Ludhiana, July 2
The sudden declaration of withdrawal of franchisee of Aakash Institute of IIT-JEE in Prem Nagar, near Hathi Complex, has left around 120 students in the lurch.

These students are currently preparing for the IIT-JEE.

The information pertaining to the termination of franchisee agreement was published in newspapers here today, following which anxious parents and students thronged the institute to enquire about the matter.

The office staff were tightlipped over the development and refused to interact with the media.

Parents complained that the institute authorities were passing the buck. “They have asked us to talk to the New Delhi-based authorities of Aakash Education Service Limited.”

Visibly worried Vinod Jain, whose son is a student at the institute, said: “We had cut down on our luxuries to save money for the education of my son, who dreams to be an engineer. The sudden closure of the institute has not only shattered his dreams but also put our hard-earned money at stake.”

For Gurpreet Singh, whose daughter studies in the institute, the news of closure came in as a shock. “I just came to know about it today. Though the director told us to wait for two days, who would be responsible if they wrapped up and disappeared overnight.”

Neither the franchisee nor the institute authorities in Delhi were available for comments.

An insider said the institute was closed following a financial dispute between the franchisee and the institute authorities.

Vinod Jain said he had submitted the first installment of Rs 25,901 on June 21 and now the institute authorities were telling him to go to Chandigarh.

He said: “Money keeps changing hands but the future of our child once spoiled cannot be set right,” rued Manisha.

Ludhiana, July 2
Mayor Hakam Singh Gyaspura and senior deputy mayor Parvin Bansal were refused entry permits to visit Britain after they had obtained ‘no objection certificates’ for the purpose from the municipal corporation, four days before they received an invitation by a firm to “see” its facility in Leicester.

In a strongly worded letter written by the high commission to both of them (a copy of which is with The Tribune), the main reason cited for refusal of a visa was the ‘NOC’ issued by the MC on May 28, 2010, four days before the invitation letter (sponsorship) from Leicester.

The letter, signed by the entry clearance officer of the UK Border Agency, said: "This casts doubt on your application and on your sponsorship. I am not satisfied from the documentation and evidence that you have submitted that you intend to visit the UK for the purpose and period stated".

The letter further stated: "I am not satisfied that you will maintain and accommodate yourself and any dependants adequately out of resources available to you without recourse to public funds or taking employment".

MC functionaries had applied for entry clearance to the United Kingdom for the purpose of "good practice scheme and technical exchange" activities at Leicester City Council.

According to sources close to the MC, a British company dealing in solid waste management treatment plants, which has an office in Rajkot, Gujarat, had offered its services to set up a treatment plant in the city.

To “see its infrastructure and services”, the company had invited an MC delegation to visit Leicester. The trip had to be sponsored by the firm free of cost. If all went well, the delegation was to leave for England in the first week of July.

Besides Gyaspura and Bansal, MC executive engineers Kamlesh Bansal and HC Salaria had applied for visas for the trip to England.

Ludhiana, July 2
All five water samples collected from the Housefed society in E block of Saheed Bhagat Singh Nagar have failed.

The department of health and family welfare had collected the samples from the super deluxe houses following a complaint by residents who were falling sick after consuming dirty water.

The water tank, which had deposits of bricks, muck and plastic materials, had not been cleaned for long.

The District Health Officer, Dr DS Kochar, said the report had been sent to the Deputy Commissioner and the local bodies department, “The water is contaminated and unfit for drinking,” he stated.

A large number of residents of Housefed flats had been complaining about the dirty water supply. Gursimran Singh, a resident, said: “The society takes Rs 1,000 from every household as water charges, including cleanliness. But due to a dispute among society members, welfare work has been stalled in the area and residents are paying the price for it.”

Residents had purchased a water-testing kit from the PAU and were shocked to find that the water was turbid.

However, the president of the area welfare society, Sandeep Dahiya, termed it as false propaganda against the welfare society. “The people who are involved in complaints are defaulters themselves. Residents are getting water that is supplied to the whole city. We also pump underground water to the tank,” he said, claiming that no resident had come forward with a complaint to the society.

“The society is not aware of water samples being taken by the health department,” he added.

Ashish, another member of the society, urged the health authorities to take the water samples in the presence of society members. “The people who are complaining have not even paid maintenance fee for more than a year and want to become executive members of the society,” he alleged.

Ludhiana, July 2
City’s first theme-based project, Festival City, is in troubled waters as Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and Bank of Rajasthan Ltd took the possession of the under-constructed mall on the GT Road here yesterday.

The possession was taken under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interests Act. A notice in this regard was pasted at the property by the banks.

