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Student, supdt booked in cheating case
Ludhiana, March 25 In order to curb the ''copying" menace, the PSEB has installed 10 hoardings, which spoke more of the achievements of the Akali-BJP alliance. The hoardings were actually a mode to propagate the government’s achievements for the forthcoming elections.
After a cheating case came to the fore in Jagraon tehsil on March 23, another such case surfaced in Jagraon-based private school yesterday, which has flattened the tall claims of the authorities.The PSEB appointed centre superintendent has come under scanner again for helping students to cheat and for misbehaving with the flying squad. On getting a tip off, the flying squad under the supervision of Jasvir Kaur reached the spot after getting a special permission from the District Education Officer (DEO) and found some chits lying besides the rows of students appearing in class XII Punjabi paper. "I did not blame any student. But gave a warning to teachers and the superintendent to conduct the exams carefully," she said. "Jasvir further said, "I revisited the centre after some time and found that even the superintendent was helping students. A chit was recovered in a student's pocket. I filed a case against the student, giving warnings to the superintendent, but he misbehaved with the team and refused to sign the complaint file. Forcibly, we filed a case against the superintendent too."
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Wrong fixation of hipbone during operation
Ludhiana, March 25 After hours of negotiations with the family and activists of the Universal Human Rights Organisation, an NGO, the hospital authorities constituted an inquiry panel following which the contract of the orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Gautam Arora, was terminated.
Sandeep Singh had taken his father, Mangu Ram, who was suffering from a broken hipbone, to the hospital on February 28. Dr Arora operated upon Mangu Ram, but the patient got no relief and was in even more pain. An X-ray showed that the bone had been fixed incorrectly. “The operation was conducted in the first week of March, but instead of owning responsibility, the surgeon asked the patient and his family to go to the DMCH,” Sandeep Singh said. Having failed to get any response from the hospital, Sandeep Singh approached the NGO, which took up the matter with the hospital authorities today. “I am a beneficiary of the ESIC fund. It was the responsibility of the hospital to take up my case on my request, but I was forced to approach the NGO,” he said. The NGO president, Satnam Singh Dhaliwal, said it was a model hospital that catered to industrial workers and it should employ competent doctors, who should be held accountable for providing quality service to people from economically weaker sections.
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50 councillors give seminar a miss
Manvinder Singh Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, March 25 A team of the Mahatma Gandhi State institute of Public Administration was in the city to apprise the officials of the Municipal Corporation and elected councillors of its importance and ways to tackle it to ensure minimum loss to the life and property. The top brass of the civic body, including Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura, Additional Commissioner Kuldeep Singh, Joint Commissioner BK Gupta, Senior Deputy Mayor Praveen Bansal and Deputy Mayor Sunita Aggarwal attended the seminar. The venue looked deserted, as most of the councillors remained absent. Municipal councillors callousness towards this serious issue could well be judged from the fact that more then 50 councillors out of 75 preferred to stay away from the seminar held at the A zone office of the civic body. Those present on the occasion showed little interest in the seminar that could otherwise have proved a boon for the city. The city falls in the high-risk category due to blatant violation of building bylaws.Though a few senior officials of the building and roads (B&R) branch and the building branch were present in the meeting, but they showed little interest in it. Experts, however, gave a detailed presentation on how changes could be made in the building bylaws for ensuring minimum loss of life in case of natural disaster.
