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Patiala MC for reimposing octroi
Patiala, October 3 In the wake of the fact that octroi generated a major part of the revenue of the civic body and was practically the backbone of its financial health, municipal functionaries are of the opinion that abolition of octroi had adversely affected the development works in the city. Now, to discuss the issue at length to generate a consensus, the said matter would come up for discussion in the coming general house meeting of the civic body. Notably, in order to impress the urban vote bank during its fag end, Capt Amarinder Singh’s government abolished octroi. Though the said decision benefited the trader and industrialist, but adversely affected the revenue generation of the municipal bodies across the state. In Patiala, octroi used to generate revenue amounting to about Rs 20 crore annually. Though to ensure that abolition of octroi does not adversely affects the fiscal health of municipal bodies, the Congress government had announced that octroi would be compensated by segregation of VAT revenue into municipal development fund. However, contrary to the claims, Patiala MC never got full compensation of the octroi revenue. Speaking to The Tribune, Kohli said income from octroi was Rs 1.5 crore per month but the compensation given from the VAT funds was Rs 1.25 crore per month. “Octroi income used to increase every year but the diversion of the VAT funds is fixed and has not been revised ever since octroi was abolished in 2006,” he disclosed. The Mayor also pointed out that during the past few years the area under the Patiala MC had increased and if octroi was re-imposed, the revenue collection would be much high, as compared to the past. Kohli also said the issue would be tabled in the coming general house meeting of the MC, which was likely to be convened within a week’s time. Though MC officials were not willing to comment on the issue for obvious reasons, preferring anonymity, a senior MC functionary said, “Doing away with octroi had proved to be fatal and disastrous for the corporation. The move was ill-advised and had spelled a disaster for development works in Patiala.” When contacted, Senior Deputy Mayor Anil Bajaj also admitted that abolition of octroi had a negative effect on the revenue generation of the MC. “In my opinion, if the government does not want to re-impose octroi, then VAT instalment should be increased and made equivalent to what we used to get from octroi,” he asserted. Many other councillors expressed similar views. |
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Colleges must realise importance of coaches
Patiala, October 3 There may be various reasons behind this and one of them certainly is the lack of coaches at various schools and colleges. The successive governments have been ignoring the importance of sports at various levels and as a result the state suffers at various national meets. Even Punjabi University, Patiala, that has recently become the “Best Sports University” in the country by winning the coveted Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy for the second time in a row for 2007-2008 is not untouched by this problem. The MAKA Trophy is given mainly to the overall winners in the All-India Inter-University Tournaments, as these tournaments are very integral part of sports in universities and colleges and also play a very important role in supplying talent to the country. Various city colleges affiliated to the university are short of physical education lecturers or many of them are on ad-hoc basis since years. Government Bikram College of Commerce, Patiala, is one such college that does not has even a single physical education lecturer. Sources revealed that earlier they had a lecturer but during rationalisation the post was shifted for a simple reason that physical education was not taught in the college. Not only Bikram College players have participated in various inter-college tournaments but also won few of them. Recently, the college girls won the Inter-College Table Tennis Tournament. Forget their proper training, they do not even have a sports teacher to accompany them during the tournaments and this undoubtedly affects talented sportspersons. Similarly, Physical College, Patiala, one of the top sports colleges of the region, has a number of ad-hoc lecturers. Though there is an immediate need of permanent staff in the college, the government is not paying attention in this regard. While lack of staff is a problem, another is the lack of accountability. There are certain colleges that despite having good facilities are not contributing enough towards the uplift of sports. The director (sports), Punjabi University, Dr Rajkumar Sharma, feels that the government must keep a track of the performance of the coaches as well. “The government must time and again reward good coaches and also pull up the defaulters who are not working up to the mark. It is the responsibility of a coach to encourage his players for better performance.” Government College for Girls has the best infrastructure in the Malwa region but as far as sports are concerned, they do not have major achievements to their credit. |