A press note issued by Allahabad Bank stated that the promoter/borrower company, Aerens Entertainment Zone Pvt Ltd of Delhi, had failed to repay a loan of Rs 67.87 crore plus interest, following which they were compelled to take possession of the property that had been mortgaged in favour of the banks.

It would have reportedly been the biggest mall of Punjab, with an investment of over Rs 250 crore. The mall was slated to be functional by the end of 2008, but it could not be completed.

It was meant for people to experience the true spirit of festivals like Diwali, Dashera, Makar Sankranti and Holi at the theme-based mall. 

Ludhiana, July 2
West is now making its impact on the Indian wedding scene in a big way with wedding gowns that have made a thumping entry into the trousseau and are here to stay.

While the lehenga has been the conventional bridal dress for years, taking over from the quintessential sari over a decade ago; wedding gowns are rapidly making inroads in wedding parties. The trend has caught on in the “fat” Punjabi weddings, thanks to their experimentation and love for the West and its culture.

While the modern bride is still a tad too conservative to think beyond ethnic wear for a dress, more and more young girls now want wedding gowns to be an essential part of their wedding celebrations.

And the perfect occasion to flaunt a wedding gown is the post-wedding reception or the pre-wedding cocktail party or even a dinner hosted for the two families the evening before.

“There was a time when the sari was considered to be the only dress that could be worn by a bride. With time, the traditional mindset moved from saris to lehengas and now it is shifting towards altogether new trends,” says fashion designer Sonu Gandhi, who specialises in wedding collection.

“Pink, peach, mauve and lilac have been the most popular shades for evening or weddings gowns, but for Indian wedding gowns the colour is red. Girls who choose an unconventional colour for their bridal wear, tend to make up for the absence of red while choosing the reception or cocktail gown,” she says, adding that other colours in demand are gold, maroon, wine and hot pink.

For the gown, the cuts are elegant and the fabric rich, including silk, satin, organza, lace, brocade, taffeta, jacquard and crepe. Embellishment is lavish and lace, frills, detailing, sequins, beads and pearls are much in demand.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 2
If the working of gram panchayats in the region is any indicator, misappropriation of public funds and income of these civic bodies is commonplace in the state. Elected office-bearers swindle lakhs of rupees turn by turn and then the matter is buried by declaring the records stolen. Government officials, instead of safeguarding the interest of villagers, act as rubber stamps of leaders of party in power.

Investigations by The Tribune revealed that a majority of civic bodies of the region falling under the Pakhowal block of Ludhiana district were not obeying the prescribed rules while undertaking development projects.

With grants and income worth lakhs being swindled annually, no action was taken against office-bearers supported by party in regime.

On the contrary, civic bodies led by office-bearers supported by the opposition were dissolved by hook or by crook.

Perusal of records revealed that misappropriation of funds by office-bearers of gram panchayats was common allegation levelled by social and political activists. Certain sarpanchs were accused of cheating the government by showing income from rent on assets lower than actually realised during auctions. The expenses were blown up on the other hand.

Functioning of some civic bodies was so arbitrary that they did not hesitate to show negative balances in the cash books. If allegations levelled by Kulwant Singh of Chhappar village are true, the cash book of the gram panchayat showed a deficit of Rs 15,370 in March, 2008, when a teacher was paid five months salary in advance.

The complaint has also challenged the authenticity of incurring expenses worth Rs 64,864 out of empty account in September.

To destroy evidence against them, custodians of records resorted to lodging of FIRs against unknown persons for stealing the documents. There were instances wherein records were shown stolen by those office-bearers who had already deposited the same with government officials.

Contrary to the provisions of Sections I and IV of the Punjab Panchayat Act, general body meetings for approval of budget were conspicuous by total nonexistence. Though the budget passed by the gram panchayat is supposed to be sent to the panchayat samiti, none of the civic body was reported to adopted the procedure for implementation of development projects.

Even government officials did not bother to undertake mandatory audit of these civic bodies.

Denying allegations of working under political pressure, officials at the block development office, Pakhowal, maintained that the records reported stolen or destroyed could be prepared again.

Maintaining that none of the civic bodies had sent their budget for necessary action to the panchayat samiti, block development officer Harman Deep Singh stated that account of none of the gram panchayats in the block was audited during past at least 10 years.

At its Sawni meeting, the gram panchayat must prepare and lay for approval before the gram sabha a budget estimate of its income and expenditure and a plan of development programme for the year commencing on the first day of April, next following. At its Hari meeting, it must present an annual statement of account and an annual report of progress of preceding financial year and development programme proposed to be undertaken during the current year.

