Ludhiana, April 8
The statewide strike by employees working under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP), Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP), and Ayurveda Unani Sidha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) entered its third day today, hitting health services across the district.

Health workers and doctors alleged that the state government deducted Rs 5,000-Rs 7,000 from their salaries, which were released by the Centre, but were disbursed by the state.

The agitating employees include ayurveda and homoeopathy doctors, pharmacists, staff nurses, RNTCP supervisors and clerical staff. They staged a day-long protest outside the Civil Surgeon’s office and gave a memorandum to the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner, stating that the government should pay them their complete salaries as per the recommendation of the Central government.

Patients are suffering as staff nurses at 14 primary health centres, 10 community health centres, four sub-divisional hospitals and the Civil Hospital are boycotting work, including emergency duties.

A staff nurse stated that they were overworked in the absence of adequate nursing staff and had to perform additional duties for long hours. “But the government is oblivious to our needs and instead of acknowledging the extra work, we are deprived of even the stipulated salary,” she complained.

Sarabjit Singh Kalakh, state president of the NRHM, said despite repeated requests, the state government had failed to provide proper facilities to them and the uncalled for salary cut was an added harassment.

The purpose to bring ayurveda and homoeopathy doctors under one roof with allopathy doctors in government hospitals and health centres by the department of AYUSH stands defeated in the wake of such treatment. 

Ludhiana, April 8
Concerned about various development projects in the city being grounded due to the acute financial crunch, the municipal corporation is now banking on the state government to come to its rescue. With pressure mounting on him, mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura has reportedly decided to seek a grant of Rs 60 crore to revive the stalled projects.

With funds drying up MC officials are not clearing any new civic projects in the city. A meeting of the MC’s finance & contract committee, which had been called primarily to clear cost estimates of projects floated by the buildings & roads branch, was cancelled recently.

Sources said a day before the meeting was to be held Giaspura consulted top civic officials on the estimated project cost of Rs 60 crore. They added later on the mayor met accounts branch officials who told him it would not be possible to come up with this amount before July.

With elections ahead leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties are putting pressure on Giaspura to get projects in their wards completed. According to the sources, he has sought an appointment for a meeting with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal at which is expected to make a request for a Rs 60 crore grant.

When asked to comment on the matter, Giaspura confirmed he would seek the grant from the government. “I also intend to urge the chief minister to ask Punjab Housing & Development Authority (PUDA) to divert funds for all round development in the city’, he stated. However, he claimed the municipal corporation was not suffering from a shortage of funds and the grant would be sought only to speed up various civic projects.60-cr state grant for civic projects

Ludhiana, April 8
Getting a special kid educated is not a cause of worry anymore. Gone are the days when parents of mentally or physically challenged kids used to spend anxious moments to get them educated. Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan (SSA) is all set to provide education to all such children.

The SSA will conduct a comprehensive survey this month and all urban areas would be covered in order to identify the Children With Special Needs (CWSN).

Survey teams, consisting of two members, would visit door-to-door to find out the mentally retarded (MR) children and those with multiple disorders (MD) between the age group of zero to 14-years. The CWSN who are already studying in classes IX to XII in the government and aided schools would also be covered in this survey.

The students who get admission in the schools will also be paid off an annual scholarship of Rs 2,400 by the SSA.

For the SSA the data would be collected for children falling under two major categories, including mental illness and leprosy cured.

All urban areas and wards in Ludhiana district would be mapped with the help of maps provided by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation and different teams would be given the responsibilities of various wards and colonies (mohallas). Each team would be given the responsibility of finding new CWSN and verifying the existing ones.

Each team would consist of two members. Only male members would be deputed to cover the slum areas. A female teacher can be deputed with a male member to cover the slum areas if there is shortage of male teachers.

While talking to The Tribune, district project coordinator Anil Matharu said: “The identified children would get initial education at the Inclusive Education Volunteer (IEV) resource rooms by the Inclusive Education Resource Teacher (IERT) and would be shifted in government and aided schools according to their eligiblities.”

Anil further said the children who were not able to go to the resource rooms or the schools would be entertained at their doorsteps.

“The teachers would also impart them the basic knowledge of daily life. The polio and CP patients would be provided free medical treatment in the city-based hospitals, which would definitely support the parents who cannot afford the medical treatments of their disabled children.”

Disability certificates would be provided after assessing the children during medical camps and free tricycles, wheelchairs, hearing aids and several other assistive devices would be provided to them. 

