Ludhiana, December 22
At least 28 students sustained injuries when the speeding school bus they were travelling in collided with a tractor-trolley near the Tajpur road here this morning in dense fog. Eight students sustained grievous injuries in the accident.

Gurkirat Singh (14), Abhijeet Singh (11), Kulminder (17) and Updeepak, who were admitted to the Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), are stated to be serious. Four other students were admitted to a hospital.

Twenty students, who sustained minor injuries, were sent home after administering first aid. The driver of the school bus, identified as Manjinder Singh, also sustained serious injuries in the accident and was admitted to the CMCH with multiple fractures. The incident took place at around 8.30 am when the bus with 35 students of Nankana Sahib Public School at Khassi Kalan village on board was heading towards the school.

Sewa Singh, an eyewitness, said the driver of the school bus could not spot the tractor-trolley due to dense fog and collided with the vehicle.

“Students fell over each other due to the sudden jolt. Those sitting in front sustained injuries due to the impact,” said Sewa Singh.

He further added that 108 ambulances reached the spot and rushed the students to various hospitals.

Manjinder Singh said nearly 35 students from the Tajpur road and nearby areas were travelling in the school bus when the accident took place.

Jagjit Singh, secretary of the school committee, said, “Six students sustained injuries. I don’t know the names of these students. At least 30 students were travelling in the bus when the incident took place.”

Ludhiana, December 22
The dense fog that engulfed the whole city and its outskirts this morning threw life out of gear, affecting people from all walks of life.

A visit to the offices of the district administration in the mini-secretariat showed that many employees either arrived late or preferred to take a half-day leave. The offices of the health department and the education department also witnessed the same situation.

Teachers from government schools situated on the city’s periphery, too, arrived late for duty. Many teachers even skipped the morning assembly due to cold weather and preferred to sit in the staff room.

On whether Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari had issued instructions to change the school timings, District Education Officer (Secondary), Ludhiana, said,"I have not received any instructions from the DC."

Meanwhile, motorists also had a tough time due to poor visibility.

Ludhiana, December 22
With eight cases of road fatalities due to dense fog reported in the city in the past 21 days, the foggy weather is getting dangerous with each passing day.

According to available data, low visibility has led to 463 accidents in Ludhiana, Jagraon, Raikot and Khanna in the past 21 days. The record compiled by the 108 emergency ambulance service staff shows that 237 cases of accidents have been reported in the city alone.

According to Jatin Kumar and Jagdeep Singh, cluster managers of Ludhiana 108 emergency ambulance service, nearly 200 cases of accidents have taken place during the night and early morning period.

“There has been a spurt in accident cases for the last few weeks. In most cases fog and low visibility were the reason behind the accidents. Earlier, there used to be respite during the evenings, as the number of accidents during night and early morning used to be less, but for the last few days, there been a steady rise in the accident cases and we are virtually working on our toes,” said Jatin Kumar.

In a majority of cases, four-wheelers collided with a stationary vehicle parked on the road, while in other cases four-wheelers knocked down motorcyclists and bicyclists.

Poor visibility is proving fatal to pedestrians also, as they are increasingly becoming victims of speeding vehicles. “Six pedestrians have been killed in the last fortnight after being run over by speeding vehicles,” said Jagdeep Singh.

Traffic experts said in the present situation, the emergency ambulance service is proving to be a boon for accident victims.

Ludhiana, December 22
The power scenario in the state has once again become grim, with the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) unable to draw power from the Northern Grid due to persistent low frequency. To make matters worse, all units of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power at Bathinda and Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant at Lehra Mohabbat tripped this morning, depriving the state suddenly of some 1000 mw power.

In the wake of the huge gap between demand and supply of power, the PSPCL authorities have imposed strict regulatory measures on the industrial units. The domestic consumers are also being subjected to a minimum of two-hour power cut during the day.

Highly placed sources in the PSPCL said the power cut being imposed on mixed feeders was strictly unofficial and the local authorities had been directed to regulate the timing of the power cut depending on the daily availability situation.

For the industry, the units being fed from category II (mixed feeders) will observe one compulsory weekly off day (WOD), whereas the power intensive industry, including arc and induction furnace units and rolling mills, fed from category III feeders, will observe four WODs till further orders.

The power situation, which was quite comfortable till a couple of days ago, had suddenly gone worse, say the sources in the PSPCL, attributing the shortfall in the availability to low frequency of the Northern Grid caused by poor generation at several thermal power plants in the northern region due to coal shortage or other technical problems.

