Ludhiana, April 20
Bending to pressure from councillors and civic officials, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has asked state vigilance bureau chief Sumedh Singh Saini as well as city police commissioner Ishwar Singh to conduct an inquiry into the arrest of municipal corporation zonal commissioner AS Sekhon for allegedly accepting a bribe.

Led by mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura the councillors, met Badal during his ‘sangat darshan’ programme in Raikot on Wednesday. The CM called up Saini and instructed him to conduct a departmental inquiry into the role of vigilance bureau officials in apprehending Sekhon. He also ordered a probe into the incident to be conducted by the city police chief.

Confirming the development, Giaspura said: “Both inquiries would bring the truth regarding the whole matter. He expected that justice would be delivered the officer who has been arrested recently”.

Earlier in the day while the councilors passed a resolution in meeting for condemning the incident the employees of the civic body held a noisy protest outside the MC’s A zone office. Many councilors, calling Sekhon an “honest” officer, accused their colleague SS Bains, who belongs to SAD(B), of “maneuvering” in the incident. They demanded action against the vigilance bureau officials who had arrested Sekhon and sought an “independent” inquiry into the matter.

However, at times heated arguments on certain issues broke out among councillors and between the latter and MC officials.

Ludhiana, April 20
Though municipal corporation (MC) councillors have passed a resolution, condemning the arrest of the Zonal Commissioner and recommending action against Vigilance Bureau (VB) officers for this action, the agenda branch is in a fix over its compilation due to technical reasons.

In a meeting at the Zone A office of the civic body, these councillors, cutting across party lines, gave fiery speeches and passed a resolution for the immediate revocation of the case against Zonal Commissioner Amarjeet Singh Sekhon.

These councillors also passed a resolution for stern action against the VB officers who had arrested him and decided that the agenda item passed be sent not only to the local bodies department, but also to the Chief Minister.

But apparently, the fiery speeches of the councillors would remain confined within the walls of the meeting hall of the civic body and would not be recorded in black and white. The reason was that the MC authorities did not give directions to the agenda branch regarding the compilation of data.

It was yet to be decided whether the meeting was a general house meeting or an all-party meeting.

Sources revealed that a 72-hour notice must be given to all members for convening a general house meeting, but no such notice had been given in this case and councillors had been called over telephone.

The sources also revealed that directions had not been issued to the branch whether the agenda item was to be sent to the state government or not. A section of councillors of the ruling combine felt that putting the agenda item on record would indict the government.

Since this would not be in the interests of the ruling alliance, the compilation had been delayed, said the sources. When contacted, Senior Deputy Mayor Praveen Bansal said the agenda item would be compiled shortly and would be sent to the state for action, adding that it was necessary for the cause of MC staff.

Ludhiana, April 20
The auction for the sale of 17 freehold commercial sites in Urban Estate Phase II on Dugri Road by the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) here today failed to attract any buyer. As a result, the auction had to be called off to be held at a later date.

Estate officer Jeet Ram said only about six persons had deposited the eligibility fee of Rs 1 lakh for participating in the auction. However, in the wake of the lukewarm response, the auction was deferred by the Additional Chief Administrator Jaswant Singh.

On offer were 17 shop-cum-offices (SCOs), each with an area of 317.16 sq yards with a reserve price of Rs 1,26,020 per sq yard, which translates to nearly Rs 4 crore for each SCO.

The failure of GLADA in selling even a single SCO, in what is considered an upcoming elite commercial area in a developed colony, has come as a surprise in the realty sector. More so, because sources in the sector admit that the reserve price was not unrealistic if the prevailing prices of similar properties were any indication.

A property dealer attributed the poor response of buyers and investors to the reserve price which is comparable with the going market rate.

“A majority of the property deals of this magnitude, especially the commercial properties, are a mix of black and white money. In buying such properties in the open market, the purchaser has the option of making part payment in white money whereas the bulk is paid in black to evade tax and stamp duty at the time of getting the sale deed executed. But this is not the case in properties bought from government agencies where the entire amount has to be paid in white from disclosed income,” he said.

