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GLADA nets Rs 12.5 crore Kuldip Bhatia
Mood of GLADA officials was upbeat over the heavy turn out of the buyers, which of course included the property dealers, while the bidders, at least majority of them, were in a state of frenzy, as they made repeated attempts to outbid others in order to purchase a particular residential plot. “At least 200 persons deposited the eligibility fee of Rs 50,000 to take part in the open auction for the plots of varying sizes - from 211 to 323 square yards, with a reserve price of Rs 12,000 per square yard,” said GLADA Additional Chief Administrator Jaswant Singh. The highest bid offered for a corner plot, which carry a premium of 10 per cent over the reserve price, was Rs 33,000 while the lowest successful bid was Rs 25,000 per square yard, he added. Sources in the property segment said no wonder the residential properties were sold at such at a premium, which was comparable with the prevailing market prices in this area. “While the genuine buyers might be happy to have made first hand purchase of residential plots in the auction, there was not much to be made by the property dealers as the difference between the sale price - more than double the reserve price, and the prevailing market price for these particular sites, was marginal,” they pointed out. “In the wake of tremendous response to the open auction for residential plots held today, we have expectations from the auction of 34 residential plots in Dhandari Kalan (Phase I and II) on March 21 and another 18 residential plots in Sector 32-A on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh Road on March 29,” said GLADA estate Officer Jeet Ram.
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Industrialist receives threat calls Mohit Khanna/TNS Ludhiana, March 17 SHO Model Town police station Manjinder Singh said Upkar had in his complaint stated that he first received a call on March 10, while he was sitting in his office, but due to some reason he could not attend it. He reportedly called at the number only to be told that it didn’t existed. Three days latter he again received a call from a mobile number (098214-00156). The anonymous caller, who claimed himself to an operative of the Indian Mujahideen based in Mumbai, threatened Upkar and asked him to arrange Rs 1.25 crore or face consequences. Initially, the industrialist took it to be a prank call, but a few days later he again received a call from a mobile number (96530-85663) and this time the caller threatened him and even sent intimidating messages. The industrialist didn’t take the matter lightly and lodged a complaint with the police. Investigating officer Sanjiv Kapoor said the industrialist had received three calls and a few messages. “We have registered the case and started the investigation. Nothing conclusive could be about the extortionist,” the investigating officer added. Upkar said, “I have reported the matter to the Commissioner of Police. I can’t comment on anything.”
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MC compiling data on employees’ ‘caste’
Ludhiana, March 17 The MC staff is now
looking into decades-old records of about 6,000 odd employees so as to
compile the details listing their ‘caste’ and ‘category’, but the staff
faces a daunting task due to poor maintenance of records. However, the
irony is that the MC has never collected any data on assessing the
performance of its employees, due to which the MC’s functioning has been
adversely affected. The local bodies department has issued charge sheets
to several top ranking officials for various irregularities detected in
the civic body. What is surprising is that instead of taking any action
on this front the government that though the government has instead
asked the MC to collect data on the ‘caste’ of its employees. Similarly
they have never asked any performance based data from civic body due to
which working of MC has been adversely affected. Sources in MC revealed
that taking advantage of this flaw a large number of tainted officials,
who have been charge sheeted by state government in one or other case,
are working at top positions in civic body. MC additional commissioner
Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar confirmed the civic body is compiling details on
the number of ‘backward class’ and ‘schedule caste’ employees. However,
she refused to comment on the relevance of the data. |
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Tale of two cities; experts not sure of success Manvinder Singh Tribune News Service
There is a striking difference between Leicester City and Ludhiana in terms of geographical area and population. The city, which was recently visited by high-level delegation of the MC led by Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura, has an area of about 73 kilometres, whereas the Ludhiana city has area of more than 159.37 kilometres square.