Ludhiana, April 8
With the fasting season on and the Navratra staple buckwheat flour (kuttu atta) mired in controversy, demand for fruits has registered a remarkable rise and so have their prices.

Retailers are cashing on the demand by quoting exorbitant prices, especially of fruits like apple, bananas, grapes and watermelon. These fruits have, over the past few days, witnessed the steepest price hike. Prices of apples and watermelon have more than doubled in the wake of the Navratras.

Ludhiana, April 8
Municipal corporation additional commissioner Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar on Friday rapped civic officials on their failure to check unauthorized billboards and other outdoor advertising sprouting all over the city and instructed they should be removed immediately.

Sources said inspectors and other staff members of the MC advertising branch, which Brar heads, expressed their helplessness is removing such advertisements saying they had been installed by politicians of the ruling SAD-BJP alliance or by some “influential” advertisers. However, Brar told them to get on with the job, stating the civic body had launched a “drive” in this direction, the sources added.

As part of the drive staff members of the advertising branch removed illegal hoardings and banners on Vishkarma Road, Pakhowal Road and Ferozepur Road. Brar herself visited the sites to check whether the task had been effectively accomplished and warned the staff any laxity on this score would not be tolerated. She also asked the employees not to buckle under “any sort of political pressure” when removing unauthorized outdoor advertising.

When asked to comment Brar said: “We’ve begun a drive to check illegal advertisements that are mushrooming in the city”.

Ludhiana, April 8
Taking strict note of a jute string in a biscuit, the district consumer disputes redressal forum has ordered a leading biscuit company to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation.

The forum ordered M/s Parle Products Private Limited, Mumbai, and M/s Zeal Foods Private Limited, Nagpur, to pay Rs 4,000 as litigation expenses to the aggrieved consumer.

The orders came on a complaint moved by a city lawyer, Parshotam Dass Sharma.

The complainant had submitted that he had purchased Parle Marie biscuits along with some other articles from Layallpurian Di Hatti, Model Town. When he opened the packet of biscuit in the presence of his friends, he was surprised to find a jute string running through a biscuit.

It was claimed that the biscuits were got manufactured by M/s Parle Products from M/s Zeal Foods Pvt Limited under unhygienic conditions. A letter was written to the company, but no reply was forthcoming.

However, M/s Parle Products refuted the allegations levelled by the consumer. It said the complaint was filed with an ulterior motive. It also took the plea that the biscuits were not purchased from an authorised dealer.

The forum, however, observed: “The complainant did not consume the biscuits, but had he or his guests consumed these without the notice of a foreign particle, it may have been detrimental to their health. Such an aspect has to be kept in mind in the light that a leading biscuit manufacturer did not exercise due diligence and vigilance or inspection while getting its product prepared from other units. It acted carelessly and played with the health of people.”

Ludhiana, April 8
Commerce stream has emerged as the favourite of city students compared to other disciplines. Students who are seeking provisional admissions in class XI are mostly 
opting for commerce, giving second preference to non-medical and medical streams.

This stream prepares children from business families for taking over their family enterprises in future. It also opens myriad options for 
the students ensuring fat pay packages and a secure future.

Students seeking admission in class XI find this stream more career-oriented as many of them want to pursue BCom, BBA and BCA. Besides, some of these students are keenly interested in joining banking, management, aviation, hospitality industry, BPOs and teaching profession.

According to a survey conducted last year, around 30 per cent of students opted for commerce after Class X, while 26 per cent of them went for science subjects.

“I was very confused about which stream would be best for me to continue my studies. Then my maternal uncle advised me to opt for commerce. He had also given me instances of great career opportunities in this stream as compared to science subjects,” said Abhijeet Sharma, who now hopes to become a banker.

While Shruti, another student, wants to continue in commerce stream as she wants to become a broker. “I am very optimistic. I want to become stock exchange broker. Through commerce stream I can get sound knowledge about money matters and mathematics,” said Shruti adding that she would also appear for the chartered accountants examination.

Manisha opined that there were limited opportunities in science streams. “I will prepare for the Indian Civil Services after doing my graduation in commerce or arts. Becoming an engineer or a doctor was a fascinating trend in the earlier time. The other streams are far better than gruelling in such technical subjects,” Manisha said.

A private school’s commerce lecturer also confirmed the increasing interest of students in this stream. She said though this stream was popular among the students belonging to industrial background, these days children of the middle-class families were opting commerce to make career, especially in banking sector.