Ludhiana, April 20
The incident in which Jasmel Singh Gill, a quack in Lalton Kalan village, together with a group of drug addicts attacked a resident, Harkomal Singh, as well as his family members and friends for filing a written complaint against him (Gill) to health officials has taken a new turn with villagers alleging a state legislator was extending support to the quack.

Despite Harkomal’s repeated requests police officials have refused to register a case against the quack’s "supporters", all of them said to be drug addicts, who attacked his home on Monday evening.

On Wednesday Harkomal accused the village ‘sarpanch’, thought to be the “right hand man” of Dakha MLA Darshan Singh Shivalik of extending “patronage” to Gill, a self-styled medical practitioner who has been accused of selling habit-forming prescription drugs to the village youngsters.

"We have filed a complaint against Amrit, Harvinder Singh, Davinder Singh and their associates who attacked our family members and friends on Monday after entering my home. However, the cops concerned including a senior IPS officer, who have refused to register a case under relevant sections of the criminal code against the suspects, have instead filed a bailable case. This is more shocking in view of the fact that the suspects have now admitted their fault and are ready to give their statement to the police," Harkomal alleged.

Ludhiana, April 20
Several political leaders signed on behalf of their wives who are elected councillors. During the meeting of the councillors, which was attended by more than 50 members, honesty and misuse of power came up for discussion. Ironically, some people who participated in the meeting were not entitled to do so as they had not been elected.

But they were attending the meeting in the “capacity” of a councillor’s son or husband.

There are about 26 women councillors in the house. But only half a dozen, including Deputy Mayor Sunita Aggarwal, Amrit Varsha Rampal and Prem Sharma, attended the meeting. A majority of the remaining councillors were represented by their husbands. A few of these leaders illegally signed on behalf of their wives to mark there presence.

Sources said it was a usual practice in the civic body. Influential political leaders often signed on behalf of their wives in important meetings.

Senior Deputy Mayor Praveen Bansal expressed ignorance about the matter and said it seemed unlikely because the councillors were “highly responsible” residents of the city.

Ludhiana, April 20
Politicians do not miss any chance to politicise any issue. Councillors gave a communal touch to the issue of Sekhon’s arrest by accusing the VB of hurting the sentiments of the people by removing his turban. Around 50 councillors, meeting under the presidentship of Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura, laid more stress on the alleged removal of the turban than on the reason for the arrest.

The councillors did not mince words about Sekhon’s honesty and politeness. Sham Sunder Malhotra of the Congress, Harbajan Singh Dang of the SAD and Gurdeep Singh Neetu of the BJP focused on making the issue a communal one. Neetu demanded the registration of a case against VB officers under Section 295(A) of the IPC.

Congress councillor Anil Malhotra said if the turban was not safe in the current regime, what was the use of raising a hue and cry over disrespect to the turban in Italy? Another Congress councillor, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, said the turban issue was of grave concern, but what would they do about the disrespect to the officer?

Eyeing mileage over the issue in the Assembly elections, councillors tried their best to distract attention from the main issue. Senior Deputy Mayor Praveen Bansal termed this sentiments of councillors, adding that there was no communal angle to it.

Ludhiana, April 20
Ludhiana MP and the national spokesperson of the Indian National Congress Manish Tewari has urged the Union Defence Minister AK Antony for his ministry’s clearance to the civil terminal at the Halwara Airport. He also sought the shifting of the Baddowal Ammunition Depot from the city, or else relaxation of the provisions of the Indian Defence Act 1902, as well as the firing range from a thickly populated area.

In a letter to the minister, Tewari sought the defence ministry’s clearance to construct a civil terminal of the Airport Authority of India, at the Halwara Airport, located very close to the mega city.

He reminded the minister of his earlier extensive briefings on the issue besides giving several representations to this effect. He said, the matter continued to languish and required urgent intervention.