Similarly, out of 159.37 kilometres area of the city only 135 kilometres area is a declared area, whereas 29.92 kilometres of area is still undeclared and does not have the basic civic amenities. Despite tall claims, the MC has not been able to find suitable land for setting up solid waste management plant despite the fact that more than 900 tons of garbage is produced daily in the city. Further, the delegation is also ignoring the basic fact that there is a corrupt nexus of officers, politicians and contractors in the MC. Even the experts and public representatives believe that already there is a lot of pressure on existing infra structure in the city and the only solution for it is new long-term planning, which the MC hardly bothers to make. The experts asserted that foreign technology was of no use if it was not implemented in an honest manner and officials must be made accountable for their work.
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Beware of toxins in Holi colours Anshu Seth Tribune News Service
Synthetic colours, which are sold on most shop counters, contain harmful chemicals that are hazardous for the skin and hair. Right from heavy metals, acids, alkalis, powdered glass, asbestos, chalk pastes, lead oxide, green copper sulphate and red mercury sulphite, these artificially prepared colours are even mixed with mica and powdered glass that give a shine to them.
On the other hand, chest physician Dr Sushil Gupta while advising on the best treatment, said: "Inhalation therapy is the best and most affordable method to keep asthma under control. Inhalers are more effective because the medicine is delivered quickly exactly where it is required, which is in the airways in your lungs. Whereas in the case of tablets and syrups, it has to pass from the stomach to the blood and finally to the lungs, which can lead to side affects”. Allergic contact dermatitis is another outcome when playing with chemical colours, wherein people get dryness on face, arms and hands followed by itching and rashes. Dr Alka Dogra, a dermatologist at Dayanand Medical College & Hospital, said the results of allergic contact dermatitis surfaces even after seven days as people generally try to handle it on their own, which leads to hyper pigmentation on face and even hair loss. "A lot of people come to me with serious problems in their eyes, nose and ears after having used colours high in toxicity and leaving them unwashed," she noted. Dogra advised “herbal” and organic colours made from natural extracts from flowers, vegetables and minerals should be used on the festival.
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Finally, work starts on Jagraon-Mallha link road
Jagraon, March
17 Langah had come to inspect the construction work after local
Congress MLA Jagdip Singh Bhaini raised the issue in Punjab Assembly
today, following which speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon instructed the
minister to inspect the construction work. Raising the issue in the
state Assembly today, MLA Jagdip Singh Bhaini said despite the fact that
he raised the issue of Jagraon-Mallha link road in the Assembly several
times, the government is neglecting his demand. “The life span of this
road had already expired four years ago and most of the people have
started using alternative roads due to the bad condition of the road,”
rued Bhaini. Ironically, this road also connects Jagraon with Mallha,
which is the native village of former SAD MLA and present District
Planning Board chairman Bhag Singh Mallha. Besides, the village of SGPC
member Harsurinder Gill is also situated on this road. During a visit
to some of these villages, some of the village residents said the work
on this road was neglected due to the internal rivalry of two fractions
of the ruling party. “The main reason behind the delay was due to an
internal rivalry of two leaders of SAD. Otherwise, the road connecting
Mallha, the village of a former MLA and District Planning Board chairman
Bhag Singh Mallha, with Jagraon, should have been constructed on
priority basis,” a village resident said. Speaking to The Tribune,
sarpanch of Kothe Rahlan village Hari Singh said: “It was unfortunate
that this road remained neglected for several years. But we are happy
that this road is now finally being constructed.” Even Punjab and
Harayana High Court, following a public interest petition by NGO
Universal Human Rights Organisation recently, had issued notice to
Punjab government. Appearing before the court in this case, Punjab
Mandi Board had written an undertaking in the court to complete work
within a given time frame. But all in vain. Disappointed over the issue,
MLA Jagdip Singh Bhaini raised the issue in the Assembly, following
which the speaker asked the Agriculture Minister to take account of the
situation. Expressing satisfaction over the construction work, Langah
asked the Mandi Board officials to complete the work soon. The minister
was accompanied by Planning Board chairman Bhag Singh Mallha, Market
Committee Jagraon chairman Kanwaljit Singh Mallha and several other
leaders.