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Unuauthorised parking outside
hotels
Patiala, October 3 MC Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang said it had been brought to his notice that most hotels in the town had been using municipal land for parking of vehicles of visitors to the hotels. He said it had been decided to launch a campaign against unauthorised parking outside leading hotels in the city. The campaign would be launched in a few days and vehicles unauthorisedly parked outside hotels would be toed away. Most hotels located in the vicinity of Leela Bhawan, the upmarket shopping area of the city, have converted their basements into eateries even as these have been marked parking lots in the building plan approved by the municipal corporation. However, building plans have been flouted and hotel owners have conveniently converted basements into eateries. With no parking area left on the the premises of hotels, vehicles are parked on the municipal land outside hotels. The hotels have thus saved land by changing the land use from parking lots to dinning halls. This has enhanced their seating capacity without having to pay for it. Haphazard parking outside hotels causes inconvenience to general public. Frequent traffic blockades are caused due to parking of scores of vehicles outside hotels. The problem gets aggravated in the evening when the volume of traffic on the roads increases and the number of vehicles parked outside the hotels rises. Sources in the municipal corporation said notices were issued periodically to erring hotels until a few years ago but owners used their political clout and no follow-up action was taken thereafter. The situation has remained the same ever since. Narang said he was aware of the inconvenience that the unauthorised parking of vehicles outside hotels was causing to public. He, however, said he wasn’t sure if the building plan approved for most of these hotels had shown basements as parking places. He would look into the matter and take necessary action if violations were found, he added.
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Patiala civic body to empower gaushalas
Patiala, October 3 Finance and Accounts Committee of the corporation has constituted an 11-member committee with representatives from different gaushalas and authorised them to ensure that the stray cattle from the city streets are taken to gaushalas and fed and looked after properly. The corporation would in return give the committee a monthly grant of Rs 50,000 for six months only so that the cattle are taken care of properly. Municipal corporation Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang said here today that the Sanauri Adda gaushala, for which the then Congress MP Preneet Kaur had given a grant of Rs 20 lakh, had been lying closed and now it had been decided to make it functional. This gaushala has a capacity to lodge 150 cattle and it had been decided that the 11-member panel would send stray cattle to this gaushala and when this was full to its capacity, more cattle from city roads would be sent to the other five gaushalas already running in the city. He said there were hundreds of stray cattle on the city roads and they had become a nuisance to the residents, especially to scooterists and car drivers, as they posed a serious traffic hazard having caused many fatal accidents. Narang said the deputy director of the animal husbandry department and the health officer of the municipal corporation had been made ex-officio members of this committee so that they could ensure proper medical care for the cattle. The Finance and Accounts Committee meeting was attended among others by city Mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli, Senior Deputy Mayor Anil Bajaj, Deputy Mayor Sunita Devi and councillor Amarinder Singh. |
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Saras Mela
Ropar, October 3 Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema, chief adviser to the Chief Minister, Punjab, was the chief guest. Addressing audience, he said the fair had provided a golden opportunity for artisans as well as self-help groups to market their products directly without involving any kind of middlemen. Besides this, the adjudging committee was formed to adjudge talent during the talent hunt show to be held on October 7. Out of 43 applicants, 14 were selected to perform bhangra, group dance, dandiya and choreography. The cultural evening would open a window to various cultural ethos. Also regional dances would be held depicting various state dances such as kalbeliya dance, barsana ki holi and dandiya. During the Saras Mela, around 200 artisans from 25 different states have come with their creations, including metal work, Madhubani paintings, shawls, carpets, food court, leather and cloth bags, honey, ayurvedic medicines, soap, jute items, etc. The fair would continue till October 12.
