. The lawyers said the state government was not listening to their genuine problems and making the matter complicated. Earlier in the morning, city lawyers blocked the Ferozepur road for half an hour, causing harssment to commuters. Protesting lawyers raised slogans against SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Lawyers Anil Kaushal, Rajneesh Gupta, Kamal Jyoti, Raman Kaushal, B K Baweja, R P S Bhatti among others lawyers sat on road, showing their resentment. |
Rehris, kiosks removed from old Sabzi Mandi
Ludhiana, September 15 According to information, officials had gone to remove kiosks, rehris, sheds, etc that had come up at old Sabzi Mandi during the past three decades around 9.30 am. Watching the corporation officials, vegetable and fruit vendors of the area assembled and sat on a dharna which forced the former to return and came with the police force and removed around 25 rehris, 15 kiosks and demolished sheds of various shops. While the vegetable and fruit vendors were arguing that they needed space to sell their products, the MC officials took the plea of orders issued by the court. Ramesh, a vegetable vendor, said, "My father used to sell vegetables here and I am the second generation. The officials want to remove us but they are not giving us space to sell vegetables and it will affect every family that is depending on sale of items here." He rued that the poor were always a victim when it came to display of power. However, tehbazari superintendent Naveen Malhotra said, "I had the commissioner's orders to remove these encroachments and reinstate grills in the park so that it could be developed. In fact, the vendors were ready to attack us as the officials, who had gone to the site, revealed that the protesters had kept stones and the situation could go out of hand." Finally, it was decided that the police would be taken along. He revealed that area witnessed major traffic jams due to haphazard parked vehicles of commuters, who often visit the subzi mandi.
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Mushroom growing a profitable venture: Expert
Ludhiana, September 15 Speaking during the mushroom training course held at the PAU, Dr Gill said nearly half of the mushrooms produced in India come from Punjab. More and more farmers should go in for mushroom production other allied agricultural occupations to supplement their income, he added. Dr Gill said more than 100 families at Deriwala village in Amritsar district have taken to mushroom growing and were reaping huge profits. He said Deriwala model could be adopted for large-scale mushroom growing in the state. Dr Gill highlighted the significance of organic techniques for mushroom growing. The training was organised by the directorate of extension education and the Department of Microbiology jointly. A total of 57 farmers participated in the training camp. Topics such as importance of mushrooms in diet, spawn production, growing and harvesting, management of pests and diseases of mushroom, types of mushrooms, processing and marketing of mushrooms etc were covered in the course. Special lectures on economics of mushroom growing, identification of harmful mushrooms and medicinal properties of some mushrooms were
also held. Technical coordinator of the programme Dr PK Khanna said there were more than 400 seasonal mushroom growers in the state. He apprised the participants about the equipment and facilities required for successful mushroom growing. “For giving a general impetus to this venture, the organisation of interested mushroom growers through formulating mushroom growers association would be beneficial,” said Dr Khanna adding that the trained farmers should endeavour starting this profitable venture
by involving their family members. Course coordinator Dr JS Bhalla said farmers and farm women were keen to join training programmes organised by the PAU. Coordinator Dr Rupinder Kaur said such courses were planned and executed keeping in view the demand of farmers and the period when they were free to attend the same.
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“Over-reliance on cops harms bank business”
Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 15 Captain Sukhjit was talking to Ludhiana Tribune after briefing constituents of the SBI branches located in the area recently. “Unfortunately majority of bank officials and clients visiting banks don’t realise that miscreants can confront them at any time and situation. Presuming that unfortunate things can’t happen in front of them they don’t bother to learn fundamentals of the crisis management and self defence,” he added. Earlier, addressing constituents of various branches, Captain Sukhjit emphasised on the need for efficient functioning of panic alarms like fire alarm and emergency switchers. He said every bank official, irrespective of his rank and nature of the job, should know how to tackle the situation in case robbers strike at their branch. Suspicious action of anybody present in the branch or near it should immediately be brought into the notice of the officials’ concerned. Literature on disaster management was distributed among members of staff of branches of the
bank.
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IT survey at five business houses
Ludhiana, September 15 Surveys were carried out under the supervision of Saad Kidwai, Additional Commissioner, Range II. A survey surveys were held at Maya Das Harbans Lal at Prem Nagar at Saban Bazaar and Ram Rattan Chand at Aarti Chowk. Another survey was carried out at Sangam Hosiery at Shiva Ji Nagar and Barclay Hosiery at Sunder Nagar. The IT department sleuths also conducted a survey at the office of Vijay Kumar Dhand at Madhoupuri, a commission agent in hosiery and yarn. Surveys were still on till the filing of this report and were expected to last till late night. During the surveys, the IT officials sealed the computers and stock verification was also done. Bank accounts and property related documents were also checked during the survey.
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Engineers stage dharna
Engineers’ Day September 15 is a memorable day in the annals of the engineering fraternity in the country. Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, the towering personality in the history of Indian engineering, was born on this day. In recognition of his monumental services towards national development and for the cause of engineering, Visvesvaraya was honoured by the country's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, in 1955
Ludhiana, September 15 The call for dharna was given by the Council of Diploma Engineers, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Chandigarh. Protesting against the “step-motherly” treatment given to them in the Fifth Pay Commission, junior engineers of all the departments today staged a dharna outside the Deputy Commissioner's office. A resolution was passed in this regard which included appropriate pay scales, pay grade and conveyance allowance. BS Gill, chairman of the association, said they have been given step-motherly treatment as the pay scales of the cadre have been downgraded. “After reading the report of the commission, it appears that nobody has taken care of our interests,” he added. Speaking on the occasion, Ashok Kalia, convenor of the association, said they would continue their agitation till the grades given in the Fifth Pay Commission were not upgraded.
