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Elite Arcade owner held
for fraud
Ludhiana, February 23 According to police sources the Gurgaon police visited the city with arrest warrants of Rajesh Gupta and Harish Gupta. Though they nabbed Rajesh, Harish managed to flee. Rajesh has been taken to Gurgaon. They revealed that Rajesh Gupta and Harish Gupta had taken loan from India Bulls Housing Finance for construction, but they neither paid the loan instalments to the company nor were the cheques issued by them cleared. “The company owners tried to get hold of them several times to pay back the amount, but they failed to do so. Finally, the company moved the Gurgaon court and the matter was reported to the police. Warrants were issued in the name of both by the Gurgaon court,” the sources said, adding that the exact amount was still not clear, but it was suspected to be around Rs 15 crore. The Gurgaon team arrived this morning and went to the Division No. 5 police station and presented the warrants. The police in Ludhiana made an entry of the warrants and went along with the Gurgaon team to arrest the accused.
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House Tax: MC losing crores
Ludhiana, February 23 Defaulters
In a reply to RTI application filed by the Anti-Corruption and Crime Investigation Cell, an NGO, the Municipal Corporation revealed that there were 102 big and small hotels in the city out of which 21 had not paid house tax from April 1, 2006, to November 2009. Reason: objections pending. Apart from it, there is wide disparity in the amount of house tax being charged from the leading hotels of the city. The top hotels that have turnover worth crores are paying as low as Rs 10 lakh house tax. Thanks to officials of the house tax branch who seemed to be least bothered about making regular assessments. For example: one of the leading hotels, Hotel Maharaja paid house tax worth Rs 1,97,499.06 for 2009-10 which is 40 paise lower than the last year’s house tax despite the fact, the value of the hotel’s property and the turnover is huge. Similarly, luxurious hotels like Batra Hotel and Friends Regency on the Ferozepur road, too, are paying Rs 1,34,375.76 and Rs 1,85,000, respectively, as house tax. When the house tax officials were asked about the losses, they blamed politicians for it. “Whenever we go for house tax assessments, these politicians be it municipal councillors, MLAs or MPs, direct us to charge minimum. Now, if we go against them they threaten to transfer or even get us expelled,” said superintendents of the house tax branch of the civic body. They gave example of 21 hotels whose house taxes were pending due to certain objections. “The objections regarding house taxes are to be resolved by the house tax committees comprising municipal councillors. The civic body’s General House constitutes it. Every zone has its committee, but councillors are least bothered about resolving the cases and result is in front of you. Do you think 21 is a huge number? It would not take more than two days for us to resolve the matter, but the politicians are least bothered,” said a house-tax superintendent. On the other hand, municipal councillors blamed the house tax branch for the losses. Congress councillor Amrit Varsha Rampal said: “These house tax employees don’t go door-to-door for conducting assessments. They generally do from their seats or by using their own formulas. These hotels have a great potential for revenue, but until the municipal corporation is ready to take it, nothing could be done.” The woman councillor suggested that there was a need to develop faith among councillors and house tax employees such that they act as critics for defaulters and friends for actions like sealing. Commenting on it, NGO’s president Rohit Sabharwal said: “The wide disparity for levying house tax on hotels needs to be probed. When residents are ready to pay the money, why not these hoteliers who earn more than what a common man brings home at the end of the day.” He added that the Municipal Commissioner should himself supervise the house tax branch, as there were a lot of irregularities. A five star hotel, Fortune Klassik, has been exempted from house tax for five years as per the notification issued by the Punjab government. The hotel has been told not to pay any house tax from 2007 till 2012 as it has been declared a classified hotel. It happens to be a favourite place for the SAD politicians in the city and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal often stay here whenever they visit the city.