Ludhiana, April 8
The PAU department of soil and water engineering (SWE), in collaboration with Punjab Agro-Industries Corporation Limited, organised a workshop on the “scope of greenhouse technology in Punjab” here today. Inaugurating the workshop, chief guest Sharanjeet Singh Dhillon, chairman, Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (PAIC), lauded the contribution of the PAU in making the country self-sufficient in food production and the research activities of the university in the agriculture and its allied sectors.

Dr LS Brar, director (horticulture), Punjab, expressing concern over the shrinking land in the state and at the same time declining income of the farmers, said the diversification of agriculture was important at this stage.

“The protected cultivation of vegetables can diversify the pattern of agriculture,” he added. He said the state government was making all efforts to raise the income of the farmers and would promote the latest technologies and methodologies developed by the PAU for the benefit of the farming community.

“For having the export of vegetables, we must maintain the quality and quantity of the products,” he stressed.

Dhillon said the green house cultivation should be seen in full perspective and added that not only production, but also the profitable disposal has to be looked into.

He assured the farmers that all suggestions and demands gathered during the workshop would be conveyed to the higher authority and the PAIC would come up with a project as per the needs of the farmers.

Vikas Garg, director, PAIC, speaking on this occasion, spoke on different aspects of greenhouse technology right from net-house construction to post-harvest management.

He admired different proposals of the government, which were in the pipeline and would prove to be beneficial for the farmers.

Dr PPS Lubana, dean, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, PAU, assured that the PAU would extend all facilities to the PAIC for the benefit of farmers.

Ludhiana, April 8
The intra-party rivalry in the BJP has dipped to new low as several local leaders are indulging in a mudslinging campaign, after being backed by several senior leaders, by issuing posters against the Senior Deputy Mayor in the city highlighting his failure.

The posters that have been pasted in key areas of the city highlight the alleged failure of the Senior Deputy Mayor Praveen Bansal in conducting the developmental works in his own area.

These posters that have been allegedly issued by some BJP workers categorically mentions that though Bansal is intruding in other wards but his own ward is crying for civic amenities. Interestingly, some of the persons who have issued the posters and have their photographs in them are considered close to both the present MLAs of the BJP from the city.

Even Bansal had recently pasted his posters across the city highlighting the developmental works done by him in his current tenure. Even supporters of Bansal had kept this in mind that most of these posters were pasted in the constituencies of both these MLAs as the Senior Deputy Mayor was eyeing for tickets from them.

The enmity of Bansal with both the MLAs is well known, as they have been snubbing each other on various occasions. Even sources revealed that this could possibility be the strategy of the supporters of the MLAs to refrain Bansal from staking claim to the party ticket in the coming state assembly elections. However, the sources said that this poster war was going to pace up in the coming days, as the rival groups would try to corner their opponents.

When contacted Bansal said that the act of pasting the posters depicted frustration of some people. He said,” People have seen my work and they have voted for me repeatedly in the election due to which my opponents are frustrated' he added. 

COMING TOGETHER: Residents of the city light candles in support of Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption in Ludhiana on Friday. Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan.

The Senior Citizens’ Forum, Manav Samaj Sewa Sangathan and the Sant Sipahi Dal have also extended their support to the ongoing crusade against corruption.

He pedals to root out corruption
Mohit Khanna
Tribune News Service

Lawyers back the move
Our Legal Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 8
Lawyers, too, have out in support of the crusade launched by an eminent social activist.Former secretary of the District Bar Association Govind Puri, Ajay Gupta, Sunil Sood and Gulshan Arora have decided to support the cause and convince their colleagues to make the movement against corruption much stronger

The BJP Legal Cell met under the leadership of its convener Rajesh Kashyap and Jayant Malhotra. The passed a resolution to express solidarity with Anna.

Docs extend support
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 8
Faculty members, students and employees of the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, extended their support to the campaign today. They signed a huge card and called for a transparent system to keep a check on corruption at the highest level.

Secretary of the DMCH managing society, Prem Kumar Gupta, expressed concern over the current state of governance in India and said there was urgent need to integrate society as an extension of the government for transparency and accountability.

Ludhiana, April 8
Ignoring orders of the Chief Minister, the file recommended by the Chief Minister’s office to provide pension and a job to a martyr’s wife is gathering dust.

Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari has sent yet another reminder, a copy of which is with The Tribune, to subdivisional magistrate (SDM East) to look into the matter and provide early relief to Parvati.