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Illegal commercial activities thrive in LIT colonies
Ludhiana, March 25 In colonies like Isher Singh Nagar, Bhagat Singh Nagar and Valmiki Nagar, or for that matter Sarabha Nagar, Model Town Extension and Randhir Singh Nagar (which have been transferred to the municipal corporation for maintenance), shops, showrooms, eateries or other outlets have been set up by owners of buildings or apartments. This is in breach of the rules under which the Ludhiana Improvement Trust allotted the flats or plots. The rules clearly state that the property would not be used for any other purpose than intended (residential in these cases). Ironically, even as commercial activities are thriving in almost all Ludhiana Improvement Trust colonies for the past several years, the authorities failed to take cognizance of the violations that led to the problem growing manifold over this period. A large number of people residing in these colonies, upset over the nuisance caused by commercial use of residential buildings and flats, kept knocking at the doors of Ludhiana Improvement Trust officials without much success. Eventually it took the notice served by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on a writ petition by a man owning an 8.4-acre plot in the Isher Singh Nagar residential scheme to spur the officials into action. It was officially stated that, following a survey conducted in the colony, about 190 “show cause” notices have been served on offenders who were found to have set up commercial establishments in HIG (high income group) residential apartments in the area. Not only this, Ludhiana Improvement Trust issued a public notice in newspapers asking the apartment owners as to why their allotment should not be cancelled for violation of provisions governing allotment of flats. Further follow-up action in the matter is now awaited.When asked about the increasing use of residential properties for commercial use in almost all colonies, LIT chairman MM Vyas said a beginning had been made in Isher Singh Nagar and show cause notices served on those violating regulations. “We shall take up the trust colonies one by one but, given the staff shortage, it’ll take some time. But change of land use will not be permitted and all such cases will be taken to their logical conclusion in accordance with the law,” Vyas added.
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Illegal Possession of House
Ludhiana, March 25 Amarjit claimed that he was thrown out of his house by the trio on May 31, 2010. The complainant said they forcibly took him to a vacant plot and abused and manhandled him till he signed on a plain stamp paper. “Soonafter, I was thrown out of my house and a lock was put on the door,” he said.
At the time of the incident, Vardhman Nagar was under the jurisdiction of the Meharban police station and the head constable was posted there. Later, Vardhman Nagar was shifted under the jurisdiction of the Basti Jodhewal police station. “I did not get any help from the Station House Officers (SHOs) of the Meharban and Basti Jodhewal police stations. I then approached the Commissioner of Police and he directed the SHO concerned to immediately redress my problem,” he stated. In the meantime, the complainant had no option, but to take a house on rent and buy articles of daily use. “It has become an unending wait for me as nobody paid heed to the orders of Police Commissioner Ishwar Singh. I am tired of fighting for what seems a lost cause and have decided to end my life. But I will hold the police department responsible for my death,” a dejected Amarjit stated.
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DBA politics heading towards confrontation
Ludhiana, March 25 Thus, the District Bar Association politics is heading towards major confrontation in the coming days. Its annual elections is sheduled to be held on April 1. Adressing a press conference, District Bar Association president Naval Kishore Chhibber said they would stage a dharna to lodge a protest against the Bar Council Chairman’s at the district court complex tomorrow. He alleged that it was encroachment upon the rights of the association and unnecessary interfernce by the Bar Council at the behest of former Bar Council chairman BK Goel. The process of election has already commenced with the filing of nomination papers by all aspiring contestants with the returning officers and assistant returning officers appointed by the association’s legally in its general house meeting, he added. Accusing the Bar Council Chairman GurinderPal Singh of allegedly acting in a biased manner ,Chhiber said that he acted beyond jurisdiction and prayer made by two lawyers in their application adressed to him. Bar Council passed the orders acting on a complaint moved by contender for the post of president Ashok Mittal and aspiring contestant for the post of secretary Ankur Ghai with the allegations of appointment of returning officer and assistant returning officers illegally by the association’s president. Challenging the authority of the Bar Council, Chhiber said since the association was not registerated with the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana as per the rules framed by the Bar Council in 2009. So, the orders passed by Bar Council Chairman Gurinder Pal Singh were not binding upon the assiciation’s members. Senior lawyer Davinder Singh Saini stated in the press conference that how a lawyer practising at local courts and registered member of bar association can be estopped from casting vote by Bar Council. What was the illegality, if a lawyer was registered with some other State Bar Council. He said it was infringment of fundamental right of lawyers. Retired judge Jaspal Singh Chugh, N C Kapil, Sachin Arora were also present during the press conference. Right to Intervene