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“Save Tiger” brings this doctor from Brazil
Ludhiana, February 23 “There are no tigers in our country. I love this animal and had been reading and researching a lot about it. It is India’s national animal and the entire country should make efforts to save the nation’s pride,” Marie, who visited the Tiger Safari here yesterday, states. “Rajasthan is not only about long moustaches and turbans. I would remember it for its tigers and cherish my visit to the Ranthambore National Park,” she says. It has been five years since she has been following India and its tigers. “Whenever I come to India, I visit national parks and love to live with wild animals,” she smiles. “It is sad that people are killing this beautiful animal -- some for medicines and some for its hide.” Eco tourism could help in this regard. Tigers should be left in the natural habitat and villagers could engage themselves in eco tourism. “It would help save the tigers and other animals as well,” she says, adding that 2010 was “eco-diversity year” and a lot needed to be done to educate people about ecological balance and preservation of wildlife. “Tigers are not dangerous. They prey to survive. Had there been ecological balance they would never kill humans,” she adds. After seeing the paw of the tiger, she could tell if it was a male. “Tigers are my passion and I am worried as they are on the verge of extinction,” she rued. |
LIT to hand over 3 colonies to MC
Ludhiana, February 23 After a meeting of officials of the LIT with the principal secretary, local government department, Chandigarh, yesterday, a proposal asking the MC to take over the 256-acre Maharishi Valmiki Nagar, 129-acre Rajguru Nagar and 8.4-acre Sant Ishar Singh Nagar residential schemes was placed before MC Commissioner AK Sinha here today. Sinha said it had been decided to form a committee of superintending engineers of the LIT and the MC, who would inspect the colonies. “The committee would go into the condition of roads, service lanes, infrastructure for civic amenities and also inspect aspects like development as per the layout plan, instances of change of land use, encroachments and violations of building bylaws before the transfer is given effect,” he stated. Depending on the report of the committee, especially with regard to the condition of roads and streets, estimates would be prepared and the LIT would have the option to either get the necessary development works done on its own level, or else make available the funds to the MC for the purpose.
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Do away with footpath
billboards: PSHRC
Ludhiana, February 23 He said the direction to remove these hoardings came after the hearing of the case in Chandigarh yesterday. “I had taken a video of all such hoardings along with newspaper cuttings to strengthen my case. The PSHRC gave a rap to the MC superintendent, Hartej Singh, and others for no action,” he claimed. “If there were footpaths to move on, why would pedestrians walk on the road? It is the duty of the MC to provide sidewalks for pedestrians. Even a common man pays taxes and has a right to ask for infrastructure for his survival,” he added. Some billboards that have been erected on the footpaths belong to an advertising agency, Greenline, which is paying the MC Rs 8.5 crore.
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No let-up in IT surveys
Ludhiana, February 23 Chief Commissioner of Income Tax GS Randhawa said more surveys would be conducted on business establishments before the end of this financial year. In the last financial year, 192 surveys were conducted which resulted in the unearthing of undisclosed income worth Rs 122.26 crores. While panic-stricken industrialists are blaming the IT department for conducting surveys to meet the budget targets of the department, Randhawa said surveys were not conducted merely to achieve the targets as there were no budget targets before the department.
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Sports meet at GGN Public School
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, February 23 Party for
Class X
Jesus' Sacred Heart School, South City, held a "good luck party" for Class X students. Lunch was followed by merry making, wherein students were joined by teachers in dancing. School chairperson Amarjit Sehgal and principal Anju Banga wished them luck. Lecture
The postgraduate Punjabi department of Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women organised an extension lecture on "Theory and Evolution of Narrative" here today. Dr Surinder Kumar Diveshar was the resource person and gave details on the intricacies of a narrative. He enumerated and interpreted the medium of narrative and discussed the elements of narrative. He also discussed the theory of criticism. Workshop
GGN Institute of Management and Technology (GGNIMT) organised a workshop on web designing and programming concepts for BCA and MCA students. Amrik Singh, senior faculty, New Bridge Technologies, was the resource person. He shared with the students the four essentials for creating a web page. He also discussed the working principles of various web designing software such as Dreamweaver, Coffeecupsite design, Flash and Swish. The workshop concluded with a question-answer round.
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Beheading of Sikhs
Ludhiana, February 23
“The dastardly act of beheading Sikhs and throwing their bodies in front of a gurdwara was aimed at provoking the Indians and the world community must take serious note of conduct of the Pakistan government.” He urged the UPA government at the Centre to take up the issue with the Pakistan government and also raise the matter at the global platform so as to ensure safety of life and property of the minorities in Pakistan.