It states that on May 3, 2010, and December 12, 2010, the SDM was reminded about the plight of Parvati, wife of Santosh Kumar, a tea vendor at the railway station, who died while nabbing dreaded terrorist, Balbir Singh Bhootna.

The letter further states that according to guidelines laid down by the government, the widow should be provided pension at the earliest and a proposal to provide her with a government job should be forwarded, but there was no reply by the SDM.

It has also been stated that a reply should be made at the earliest. The lackadaisical attitude of the government department could be gauged from the fact that the letter was sent on March 25, but the department concerned was yet to take action.

“The SDM told me that he was not in town,” said Parvati. The sacrifice of Santosh was great, but his courageous act brought gloom in the lives of his wife Parvati and her three young children.

Living in misery, the family was camping in the city following Santosh’s death. They were putting up in a dingy room in the Singpura area near the Jagraon bridge. Parvati was hoping that the Railways would offer her a job, as was promised during her husband’s cremation.

Ludhiana, April 8
Indifference of councillors towards meetings of sub-committees came to the fore with a majority of the councillors remaining absent from the meeting of the advertising committee, which had to be deferred due to lack of quorum and poor presence.

The meeting was scheduled for today to take important decisions with regard to the streamlining of the advertising branch.. Sources said the meeting was called at 11 am, but after a senior member informed the other members that he would not be able to come at that time, the meeting was deferred to 1 pm. However, members, including Senior Deputy Mayor Praveen Bansal, Pal Singh Grewal, Hem Raj Aggarwal and Satish Nagar, remained absent.

During the course of the meeting, two other members, Sanjay Talwar and Harbhajan Singh Dang, also left. Only three councillors -- Gurdeep Singh Neetu, Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Inderjeet Singh -- were left at the meeting along with Additional Commissioner Mahinder Pal Gupta. As the quorum required six members, the meeting was put off.

The sources said another reason for deferment was that MC officials had not presented the record required for carrying out the meeting. Members had objected to the absence of the record pertaining to some decisions of the court. A major item in the agenda was to give “compensation” to a leading advertising company by extending its contract for around two years. The sources said it was unprecedented that the MC was trying to compensate an advertising company in such a manner. 

Ludhiana, April 8
The Congress has launched an attack on the SAD-BJP government in Punjab for a massive increase in collector rate of properties for the purpose of registration of sale deeds twice during the past six months.

In a memorandum submitted to the state government through the district authorities here today, former Congress legislator Surinder Dawar, who was also a parliamentary secretary in the previous government, headed by Captain Amarinder Singh, said that exorbitant increase in the collector rates of properties had not only thrown a wet blanket on the dreams of those aspiring to have their dream homes, but had also adversely affected the real estate business.

According to Dawar, the attempt of the government to unearth black money by way of increasing the collector rates for the purpose of registration of sale deeds, would rather prove counter-productive because the buyers would resort to under-valuation and evade payment of stamp duty. "Not only this, those with limited resources, will be forced to purchase property in far-flung and under-developed areas thereby promoting haphazard urban growth." Demanding a review and withdrawal of hike in collector rates, the party also served a veiled threat that it would take to agitation to safeguard the interests of the people in general and the business of property development in particular. A meeting of the District Youth Congress (DYC), presided over by Dimple Rana also took note of the enhancement of collector rates of property. That the decision had not gone down well with the people was evident from the opposition from within the BJP, a constituent in the coalition government in the state, and Punjab Assembly deputy speaker Sat Pal Gosain along with other party leaders had gone to the extent of submitting a memorandum to the district administration in this regard, Rana remarked.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, April 8
Training of budding hockey players selected for admission at the Kilaraipur Hockey Academy will be supervised by Olympian and coach of the Indian Hockey team Sukhbir Singh Grewal.

Decision was taken at a meeting of the executive committee of the academy organised at the Grewal Sports Stadium today. Gur Sandeep Singh Grewal presided over the meeting.

Paramjit Singh Grewal, secretary of the Grewal Sports Association said the organisers had decided that Grewal would supervise training of students admitted at the academy during the ensuing academic session.

Trials for the selection will take place on Saturday, April 16. Aspirants for selection under U-14, U-17 and U-19 categories have been advised to bring proofs regarding their age and qualifying examination.

The organisers claimed that free accommodation and nutritious food was provided to all trainees at the academy being run jointly by the association and the school sports department.