Ludhiana, December 15
Handing over the responsibility of action in the fake bill scam to the Municipal Commissioner, the core committee of the MC today decided that action against guilty officials and contractors would be taken as per rules.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura said it had been decided that he would be writing to Municipal Commissioner AK Sinha to take procedural action.

Upholding the report by Additional Commissioner KP Brar which had indicted three contractors and over a dozen MC officials, the Mayor said: “It is shocking that the scam may run into crores. About Rs 75 lakh payment has been made to contractors Varinder Kumar, Sunny and Kulbir Singh and fake bills of over Rs 1 crore are already with the MC. Fortunately, the contractors have not been able to draw payments against these bills.”

He said officials from the audit and accounts branch were the primary accused and it was their responsibility to not release the payment without going through the records.

SE Arun Sharma was also an accused, along with junior engineers whose measurement books, which were quoted for allowing payments, were missing from the office.

On the departmental inquiry initiated by the CVO, the Mayor said: “The MC would take action according to its report and as far as the local bodies’ probe is concerned, they would decide their own course of action.”

Ludhiana, December 15
Greed for dowry reportedly claimed another life when Brij Bala (22), alias Mamta, succumbed to her burns at the CMCH here last night.

Mamta had married Tarnjeet Singh of Fatehganj Mohalla at Shimlapuri eight months ago. The couple had eloped and tied the knot without the consent of their families.

Mamta was admitted to the hospital on December 12 with severe burns after she was allegedly set afire by her in-laws.

They, however, claimed that she had committed suicide by immolating herself. Her husband was also admitted to the hospital with minor burns on his arm. He was discharged after a day.

However, a friend of Mamta’s family alleged that she was burnt to death by her in-laws who used to harass her for dowry. “On at least two occasions, her parents, who are poor, had sent household items to her in-laws,” he stated.

He added that Tarnjeet was aware of the treatment being meted out to her by his parents and his elder brother and wife, but he never intervened.

Mamta’s father Balkar Singh, who runs a tea stall, said: “Mamta was badly beaten up on Friday night by her in-laws and again the next morning. We were later informed that she had poured kerosene and immolated herself.”

He added that when Mamta was taken to the hospital by her in-laws, her family was not even allowed to meet her. “Tarnjeet pleaded in front of us not to file any case against him for harassment and Mamta was pressured to give a false statement of attempt to suicide,” he alleged.

The police has booked the victim’s father-in-law Raghbir Singh, mother-in-law Balbir Kaur and brother-in-law Vipan on Mamta’s complaint.

Following her death, her family staged a protest outside the Daba police station today, demanding the immediate arrest of Vipan, who is absconding.

Ludhiana, December 15
Taking note of the treatment of swine flu cases at the DMCH, the district health authorities are planning to report the matter to the department authorities at Chandigarh.

District epidemiologist GP Mangla alleged that the staff and doctors at the DMCH deputed for the swine flu wing had failed to follow safety measures recommended by the ministry of health and family welfare.

“Looking at the gravity of the situation and increase in swine flu patients, it is mandatory to report about every suspected case coming to the hospital, but the DMCH is indulging in unlawful activity by sending patients to other hospitals,” the epidemiologist alleged. The body of a resident of Mandi Ahmedgarh, who died of swine flu on December 10 at the DMCH, was sent to the Civil Hospital without being wrapped in a plastic sheet or a bag, which was against the recommendations of the ministry.

Dr Mangla claimed that in another incident, the hospital authorities even tried to conceal the death of a swine flu patient. Such an act could endanger the lives of the contacts of the patient if they were not administered preventive medicine at the earliest, Dr Mangla said.

Dr Sandeep Puri, medical superintendent at the DMCH, said the hospital was doing its best to treat swine flu patients under the given circumstances. The patients were being kept in isolation and all necessary measures were being taken from the time of their admission until the discharge.

Ludhiana, December 15
Students were again affected with all 2,880 Punjab School Education Board affiliated schools in the state remaining closed today as a ‘mark of protest’ by school authorities following the disaffiliation of 187 city schools affiliated to the board last week. All PSEB affiliated schools in the city as well as those on its periphery registered nil attendance today on the first day of the protest.

Schools and college students have been the worst hit by social, political and administrative lapses in the recent past that led to educational institutions being shut for days. Their troubles began with the violent incidents that rocked Ludhiana earlier this month, with the administration imposing a curfew throughout the city.

