Ludhiana, January 29
Swinging into action against an illegal colony coming up at Giaspura, the MC today razed the brick-lined roads and the GLADA authorities ordered an inquiry into the matter.

Following a report carried in these columns today, both departments of the local bodies took the action. According to information, MTP Hemant Batra had directed ATP C-zone Nirmalpreet and his staff to demolish the structures that had come up. Due to the absence of infrastructure like JCB machines, the area inspectors employed labour and removed the brick lanes.

Batra said the MC would not allow the mushrooming of illegal colonies and the ATP would submit a report in this regard.

GLADA additional chief administrator Indu Malhotra said: “I have written to the SDO (regulatory) to inquire into the case and give me a report revealing all relevant facts."

Illegal colonies usually come at the behest of politicians who use residents of these areas as vote bank. During the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the SAD-BJP government had selected 216 colonies from over 1,000 unauthorised colonies to regularise them and provide them with basic infrastructure.

This burdened the MC which had to invest Rs 32.68 crore while colonisers, enjoying political mileage, did not pay even a single penny to the civic body.

Most of these colonies were in the wards of SAD and BJP councillors, including Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura.

Officials revealed that the major loss in the formation of illegal colonies was to the state exchequer as the colonisers don’t pay charges. “Illegal colonies and constructions are one of the reasons for the MC’s losses,” a senior official stated.

Ludhiana, January 29
Keeping in view the rush of traders to file VAT returns, the sales tax department has decided to keep its offices open tomorrow. The last day for filing the returns has been extended till Monday.

Today the offices were closed for half day. Only the office of the AETC-III was open after lunch. Traders had a tough time today as some had come to get their passwords while the others were submitting e-filing receipts.

Yesterday, the server of the department was slow, making traders and advocates stage a dharna in protest. “While officials of the department promised yesterday that the problem of the slow server would be taken care of but nothing concrete was done,” an advocate stated.

Jagtar Singh, a trader, said he was waiting to get the password, but the ST office was closed after lunch. “Since tomorrow is the last date for filing the return, I will first go to the department for my password and then go to my lawyer to file the return,” he said.

The DETC, Parampal Singh, said the offices would remain open tomorrow. “The server problem has been fixed to a large extent and the last day has been extended till Monday,” he added. 

Ludhiana, January 29
Even though the weather in the region has cleared up a bit during the past few days, train schedules continue to be in disarray mainly because of most long distance trains coming from places like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and the northeastern states running late.

The 2460 Amritsar-New Delhi Superfast, 4681 New Delhi-Jalandhar and 2497/98 Amritsar-New Delhi Shan-e-Punjab were cancelled for the day, causing great hardship to passengers holding advance reservations in these trains.

According to railway officials, among the trains running behind schedule were the 2332 Jammu-Howrah Himgiri Express (late by 22 hours), 5934 Amritsar-Dibrugarh Express (12 hours), 2716 Amritsar-Nanded Sachkhand Express (3 hours 30 min), 5209 Jansewa Express (4 hours), 3005 Howrah Mail (2 hours 30 min), 2925 Bandra-Amritsar Pashchim Express (1 hour 30 min) and 1057 Dadar-Amritsar Express (1 hour 45 min).

With last minute cancellations and late running of many trains, travel plans of a large number of city residents went haywire. Travellers were forced to look for alternatives, which were not easily available.

After two trains between Amritsar and New Delhi were cancelled there was huge rush in other trains running on this section. Ticket refund counters, both at the railway reservation centre and general ticket offices, witnessed a huge rush of harried passengers waiting for getting their money back.

If the prevailing weather conditions continue in the days to come the movement of trains would definitely improve in the next 48 hours, said railway officials.

Doraha, January 29
A major fire broke out at a hosiery unit near here last night and could not be controlled till early in the morning in spite of six fire brigade teams trying to douse the flames.

The fire brigade teams had been requisitioned from Doraha, Khanna, Payal, Samrala, Rajpura and Ludhiana.

The reason for the fire is yet to be ascertained. The fire brigade had a hard time extinguishing it since it had spread to a large part of the factory.

Tarsem Kumar Jain, chairman of the factory, said due to shortage of water, it took so long to extinguish the fire. “It is difficult to assess the loss at this stage,”  he said.

Anil Kumar Joshi, DSP, Payal, said a short circuit alone could be the reason for the fire, but that too could not be ascertained yet.