Every gram panchayat is supposed to prepare every year a budget of its estimated receipts and disbursement for the following year and submit the budget to the panchayat samiti having jurisdiction over the area of the gram panchayat.

The panchayat samiti may either approve the budget or return it to the gram panchayat for modification. Once the modification is made, the budget is to be resubmitted within prescribed period for approval of the panchayat samiti.

No expenditure is to be incurred unless the budget is approved by the panchayat samiti and if the panchayat samiti fails to convey its approval within the time prescribed for the purpose, the budget is deemed to have been approved by the panchayat samiti.

Jagraon, July 2
The district transport officer’s (DTO) office, Ludhiana, has no rules to follow regarding the time period for preserving or destroying its records.

This has been stated by Ludhiana DTO Ashwani Kumar in reply to an RTI application by Surinder Pal, a lawyer and in-charge of the Lawyers’ for Social Action — an NGO.

Surinder Pal had sought information on the minimum time period for preserving different categories of records and documents like retail invoice (of vehicle), form No. 21, form No. 22, insurance certificate, temporary RC, delivery receipts, checking reports, change of hypothecation, route permit, road tax, process fee, applications for driver’s licence (both temporary and regular) and supporting documents like residence proof, birth certificate, medical certificate, etc. from the DTO office, Ludhiana.

He had also sought a copy of the rules/manual of the office procedure governing the same.

The request included information on preservation of records of disciplinary action against officers/employees of DTO office found breaching any duty of violating law/rules/instructions, etc.

The DTO, who is also the public information officer under the RTI Act, in his reply claimed that “minimum or maximum time period for preservation of records generated by the DTO office had not been fixed by the head office i.e. State Transport Commissioner, Punjab”.

Terming it a strange practice, the officer said, the DTO office, being a government office, was bound to follow some rules/manuals for preservation or destruction of its records generated during day-to-day dealings.

The statement is an apparent bid to escape responsibility to preserve the records for a minimum time period. This is also being seen as a move to save employees who do not arrange and preserve documents systematically and throw these carelessly, leading to mutilation and spoliation.

Consequently, people who apply for records at the DTO office are denied these on this frivolous ground.

The DTO took 14 months for this statement of denial.

Earlier, on a complaint to the Punjab Information Commission under the RTI Act, the DTO kept borrowing time in the name of “computerisation of records”. 

Amloh, July 2
With the computerisation of revenue records, farmers of 31 villages of Amloh sub-division will be able to get the “farad” (zamabandi) of their land from a single window at the Amloh Suvidha Kendra.

Fatehgarh Sahib Deputy Commissioner Yashveer Mahajan and district planning chairperson Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal inaugurated the kendra here today.

The applicants will have to apply for the record after which the office will send the applications to the patwari concerned. After compliance within three days, the record will be made available at the kendra, said Mahajan. SDM Punamdeep Kaur was also present.

District revenue officer Parshotam Singh Sodhi said the present facility of “zamabandi” would further be extended to the registration of sale deeds and mutations.

Earlier, in reply to a complaint of block samiti vice-chairman Paramjeet Singh, Mahajan said the 300 families of Birr Amloh that had not been enrolled as voters within the municipal limits or in adjoining villages would get their right to vote after verification of records.

Amloh Shellers’ Association chief Ramesh Kumar Jindal pointed out the mushrooming of unauthorised colonies, causing revenue loss to the government.

Distinct grievances committee member Capt Jaswant Singh raised the demand for a bus stand, while state Congress secretary DR Sood sought inquiry into the poor material used on the road from old grain market to Nabha bus stand.

Ludhiana, July 2
In a powerful example of the indomitable human spirit, Bhupinder Kaur, a former national volleyball player, agreed to simultaneously undergo a caesarian section to deliver a six months premature baby and an aortic root replacement, a major heart surgery, in spite of doctors giving her a 50 per cent chance of survival.

Hailing from Sirsa, Bhupinder was admitted to a hospital on June 16 with acute abdomen and chest pain. Soon after diagnosing the problem, she was taken to the operation theatre, where - for perhaps the first time in the history of Dayanand Medical College & Hospital - the gynaecologist and the cardiac surgeons worked together to save both mother and child.

It took the team six hours to deliver the baby boy and perform the heart surgery within the stipulated time. The premature baby, who weighed 960 grams and was on ventilator till yesterday, is now fine and already on his mother's feed.

Crediting the team of surgeons and doctors at the hospital for the feat, Tejinder Pal Singh, the patient's husband, said he was scared about his wife’s fifty percent survival chances. “However, with their unmatched devotion Dr Sarju Ralhan, Dr VK Sharma, Dr Rajiv Gupta, Dr Vikram and Dr Chander, Dr Ashima, Dr Vivek Gupta and Dr NK Sood have made me a proud husband and a father."