The protest by the Association of PSEB Affiliated Schools of Punjab has only aggravated the problems of the students who have gone through the uncertainty following the closure of their institutions during the curfew, postponement of examinations and cancellation of important events and functions.

With internal exams beginning this week in most schools and over ten days' holidays coming up during Christmas-New Year, students have missed out on crucial time that could have been spent in classes learning and clearing doubts with teachers. However, their main grievance - as also that of their parents - is the repeated closure of schools, colleges and universities. This has left the students with insufficient time to prepare for the ongoing term and internal exams as well as those coming up next month.

"Social unrest has taken a severe toll on studies this month, which is the most crucial time of the year for students, especially those studying in board classes and universities. I don’t how they will make up for the lost time. This will definitely affect the final results of many students," said a worried SK Sharma, a local schoolteacher.

Agreeing with him, Sanjeevani, an engineering student of a local college, remarked, "Our semester examinations had to be postponed twice due to the violence earlier this month. With such a lot of disturbance it’s impossible to concentrate on studies."

Voicing the concerns of her fellow students, Sanjeevani added this was the second time during the year when examinations had been postponed. "We’re scared our final grades will go down, affecting our overall result at the end of our degree programs," she rued.

Ludhiana, December 15
Punjab’s industrial and commercial capital is likely to be connected by air to other cities in the country very soon, according to local Congress MP Manish Tewari, who is also the All India Congress Committee’s national spokesman. He was speaking after having led a delegation of eminent city residents to meet Air India chairman & managing director Arvind Jadhav in New Delhi yesterday. The meeting was also attended by the airline’s director, Abha Shukla.

Tewari said although the state government had not evinced much interest in augmenting facilities at the Ludhiana airport like expanding its runway for safe landing and takeoff of bigger planes, Jadhav had assured the delegation the airline would explore the possibility of operating smaller aircraft for the time being so that the city is linked by air services.

He said the Air India chief had pointed out whether operating flights from the city would be financially viable was also very important. He told Tewari the Punjab government had not taken the necessary measures that would facilitate smooth operation of flights.

Tewari asserted the state government had been sitting over the proposal to expand the runway for a long time. “When I had earlier raised the issue with Jet Airways it had also expressed its inability to operate flights on the Ludhiana route since the airport lacked proper landing facilities due to short runways. Besides, there was no facility for night landing at the city airport”, he added.

Putting up a strong case for air connectivity for the state’s business hub, the MP stated the World Bank had adjudged Ludhiana as one of the prospective destinations for business. “The city is a major industrial centre accounting for a huge production of hosiery goods, garments, bicycles and parts and auto components that are supplied not only to the domestic but also the overseas market. At the same time the city also has a huge tourism and educational potential”, he added.

"Hundreds of people travel daily to and from Delhi and other parts of the country and they feel handicapped as they have to either take flights from Delhi or Chandigarh. In case there is a direct flight between Ludhiana and Delhi, and other metro cities at a later date, it will save a lot of time for everybody including the businessmen and entrepreneurs. Even students who fly out of the state can have direct access without needing to go to Delhi or Chandigarh," Tewari said.

Besides the MP members of the delegation included Romy Chhabra, Rakesh Nayar, DB Rao, Dagar, Pawan Dewan, Raman Kumar Subramanium, Ashwani Garg and Gurdeep Singh Ahluwalia.

Ludhiana, December 15
Bridging the cultural divide, a large number of migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have not only made the city their permanent home but some have also converted to the Sikh faith, embracing its tenets wholeheartedly.

Gainda Lal, who changed his name to Avtar Singh at the Singh Sabha gurdwara in Jwaddi eight years ago, said life has become “much smoother” after his conversion. “I decided to become a ‘Gursikh’ after I started going to the Prabhu Sadan Kender of the Singh Sabha gurdwara. It was a pleasure for me to keep ‘kesh’, ‘kanghi’, ‘kara’, ‘kirpan’ and ‘kachera; like every other ‘Gursikh’”, he added.

Originally a native of Agra, Avtar, who is now a scrap dealer in Punjabi Bagh, Ludhiana, goes to the gurdwara daily and also recites ‘Gurbani’ without fail. His belief in Sikhism has enabled him to overcome a major obstacle - language “I can fully understand Punjabi and, through my constant efforts, I’m able to partially speak and read it now,” said Avtar.