The MP also sought shifting of the Baddowal Ammunition Depot on the periphery of the city, or relaxation of the provisions of the Indian Defence Act 1902 as had been done in various other cases over the years.

In his letter, Tewari wrote, “If you may recall that I have personally handed over various representations from the residents of villages around the Baddowal Ammunition Depot, which is almost conjunct to the municipal limits of Ludhiana city, to alleviate their grievances. Unfortunately, no action has been initiated in this regard even though I had recently flagged it for your attention yet again in the Consultative Committee meeting of Ministry of Defence held in February, 2011, in the Parliament House Annexe.”

Tewari also brought to the notice of the minister the problems faced by the residents around the SK Firing Range that was located in the rural part of the Ludhiana Parliamentary Constituency.

He said the firing range was surrounded by villages and farm land which had very dense population. The Indian Air Force routinely carried out its bombing runs (training exercises) whereby live or dud ammunition was dropped on targets which were located within the range.

The impact of these bombs was of such an extent that homes in the vicinity shook, window panes were broken and most of the houses had developed cracks in their foundations.

According to the Congress MP, at times bombs and rockets fired from these aircrafts landed in nearby villages or fields triggering mass panic among the villagers.

Raikot, April 20
Continuing a spree of functions to distribute grants for development of localities situated in rural parts of Ludhiana district, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today distributed cheques worth over Rs 7.5 crore among office-bearers of civic bodies of 77 villages falling under the Raikot Assembly segment, during sangat darshan programmes organised at Bassian, near here.

Construction and repair of crematoria and ‘dharamshalas’ belonging to different categories of society, besides streets and drains, were the main avenues undertaken for development with rural development funds collected through market committees of the state.

A few complaints received from individuals during the programme were referred to the officials for redress of grievances. Office-bearers of beneficiary organisations, led by their chiefs and SAD leaders, were thrilled on receiving cheques worth lakhs from Badal, who reached Paramount Resort at Bassian.

The civic body officials were called village-wise and Badal interacted with the office-bearers. Regional and local leaders of the youth wing of the SAD were enthusiastic in showing their presence.

Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tewari and Raikot SDM Mukand Singh Sandhu were asked to redress the grievances pointed out by some panchayats. While some complainants were asked to meet the officials concerned on the spot others were advised to visit their offices according to their convenience.

Though details of cheques distributed among various organisations were yet to be ascertained, each village was reported to have received grants between Rs lakh 5 and 10 lakh. Santa Singh Umaidpuir, Charanjit Singh Atwal, Ranjit Singh Talwandi, Jagjit Singh Talwandi and Amandeep Singh were present.

Ludhiana/Payal, April 20
Identifying the lack of centralised facilities for credit rating as a major impediment in an expeditious process of credit advance to small, micro and medium enterprises, besides the agricultural sector, State Bank of India Chief General Manager Susheel Kumar Sehgal said some government agency should be established for the purpose.

Minimising inventory, development of market knowledge and skill development were measures suggested to improve profitability of entrepreneurs. Sehgal was talking to the Ludhiana Tribune after inaugurating a branch of the bank at Sehora village.

Addressing a function organised by the Ludhiana Management Association, he analysed challenges before and vulnerability of micro, small and medium entrepreneurs. He said their position was not as good in India as in the US.

He said most such enterprises in developed countries had emerged as multi-national companies because of their customer-centric approach, adding that the trend in India was exactly the opposite.

Sehgal said enterprises in India were more sensitive to environmental factors and these did not have a strong mechanism and system. Delay in responding to situations, delivery of products in markets, payments to suppliers and manufacturing processes led to mistrust among customers and consumers, he elaborated.

Maintaining that managerial and professional skills were yet to reach the desired level, Sehgal called upon entrepreneurs to coordinate with organisers of technical colleges and research institutes for providing practical expertise to pass-outs and improving productivity and quality.

Ludhiana, April 20
The Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) has sought the help of the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister to save the industry. “The Punjab industry has been crawling, but no positive response has been announced either by the Centre or the Punjab government,” said Inderjit Singh Pardhan, president of the CICU.