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Activists’ gherao police station Our correspondent
Talking to the mediapersons, front state chief Raj Singh Todarwal said on March 13, Amloh police had booked three front activists Gunjit Singh, a resident of Amloh, Pal Singh, a resident of Bhadal Thuha village and Gurjant Singh of Tooran village in an alleged false case under Sections 353 and 186 of the IPC. The front had given an ultimatum till March 16 to the SHO and DSP for the withdrawal of the case, failing which the front would launch a stir. Due to the failure of police, the front had to take to agitation. Medical officer Dr Teerath Bala was on duty when a case was brought for medical examination on March 12. The examination was conducted as per rules said Dr Bala, but after some time some persons caused disturbance in the emergency hall to get the report as per their wish. The front chief denied the allegation of creating nuisance in the hospital and said Rs 2,000 was allegedly charged from Mewa Singh of Himatgarh village by the doctor for the report and his party men had gone there for the refund of the money. Senior Medical Officer Dr Jagdish Kaur said Dr Teerath Bala had joined the hospital on November 10 last, and has been working honestly and there was no complaint against her. SHO Parshotam Singh Bal said on the statement of Dr Teerath Bala FIR No. 30 was registered against the three alleged accused persons. Pal Singh was arrested and was sent to judicial custody till March 28 by the local court. Todarwal declared that the fight will continue indefinitely till the withdrawal of the case. After three hours, the gherao was lifted with the intervention of Deputy Commissioner, who sent Tehsildar Shiv Kumar to persuade the agitators. The agitators presented a memorandum to the tehsildar. The police registered DDR No. 27 today against medical officer Teerath Bala on the alleged allegation of taking Rs 2,000 as undue gratification from the patient, for which the inquiry will be conducted within 15 days. Assurance was also given that the case against three activists would be withdrawn within five days after the inquiry.
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DC visits tehsil complex Our Correspondent
Khamano, March 17 Though he assured that he would discuss the matter with officials concerned, still failed to give any time frame to solve them. The Sangharash committee brought to the notice of DC that apart from tehsil employees, students of nearby schools and residents were worst affected. The committee members after viewing all the developments decided to continue with the struggle, as the assurances will not serve any purpose. Fed up with menace of pests, students of Government Senior Secondary School, including girls sat on a dharna with the agitating tehsil employees demanding removal of rotten wheat and paddy from the tehsil complex, as pests developed from here were causing serious problems in and around the tehsil complex and also the school. Leaders of the Sangharash committee expressed sorrow that despite examination time, students were forced to sit on a dharna. The DMs of purchasing agencies, too, joined the protesters. The Sangharash committee, on the assurance of district planning board chairperson Satwinder Kaur Dhaliwal, deferred its decision of traffic blockade till Sunday, but decided if the matter was not resolved by Sunday then they will block the traffic on the Ludhiana Chandigarh road on Monday for indefinite period.
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Lok Morcha sides with industrialists Our Correspondent
Ludhiana,
March 17 He said: “On one hand, the union or the state governments are welcoming the foreign companies to help them with sound tax rebates for establishing special economic zone. On the other hand, they are imposing big taxes on small industries that are originally feeding several industrialists and workers,” said Kasturi Lal. Himmat Singh, secretary of Lok Morcha, alleged that various scams and scandals have been originated from such anti-people policies. “Small industrialists, workers, students, youth, employees, labourers and farmers have been gruelling with such policies. But the governments, instead of solving problems, have been leaving no chance to exploit people,” he added.