Ludhiana, January 29
“There is a dire need to educate elected representatives of village panchayats and urban local bodies, while at the same time the staff and officials of these institutions also have to be trained on effective public dealing, carrying out their duties diligently, and strictly under the rules that keep changing from time to time.” These observations were made by SK Ahluwalia, adviser and regional project director of the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration, while talking to mediapersons at the conclusion of a two-day training programme on “Enhancing personal effectiveness” for officials of urban local bodies of Ludhiana, Ropar and Fatehgarh Sahib here.

He said through an ongoing process of training programmes in Ferozepur and Faridkot districts, as well as several towns and villages in Jalandhar division, around 1,000 representatives of urban local bodies and 16,000 members of village panchayats had been imparted training from August, 2009 in their rights and duties.

At the same time, a comprehensive programme had been launched to provide training to civic staff as well.

“During such training programmes, the experts focus on major amendments carried out to laws and rules pertaining to particular departments, ways and means of effective public dealing, qualities of team work and leadership skills. Similarly, the elected representatives are provided an update on their rights and responsibilities besides educating them about building bridges with people and taking up important matters with the government through their regulatory bodies,” said Ahluwalia.

Ludhiana, January 29
In what may reflect gross official indifference towards the country’s brave, the family of Santosh Kumar, a tea vendor who was killed while helping the police in nabbing a dreaded Babbar Khalsa terrorist, Balbir Singh Bhootna, has been forced to make rounds of government departments to get the due announced at the time of his death.

Also, the failure of the government to remember his heroic act during the Republic Day function, where Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had honoured policemen for arresting Bhootna, has anguished Parvati, the widow of Santosh.

Though a politician and some social organisations had announced lakhs of rupees during the vendor’s cremation, nearly five months after his death, the widow and her three children are awaiting monetary help.

At the time of the cremation, the government had given her around Rs 50,000. She had also received another Rs 25,000 from a social organisation when the martyr’s family was honoured for his sacrifice.

Parvati said that was the last occasion when she saw someone express concern for her. At the time of his death, a minister had made tall promises and assured of giving her a job, she said.

“I wonder how they could forget their promise so soon. But what hurt me the most was when my husband’s name did not figure in the Chief Minister’s speech during the Republic Day function,” she said Parvati, who lives along with two of her children in a one-room quarter near Railway Colony.

She sent one of her daughters back to Purnia in Bihar after it was getting difficult for her to look after three children.

“I have to pay Rs 1,300 in rent for the accommodation. I do not even know my way through the city. On some occasions, I have even lost my way and reached somewhere else,” she said adding that during the time of her husband’s cremation many ministers and railway authorities had promised her a job but even five months after her husband’s death she was still running from one office to another.

“Bravery at what cost? Now my children do not have food to eat. I have just a few thousand rupees left with me. How will I raise my children once this money is spent? He shouldn’t have stopped the terrorist. At least my children wouldn’t have to suffer like this. The government does not even recognise his sacrifice and has even failed to remember him,” said Parvati.

According to senior police officers, even Bhootna had praised the bravery of the tea vendor and said he would have fled the scene had it not been for Santosh’s bravery.

Ludhiana, January 29
As part of the “Anti-Leprosy Week” being observed by the health administration in the district, an awareness rally was taken out from the Civil Hospital here today.

Dr Yash Pal Mehta, assistant civil surgeon, flagged off the rally, which passed through several localities in a bid to educate people about symptoms of the disease and clear myths associated with the condition.

Dr Sangeeta Singh, district leprosy elimination officer, maintained that the disease was curable and those afflicted by leprosy should not be considered outcasts.

“The condition is not contagious and ought to be treated like any other disease.”

She also listed major symptoms of the disease and advised people to seek medical assistance in case of suspected affliction. The treatment of leprosy was available free of cost at all government hospitals, Dr Singh added.

According to Dr Maninderjit Singh, civil surgeon, the health department had organised orientation camps at Kidwai Nagar on January 22 and Focal Point on January 27 during the week.

Lecture competitions for school children on the disease were held at civil hospitals in Samrala and Raikot and at all primary health centres in the district during the week.

An awareness rally was taken out from the Civil Hospital at Khanna, which was flagged off by senior medical officer Dr Balwinder Singh Kalsi.

Ludhiana, January 29
A shobha yatra was taken out to mark the birth anniversary of Bhagat Guru Ravidas here today.

The yatra started from Basti Jodhewal and went through division No. 3, Chaura Bazaar before returning to the point of origin.

A large number of devotees, including women and children, participated in the yatra.

Tableaux depicting the life of Guru Ravidas were also taken out. A community kitchen was later organised for the devotees in which they partook off meal.