Similarly, Narottam Singh and Ganesh Singh from Ferozabad in Uttar Pradesh have also given up their old names, Mahesh and Ganesh, as they are happy with their new identities. The migrants have contributed in the commercial ventures undertaken in the city over the past three decades as is evident from the number of them working in small as well as big industries in Ludhiana. Thus it would be wrong to dissociate them from the social, cultural and religious fabric of the city, the duo opined.

Doing ‘sewa’ at a gurdwara and attending all the religious congregations like Punjabi Sikhs has become part of their routine. However, these migrants have not forced their family members to follow in their footsteps.

Shamsher Singh, a worker at a factory at Focal Point, says religion is a matter of personal choice. “We still prefer our children get married within our ‘biradari’ in Bihar as we don’t want to lose all ties with our native land. However, after they get married the children are free to decided whether they want to a gurdwara or a temple,” Shamsher added.

Ludhiana, December 15
In a relief to thousands of taxpayers of the Ludhiana commissionerate, a new web-based and work-flow software application — Automation of Central Excise and Service Tax (ACES) — has been launched that will enable taxpayers to get details online without the need to make rounds of the offices of the central excise and service taxes.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs, New Delhi, has prepared the software, which was formally launched here today.

PK Sirohi, chief commissioner of customs, central excise and service tax, Chandigarh zone, released the software.

Several trade associations, large-scale industrial houses, leading service tax payers, export promotion council, furnace/fasteners associations, etc. would benefit from the facility, said Charanjit Singh, commissioner, central and service tax, here.

He added that the software would help in registration of central excise and service tax assessees, filing of central excise and service tax intimations, returns and their scrutiny, filing and processing of refunds claims, filing of export documents and electronic resolution of disputes, requests for provisional assessment and electronic tracking of documents.

According to data available with the department, there were 1,716 excise taxpayers and 15,772 service taxpayers in Ludhiana commissionerate.

With the new software, all tax assessees, including industrial manufacturers and service providers like telecom companies, insurance companies, stock brokers, hotels, chartered accountants etc in Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur, Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts of Punjab falling under the Ludhiana commissionerate would be directly benefitted since they would be able to interact online with the department.

“They can file their declarations, claims and returns online and monitor the progress of same online itself,” said Charanjit Singh.

Ludhiana, December 15
The Centre, in its last tenure, had decided to enforce job reservation in the private sector, which was dropped after strong opposition by the industry. This time again, the government had been trying to impose similar decisions on the industry, which were not agreeable to the latter.

The president of the Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry, PD Sharma, said under the garb of the public-private partnership concept, the government wanted to thrust the employment of reserved categories in the corporate sector.

People from reserved categories would be trained by the government at its own expenses. It would force the corporate sector to employ them in industry. Such reservation would render the corporate sector weaker.

Industrialists felt that labour laws were defective in the country. Hire-and-fire would not be allowed under labour laws. Once a person was employed, it would be difficult to get rid of him despite inefficiencies.

Sharma added that the government wanted to thrust corporate social responsibility on the industry. The government already had a policy in place, under which public sector undertakings were required to shell out up to 2 per cent of their net profit towards corporate social work.

The proposed scheme related to education, sustainable projects, housing and health. The government intended to cater to the catchment area of the corporate sector.

It was obvious that the government wanted the industry to extend these facilities to the target group.

This indirectly meant job reservation.

The proposed corporate social work was an allurement to oblige the government, said Manish Ghavri, a businessman from Mandi Gobindgarh. He added that this way, the government wanted to thrust its political agenda on the industry by way of reservation and certain sections of industry could misuse this activity in connivance with the government authorities.

Sharma said the government had allegedly showered heavy benefits on some companies. Jharkhand was an example of misuse of authority. The mineral wealth of the country was being looted by a few.

The poorest district, Bellary in Karnataka, contributed around 20 per cent of the country’s iron ore production. The district had the largest number of registered private aircraft, but it was ranked third last in Karnataka’s human development index. The proposal could be misused to shower undue favours and was nothing but interference of the government in industry, he said.

Ludhiana, December 15
Officials and employees of public sector banks will go on a daylong strike on December 16 on a call given by the All India Bank Employees’ Association and the All India Bank Officers’ Association.