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Widening of National Highway-1 Tribune News Service
In order to give relief to commuters from traffic problem on this major road, the work on six laning of about 291 km of the NH-1 from Panipat City to Jalandhar City had started about two years ago. Under this project it was proposed that the highway crossing about 116 km in the territory of Haryana and 175 km in Punjab would be six laned by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at the cost of about Rs 3,800 crore. The private company undertaking work on behalf of the NHAI is constructing flyovers and subways in the city starting from the Ambala road octroi post to Jalandhar bypass. In order to solve the traffic problem at the major traffic bottlenecks like Jalandhar bypass, Shivpuri Chowk, Basti Joddewal Chowk, Sherpur Chowk and Samrala Chowk, flyovers are being constructed at all these places. Besides, the plan also proposes to widen the existing railway over bridges at Sherpur and near Laddowal into six lanes. However, owing to technical reasons, the work on the ambitious project, which was expected to be completed by November 11, has been delayed and would now be completed by January 31, 2012. Sources revealed that the project would get delayed by two months, as the electricity department of state had not shifted their lines crossing through the highway. Sources further revealed that another major problem confronted during the construction work was the sewerage lines of the city on this highway. Besides, land acquisition in some stretches had not taken place yet. Sources stated that if the company completed the work in its fixed time then it would get a bonus of about Rs 250 crore to Rs 300 crore due to which the company officials were trying to complete the work in the stipulated time period. When contacted, Parshottam Mittal, general manager of SOMA company, which is executing the project, confirmed that the work was delayed due to some technical reasons. Though he refused to give details, he asserted that they were trying to complete the work in the prescribed time period.
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Stranded, passengers fret Northern Rly claims fall flat Kuldip Bhatia
Ludhiana, March 17 ”Tatkal” tickets have been sold out and most of the long-haul trains don’t even have “ room” (waiting unavailable). With passengers desperate to travel because of their family commitments, travel agents and touts are having a field day by selling “benami” reserved tickets at a premium. According to railway officials, several trains, including 15708 Amritsar-Katihar Amrapali Express, 14674 Amritsar-Jaynagar Shaheed Express, 13050 Amritsar-Howrah Express and 12318 Sachkhand Express were fully booked and even waiting list was not available. The reservation complex at the railway station usually remains jam-packed with people, who keep on waiting for hours together to book their tickets, or else look for other alternatives. After unsuccessful attempts to get confirmed reservation most of them are accosted by touts and agents with the offer of ‘benami’ tickets - booked well in advance, which are obviously available at a premium. Ram Parsad Mahto, a resident of Madhubani in Bihar, who works at a cycle parts units, said, “I have been visiting the reservation centre for the past three days with a hope to get a “tatkal” ticket in one of Bihar-bound trains. I have not been able to get one as these get exhausted within a few minutes. At times even before the booking window opens. I am now banking on a travel agent, who has promised to arrange a reserved accommodation for me by tomorrow. But, I will have to shell out a hefty amount out of my hard-earned money.” Authorities of the Northern Railway, however, said adequate arrangements had been made to cope with the festival rush. One festival special was started from Ferozepur to Saharsa on March 13 and another left for Saharsa from Ludhiana today. Provisions have been made to attach three additional coaches to Amritsar-Saharsa Gareeb Rath, and two each to Shaheed Express, Amrapali Express and Jammu-Varanasi Express.
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Kisan mela kicks off amidst protests Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, March 17 Till 11.30 am, the attendance of striking students and police personnel on duty was more than farmers coming from all over the state. The hustle and bustle of the farmers began only in the afternoon with the farmers reaching the venue in buses, trucks, tractor-trolleys and even in swanky cars. At around 9.30 am, the striking students of PAU from various departments gathered outside the main grounds from where chief guest Ajmer Singh Lakhowal had to inaugurate the event. The students raised the anti-government slogans. They held the state government responsible for “frustration” among the students. They pointed out that real farmer (marginal) in the state was under debts, while the political leaders having hundreds of acres of land were enjoying the clout. Though the police and university authorities tried to convince the students, they refused to disperse without meeting the chief guest. On arriving at PAU, Punjab Mandi chairman Ajmer Singh Lakhowal went to the agitating students, to whom the latter registered their protest. In yet another assurance, Lakhowal said he would take up the matter with the Chief Minister as early as possible. When the students asked Lakhowal to provide a deadline for notification of posts, Lakhowal said, “Well, that is not in my preview. I cannot give you any specific date. In case your demand is not met on time, you will start protesting against me.” But he made sure that 55 posts in the mandi board would soon be filled. He said 5 per cent of these posts would be filled from the rural population. Meanwhile, the students of PAU have boycotted the two-day mela. PAUSA members said they would make sure that the farmers or visitors did not face any inconvenience due to the strike. “We will hold our protest peacefully without creating any kind of indiscipline,” said PAUSA president Rajwinder Singh Randhawa.