The Bar Council has the right to intervene and resolve the dispute arising among lawyers. Orders were not passed under anyones influence. Once the District Bar Association president appear before us and file a reply, the question of jurisdiction won’t stands anywhere. — Gurinder Pal Singh, Chairman, Bar Council This decision has been taken in the right spirit and for ensuring free and fair elections. — B K Goel, Former Chairman, Bar Council
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Fancy speed breakers an irritant
Ludhiana, March 25 The building and roads (B&R) section of the Municipal Corporation recently installed these rumble strips at a number of places, including one near the residence of the Municipal Commissioner, to slow down the speeding vehicles. The purpose of these strips seems to be something else than for commuters’ convenience. Overzealous Municipal Corporation officials had, while installing these speed breakers, forgot to put any precautionary board, which is mandatory whenever traffic moving in speed gets obstructed. But to appease their political and administrative bosses by slowing down the vehicles in front of their houses, the officials had installed these at every nook and cranny of the city, resulting in a lot of inconvenience to the general public. Numerous people die on city roads every year due to negligent attitude of the municipal authorities. Raising a question mark over the utility of these fancy speed breakers, Dr Kamaljeet Soi, who is the vice-chairman of the Punjab Police State Apex Committee on road safety and traffic management, government of Punjab, said precautionary board was mandatory for such speed breakers else it could result in a fatal accident. Alleging that the Municipal Corporation has no plan to execute the work, he said rather than any planning, municipal officials just act under the pressure of their higher-ups. Similarly, he asserted that municipal officials were violating the norms while installing these speed breakers, which legally could not be constructed on main roads. Soi said these rumble strips were two to three inches in height, which could tilt any two-wheeler, causing damage to life and vehicles. “It is also a violation of the Indian Road Congress Manual, which stresses that precautionary boards must be installed before such speed breakers,” he added. Amarjeet Singh, a social activist, also said everyday while passing by the residence of the Municipal Commissioner; he notices a large number of vehicles tumble due to these speed breakers. He said if these were to be installed, proper precautionary boards must be ensured along with these. Appeasing political bosses
Municipal officials have installed rumble strips at every nook and cranny of the city to appease political and administrative bosses. This has
put general public in a lot of inconvenience. A few deaths take place on city roads due to the negligent attitude of the Municipal Speed breaker specifications *
“Central Height: 10-12 cm; Shape: Parabola; Width: 3.5 meters; Length: same as road width. *
“Road humps should be painted in a ‘V’ shape and illuminated by solar cat’s eyes (solar cells embedded on pavements/road that reflect sun rays and glow in the dark) to make them visible. *
“The humps should not be more than 5 m away from the junction or the intersection. *
“Two signboards, one at 20 to 30 m and another 10 m away from the hump should be placed for the commuters to know about the road humps ahead. Intrusion of tree branches should be prevented. *
“Road humps should be put up only on the main roads and not on the cross roads. *
“In ‘rumble strips’, (humps that have around 5 to 10 strips together), the width of each strip is to be 1 foot and the gap between each strip, 1 foot.
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4,000
multi-storeyed flats for urban poor
Ludhiana, March 25 The team asked municipal officials about the problems being faced by them in executing the work. However, they expressed satisfaction over the pace of work and told municipal officials to speed up the work so that work gets completed on time. The Municipal Corporation has taken up this housing project with the help of the Union government funds. The foundation stone for the work was laid by Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal two years ago. The Union government will bear the 50 per cent cost of this ambitious project. The Municipal Corporation will share 30 per cent and the state 20 per cent of the cost.
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Officials pass the buck
Kuldip Bhatia
Ludhiana, March 25 The Tribune had highlighted the brazen attempt by certain riot victims to usurp government land for commercial exploitation in the issue of February 25, quoting officials of the public works department (PWD) that a detailed report had been sent to senior officials and the district administration for action. But no action has been taken yet. Area residents said the fact that the construction continued even after PWD officials demolished a part of the wall last month and asked the violators to clear the site, spoke volumes about the helplessness of the administration and the arrogance of the law-breakers. Residents of PWD Colony alleged: “Riot victims are making forcible entry into government flats or occupying vacant government land. They are not afraid of the law and the authorities also do nothing for fear of annoying politicians.” A PWD official said the department was aware of the unlawful occupation of land near CRPF Colony. “A report has been sent to supervisory officers of the PWD department and the district administration. Initiating action for the removal of encroachments is their responsibility,” he said.