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DMCH overcharging, says Civil Surgeon
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, February 23 Earlier, Civil Surgeon Maninderjit Singh urged representatives of 20 NGOs to donate to the Red Cross blood bank. He stated that he would soon call a meeting of the managements of the DMCH and CMCH to stress uniformity in the prices of blood and also to take up the cause of voluntary blood donation so as to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of blood. Dr Rupinder Kaur, associate professor at the blood donation branch of the CMCH, refuted the allegations, stating that people were asked to pay for the quality of blood to ensure safe transfusion. However, Dr Singh stated that charging Rs 1,500-Rs 2,000 for a single unit of blood against the government rate of Rs 300 per unit was not justified. “Private hospitals in Ludhiana are also undertaking the five mandatory tests as per the guidelines of the Central government,” he said, adding that these were being done at the Civil Hospital also. As per the figures available with the Punjab State Aids Control Society, Ludhiana needs 60,000 units of blood every year, out of which only 6,000 units are collected through voluntary blood donation and the rest is arranged through “replacement blood donation”. Asked about the reason for not donating blood to the Red Cross Society, the NGOs stated that it was disappointing when the tertiary care hospitals rejected blood from the Red Cross blood bank for “poor quality”. Manjit Saini, president of the Salaam Zindagi Foundation, which works for the cause of voluntary blood donation, further pointed out that donors with cards were now acknowledged at private and government hospitals, which lowered their morale.
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Demolition drive in old city areas
Ludhiana, February 23
“Since the poles in narrow streets cause a lot of inconvenience, we removed them so that it is easy for commuters to move,” he said, adding that today’s drive was not on large scale. However, a tense situation was witnessed at Talaab Bazaar when the demolition squad went to raze some shops near a temple. Eyewitnesses said: “The MC team along with MPT Hemant Batra had come to demolish some shops, but shopkeepers of the area did not allow them to go ahead with the demolition. As a result, the site was left without any action. Only some stairs and cemented footpaths put up by the shopkeepers were removed.”
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Cycle units want better technology
Ludhiana, February 23 Talking to The Tribune, Jagatvir Singh, propaganda secretary, United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said since the cycle was a poor man’s mode of communication, it should be produced in bulk. On the pattern of the textile industry, the Central government should launch the technology upgradation fund scheme for the bicycle industry. “The cycle industry has made tremendous growth and there is no doubt about it but the concept remains the same, which was there 70 years ago. For the upgradation of the industry, the government has added no new technology. The production of bicycles in China has reached to 85 million but Indian market produces just about 15 million bicycles per year. This way, we can’t compete with the global market. We expect that in the coming Budget, the government would focus on the cycle industry,” he added. India is exporting cycles to Africa, Middle East and Bangladesh. But European market has still not been tapped, as the technology was not “up to their mark”. “If we match with the European standards, we can generate good revenue from the Europe as well”, added Jagatvir Singh. Managing Director of Neelam Cycles, KK Seth, said the cycle industry had high expectations from the Budget. As the practice was going on, the government must continue with the exemption of the central excise on the bicycle industry. He also said the custom duty on the raw material and the finished goods was the same still? “The whole industry depends on raw materials like hard-rolled coils, zinc, aluminum, nickel etc, which comes from several countries. The duty on finished product should be more as compared to raw material. Local industry will be in shambles if finished products from other countries are dumped in India”, Seth added.
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Remembering God in
testing times Ludhiana, February 23 Havanas, prayers, Akhand Path, meditation have become the order of the day in educational institutions across the city. Sacred Heart Convent, DAV Public School, BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Sanatan Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, SDP School and College, Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Atam Public School, Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women, Punjab Agricultural University are a few of the city's educational institutions known to have held such prayer meets on their premises prior to annual exams. Such prayer sessions, say various school heads, help soothe the exam-related anxiety that the students and their parents face and also helps them feel confident. Anuradha Selvaraj, an English teacher at a local school, explains the reason behind such sessions: "For most students, exams are associated with anxiety and fear. We have faith in God and we instill it in children's minds as it helps them relax. Coping becomes easier with prayers, which boosts their morale." "Besides physical, emotional and mental self, it is the spiritual self, which needs a sacred intervention. Through such prayer meets students feel motivated and inspired as we teach them how to build their confidence and trust God to face their examination with confidence," said Prof Satnam Singh, a sociology teacher. Pallavi S, a Class X student said: "Every year, prayer meetings are held and our teachers take us to the school chapel just before the exams. Once we go there, all our apprehensions and fears vanish as we experience an intense feeling of peace and inner confidence." Siddharth Sharma, a Class XII student, said: "Just before the exams, we perform havana in our school to seek the blessings of the Almighty. Though I am not a very religious person, it feels great to have someone pray for my success." Puneeta, a Class X student adds, "It is a feel good factor."
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419 students walk proud with degrees Jagraon, February 23 Chief guest Prof VN Sharma, an NRI and educationist was given a ceremonial reception through academic procession by the faculty members. The chief guest advised the students to inculcate moral values for the up-liftment of the society. He also said the aim of the education was to serve mankind.