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Ex-CBI chief reviews poetry book
Ludhiana, September 15 Dhiman is also general secretary of state unit
of India Media Centre (IMC). In his review, Joginder Singh said the book was a compilation of 101 Hindi poems, which had touched almost all aspects of his profession as a writer and other subjects like “Rail ki patri”, “Mey sarkar hoon”, “Aurat”, etc. He further said there was a ring of realism in his poetry with anguish. His poems are short and penetrating. The book,“Barish Ke Boonde”, has been published by Jalandhar-based Sahitya Silsila Prakashan. The preface has been written by Dr Harmohinder Singh Bedi, head, department of Hindi, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
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PSEB topper felicitated
Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 15 Educational trust director Kartar Singh presided over the felicitation function and Bank of India AGM DK Garg was the chief guest. Namita said she wanted to excel in the commerce stream and become a reputed charted accountant. She wanted to prove that the girls had the ability to conquer all impediments, provided they were treated at par
with the boys in society. BOI chief manager AS Kastoobh and councillors Dr Sunit Hind and Ravinder Puri were also present.
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Vet students’ boycott on
Ludhiana, September 15 BVSc (final) student Rajdeep Singh (name changed) said for getting training in the programmes of artificial insemination and pregnancy diagnosis, more animals were required for hands-on practice. But they were given just four or five animals which were not enough for 350 students.One batch had 60 students and there were total five such batches which had to undergo training in the programme. "Time and again, we have been requesting the authorities to provide us more animals so that training could be done smoothly, but they don’t care much. Although they have assured us to give at least 10 more animals, nothing has been done,” said another student. He further added that by the time more animals were procured, the university should allow students to work on the animals in their dairy farm. Meanwhile, the authorities were maintaining that it was not possible to allow students to practise on animals in the dairy farm as they were highly productive. "We do agree that students will have to handle such animals/problems once they finish their degree. We are seriously looking into the matter and the problem will be sorted out in the coming days. Till then, students should maintain their calm,” said a senior faculty member.
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RIMT students bring laurels
Mandi Gobindgarh, September 15 Around 36 technical and non-technical events, which included various workshops on ethical hacking, animation, human-computer interaction, arthrobotics were presented by scientists and research fellows of world fame. RIMT group of institutes organised a function here today, where in RIMT chairman Hukam Chand Bansal and principal Harsh Sadawarti honoured the team members, which included its leader Harpreet Khattar, Rishabh Sharma, Navneet Mittal, Jatin Kapoor and Rohit Sharma for their excellent performance in the national fair.
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Docs call off stir
Ludhiana, September 15 The doctors, who were wearing black ribbons as a mark of protest against the state government for the past two days, hailed the government's decision. The notification states that the PCMS
doctors will be given 25 per cent NPA on revised basic salary from January 1, 2006. Dr Hardeep Singh, president of state unit of the association, thanked Finance Minister Manpreet Badal for giving justice to the doctors and also appealed for early implementation of all the remaining recommendations of Fifth Punjab Pay Commission and complete parity with doctors at
the Centre.
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202 donate blood
Ludhiana, September 15
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Six booked for group clash
Mullanpur Dakha, September 15 The incidence occurred at Bhata Dua village near Humbran. Sarpanch of the village Dalwinder Singh, while giving information, said Balwinder Singh and Shinder Singh of the same village, along with from 10 to 12 persons, attacked Jagdeep Singh of the village when he was returning home and injured him. The villagers came to the spot at once and rescued Jagdeep, who was admitted to Sidhwan Bet civil hospital and informed the matter to the Humbran police. On the other hand, Balwinder Singh refuted the allegation and said a couple of days ago, he, along with Chinder Singh with the help of PSEB men, was shifting some poles, through which electricity was supplied to his house as the poles were standing in the middle of the passage. He accused that some villagers on the instigation of the sarpanch had a minor altercation with them and got his younger brother Jaswinder arrested by the police. He said the next day, about 15-20 villagers bragged in to his house, equipped with sticks and rods and damaged his Scorpio car parked inside the house and other household goods. He said when his accomplices had come to help him, they were thrashed by the mob, who were presently under medical treatment. The police, however, has booked six persons, including Balwinder Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Joga Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Manpreet Singh and Jaswinder Singh under various sections of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and the IPC on the statement of Additional SDO of PSEB, Humbran office. SHO Dharam Paul said the accused, without any permission, had uprooted two electricity poles and disrupted electricity supply to certain houses. However, no arrest has been made so far.
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Mill worker killed in accident
Machhiwara, September 15 Narinder was coming back from bus stand after seeing off his brother. He was walking back towards Malwa Mill when a scooter coming from the opposite direction hit him. He sustained serious injuries and was rushed to the Machhiwara civil hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. The scooter driver fled the scene, leaving behind his two-wheeler. The police took the body in its possession. After conducting the post-mortem, the body was handed over to relatives of the deceased.
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