Ludhiana, January 29
The Rangla Punjab Cultural Youth Club and the Youth Services Department organised a folk dance competition at the Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan here today.

Students of various colleges participated in the competition. Folk dances like ‘jhumar’, ‘sammi’, ‘Malwai giddha’ and ‘luddi’ were performed.

Girls decked up in traditional outfits presented the dances. Jasvir Singh Punnu, Sital Singh Gill, Sarabhjit Kaur, Rippi Parmar, Harbhans Lal and Pappu were honoured.

Ludhiana, January 29
Punjab Agricultural University is establishing a technology and product sale centre on its campus, the foundation stone of which was laid by Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, chairman, Punjab Mandi Board, here yesterday. PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Manjit Singh Kang presided over the foundation laying ceremony.

Dr Gurkirpal Singh, estate officer-cum-chief engineer, PAU, said the centre was being constructed at a cost of Rs 2 crore. Dr Deepak Gupta explained the layout plan of the proposed building.

Lakhowal said agriculture was fast changing and suggested that efforts be made to revamp the marketing system to reduce harassment of farmers.

Lakhowal said Punjab was ahead of other states in the marketing setup. He added that proper storage facilities should be provided to handle the food grains.

He expressed the need for a state-of-the-art institute on agricultural marketing in Punjab and strengthening rural education.

Dr Kang said the PAU had programmes for educating students in agricultural marketing and that there was a full-fledged department of Master’s in Business Administration (agri-business).

The research and academic activities with a focus on agricultural marketing would be further strengthened, he added. He said the Agricultural Market Intelligence Centre (AMIC) was working in the department of economics and sociology, PAU, to forecast the prices of select crops before harvesting and marketing.

Ludhiana, January 29
At its meeting held yesterday in Mohali, the board of management of Punjab Agricultural University expressed concern over the failure of the state government to extend financial assistance to the varsity to enable it tide over the financial crisis it finds itself in. The emergency meet was convened to discuss the funds crunch being faced by the country’s premier agricultural research institute.

The board members decided to seek a meeting with the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to discuss the matter and also urge him to extend financial help to the university to the maximum extent possible.

PAU has been hit by a serious financial crisis with pensioners not having been paid for the past two months. The teaching and nonteaching staff have been agitating to get the revised pay scales as recommended by the central pay commission and the fifth pay commission. The state government has not released any grant to pay salaries to the staff according to the revised payscales.

The varsity’s board of management, which also includes Punjab government officials including the financial commissioner (development) and the principal finance secretary, again asked the PAU administration to explore the possibility of selling some of the land belonging to the varsity to raise the required funds.

State government officials have reportedly assured the PAU authorities that the government would provide the varsity land from the Ladowal farm if PAU sells off land in Ludhiana. However, many PAU agricultural experts are not in favour of such a deal as research on sugarcane has already suffered badly after the land for the crop was given to the BSP and the Punjab Medical Institute, Jalandhar.

A senior varsity scientist told The Tribune on condition of anonymity that the research farm at Ladowal, where sugarcane research is being conducted, has not come up well so far even after more than ten years of research work on sugarcane. “It would take at least five years to prepare the land for undertaking research of any type at the new site”, he said.

PAU officials claim despite the drought in 2009-10 paddy production increased to 15.9 million tonnes against 14.8 million tonnes in 2008-09. The value of market arrivals of paddy was worth Rs 16,377 crore during 2009-10 against Rs 13,320 crore in 2008-09, recording an additional income of Rs 3,057 crore. Similarly wheat production in 2008-09 was 10.6 million tones against 11 million tones in 2009-10 with cotton output rising from 600,000 tonnes in 2008-09 to 700.000 tonnes in 2009-10. The increase in income from wheat was Rs 1,297 crore while that from cotton was Rs 401 crore. The officials added the higher production of the three major crops was due to the technology given by the PAU to the state’s farmers.

The PAU officials have further claimed market fee at the rate of 2 per cent increased to Rs 607.5 crore in 2009-10 against Rs 512.04 crore, rural development at the rate of 2 per cent rose to Rs 607 crore in 2009-10 against Rs 512.04 crore and even commission agents earned an income of Rs 759.38 crore during 2009-10 against Rs 640.05 crore in 2008-09.

The Tribune has learnt the Punjab government is also contemplating to levy cess at the rate of 0.25 paise per Rs 100 on the sale of agricultural produce. The SS Johl committee had recommended levy of cess at the rate of 0.50 paise per Rs 100.