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Awareness programme
on quality mgmt Ludhiana, February 23 Upkar Singh, joint secretary, CICU, said globalisation of business
had put organisations and individuals under pressure. "The prevailing style of management must undergo transformation and there is a need for business managers to meet the expectations of customers for better quality components at lowest prices,” said Upkar Singh. SS Bedi, assistant director (hosiery), MSME-DI, presented the theme of the programme and stressed the need for adopting the quality management systems in MSMEs. RC Chopra, director, MSME-DI, presided over. He briefed on various government schemes for the benefit of the MSE sector and advised the participants to avail funds under the schemes. A technical session was also held in which presentations were made by experienced experts. Avtar Singh, general secretary, CICU, said MSME industry in Ludhiana was passing through crucial time. "The main concern is how to upgrade skills, enhance awareness and strengthen competitiveness of these units. The programme made valuable contribution in evolving new business models, planning professionally to work on chosen path and enhancing competitiveness by achieving internal efficiency,” he added.
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State of Health in Rural Areas-III Ludhiana, February 23 The doctors and paramedical staff remain absent under the garb of “additional charges” at more than one centres. About 26 posts of specialists, under the department of health and family welfare, are lying vacant in the Ludhiana district followed by six vacancies and 12 vacant posts of the rural medical officers working under the department of rural development and panchayats. Even senior medical officers, who are in charge of the health centres, remain absent from duty, which gives the remaining staff ample space to indulge in recreation. The Tribune correspondent during a recent visit to a primary health centre in Mullanpur came across a Kashmiri salesman, who was there to sell the shawls to women doctors on the premises. The staff said he was a regular visitor at the centre. In yet another shocking incident, a small public health centre at Nagar village near Phillaur (Ludhiana) that runs from a government primary school building is at the mercy of a “sweeper” and “watchman”. As The Tribune reporter entered the centre on February 19 at around 2 pm, there was not a single doctor or paramedic staff in the health centre and the watchman was sleeping on a bed kept for patients’ examination while sweeper was sitting on the doctor’s chair. The duo did not know about the whereabouts of the other staff, including the auxiliary nursing midwife, pharmacist and the doctor. The watchman immediately jumped from the bed and called up in charge of the health centre Dr Hemant Malhotra on his mobile who while talking to The Tribune said he had gone to get the supply of medicines. (Concluded)
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500 examined at medical camp Ludhiana, February 23 Dr Arun Mitra, Dr Bharti Uppal and Dr Narjit Kaur examined the patients. Required blood tests were also done on accepted mothers. DP Maur, general secretary of the Joint Council of Trade Unions, Gurcharan Kochhar, patron Working Women Forum were also present.
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Roadways staff stage protest Ludhiana, February 23 The trade union have also expressed solidarity with agitating bodies of farmers and decided to join their district-level dharnas on February 24. Speakers at the rally said gruesome murder of Takhtpur, a BKU activist, was the culmination of unholy nexus between politicians, police and criminals. They made it clear that the workers will not take lying down repeated attacks to disturb the struggle against anti-worker policies of the government and the Punjab Roadways management. Harjinder Singh, president, Moulder and Steel Workers Union, announced that the bodies of industrial workers like the Hosiery Workers Union, Karkhana Mazdoor Union, Lal Jhanda Punjab Nirman Mazdoor Union, Lok Sangharsh Committee, Lok Ekta Sangathan and many others would join farmers’ protest to be held tomorrow.
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Migrant dies in accident
Khanna,February 23 The migrant was rushed to the local civil hospital from where he was referred to DMC, Ludhiana, where he succumbed to his injuries. A case has been registered in this connection.
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Five booked for drug peddling
Jagraon, February 23 The SSP said cops acted on a tip-off that Sukhdev Kaur of Mai Jeena Mohalla at Agwar Ladhai on the Raikot road was in the business of peddling poppy husk and other narcotics along with her three sons Gulshan Singh, alias Gosha, Hari Singh, alias Happy and Shemsher Singh, alias Shamma, nephew Harinder Singh. The cops raided the house and arrested Hari Singh Kaur. However, others managed to escape from the back gate of the house. Three bags of poppy husk weighting 35 kg each were recovered from their possession.