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Legislator felicitated for raising issue in Assembly
Our Correspondent
Mandi Ahmedgarh, March 25 SAD unit chief Amar Singh Saraon presided over the felicitation function. The reference to the committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and cabinet minister Manoranjan Kalia has raised the hopes of area residents. Minister for revenue Ajit Singh Kohar had placed the matter before the committee after the in-charge of the SAD for Amargarh Assembly segment and legislator Iqbal Singh Jhoondan raised the issue in the house of legislators a few days ago. The demand to upgrade the town to a subdivision had emerged as one of the major conditions of all speakers during various functions held in the area during the past few months. Realising the significance of the upgrade, Jhoondan had urged the higher authorities, including the Vidhan Sabha Speaker and the Chief Minister, to do the needful in the interest of area residents. Acknowledging the demand made by office-bearers of various political, social and trade organisations, Jhoondan said senior leaders, including Kohar, Sukhbir and Kalia, had given a sympathetic hearing to his arguments and assured that the town would be upgraded to a sub-division during the next reorganisation process. With political atmosphere warming up for the next Assembly elections, the subdivision issue had once again emerged as a major agenda during public meetings held at various places in the town and localities falling under Sangrur district during the past few months. Municipal council president Usha Sood, and councillors Ravinder Puri, Bimal Sharma and Dilshad Khan said it was for the first time that the demand had been raised in the Assembly. The leaders alleged that successive legislators from the Malerkotla constituency had been ignoring the residents’ demand to upgrade the sub-tehsil. The tendency had resulted in a situation wherein all government offices, except the joint sub-registrar’s office, had been shifted to Malerkotla.
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Children apprised of safety norms
Ludhiana, March 25 The kids were on an education tour. They were apprised of the safety norms. Station House Officer (SHO) Paramjit Singh who enjoyed the company of kids said people were reluctant to follow the safety norms. The SHO said people should coordinate with the police officials to help them maintain law and order effectively in the city. Children interacted with the police personnel. They were told that they could dial 100 in case of any emergency. "People have high expectations from the police and we are putting in efforts to live up to their expectations. Times are changing and so must the cops," he added. Sidhu said, "A policeman must be a friend, counsellor, role model and a mediator to safeguard the interest of public. Principal Veena Aggarwal laid emphasis on the importance of being aware. She added that they should urge their parents to adhere to the norms which are prescribed by the police department for the prevention of crime.
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Action against law violators in Feroze market
Ludhiana, March 25 The MC Commissioner, AK
Sinha, had inspected the market yesterday and had ordered that stern action be taken against people who violated the law. The MC team ensured that no vehicle was parked on the route meant for the passing of fire engines during emergency. Several temporary encroachments were also removed. The traffic police, accompanying the MC team, towed away wrongly parked cars and two-wheelers in the market. Besides, more than a dozen vehicles were
challaned.