The bank employees are demanding fulfilment of commitments made before the deputy chief labour commissioner, scrapping the proposals for closure of State Bank of Indore, closure of associate banks, consolidation of public sector banks and banking sector reforms.

Secretary, Punjab Bank Employees’ Federation, Naresh Gaur said in a statement here yesterday that there were repeated reports in the media attributed to the government and bank managements that nationalised banks will go in for merger and consolidation.

Even the names of some of the banks were doing rounds as prospective and possible targets of take over by some of the big nationalised banks.

“The rationale behind such proposals of mergers defy logic, leave alone the advantages that would arise on account of such mergers at a time when the world over it is the experience that big banks are not necessarily strong banks. There have been numerous instances when a number of so-called big banks have collapsed overnight like a pack of cards,” he said.

Gaur claimed that the Indian public sector banks were uniquely placed in the global banking scenario and they had greatly contributed to economic development of the country in the last four decades since nationalisation.

Their role in social lending on priority basis had been phenomenal.

“If the banks are consolidated and made as huge financial institutions for the sake of financing of corporate needs, social lending will become the first casualty,” he said.

On the proposed closure of associate banks, he said the State Bank of India (SBI) wanted to dissolve the associate banks and acquire them. In the case of the State Bank of Indore, the management had proposed a scheme, which would result in the dissolution of the bank and acquisition of the assets and liabilities by the SBI.

The fate, future and service conditions of the employees and officers will be left at the mercy of the SBI management post merger.

Making a strong case against closure of associate banks and consolidation of PSBs, Gaur asked the government and the bank managements to tread with caution.

He said contribution of the PSBs had been commendable in the last four decades, but developing economy as well as people of the country needed further acceleration of the role of banks to achieve a faster growth accompanied by progress of the basic segments of the economy like agriculture, small and medium industry.

All-round growth in basic segments alone with the required assistance by PSBs will play a catalytic role in addressing issues like more employment, poverty-alleviation, rural development, greater contribution of agriculture to GDP, employment of women and other weaker sections of the society, he added.

Ludhiana, December 15
Though the industry has been raising a hue and cry over the labour loss following ‘atrocities’ by the police in incidents of violence in the recent past, the farming community believes that it may face problems initially, but in the long run, more Punjabi labourers will be hired by agriculturists, which will be a good step.

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, president of the Bharti Kisan Union, said they condemned the recent incidents of violence in the city.

He added that the migrant population had been contributing immensely to the growth of industry in Punjab in general and Ludhiana in particular.

Many of their demands were justified, but at the same time, damaging public property by migrants and attacking police officials or Punjabis was not justified, he stated.

“The state government should learn a lesson from the recent incidents. Migrant labourers should be issued identity cards by the government so that the guilty are punished. It is actually a two-sided problem. Many of them visit Punjab to loot and murder innocents and go back to their native villages. The police or the government can do nothing at times. If cards are issued to them, they can be held accountable,” he said.

Lakhowal added that labour from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar had been putting in its share in agriculture, but farmers were not entirely dependent on them.

He said if farmers here lost migrant labourers, the services of the unemployed Punjabi youth would be utilised for farming in villages.

“Our own people will be able to get work and earn livelihood,” he said. Gurdit Singh, a farmer from Lalton village, said migrant workers had started throwing tantrums in the recent past.

“They start demanding huge wages, especially in the paddy and wheat season. I feel that we must not be dependent on them alone. We have to look for better options ourselves,” he said.

Ludhiana, December 15
The festive spirit has gripped local residents these days, who are eagerly waiting for the arrival of Christmas and New Year Eve to celebrate those in style.

Christmas is widely celebrated by non-Christians here. Carol-singing and pre-celebrations have already been started by Christians.

Markets here are tastefully decorated with Christmas articles, including Christmas trees, balloons, Santa Claus masks, greeting cards, attractive gifts, chocolates, lights and multi-coloured stars.

Purchases are already on to avoid the last-minute rush. The festival has become a key sales period for retailers and businessmen here.

A teacher at a school being run by Christian missionaries has said celebrations are on among Sisters and teachers. Almost all Sisters go to one place or another after school for carol-singing and celebrations.

Happiness is writ large on the faces of those who gather for prayers. Several non-missionary schools have started celebrating the festival with children.