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Ad agency challenges BJP’s claims
Ludhiana, February 23 Advertising agency vice-president Parminderjeet Singh Cheema said: “If the BJP councillors claim that Rs 40 crore could be generated from selling advertisement rights of the city by the MC, they must present the firm that is ready to do so and we would terminate our agreement.” “The agency would surrender the agreement in favour of BJP leaders and would also pay Rs 40 crore to the MC if they can bring anyone who is ready to pay the amount,” Cheema said, adding that the company was not interested in any legal battle. Terming the BJP’s move as an attempt to malign the name of the company and help the mafia in Ludhiana that is earning money by installing illegal billboards, Cheema claimed that the sites for installation of boards was allotted to them by the MC officials, but they have not been able to install all 200 billboards assigned to them due to public outcry and limited space. He added that the allotment of advertisement rights to the agency by the MC had helped to legalise billboards and 90 per cent of advertisers in Ludhiana, who were into the trade, had joined hands for the venture worth Rs 8.5 crore a year.
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Harleen adjudged best athlete
Ludhiana, February 23 Deputy Speaker Sat Pal Gosain inaugurated the meet. He announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh for the development of the college. Deputy Mayor Parveen Bansal was the guest of honour. MS Jaggi, Joint Commissioner, Zone B, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, distributed prizes among position holders. Principal, Surinder Dua, congratulated the winners. Results: long jump- Harleen Kaur 1, Ankita Jain 2 and Krishna 3; 100m race- Ankita Jain 1, Akanksha 2 and Tarannum 3; 200m race- Tarannum 1, Kamlesh 2 and Harleen Kaur 3; Chatti race- Anu 1, Suman 2 and Renu 3. Shot put- Priya 1, Geetika 2 and Sarabjeet 3; 4x100m relay race- B.A I 1, BCA-II 2 and B.Com III 3; Discus throw- Poonam 1, Seema 2 and Priya 3; Javelin throw- Harleen Kaur 1, Veenu 2 and Neha 3; Obstacle race- Mamta 1, Navdeep 2 and Mani Arora 3; Three-legged race- Neha and Ankita 1, Neha and Rimple 2, Sonia and Shalini 3. Skipping race- Veenu 1, Harleen Kaur 2 and Tarannum 3; Spoon and potato race- Parneet Kaur 1, Harmeet Kaur 2 and Harsimran Kaur 3; Sack race- Simpy 1, Jaspreet 2 and Lotika 3; Tae-ko-wondo Krishna 1, Sonia 2 and Sunita 3.
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Kirandeep wins 100m sprint
Ludhiana, February 23 At least 275 students, including M.Ed and B.Ed classes, competed in various sports disciplines in addition to the fun games. Dr Gurcharan Singh Brar, Chairman, Department of Physical Eduction, Panjab University, Chandigarh, distributed prizes among the winners. Members of the Khalsa Dewan, Ludhiana, along with faculty members were present during the closing ceremony. Pritpal Singh Grewal, president, Khalsa Dewan, presented vote of thanks. Results: 100m race- Kirandeep Kaur 1, Rajvir Kaur 2 and Gagandeep Kaur 3; 200m race- Rajvir Kaur 1, Gagandeep Kaur 2 and Chetna 3. 400m race- Rupinder 1, Kirandeep Kaur 2 and Nimrat 3; 800m race- Rupinder Kaur 1, Kirandeep Kaur 2 and Manpreet Kaur 3. Chatti race- Sukhvir Kaur 1, Robinjeet 2 and Ramanjeet Kaur 3; Rope-skipping race- Daljeet Kaur 1, Jaspreet Kaur 2 and Ramandeep Kaur 3; Spoon and potato race- Ramandeep Kaur 1, Simranjist Kaur 2 and Shelly 3; Sack race- Rupinder Kaur 1,Rajveer Kaur 2 and Beant Kaur 3; Relay race- M.Ed section B 1, section A 2 and section C 3; Shot put- Navpreet Kaur 1, Tanvir 2 and Guneet 3; Javelin throw- Neelam Devi 1, Tanvir 2 and Guneet Kaur 3; Discus throw- Harpreet kaur 1, Guneet Kaur 2 and Navpreet Kaur 3. Long jump- Kirandeep Kaur 1, Kirandeep 2 and Beant Kaur 3; High jump- Kirandeep Kaur 1, Manpreet Kaur 2 and Anjali 3; Three-legged race- Rajwant Kaur and Jaspreet Kaur 1, Veerpal and Amandeep Kaur 2, Sukhjit Kaur and Neelam 3.
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Neeraj clinches bronze medal
Mandi Gobindgarh, February 23 RIMT Group chairman Hukam Chand Bansal acknowledged the talented winner and vice-chairman Vijayant Bansal commended and encouraged students to be all-rounders.
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