Dr Sarju Ralhan, the cardiac surgeon, said looking at the mortality rate of one percent in one hour in such cases the whole team was tense. “But as they say when the going gets tough the tough gets going, We carried on with the procedure and succeeded in saving two lives”, he noted.

When asked about the expenditure incurred on the treatment, the doctors stated the procedure costs almost Rs 4 lakh.

“However, all of us had decided to pool in money to save the mother and her child in case the family faced financial constraints," said Dr VK Sood. Terming it as a rare surgery, he claimed till date only 50 such procedures had been performed in the world and very few children had survived.

Jagraon, July 2
Harvest Tennis Academy will play host to the HTA-AITA Men’s and Women’s Tournament 2010 starting July 5. The matches will be held on six synthetic courts at the academy. The tournament will carry Rs 50,000 in prize money. The finals will take place on July 9.

The sign in for the qualifying rounds was done today.

The tournament will be played in men’s singles, women’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s doubles categories.

So far, 76 entries have been received in the men’s singles category and 40 in the women’s singles.

Participants from Delhi, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Rajasthan, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Goa and Uttarakhand apart from host state will take part in the tournament.

Mandi Gobindgarh, July 2
Two-day laparoscopic surgery camp was inaugurated at Desh Bhagat Ayurvedic College and Hospital, here today.

A large number of patients were registered and medical tests were conducted during the camp.

A team from Delhi is performing surgeries.

Ludhiana, July 2
In a campaign against drug addiction, the Vishwa Guru Ravidass Mission today organised a road show. The mission activists carried out a massive rally on scooters and cars, which started from Shri Guru Ravidas Bhawan and culminated on the Rahon road with the staging of a play “Dukhdi Rag Punjab Di”.

The play was staged by Aks Rang Manch, Samrala, wherein the artistes projected the multifaceted problems faced by drug addicts and their families.

The rally was flagged off by Ludhiana civil surgeon Dr Satwant Bhalla who appreciated the mission activists for their efforts to educate people against the evils of drug addiction. She also stated that the department of health and family welfare was dealing strictly with the illegal sale of habit forming drugs.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Harjinder Singh Sandhu, while speaking on the occasion, called upon people to join hands with the NGOs to fight against the problem of drug addiction in Punjab.

Sandhu also stated that the police officials had been directed to deal with the people involved in drug rackets with iron hands.

A large number of social activists were also present on the occasion.

Ludhiana, July 2
DyStar India Private Limited and ATE Enterprises conducted a seminar on “Best Practices in Yarn Dyeing” to uplift technical competency of local textile industry. While DyStar is the world leader in textile dyes and chemical, the ATE is the pioneer in supplying textile machinery to world’s most reputed companies.

Around 60 technical persons from corporate like Vardhman, Vardhman Polytex, Venus Garments, and Supreme Yarns participated in the seminar. There was overwhelming response from entire Northern India and delegates from Delhi and Panipat region also participated.

Key trainers for the occasion were Manish Basale and Dr Siva Ramakumar Pariti from Dystar and G Elango from ATE covering chemistry and machinery respectively.

Topics discussed in the seminar ranged from machinery to finishing of yarn, including dyeing efficiency and cost reduction in particular.

“Dystar is committed to the development of the Indian textile industry. We plan to conduct such seminars on a regular basis to encourage and have a closer interaction with technical personnel and at the same time fulfilling the requirements of the Punjab textile industry,” said Vikas Puri, branch manager of Dystar, Chandigarh.

LUDHIANA: The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi, has approved 30 additional seats in BTech-I of civil engineering department in Guru Nanak Engineering College from the current session.

This was claimed in a communiqué by Dr MS Saini, director of GNE, here on Friday.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 2
Ever heard about claiming salary for a part of the year without working for even a single day?

Yes, some teachers working in government schools have been doing so. They remain on leave throughout the year, report for duty just prior to summer or winter vacations and claim salary for this period by greasing the palms of officials concerned.

The tendency exhibiting opportunism of professionals is playing a major role in ruining future of thousands of students besides duping the government.

Taking a note of the trend, authorities in the education department have directed the drawing and disbursing authorities to stop payment of salary to such teachers or officials.

However, as majority of these teachers have been running their private businesses or are looking after their family profession like agriculture, they manage to get their bill cleared by greasing the palms of officials concerned, including drawing and disbursing authorities.