Dressed up as Santa Claus, Mother Mary or bear, tiny tots are welcomed by their teachers to enjoy the unforgettable moments. According to Jasnit Singh, a shopkeeper at the Sarabha Nagar, Christmas is celebrated with religious fervour by local residents, who have been purchasing gifts nowadays.

Many youngsters have placed orders for wine, cakes and pastries with shops. Decoration items are being purchased by parents for their school-going children. Compact discs of carols are also in demand.

Ludhiana, December 15
The Akhil Bhartiya Aggarwal Sammelan has charged the top Congress leadership in Punjab with instigating violence in the city recently. Addressing a press conference here last evening, state president of the body, Amrit Lal Aggarwal, alleged that the “Congress hand was more than visible” behind the violence against migrants and later during the confrontation between radical Sikh and Hindu bodies that led to the imposition of curfew.

He said Congress leaders in Punjab acted in an irresponsible manner by making a demand for President’s rule, ignoring the fact that the SAD-BJP government had lost no time in dealing with the situation with a firm hand and restoring normalcy in Ludhiana.

He alleged that former Punjab CM was also hobnobbing with certain Delhi Akali leaders to meddle in the SGPC elections and create division in the panthic ranks. “His own party leaders have taken a strong view, saying that he was acting in his individual capacity and the Congress had nothing to do with the SGPC elections,” he said.

Holding the UPA government responsible for the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, he said: “Why has the government not taken any action to check price rise and take hoarders to task.”

Ludhiana, December 15
Irked over the non-implementation of the recommendations of the Fifth Punjab Pay Commission, the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) has demanded a pay fixation formula for Punjab doctors at a par with those in Central services and an amendment in the notification on non-practising allowance (NPA).

Dr Hardeep Singh, state president of the PCMSA, in a press note issued here today, called for the early implementation of all remaining recommendations as well as a pay fixation formula and NPA so as to bring parity between state and Central doctors.

He said the general pay conversion formula had created confusion and chaos in pay fixation in new pay scales for doctors. During all previous pay conversions in Punjab and at the Centre, the separate new pay fixation formula was declared with complexity in pay fixation.

The Punjab government has not declared a formula for pay fixation in new pay scales of doctors. In the absence of a separate formula, doctors in Punjab had been suffering.

Dr Balwinder Kumar, general secretary of the association, elaborated on discrepancies in the recent notification on NPA by the Punjab government, pointing out that all previous notifications in this regard had taken into consideration the basic pay for calculation of the NPA.

Though the state government had promised the maintenance of parity with the Centre with regard to the NPA, the ambiguity in the notification had been causing financial losses to doctors. The PCMSA functionaries demanded the early implementations of all recommendation of the Fifth Punjab Pay Commission along with other pending demands.

These included grade pay of Rs 10,000 for doctors with 20-year service, higher qualification increments for specialists, rural area allowance of 6 per cent, health risk insurance, telephone allowance, children study allowance and recommended hike in conveyance allowance.

Ludhiana, December 15
A delegation led by Vidhan Sabha MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha held a meeting with officials of several departments at the Circuit House here today to understand problems in cleaning up water channels like the Sidhwan canal and the Buddha nullah.

According to sources, the MLA was apprised of various constraints which had been hampering cleaning and looking after of the water channels.

Officials from the irrigation department admitted that funds were a big constraint. Due to limited funding, it was tough to undertake work on a large scale.

Work had been left midway sometimes due to paucity of funds, said sources, adding that the department had been getting grants from the Centre only for planned work.

The officials alleged that the department was being given stepmotherly treatment. An official said cleaning was not taken up properly during the rainy season.

When flow in water channels increased, they were suddenly told to construct ‘dhussi bundhs’. The work had been suffering due to lack of planning.

The public did not care for orders passed under Section 144 not to throw anything in water, the officials rued.

Valtoha said the aim of the meeting was to discuss the status of water channels and pollution levels. He refused to comment on the proceedings of the meeting. He added that a committee had been constituted to inquire the matter. The delegation also visited the Sidhwan canal and the Buddha nullah.

Jagraon, December 15
The Congress is unhappy over the handling of public issues by the ruling SAD-BJP alliance, said Jasvir Singh Khangura, Congress legislator from Kila Raipur.