CICU demanded a rollback of excise duty on branded garments and hosiery, bicycles and sewing machines in the Budget. Counterfeit goods exported by China had been threatening the industry, which was losing about 20 per cent of its revenue to these goods, stated Avtar Singh.

CICU suggested that the customs duty on imported goods be at least 20 per cent more than that on raw materials of these goods and anti-dumping duty on bicycle and bicycle parts, auto components and software items be imposed.

“The customs authorities should be empowered and authorised to seize and confiscate goods found to be or suspected to be infringing upon intellectual property rights of Indian companies. The additional security of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited should be withdrawn,” he said.

Ludhiana, April 20
GK Group, one of the leading corporate house in the business of real estate development here, has been shortlisted for the CNBC Awaaz/CRISIL/CREDAL real estate award 2010.

The group is the only real estate developer from North India to make it to the final round, which will be held in Singapore later this month.

Giving this information here today, company managing director Gulshan Kumar said besides recognising the realtor, which had excelled in the business of property development, the elite awards would also honour the professionals who had envisioned and created marvels in the real estate industry.

“On the invitation of the awards committee, Kumar Sahil, director of GK Group, made a detailed presentation in Mumbai, which led to the nomination of the company to the final round of awards,” he said.

According to Gulshan Kumar, the group had been in the business of real estate development for the past 25 years. The group had completed more than 40 big projects of residential colonies and commercial complexes.

“Keeping in view the increase in the demand for residential plots, houses and commercial sites, we are going to start a number of new projects in major cities of Punjab, as well as in some other states. We have set a goal of achieving a 100 per cent increase in our turnover during the year,” he said.

Ludhiana, April 20
Furniture manufacturers have demanded a decrease in the rate of VAT imposed on furniture. Presently the rate of VAT imposed on furniture is 13.75 per cent and the manufacturers want it to be decreased to 5 per cent.

“Furniture is a handicraft and it should not be heavily burdened with taxes. In Ludhiana alone there are nearly 300 shops selling furniture and not only shopkeepers, but even customers have to suffer due to the high rate of VAT,” said Paul Khurana, chairman of the Punjab Furniture Association. — TNS

Ludhiana, April 20
Staff shortage is plaguing Government Model Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agricultural University, since last year. There is no teaching staff in the commerce department of the school as a result of which the authorities have been forced to turn back students seeking provisional admission to commerce at the senior secondary level.

In the absence of any lecturer, the future of 70 students studying in Class XII of the commerce department is also uncertain.

Talking to The Tribune, Sanjeev Thapar, principal, Government Model Senior Secondary School, PAU, said there were two sanctioned posts of commerce lecturers in the school, both of which were lying vacant since last year.

“We had one lecturer last year, but he was posted out on a promotion. Since then, there is no staff to teach commerce,” Thapar said.

He added that the school had been sending vacancy lists to the state education department every month, but to no avail.

Thapar expressed his helplessness about the issue of turning back commerce aspirants seeking provisional admission to the school.

“When I do not have any teacher, how can I admit students?” he questioned, adding that the school had not offered commerce as an option in the ongoing provisional admissions.

He, however, assured that in case the vacancies are filled by the time the results of Class X were declared, the school would offer commerce as an option during regular admissions scheduled to take place in July and admit students.

“But till then, nothing can be said with surety,” he said.

When questioned about the fate of 70 students, studying in the commerce section of Class XII, Thapar remarked, “I will try my best to make sure the students do not suffer. If need be, I will request the department to make alternate arrangements so that the students’ studies do not suffer. But again, nothing is certain.” 

Sahnewal, April 20
Candidates taking the annual examinations being conducted by Panjab University are flouting instructions issued to them.

It has been specified in the “instructions for the candidates” column of the answer booklet provided to the candidates that they should not write their names or that of their college or even mention that they are private candidates.

Instruction number 7 says: “Do not make any identification mark or write your roll number at any place in the answer book except on the title page at the prescribed space, failing which it will lead to disqualification by treating it as unfair means case.”