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Hotel industry perturbed over levying of service tax
Ludhiana, March 25 In the Budget 2011-12, the service tax cover has been widened to include hotel accommodation above Rs 1,000 per day and AC restaurants serving liquor. Staying in a hotel or eating in a restaurant that serves liquor as well will now cost 10 per cent more. Similarly, restaurants are already paying 13.75 per cent tax as VAT, whereas, levy of another 3 per cent service tax will put a total burden of 16.75 per cent on customers. "The government has announced a 5 per cent service tax on hotel accommodation in excess of Rs 1,000 per day and on service provided by air-conditioned restaurants that have license to serve liquor. This proposal has come as a further blow to the already tax -burdened hotel industry," said Manjit Singh, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Punjab. Comparing the fall of tourists in India with other countries, Amarvir Singh, general secretary of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Punjab, said, this year only 5.58 lakh tourists visited India while in Sri Lanka the figure was 6.05 lakh, in Indonesia 7.03 lakh tourists came, in Singapore and Thailand the number of tourists visited was 11.06 lakh and 15.8 lakh respectively. Evaluating rate of taxes in different countries, he said in Malaysia the tax applicable on hotel industry was just 6 per cent, in Thialand and Singapore it was 7 per cent while in Indonesia it was 10 per cent. While in India luxury tax varied from 9 to 23 per cent in different states and VAT was applicable from 12.5 per cent to 32.5 per cent in different states. "The only reason behind the less number of tourists coming to India is the high rate of taxes. The imposition of the service tax is a retrograde step and will severely impact the tourism and hotel industry in the country. It will make India a destination less competitive than other neighbouring tourist nations, said another hotelier from the city," he added
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Garment industry to go on indefinite strike
Ludhiana, March 25 Fresh proposal is not going to provide any benefit to the manufactures, as they will continue to be taxed on the amount, which is similar to the wholesale price of the product. “The industry expresses resentment and is not satisfied with the outcome of the parleys with the finance minister. It has decided to continue with protest and
bandh. I also urge all hosiery manufacturers and textile units “to take part in an indefinite strike”, so that the government realises that we are not just protesting for dong away with the excise duty but are bound to do so because various inter- related factors,” he added.
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Rs 86.11 lakh recovered from residents
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, March 25 The officials of the operation and maintenance branch have launched a major drive for collecting the pending arrears from the defaulters on Thursday and Friday. The teams of Zone A and B led by executive engineer Kamlesh Bansal had recovered Rs 33.95 lakh in the past two days. Teams of Zone C and D led by executive engineer Manjit Singh has recovered Rs 52.66 lakh in the past two days from the defaulters. Both Bansal and Manjit Singh claimed that the drive would be intensified in coming days.
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Bike expo in city
Ludhiana, March 25 Important bicycle trade bodies of India, including the All-India Cycle Manufacturers Association, the United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association and the Indian Cycle Rickshaw Manufacturers Association, have extended their support to the exposition. The Engineering Exporters Association of India and the Industrial Development Council,
Ludhiana, have also announced support to the event. The national-level show is being organised keeping in view the industry and trade demand, since a lot of development and changes have taken place and many new products have joined the industry over the years.
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Karamjit’s new book on stands
"All the plays in the book have already been enacted during camps and some have won prizes as well," he said. “Although story books for children are available in the market, there are hardly any books containing plays. Children will enjoy reading plays from the book and will get a social message as well," he said.
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City lad releases poetry book in US
Ludhiana, March 25 The parents of Manav are proud of their son’s achievement. Dr Subhash Sachdeva, his father and Dr Pawan Sachdeva, his mother, from the local Dandi Swami Area are delighted that their son has carved a niche for his poetry on an international level. ‘The Sufi's Garland’, besides collection of poems on love, religion and humanity, also pays tribute to Rabindra Nath Tagore (on his 150th birth anniversary), Antonio Paorchia and Emily Dickinson, and has succeeded in transforming the image of Afghanistan from a land of terror to a land of love and affection. Exploring themes like love and struggle to overcome the barrier of nationality, class and creed, the author describes the book as 'handbook for those who care to love'. The book was written when the poet was in Kabul. Contrary to the common belief, the poet believes that it was only in Afghanistan that the soil and the people were responsive to poetry in a way that touched their soul more than their senses. "We are glad that Masoom has projected Afghanistan as a land where poetry still lives," says Subhash and Pawan. Currently working with the United Nations, Masoom had left the city after his first poem was published in The Tribune when he was only 12-years old.
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Arya College non-teaching
staff on stay-in strike
Ludhiana, March 25 Various leaders of the Arya College non-teaching employees union while addressing the gathering demanded the implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission pay scales from January 1, 2006, on the basis of pay-parity. Union leader Ashwani Thakur said that the non-teachers act as the spinal chord in an education institution. "The Akali-BJP government has been ignoring the right and demands of the non-teaching employees," he alleged. While the leaders clarified that they (non-teaching employees unions) don't hope to disturb the system or the students at the college. "The state government is responsible if we are staging protest at the college," asserted Ashwani.