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7,000 new streetlights to be installed
Patiala, October 3 While making an announcement in this regard here today, Mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli said continuing with the civic body’s tradition of doing something good during the festival season, Patiala MC had decided to make all streetlights in the city functional. “Diwali being festival of lights - we have decided that streetlights in every nook and corner of city must glow. More than 7,000 new streetlight points in city are being installed. The exercise was initiated almost a month back and it will be completed in few days,” disclosed the Mayor. He added that four teams had been constituted to identify the non-functional streetlight points, so that the same could be made functional before Diwali. |
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Selja turns focus on HMT’s survival
Kalka, October 3 The MP was here to canvass for Congress candidate Satvinder Rana. She said she would discuss the matter with the Prime Minister. She said the Congress would come to power with full majority, as the party had always kept its promises and delivered the best. She urged residents to cast votes for Satvinder Rana. Om Parkash Devi Nagar, Ajmer Singh, Achhru Ram, Gurdial Singh Bargodam and SS Nanda were present on the occasion. |
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New industrial policy soon, says Kalia
Fatehgarh Sahib, October 3 He had come to attend a yearly event at Mata Chakreshwary temple in Sirhind. He blamed the Congress government for not initiating any projects during its tenure thereby resulting in power cuts. He said efforts were on to start thermal power projects in the next few years to make the state surplus in power. A few local politicians and Sirhind MLA Didar Singh Bhatti were also present on the occasion. |
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Diamond jubilee celebrated
Ambala, October 3 The regiment was raised in Nasirabad on August 22, 1949, and had participated in all major operations. In the series of events conducted during the celebration, 144 Air Defence Regiment had concluded its show with the release of the first day cover on Saturday. After the first day cover release ceremony the Director General interacted with retired officers, JCOs and officers of other ranks. |
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80 examined at diabetes camp
Patiala, October 3 Aggarwal explained about the ill effects of diabetes on health. During the camp, blood sugar of around 80 persons was also checked free of cost.
— TNS
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Gang of con men busted; two held
Chandigarh, October 3 The kingpin, Ranjit Singh, who used to purchase cars on loans without repaying them, was arrested from Sector 17 yesterday. Following investigations, he revealed the name of Vishal, who used to make fake registration cards for Ranjit’s vehicles. Vishal was arrested today. Acting on a tip-off, the police had set up a checkpoint at Sector 17 and arrested Ranjit, driving a Bolero (CH 04 C 8073), near the football stadium, the police said. The police said Ranjit was a resident of Sector 68, Mohali. He was found in possession of a .32 bore pistol along with five live cartridges and a fake permanent account number (PAN) card. Giving details, inspector Kuldeep Singh said: “The accused was involved in some fraud cases and had defaulted on payment of installments of vehicles that he had purchased on finance money on producing fake identity.” The inspector added that the accused had forged documents in the name of Ramesh Kumar with a fake address (house No. 309 Sector 23). A case under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC and various sections of the Arms Act has been registered at the police station-11. Vishal is also learnt to have made a pad bearing fake letterhead of the SHO, Sector 17. Meanwhile, Ranjit was produced in a local court, which remanded him in two-day police custody.
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Son booked for kidnapping
Mohali, October 3 Last night, Gagandeep Singh, son of the woman, came armed along with his friends and forcibly took her away. A case has been registered at Mohali.
One more held in murder case
After the arrest of Lalit Sharma and Kuljinder Singh Saini, the two suspects in a year-old case of murder of a 25-year-old ice-cream vendor, Sunil Kumar, the police today arrested the third suspect, Goldy, who was remanded to two-day police custody. The assailants had beaten the victim to death in Phase VIII here on August 22, last year.
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Woman robbed of valuables
Chandigarh, October 3 Vimla Malhotra of Sector 40 alleged that two persons robbed her of three gold bangles, two gold earrings and two gold rings from her near temple of Sector 40 after she was knocked unconscious by the intoxicants last evening. A case under Section 328, 379 and 323 of the IPC has been registered at police station-39.
Theft
Thieves decamped with Rs 20,000, two watches, two gold rings and one mobile phone from a house at Burail village here Thursday
night. Jaspal Singh reported to the police that some unidentified person stole the valuables from his house on the night of October 1. A case of theft has been registered at the police station-34.