It appears the ball now is in the court of the chief minister, who is expected to meet senior PAU officials in the near future.

Ludhiana, January 29
Even as the entire nation stood up to seek justice in the Ruchika molestation case, involving a police high-up, a local elderly woman is fighting her battle alone and running from pillar to post to get punishment for a CRPF sub-inspector for allegedly murdering her home guard son two decades ago.

After having been successful in getting a murder case registered against the CRPF official and two other officials, Shanti Devi (64), the hapless mother, is yet to get justice.

Coming to her rescue, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission has now asked the home department for a status report in her case through the Senior Superintendent of Police, Ludhiana.

Shanti Devi lost her son Arbind Kumar, who was appointed as home guard in August, 1989.

A case of murder under Section 306 of the IPC was registered against a sub-inspector of the CRPF and two others following an inquiry ordered by the then SSP.

“The police thought its responsibility was over after registering a case. It did not do anything to take the case to a logical conclusion. Even after 20 years, the police is yet to present a challan in the court. This is how they save their people,” lamented Shanti Devi.

She said her husband passed away after running from pillar to post in pursuit of justice for his son in 1990 as he could not live with the misery arising out of his failure.

“I even tried to use the RTI Act but the information provided to me just said that it was not possible to arrest the culprits, so an untraced report was filed. No progress in the investigation has been reported so far,” she said.

Demanding a CBI probe into the case, Shanti Devi argued that since the police had failed to fulfil its obligation, it did not mean she should be devoid of justice.

Arbind was allegedly murdered on August 13, 1989 when he was doing his duty at Sidhwan canal under the division No. 6 police station.

After allegedly killing him, some police officials brought his body home and carried out proceedings under Section 174, CrPC, stating that it was a suicide case.

However, the family insisted and after much effort, a former SSP ordered an inquiry to be carried out by the then SP (HQ). The SP questioned some colleagues of Arbind, who were on duty at the time of his murder. He recommended registration of a case of murder against the CRPF officials.

Ludhiana, January 29
At least 70 players were shortlisted for enrollment on the second day of the ongoing selection trials by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Training Centre at the multipurpose sports complex, near Guru Nanak Stadium, here today.

The three-day trials are being held to select players for 2010-11 session in disciplines of athletics, basketball, judo, handball, volleyball and weightlifting under the residential and non-residential schemes of the SAI.

SAI Training Centre, Ludhiana, in-charge Harbans Singh said around 200 sportspersons of different games who had secured first three positions in the national or state-level competitions and were in the age group of 14 to 18 years were attending the trials.

The selection panel of the SAI, after screening talented boys and girls, selected 70 players for medical examination to be held tomorrow, he added.

They include 12 in athletics, 10 in basketball, 15 boys and 10 girls in volleyball, 20 in handball and three in weightlifting.

After the medical test, the successful players will be called for an interview and the selected sportspersons in the residential scheme will be provided with free facilities like board and lodging, sports kit, exposure, medical and education allowances, insurance coverage and sports training by expert coaches. Those selected in the non-residential scheme will be provided facilities under the norms of the SAI scheme like stipend, sports kit, insurance coverage, sports equipment besides training by expert coaches, said the in-charge.

Ludhiana, January 29
Ludhiana recorded victory in handball in the junior boys as well as girls’ sections on the opening day of the annual sports festival organised by the SS Margind Sports and Welfare Club at the Jathedar Santokh Singh Margind Stadium, Duley village, near here, today.

This year’s edition of the festival is dedicated to the memory of sarpanch Lakhmir Singh Grewal of Duley village and Jaswant Kaur. In the boys’ section, Ludhiana registered an easy 16-6 win over Hoshiarpur, while the Ludhiana eves outplayed Faridkot 6-1 to advance into the next round.

Other teams in the boys’ section that came out triumphant include Fatehgarh Sahib, Sangrur, Faridkot and Patiala. In other matches, Fatehgarh Sahib prevailed over Muktsar 13-10, while Sangrur edged past Mohali 18-16. Also, Faridkot got the better of Jalandhar 16-7, while Patiala edged past Tarn Tarn 19-15. In the girls’ section, besides Ludhiana, Tarn Taran and Ropar districts won their respective encounters.

Tarn Taran beat Amritsar 6-3, while in the second match Tarn Taran went down 13-18 against Ropar.

In kabaddi final (57 kg), Ranike emerged winners and hosts Duley secured second position. In the 70kg category, Bath came out victors and Sudhar had to content with the runners-up slot.

Malkit Singh Dakh, former minister, Punjab, presided over the opening ceremony.