Referring to the recent violence in the Punjab Assembly, he said the Congress wanted to seek a clarification from the government, but SAD MLAs had reached the Assembly with the intention to distract the people as they were not in a position to answer queries.

He demanded that Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon step down over his involvement in the job-for-cash scam as he had been indicted by the CBI in the case.

He claimed that the SAD was not interested in public issues, alleging that the desire to rule was the deciding factor in their decisions.

Jagraon, December 15
Free ration was distributed among 62 needy families at the Jain Sthanak here today.

ETO DS Garcha distributed the ration and appreciated the initiative of the Shri Roop Chand Jain Sewa Society.

He said other associations should also come forward for the cause or join hands with the society.

The society has been distributing ration among the poor for the past few years.

Rakesh Jain and Mahaveer Jain, president and secretary of the society, said the ration distributed by them included necessary food items required by a family of four for a month. It included flour, cooking oil, pulses and other items of daily need.

Darshan Kaur, a beneficiary, expressed gratitude towards the office-bearers and members of the society and said the money earned by her husband was not enough to sustain their family.

Rakesh Jain said they started from distributing ration among 11 families and with the support of other members of the society, they were now distributing ration among 51 families.

He said they had set a target of sustaining at least 101 families.

Ludhiana, December 15
The district unit of the Revenue Patwar Union has threatened to launch an agitation if all assailants in the Manakwal incident are not arrested soon.

The suspects, including SAD activists, had allegedly thrashed Darshan Kumar, general secretary of the district unit of the union, over a week back due to old enmity.

Though the Sadar police registered an FIR against Kulwant Singh Neetu, son of a sarpanch, and his accomplice yesterday, none of them had been arrested yet.

Rupinder Singh Grewal and Karanjaspal Bangar, presidents of the east and west subdivision units of the union, said the district unit had called a meeting on Friday to decide the future course of action.

Accusing the administration of acting at the behest of certain political leaders, the union leaders alleged that the authorities had been trying to shield the suspects.

They regretted that the administration had failed to protect the independence of the rank and file in the revenue department.

The dharna was lifted on an assurance by the Deputy Commissioner to expedite action against the suspects.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 15
Showing concern over the deteriorating eyesight of children in general ad students in particular, Dr Rajesh Garg, an ophthalmic surgeon, has called upon management committees of educational institutions of the area to arrange routine a check-up drive to detect the problems at an early stage.

He has said major eye ailments, including myopia and hypermetropia, are caused due to malnutrition and lack of concern about eye care among people living in rural and suburban areas.

Referring to information collected during the examination of 200 persons at a recent camp, he has stated that a majority of patients ignore eye care, hygiene and nutrition.

Dr Garg has pointed out that a substantial number of them have been suffering from eye-related diseases.

Doraha, December 15
Affiliated schools all over Punjab remained closed today as a mark of protest against the Punjab School and had to obey the school authorities. While students were demoralised, their parents expressed resentment that schools kept their staff engaged and students were made to suffer.

Schools had remained closed earlier on account of the Punjab bandh and violence, due to which precious time of students was wasted for no fault of theirs, they rued.

They asked as to why students were being made scapegoats in the tussle between the school board authorities and school managements.

Some schools had even postponed mid-term examinations on account of the bandh call at a time when examinations were just round the corner, complained a guardian.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 15
Maintaining mobile phones seems to be a marriage of convenience for education officials, including district education officers (DEOs) and block primary education officers (BPEOs).

Besides not responding to queries from the general public, they are normally inaccessible to their seniors, too.

In an effort to avoid certain persons, including journalists, some officials avoid picking their phones themselves.

Instead, their servants or juniors put off callers by making false claims that the official is busy at some meeting. Taking serious note of the trend, the Sarav Sikhya Abhiyan authorities have directed officials to strictly implement directions regarding the use of mobile phones.

Investigations by Ludhiana Tribune have revealed that a majority of officials with the education department ignore directions of higher authorities regarding the use of mobile phones during and after working hours. Instead of being available to their colleagues, seniors and the public on mobile phones, officials attend to calls according to their whims.

A perusal of records has revealed that government authorities have observed that mobile phones are not being used by officials in the manner desired and have warned education officials against the misuse of phones for personal use.