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Harmeet Kahlon eyes US PGA Tour
Chandigarh, October 3 His stint in the US Gateway Tour in August when he finished 14th at Troon North Phoenix, Arizona, and his five top-10 finishes on the PGTI Tour, have given the seasoned city golfer the confidence to make it to the second qualifying stage which will get him the nation-wide card to play in the USA. Harmeet, who turned 39 on September 15, finished second in the Amby Valley Players Championship where he finished with an 11 under par tally, including an eight-under 64 course record in the second round. In the US Gateway Tour in Arizona the city golfer finished with an eight under score to occupy the 14th place. Harmeet, who remained the amateur champion of the country from 1991 to 98 and was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1997, feels he is getting back into shape after struggling with his form in the last two years, when he failed to get the full Asian Tour card. He credits his return to form to his Florida-based British coach Jonathan Yarwood. "Everytime I meet Jonathan I come back with a lot of confidence. Going to Florida means a lot of money, so now I am in touch with him for regular internet lessons." After the Indian Open at Gurgaon Harmeet will fly to the USA for a five-day stint with his coach, mentor and guide in Florida before the Texas qualifying tournament. “The coach repeatedly told me that I am too technical. His advice was that I have to get out of it. And that is what I have done I am not more field-oriented,” he added. He agreed that golf "is a mind game". "Too much stress can spoil the game. Besides, you tend to bring home that stress and frustration. That is what was happening to me,” Harmeet added. But today, as he embarks on his US Tour mission, Harmeet is a changed man. He claims to have overcome that stress. "Thanks to my wife, Shalini, who got in touch with mental trainer Pradeep Aggarwal. And then Pradeep himself suggested the name of Florida-based Ernest Sollivan, who is a virtual master mental trainer.” The lessons brought back that confidence. The stints with Grade A national coach Jessie Grewal also came handy when he had sessions at the CGA Golf Academy with the help of the Samputt lab. Once Harmeet makes it through the first qualifying stage, he will get through the second US PGA Tour qualifying stage, either in Texas or Florida, which will get him the nation-wide card to play in the US. His wife and son are all set to go with him for the second-stage qualifying round. Harmeet said his driving and putting were perfect. "But yes I have to make improvements in the chipping and wedge play" for which he puts in almost six hours every day at the CGA Golf Range and the greens of the Chandigarh Golf Club. |
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Arif clinches gold in karate
Chandigarh, October 3 Pankaj of Chandigarh emerged as winner in the 60 to 65 kg category. Mandeep (Vasant Valley) and Vikram (Stepping Stones) got silver and bronze medals, respectively. St Soldier’s International School, Sector 28, dominated the 25 to 30 kg category as they won all first three positions. Lalit, Amrit Yadav and Sukhbir finished in that order. Akhil of Ankur School, Panjab University, and Sukhbir were jointly declared third. Rizul of Government Model School, Sector 16, secured the first position in the 40 kg and above class. Lakhin of Sacred Heart School of Moga bagged the first position in 36 to 40 kg class. Results: 45 to 50 kg: Arif (Stepping Stone-37) 1, Satwinder (Shivalik Convent, Banur) 2 and Akash (Govt HS-38) 3; girls 25 to 30 kg: Manpreet Kaur 1, Shwetpreet 2, Kamalpreet (all Shivalik Convent, Banur) 3; 20 to 25 kg: Rajan Yadav (St Soldier’s International-28) 1, Himanshu Sharma (St Soldier’s-28) 2, Karan Partap Pal (St Soldier’s-28) 3; 40 kg and above: Rizul (Govt Model-16) 1, Sharansh Roy (LBR-15) and Arpan Jain (Shivalik Convent, Banur) 2; 36-40 kg: Lakhin (Sacred Heart Moga) 1, Aditya Dua (SH Moga) 2 and Gurpartap (Shemrock Christan Ludhiana) 3; girls up to 20 kg: Ananya 1, Aliya (both Strawberry Fields) 2, Jasmeet (Stepping Stones-37) 3; 21 to 25 kg: Kiranjot (Ryan International) 1, Mehak (St Soldier’s-28) 2 and Pragya Bhatt (St Soldier’s) 3; 25 to 30 kg: Lalit 1, Amrit Yadav 2 and Sukhbir (all (St Soldier’s-28) and Akhil (Ankur School, PU) 3; 25 to 30 kg: Sherry 1, Kuljeet (both Vasant Valley) 2, Sangrur) and Ashwinder Bhatt (AKSIPS, Mohali) 3; 60 to 65 kg: Pankaj (Chandigarh) 1, Mandeep (Vasant Valley, Sangrur) 2 and Vikram (Stepping Stones-37) 3. |