Instruction number 8 says: “Your making appeals to the examiners in your answer book will entail the penalty of cancellation of the paper”.

However, candidates are revealing their names and the name of their institution and putting identification marks. They are also writing roll numbers at places other than the specified boxes.

“I wonder how students dare do this. They have no fear of the consequences. It is frustrating that the students’ attempt is sometimes zero and he or she pleads for pass marks,” the evaluator added.

“Since no action is generally taken against such students and the examiners too, terming it to be an immature act on the part of the candidates, ignore such papers, more and more students are being driven towards expecting such undue favours”said another teacher on evaluation duty,” said a college teacher.

“We generally come across such papers where the candidates having failed several times are taking the golden chance and concoct all sorts of emotionally enthused stories to impress the examiners,” added the teacher.

One goes like this: “Meinu university vallon golden chance milia hai .Agge main tin war paper de chuki han, par pass nahi hoi. Is vaar mein har halat witch pass hona hai nahi tan gar de mera viaah kar den ge, par mein hor parhna chahundi han. Kirpa karke mino par hon joge number jaroor de dena (I have been accorded a golden chance by the university. I have already appeared in the paper three times but get could not get through. I have to clear this exam at all costs or my parents will get me married where as I want to study further. Kindly give me pass marks at least.)”

There is yet another instance to quote: “Main is vishe witch kamzor han. Is karke meri vari vari compartment aa jandi hai. Tuhadi har mano kamana poori hove je tusin menu pass kar dio. (I am weak in this subject. So I have to face compartment every time. If you give me pass marks, every wish of yours will be fulfilled).”

An innovative entreaty to an examiner performing evaluation duty at a local centre goes thus: “Naa main paper ton pehlan bimaar hoi ate naa hi mera koi hor rishtedar bimaar hoiya. Asal witch gal eh hai ki minu angrezi aundi hi nahi. Is karke main bar bar fail ho jandi han. Mein is vishe witch shuroo ton hi kamzor han. Mein apni madad nal pass nahi ho sakdi, je tusin meno pass kar devon tan rub tuhano har khushi devega, tuhadi umar lambi hove. (Neither I, nor any of my relatives, get sick before the exams. Actually, the issue is that the subject of English is all Greek to me. That is why I have to face failure time and again. I cannot pass all by myself, if you help me in getting through, God will grant you every happiness, He would give you a long life!)”

A teacher on evaluation duty revealed, “It has been observed that such cases, whether genuine or otherwise, sometimes succeed in their motive, for teachers too are at times touched by their pleas and entreaties.”

Ludhiana, April 20
The only veterinary university in Punjab, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) has seen several ups and downs. It has been appreciated for encouraging traditional farmers to opt for other options while many farmers feel that veterinary scientists need to reach out to the masses at the grassroots for the diversification move.

Sharing his views with the Ludhiana Tribune, Vice-Chancellor Dr VK Taneja said being an agrarian society, Punjab needed diversification from agriculture to dairy farming to increase income. “We are trying hard to put in our best efforts to uplift dairy and allied sectors,” he said.

Expressing satisfaction over the pace of research and development activities, the Vice-Chancellor remarked that it was a matter of pride that the university had achieved milestones in a short span of time and was qualified for grants by the University Grants Commission due to its high-quality research, besides bagging the niche area excellence in fisheries from the ICAR at a cost of Rs 300 lakh.

To keep pace with changing technologies and means of research, the university had tied up with the University of Saskatchewean in Canada for faculty upgrade and student exchange, he said, adding that a collaborative international partnership research project of $1,50,000 had been taken up by university.

Ludhiana, April 20
GADVASU will celebrate its sixth foundation day tomorrow.

Since its inception, GADVASU has contributed towards the uplift of livestock, be it dairy, poultry, piggery, caprine or fisheries.

An exhibition showcasing research, extension and teaching methodology developed by the university will be organised by all departments and colleges of the university at the silver jubilee block.