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Don’t divide PAU, say alumini
Ludhiana, March 25 About a dozen alumni members of 1951 batch of PAU (the oldest living batch) gathered at Parker House today to share some nostalgic moments of "college-days". The septaugenarian members who attended the meet included Dr DS Dev from California, Prof RS Mangat, Arjan Singh- retired as additional director, Agriculture, Haryana, BS Ahluwalia, principal research officer, Dublin, Gian Singh Dhesi, Hari Kumar, Col. Joginder Singh Sandhu, Tirath Singh and Tehal Singh. "We have no vested interest in PAU but we are emotionally attached to the farm university, which has given us recognition worldwide. We appeal to government not to dry resources of PAU like that. In the interest of the state and the country as PAU plays an important role in imparting knowledge to farmers, the land must not be taken away from PAU. The government needs to provide separate chunk to Animal Sciences University, which should not be any part of PAU", said Ahluwalia.
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From Schools
Workshops
Workshops on “Empowering Teachers” in subjects like English, Hindi, mathematics, social science and science were organised at different venues in Kundan Vidya Mandir. Officiating principal Navita Puri inaugurated the programme. Resource persons gave a PowerPoint presentation covering various aspects of their respective subjects. The school faculty appreciated this endeavour and expressed its desire to have more such programmes in future as well. — TNS
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4 kg charas seized
Ludhiana, March 25 Baldev Singh, Station House Officer (SHO), said the duo was nabbed while trying to smuggle the contraband out of the railway station. He said the accused were migrant labourers. “We have registered a case under the NDPS Act against the accused and investigation is on,” he said.
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Patwari held for accepting bribe
Ludhiana, March 25 Gurcharan Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Vigilance Bureau, said Daljeet Singh, a resident of Kasabaad village, had in a complaint lodged with them alleged that Keemat Singh, patwari of Kasabaad revenue block, was demanding bribe from them for recording their division of ancestral property. He said Daljeet Singh had approached the patwari on March 22 for the work and demanded Rs 50,000 for doing it. He, however, said patwari agreed to accept Rs 40,000. Out of this, Rs 10,000 was to be handed over in advance. The DSP said a trap was laid and patwari nabbed while accepting the bribe at a shop near the Meharbaan octroi post. A case has been registered against the patwari in this regard.
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‘Despite law, child labour rampant’
Ludhiana, March 25 Another social scientist, Professor Surinder K Shukla from Punjab University, Chandigarh, said the parents were responsible for child abuse and labour in villages and urban areas. She said parents on an average were spending less than 15 minutes with their children in a day.
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Sports body holds seminar for coaches
Ludhiana, March 25 The experts delivered lectures on various points related to sports disciplines including football, athletics, baketball, volleyball (smashing), kabaddi (national style), handball, kho-kho, wrestling and weightlifting during the seminar held between March 20 to 25. The coaches (kridashrees) were told in detail the introduction of PYKKA, responisbilities of kridashrees, distribution of block tournaments and others. Shubhkaranjit Singh, weightlifting coach, stressed upon the need of proper nutrition for sportspersons. The district sports officer, Ludhiana, Sat Pal Singh, along with Teja Singh Dhaliwal, general secretary, Punjab Basketball Association, sports promoter, Jagbir Singh Grewal, Shivtar Singh Bajwa, vice -president, Punjab Football Association, and Prem Singh, gymnastics coach, were among others who were present there.
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Ludhiana, March 25
Ludhiana: St Xavier’s Playway School held its annual function on Friday. The outgoing students presented a colourful entertainment programme that included dramatisation of a story- “Sun and Wind” and a Rajasthani dance. Around 35 children participated in a fancy-dress competition. They were dressed as star, lotus, carrot, sun, butterfly, tiger, sunflower, anarkali and Chacha Nehru. They were given prizes by Dr Jagdip Madaan, an orthopaedic surgeon.