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St Soldier’s school shine in athletics meet
Chandigarh, October 3 Results: 5,000 m for under-19 (boys): Satinder Singh, Mata Sahib Kaur, Mohali, Vinod, SD Academy, Anandpur Sahib, and Mohit, DPS Shimla; discuss throw for under-19 (girls): Sonam Malik, St Soldier’s International School-28, Reima Chokey, CS for Tibetan, Dalhousie, and Tenzin Gyatzon, CST Shimla; discuss throw for under-16 (girls): Simran, DAV, Sweta Chandel, Alpine School, Nalagarh, and Tenzin, CS for Tibetan, Shimla; shot put for under-19 (boys): Tejvir Singh, SA Jain School, Ambala, Kultej, DAV-15, Chandigarh, and Karanbir Singh, GNPS-36, Chandigarh; 4 x 100 relay race for under-19 (boys): 4 x 100 relay race for under-19 (boys): St Soldier’s International School-28, Chandigarh, DAV Public School-15, Chandigarh, and SAS Academy, Ropar; 4 x 400 relay race for under-19 (boys): DAV-15, Chandigarh, St Soldier’s International School-28, Chandigarh and Laurence Public School, Mohali; 4 x 100 relay race for under-19 (girls): St Soldier’s International School-28, Chandigarh, Eicher Public School, Parwanoo, and Chapslee School, Shimla; 200 m for under-14 (girls): Kananda, Sophia Convent School, Kalka, Mrinal Thakur, DAV school, Mandi, Urvashi, DAV School, Mehatpur; 200 m for under-14 (boys): Jay Prakash, VK Public School, Baddi, Manoj Dagar, RM School, Chail and Harshpreet Singh, SD Academy, Anandpur Sahib; 200 m for under-16 (girls): Varsha Sharma, St Soldier’s International School-28, Chandigarh, Saranjeet, Laureute Public School, Shimla and Alisha, Bhavan Vidyaylaya-15, Panchkula; 200 m for under-16 (boys): Simranjeet Singh, St Soldier’s International School-28, Chandigarh, Mohit, GNMPS, Paonta Sahib and Rajat, MIA DAV, Mehatpur; 200 m for under 19 (girls): Puneet Kumar, St Soldier’s International School-28, Chandigarh, Manjeet Nain, DAV-15, Chandigarh and Jasneet Rana, Alpine school, Nalagarh; 200 m for under-19 (boys): Avinash, DAV-15, Chandigarh, Ashish, St Soldier’s International School-28, Chandigarh and Sandeep, SAS Academy, Ropar. |
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Boxing meet on Oct 10, 11
Chandigarh, October 3 All sub-junior men boxers born after 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 can participate in the weight categories between 30 kg to + 80 kg. There could be a maximum of 14 members in one team. While, in the sub-junior women section, women boxers born in 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996 (13 in one team) in the same weights, as of the men's categories, are eligible to participate. The entries may be sent to CABA at 3122, Sector 46-C on the letterhead of the institution by giving name, class, roll no and weight/age group of the boxers before October 9. |
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Volunteers given training
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 3 National secretary and returning officer SN Sharma said the decision was taken to prepare volunteers for the Commonwealth Games, which would be held in Delhi in 2010. National president of Hindustan Scouts and Guides Ravinder Talwar welcomed all guests. Haresh Bhatt, Makbool Ahmed, Nirmala, Mutthu Kumar, Vinod Kumar, Jaspal Singh, Prem Puri, Shivman Tinni, Asif Ali Khan and Dr Arvind Kumar were present on the occasion.
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Sports meet concludes
Chandigarh, October 3 The three-day sports meet was conducted on a league-cum-knock out basis. About 31 teams comprising around 370 students from 29 KVs of Chandigarh region participated in the athletics meet. KV (Rohtak), KV (Sector 47) and KV No.2 (Halwara) clinched gold medals in kho-kho, volleyball and kabaddi, respectively. |
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Vidushi bags two golds
Chandigarh, October 3 |
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Wrestler to be honoured today
Zirakpur, October 3 |
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