"As far as the state of Punjab is concerned, the problem has been compounded with sudden tripping of the thermal plants at Bathinda and Lehra Mohabbat. The thermal plants are expected to resume generation by late evening today or early morning tomorrow when the situation will improve to some extent," the PSPCL officials stated.

Ludhiana, December 22
ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers of the health department who were protesting to get their demands fulfilled by holding a dharna at the Lord Mahavira Civil Hospital were allegedly lathi-charged by the police personnel here this afternoon when they tried to march towards the residence of Health and Family Welfare Minister Satpal Gosain. The police, however, has denied the lathi-charge.

According to Saroj Rani, general secretary of the ASHA Workers Union, Ludhiana, "It was on July 19 when the Health and Family Welfare minister promised us to issue the notification soon regarding our demands, but it he has not yet. So, we decided to march towards the residence of the health minister. As we started, the police personnel deployed there lathi-charged us, injuring and causing bruises to some workers. The gates of the civil hospital were closed down by the police so that we could not move out."

Shiv Ram, Saroy member of Rogi Kalyan Samiti, said,"For about two hours when the gates of the Hospital remained closed, the attendants of patients faced difficulty in going in and outside the hospital premises."

Their demands include regularisation, Rs 10,000 as salary, increase in commission, room for ASHA workers in the hospitals, uniform, etc.

Chandigarh, December 22
In a major relief to hundreds of industrial units in Focal Point, Phase VIII, Ludhiana, the Punjab Government today claimed to have corrected anomalies in the calculation of enhancement cost imposed on them. As a result, these industrialists will now have to pay just Rs 24 per square yard as enhancement cost, instead of Rs 250 per square yard (Rs 1.49 lakh per acre) demanded from them.

Officials in the Industries department here informed The Tribune that the re-calculation of the enhanced cost of land held been done, and it held been decided that the industrial houses located here would pay just Rs 24 per square yard as the enhancement cost. Talking to The Tribune, S S Channy, principal secretary, Industries, Punjab, said the department had now accepted that the industrial houses here were imposed certain costs that were not due to them. “After holding several meetings with these industrialists, we have now removed these costs, like the cost imposed on denotified land, stamp duty, cost on development of additional land, and the interest on these costs from the day of allotment of industrial plots to these people,” he said.

It may be noted that hundreds of industrialists in Focal Point, Phase VIII, had been up in arms against the Punjab State Industries Export Corporation (PSIEC) for demanding the above mentioned huge enhancement costs from them, even after they have already paid 100 per cent anticipated enhancement charges earlier. The units located here are mainly electroplating and dyeing units. Other than the enhancement costs, they were also asked to pay additional interest charges, administrative charges and interest on administrative charges.

Interestingly, they were allotted industrial plots at the rate of Rs 350 per square yard in 1993. But a few years later, some allottees (those who had got land here through a draw of lots) were asked to pay additional Rs 250 per square yard as external development charges. These allottees then went to the court, demanding equitable charges for all, as some allottees here had been allotted plots here at the rate of Rs 126 per square yard and others at Rs 350 per square yard. Finally, as per the ruling of the court, all allotees were asked to pay Rs 596 per square yard as price of the plot.

“When this rate of Rs 596 per sq yd was decided, the PSIEC said it included five per cent unforeseen charges, Rs 20 per sq yd as ‘nominal’ saving for the Corporation, and a 100 per cent anticipated enhancement charge. Since we had paid this enhancement charge, we could not pay these charges again,” rued OP Bassi, president of Focal Point Phase VIII Industries Association. The Association had moved the court against this order, which in turn had suggested that PSIEC re-calculate the fresh cost.

Ludhiana, December 22
Slamming the state government for remaining deaf to their long pending demands, the Punjab Fire Brigade Employees Federation today reiterated the demand for immediate revision of pay scales of the firemen, grant of allowances and other financial benefits at par with other government employees and fresh recruitment to fill up all vacant posts in the municipal fire brigades in the state.

A general body meeting of the body held here today noted with regret that with the state assembly elections just round the corner, the government was doling out sops to all government employees. However, the plight of the employees of the fire services was persistently being ignored, observed Bhupinder Singh, who presided over the meeting.

Other functionaries of the federation, including general secretary Gurnam Singh, lamented that the firemen and other employees of the municipal fire brigades risked their lives to save people and property, but the government had been inflicting gross injustice upon them. "The pay scales of the firemen and other ranks await revision, allowances and other incentives are denied, staff shortage has plagued the fire services and non-availability of modern fire fighting equipment makes their job a lot more difficult which calls for immediate remedial measures," the speakers at the meeting asserted.