“You are aware that all DEOs, BPEOs and co-ordinators of the ‘Parho Punjab’ project have been provided mobile phones. Its purpose is to collect and exchange information timely. It has been observed that mobiles are not being used properly. Changes in dial tones, failure of DEOs and BPEOs to keep phones with them and switching those off has caused difficulty to the office in collecting and exchanging of information,” reads a communication sent by the SSA project, Punjab, recently.

Ludhiana, December 15
Additional Sessions Judge Munish Singal has upheld the conviction of a truck driver Balbir Singh of Ghanuali village, Ropar, in an accident case. Dismissing the appeal, the court held that there was no infirmity in the order passed by the trial court while holding the accused guilty. Earlier, he was awarded of one and a half years sentence by the trial court on charge of killing a woman Sukhjit Kaur of Koom Khurd village, Sahnewal, by rash and negligent driving in 2006.

According to the prosecution, the woman was going with her husband on his scooter to Doraha. When they reached near Katani Sahib Gurdwara, the accused hit their scooter from the opposite side on February 23, 1998.

It was alleged that the accused was driving his truck rashly and negligently. The injured woman remained hospitalised in the local CMC hospital for a number of days. Later, she died. An FIR was registered on the basis of the statement recorded by her husband Sohan Singh at the Sahnewal police station under Section 279 and 304-A of the IPC. The accused had challenged decision of the trial court that there was a delay in lodging the FIR and that was implicated falsely. It was claimed that the prime prosecution witnesses were not made available for cross-examination.

But after appreciating the evidence, the appellate court held that the prosecution witnesses attended the trial court several times for cross-examination after recording their statements. But they were not cross-examined by the defence lawyer. The court held that the delay in lodging the FIR did not prove fatal, as the injured was not able to make statement as per the doctors’ opinion.

Ludhiana, December 15
In a keen tussle, hosts BCM Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh road, Ludhiana, prevailed over New Way Senior Secondary School, Lucknow, 29-23 to secure a berth in the quarterfinal on the third day of the CBSE National Basketball Championship girls’ (u-19) category played here today.

Reigning champions Mont Fort School, Delhi, along with Modern School, Kota (Rajasthan), Yugantar Public School, Rajnandgaon, IS Dev Samaj School, Chandigarh, Moti Lal Nehru Sports School, Sonepat, APS School, Noida, and Chettinad Vidyasharam, Chennai, recorded victories in their respective pool matches to join BCM in the last-eight stage.

BCM girls quelled a strong resistance from Lucknow players who made them struggle for each point. However, the local girls romped home victorious through a narrow margin (29-23).

For winners, Deepali and Vandana netted 12 and 10 points, respectively, while Sunaina scored eight points for Lucknow.

Mont Fort Public School, Delhi, thrashed Delhi Public School, Numaligarh, 53-11.

Manini and Chinmayee chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively, for winners, while Swagrama secured seven points for the losing team.

In another match, Modern School, Kota, outplayed New Era Senior Secondary School, Vadodara, 47-25.

The main contributor for the winners was Ishu with 20 points, while Divya with six points fought well for the losing side.

The match played between Moti Lal Nehru School, Sonepat, and Navcharna School, Vadodara, turned out to be a mismatch as the former came out winners quite easily 61-20.

In a seesaw battle, Yugantar Public School, Rajnandgaon, squeezed past SD Public School, Jagadhri, 37-35.

Priyanka with 14 points was the main scorer for the winners.

In a one-sided match, IS Dev Samaj School, Chandigarh, beat National Hill View Public School, Bangalore, 57-14 with main contributions coming through Sushma and Rani who scored 17 and 8 points, respectively.

Meanwhile, in boys’ matches played at BCM Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, Buddha Dal Public School, Patiala, beat Bhawan Vidya Mandir, Kochi, 37-21; The Indian High School, Dubai, beat Nehru Public School, Ghaziabad, 34-30; Giri Deepam Bethany School, Kottayam, beat Moti Lal Nehru School, Rai (Haryana); Army School, Bathinda, beat Navy Children School, Vishakapattnam, 38-33; Seedling Public School, Jaipur, beat Kazirunga School, Guwahati, 39-20; Bal Vidya Mandir School, Chennai, beat Nehru BB School, Ghaziabad, 36-17; DPS, Sharjah, beat DAV School, Jamshedpur, 44-17; Jain International School, Bangalore got walkover against Guru Nanak School, Bhilai; and St Paul School, Kota, got walkover against Centre Point School, Nagpur.