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Legal services at the doorstep of farmers
Ludhiana, March 17 The member
secretary of the State Legal Services Authority, Munish Singal
(Additional Sessions Judge) interacted with the farmers, who had come to
attend the event. He noticed the problems being faced by farmers and
guided them to tackle the situation legally. “It’s strange that even
after 63 years of independence, people are still unaware about their
legal rights. Legal Services Authority has decided to go to the door
steps of farmers to educate them. Creating awareness among farmers is
one such effort. Soon we will go to villages through mobile vans,” said
Singal. The response from the farming community was overwhelming. The
farmers from far-off villages raised a number of queries. “It has
certainly encouraged us. Law students of Panjab University Regional
Centre Ludhiana have also extended their help in making our effort
successful,” added Singal. He further apprised that free legal services
were being provided to the needy. Any person belonging to the Schedule
caste/tribe, persons suffering from natural calamity, industrial worker,
children, insane person, handicap, persons in custody and those having
annual income less than Rs 1 lakh were entitled to avail free legal
aid. He said that 285 persons were given free legal aid in 2010 at
Ludhiana alone.
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Pashu Palan Mela Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, March 17 While inaugurating the mela, Dr VK Taneja, Vice-Chancellor GADVASU, said the centuries-old livestock profession depicts the long relation of humans with animals. “Human beings have long old relation with animals. That is the reason, which motivates a man to take care of health, production and other related aspects of livestock in a scientific and modern way. GADVASU today has showcased all its research, education and extension programmes at the event for the benefit of livestock farmers,” said Dr Taneja. A farmer in pisci-culture from Gharuan village, Rupinder Singh said, “Taking place twice a year in March and September, the mela brings much excitement. This two-day event provides a platform for farmers, scientists, extension workers, dairy officers, fodder and fisheries’ officers, various veterinary pharmaceuticals and agribusiness firms and banking sectors to interact directly with the farmers, who are keen on diversification,” said Rupinder Singh. Dr KS Sandhu, director of extension education, revealed that a large number of people showed their interest in taking up goat, pig and fishery farming this year and especially inquired about the training programmes of GADVASU. “The university publications on different subjects of livestock farming are also made available to the farmers. The farmers are attracted towards diversification and for this, they have been getting all details by experts on pig/goat/duck farming and pisci-culture,” said Sandhu. Various departments of the College of Veterinary Science put up their stall in the mela and strived their best to transfer valuable inputs and recommendations to the farmers. A separate question-answer session was held for the livestock farmers where the farmers’ queries were addressed. The experts delivered talks on various aspects of livestock, poultry and fish farming and the mechanism and procedures to overcome the common problems faced by them. Live demonstrations on various aspects, along with mastitis diagnosing kit, teat dip practice and acaricide drug application were also demonstrated to the farmers. The College of Fisheries Science displayed various carp fish, ornamental fish, azolla and duckweed cultivation. Farmers inquired about fisheries’ profession, ornamental fish and saline water fish. Likewise, value added products of meat and milk, lassi, ice-cream, nuggets, egg pickles remained the attraction among farmers. A large number of livestock farmers visited the stall put up by the animal nutrition department to purchase the products being sold at nominal rates.
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Ghumman in fray for presidentship Our Legal Correspondent
Ludhiana,
March 17 The sitting DBA president, Naval Kishore Chhibber and Sales Tax Bar Association president Arun Kanwal accompanied him at the time of filing nomination. Ghumman has already served on the post of the president twice. Ankur Ghai, along with his supporters, filed nomination papers for the post of secretary.
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Graduation ceremony
Ludhiana, March 17 Principal Paramjit Kaur graced the occasion as the chief guest.