Finance secretary GS Sandhu will be the chief guest. Dr AK Srivastava, Director-cum-Vice-Chancellor, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, will be the guest of honour.

Dr VK Taneja, GADVASU Vice-Chancellor, will preside over the function. Free anti-rabies vaccination and deworming of pets will be conducted at the university hospital from April 21 to 27.

The then existing veterinary college of the PAU was upgraded to a university on April 21, 2005, with the aim of providing a boost to the livestock sector in the state.

Besides the veterinary college, the College of Dairy Science and Technology and the College of Fisheries Science were started.

Ludhiana, April 20
Temperature and rainfall are two main environmental parameters that influence the growth and yield of wheat crop. High temperature in early phase results in poor tillering and sparse vegetative growth whereas high temperature at the ripening stage leads to premature ripening. High day temperature in March is unfavourable, leading to shrivelled grain, less weight and size, said Dr KK Gill, assistant agrometeorologist at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).

Dr Gill said this year the weather conditions were favourable for the potential crop productivity due to the rain in February and near-normal temperatures both during the day and night in February and March.

The PAU expert said weather was much cooler during December and January. During February, the maximum temperature was normal and minimum temperature was only 2 degrees above normal. The rainfall received was 44.2 mm against the normal of 29.9 mm. In the beginning of March, both the maximum and minimum temperatures were below normal by 1 degree Celsius.

Dr Gill said in the first week of April, the temperatures came down and reached normal conditions and again with the occurrence of 3.0 mm rainfall in the second week of April, the temperatures remained normal. During the current week (April 16 to April 22), the maximum temperature was below normal, but the minimum temperature was little on the higher side.

“According to the forecast issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), partly cloudiness accompanied with scattered thunder showers at isolated places would occur, but the weather will remain dry for the next three-five days,” she stated. As clear weather was expected, farmers should complete harvesting/threshing during this period.

Ludhiana, April 20
Staff crunch is ailing Government Senior Secondary School for Boys, Jawahar Nagar Camp. Numerous important posts of teaching staff are lying vacant in the school for nearly a year.

For a strength of 1,000 students, the school just has one Punjabi lecturer while the other sanctioned post continues to be vacant since June 2010.In the absence of Punjabi lecturer, the other staff members had been compensating, holding Punjabi classes, so that the students’ studies would not suffer.

"This created unnecessary pressure on the working staff members, many of whom were at times, denied leave because in their absence, there would be no one to teach," said a teacher requesting anonymity.

The posts of discipline in charge (DP) and physical education teacher (PT) are also lying vacant since the last academic session.

The students, who had opted for physical education, had to face a lot of inconvenience during the last academic session, and had to go without any practical or theory lessons. They had to completely depend on their own notes and self-study for the theory part.

Confirmed a Class XII student: "In the absence of a PT teacher, we had to study on our own and prepare our own notes from different books. As for the practical part, we were all on our own. Our precious one year went down the drain without an instructor."

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Barjinder Kaur, principal, Government Senior Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar Camp, said, "We have one Punjabi lecturer but there was requirement for one more, which is why last year, I had put in a request for one more post."

She added: "Though the post was sanctioned last year itself, it continues to be vacant."

Barjinder Kaur confirmed that many times, teachers of other subjects had to teach Punjabi as it was not possible for one lecturer to cater to all the classes. The principal also said there was an urgent need for at least one DP and one PT as well in the school besides one Punjabi lecturer and one for English. "This is our minimum requirement as, for other subjects, there are four teachers each," she remarked.

Ludhiana, April 20
A team of health officials, led by drug inspector Balram Luthra, seized habit forming drugs worth Rs 1.75 lakh from a residence in Urban Vihar, Jawaddi. A police party accompanied the health officials.

Giving the list of drugs seized from the residence of Inderjit Singh, the drug inspector said the house was being used as a godown for illegal storage of habit-forming drugs. Inderjit Singh is absconding.

The medicines include 1,500 syrups, 17,732 capsules and 25,500 tablets. The raid was conducted following information given to the drug inspector.