Meanwhile, denying allegation of involvement of officials paying salaries, Krishana Sharda, principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Kartar Singh Dukki, maintained that the authorities had already started taking precautions in case of long leaves. “Even in case of teachers proceeding on maternity leave and ex-India leave we ensure that vacation period is not exploited for saving leaves,” said Sharda, acknowledging receipt of recent directions from the office of the Director General (schools), Punjab.

Students become the worst sufferers of the tendency as their syllabi remains untouched in the absence of alternate arrangements.

Regretfully none of the office bearers of the parent teachers associations of the area is reported to have brought the matter into the notice of higher authorities.

Responding to representations of few social organisations of the area, the state government has now decided to pay salary for vacation on prorate basis.

The heads of government schools of the region have been directed to pay salary for vacations in proportion to actual number of days the teacher has worked for.

Ludhiana, July 2
Perturbed by the repeated incidents of trespass by anti- social elements at SCD Government College, the authorities have decided to put up a fence around the college boundary wall, spreading across 51 acres.

Barbed wires have been erected along the boundary walls of the college and fencing work would be completed in a few days.

Principal Jasbir Kaur Makkar said the decision was taken after some anti-social elements were nabbed for trespass.

Robbers had struck at Government College last year and fled with nearly Rs 3 lakh after breaking the safe at the superintendent’s office. Five guards were taken hostage and one of them sustained serious injuries.

“The robbery was followed by a rise in cases of trespass by gamblers inside the college premises, prompting us to put barbed wires along the boundary walls,” she said.

It is stated that gamblers and drug addicts loitered around the cricket ground and tennis court.

Recently, the college authorities had nabbed some addicts and handed them over to the police after they teased some girls and quarrelled with students.

Parking of vehicles outside the college premises by students has also been banned. “Action would be taken if any outsider is found on the premises. I have told the traffic police to tow away vehicles parked near the college,” she said. 

Raikot, July 2
The Jagraon CIA staff arrested two persons with 101 bags (41quintal) of poppy husk here today. The police also impounded a truck used in transporting the contraband.

The poppy husk was being smuggled from Jaipur to the Kot Isse Khan area of Moga district for retail sale in a hidden compartment of the truck.

The recovery was made at a checkpoint set up by the CIA staff in charge Rachpal Singh and Raikot SHO Wariam Singh following a tip-off on the outskirts of Bassian village, near here.

At a press conference, Ludhiana SSP (rural) Harinder Singh Chahal said the team intercepted a truck (HR 58 9902) and seized the contraband from its occupants — Gurvinder Singh, alias Gogi, of Barundi village, near here, and Avtar Singh, alias Bhola, of Kaunke Khausa village, near Jagraon.

The police has registered a case against the two under Sections 15, 25, 61 and 85, NDPS Act.

The market value of the contraband is Rs 80 lakh and was to be sold to peddlers in Moga and Ferozepur districts.

During preliminary investigation, it was revealed that the two used to transport the contraband for Rs 20,000 for each trip.

The contraband was destined for Pippal Singh of Dolewala village, near Kot Isse Khan, and his brothers Sarabjit Singh and Paramjit Singh Pamma.

The SSP said the three were notorious smugglers and had several cases pending against them in various districts.

He added that police teams had been dispatched to arrest the three.

Ludhiana, July 2
A 17-year-old boy was arrested for attempting to rape a married woman at Model Town extension.

The accused has been identified as Arshdeep Singh, a student of Class XII. The boy was arrested after the woman, who was living as a tenant at the house of the accused, complained to the police he tried to rape her.

The incident took place last evening when the victim, who is the wife of a bank manager, was alone at home. Taking advantage of the situation the boy reportedly sneaked inside the house and tried to rape the woman.

Snahdeep, a close fried of the victim’s husband, was entering the house. On hearing the screams of the woman, he quickly entered the room. After thrashing the accused Snahdeep handed him over to the police. The accused has been booked under various sections for rape charges.

However, Gurnam Singh, father of the accused, termed the allegation as baseless. He said the woman has levelled false charges, as the couple wanted to usurp his property. Gurnam Singh said he had a dispute with his tenant, as the latter was neither paying the rent nor leaving the house.

Mandi Gobindgarh, July 2
Students from Desh Bhagat Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Mandi Gobindgarh, will assist the Commonwealth organising committee in the Commonwealth Games scheduled from September 20 to October 17 at New Delhi. Chairman Dr Zora Singh said the students would cater to the hospitality needs of sportspersons coming from various countries to participate in the games.

Also, a batch of 40 students of BSc-II (hospitality and hotel administration) under the National Council of Hotel Management and Catering Technology had proceeded on industrial training of 17 weeks in star hotels. — TNS