It was a moment of celebration and pride for the tiny tots while
receiving their graduation certificates amidst loud applause. The
principal stressed on the need to give good education to children from
early age. — OC
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Youth kidnapped from bus stand
Jagraon, March 17 The
kidnapped youth has been identified as Kulwinder Singh of Siwian village
in Bathinda district. As per information, he had come to Jagraon for
some urgent work when he was kidnapped. Giving details, bus stand
police post in charge officer Chaman Parkash Singh stated that Kulwinder
had a dispute with one Jaskaran Singh of the same village. Kulwinder’s
family had lodged a complaint against Jaskarn Singh stating that he had
taken Rs 10 lakh from them on the pretext of sending Kulwinder abroad. Jaskaran, when summoned by the Bajakhana police, said Kulwinder’s
family had lodged a false complaint him. He also told the police that
Kulwinder was staying away from home to implicate him in this case. Following this the Bajakhana police reportedly asked him to present
Kulwinder before it. After this Jaskaran somehow managed to contact
Kulwinder and met him at Jagraon this afternoon. Both even had lunch
together in a restaurant. However, when they were walking to the bus
stand after having lunch, some people kidnapped Kulwinder and fled away
in an SUV. Though a traffic police employee tried to stop the vehicle
and also got minor injuries during his bid to stop them, the kidnappers
succeeded to flee. The police is investigating the matter though no case
was registered till the filing of this report. When contacted SSP
Gursharan Singh Sandhu said he was aware of the incident and assured
action would be taken against the guilty as per the law. He further
said whatever the reason behind this incident was, picking up a person
in this way was an offence and suitable action would be taken against
the guilty.
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ITI students adjudged fastest sprinters
Ludhiana, March 17 A large number
of participants drawn from different ITI centres in the Ludhiana zone
are taking part in various sports disciplines during this two-day event.
Prominent industrialists of the town were present at the inaugural
ceremony. Results 800m race (girls): 1 Babita Sharma of Ludhiana, 2
Amandeep Kaur of Ludhiana and 3 Surinder Pal Kaur of Bullapur, Khanna. 100m
race: 1 Parminder Kaur of Nawanshahr, 2 Jaspreet Kaur of Ludhiana and 3
Sharanjit Kaur of Ludhiana. 200m race: 1 Sandeep Kaur of Jassewal Kular,
2 Raj Rani of Nawanshahr and 3 Sharanjit Kaur of Ludhiana. 400m race: 1
Rupinder Kaur of Jassewal Kular, 2 Babita Sharma of Ludhiana and 3
Rimple of Ludhiana. 1,500m race (boys): 1 Sukhraj Singh of Ludhiana, 2
Rajinder Singh of Ludhiana and Davinder Singh of Samrala. 800m race: 1
Rampal Singh of Ludhiana, 2 Ravinder Singh of Ludhiana and 3 Ajit Singh
of Nawanshahr. 100m race: 1 Kuljinder Singh of Gujjarwal, 2 Rampal
Singh of Ludhiana and 3 Ramandeep Singh of Ludhiana. 200m race: 1
Kuljinder Singh of Gujjarwal, 2 Jaspreet Singh of Ludhiana and 3
Sukhjinder Mangat of Nawanshahr. 400m race: 1 Rampal Singh of Ludhiana,
2 Rahul Kumar of Gujjarwal and 3 Sukhwinder Singh of Nawanshahr.
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Ludhiana, March 17
Ludhiana, March 17
Similarly, Leicester city has
total 22 wards, whereas Ludhiana has total 75 wards wherein huge
population is there. The Leicester City has a population of around 2
lakh people, whereas Ludhiana has 10 times more population. The total
population of Ludhiana is around 20 lakh. But ignoring all these ground
realities, members of the delegation are now claiming to transform city
by adopting techniques prevalent in Leicester.
Ludhiana, March 17
Dr Baldeep Singh, a
pediatrician at Deep Hospital, said asthmatic children who play with wet
and chemical colours on Holi are the worst sufferers. "I get dozens of
cases of youngsters between 5-15 years of age where asthmatic children
are hospitalized every year after Holi. The use of organic colours and
flowers is safer and if the children are using synthetic colours these
shouldn’t be applied on the chest and face but be restricted to the
limbs” he observed.
Amloh, March 17
Ludhiana, March 17