Ludhiana, December 22
The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the region are sore over the “step-motherly” treatment being meted out to them by banks. The SMEs rued that the banks were not providing enough benefits to them as instructed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The interest rates were getting higher while the loan benefits were being “squeezed” by them.

Talking to The Tribune, Badish K Jindal, President, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Associations (FOPSIA), said SMEs, which were adhering to the base-rate formula adopted by the banks, were suffering. “The base-rates have been increased by the banks to show the profits. The small-scale industry is facing financial constraints, as the banks were not sanctioning loans to the SMEs. If we don’t have enough funds, we will not be able to compete globally. The banks need to realise our problems,” said Jindal.

He further added that it was mandatory for the banks not to take security while sanctioning loan up to Rs 10 lakh to the SMEs. But to avoid any risks, banks were just not granting loans up to Rs 10 lakhs to the sector. “Besides, under the credit guarantee trust fund scheme, banks have to provide collateral free loan up to Rs 1 crore to customers. But, in Punjab not even Rs 100 crores have been sanctioned by the banks to entrepreneurs. Advance loan worth Rs 4,500 crores have been given all over India. In such circumstances, how will the Industry survive? There may be huge number of defaulters in Punjab. But the entire industry shouldn’t suffer due a few persons,” added Jindal.

President of the Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry PD Sharma said the priority sector was entitled to 50 per cent bank credit. Earlier, agriculture and small-scale industry came under the priority sector; now various other segments had been included like MSME, home-loans and auto-loans etc. The quantum of credit to the small scale has not been defined. “Earlier only small scale industries were availing loans from banks. Now numerous segments have overcrowded everything. So banks have started providing loans to every segment, the small-scale industry suffers in such conditions,’ added Sharma.

Ludhiana, December 22
Candidates willing to contest the Vidhan Sabha elections can spend Rs 16 lakhs on the poll. This was stated by the Deputy Commissioner of Ludhiana while meeting aspiring candidates and seasoned politicians of various parties willing to contest the Vidhan Sabha elections at his office here today.

The Deputy Commissioner said, “The Election Commission is strict this time. Action will be taken against those violating the poll code. Each candidate will have to open a separate account and spend not more than Rs 16 lakh in the Vidhan Sabha election. Expenses incurred on supporters of candidates, on rallies and advertisements will also be included in the amont spent by the candidate. The candidates won’t be able to save their skin by ignoring the advertisements given by their supporters. The candidates will not only have to keep the record of the expenses, but the administration also will have to maintain it. A three members monitoring team is being constituted to keep a strict vigil on the election expenses been incurred by each candidate in his Vidhan Sabha constituency,” he added.

A three-member committee comprising the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), District Public Relation Officer and one senior journalist will be consituted to keep a check on paid news and for analysing the advertisements print and electronic media For attending general complaints and complaints related to the police, a separate monitoring committees will be constituted, he added.

A team of videographers will also be constituted for keeping a watch on the rallies and political meetings,

Pointing towards another important fact, the Deputy Commissioner said, “ Not s single candidate will be allowed to go on tour with huge cash. If necessary, one should keep documents related to cash as soon as the election code of conduct will come into force. A monitoring committee comprising income tax officers has also been constituted. It will probe into any suspicious transactions of more than Rs 1 lakh. “

He also instructed not to deface the government property with advertisements. The candidates would be allowed to paste their advertisements on sites for which hey have paid to the municipal corporation or councils. For defacing private property one should take permission of the owners.

Ludhiana, December 22
At least 12 station house officers (SHOs) have been transferred following the orders of Commissioner of Police Dr SS Chuhan here today.

Ashwani Kumar, inspector (traffic), has been given the charge of the SHO of the Kotwali police station; Rajinder Kumar has been posted as the SHO of the Division No 3 police station; Inspector Ravinder has been appointed SHO of the Division No.4 police station; Randhir Singh, who posted as the SHO of the Haibowal police station, has been given the charge of the SHO of the Division No 6 police station.

Bitten Kumar has been given the charge of the SHO Division NO 7 police station. Inspector Gursharanjit Singh, in charge (Traffic), has been posted as the SHO of the Haibowal police station. Amanpal Singh has been made SHO of the Model Town police station, while inspector Jaswinder Singh has been appointed SHO of the Shimlapuri police station. Inspector Karanvir Singh has been made SHO of the Sadar police station.

Arvindpuri has been transferred from the PAU and made the SHO of the Sahnewal police station. Raj Kumar has been transferred from Division No 3 police station and posted to the Daresi police station.

Ludhiana, December 22
Dense fog engulfed the city till 7.30 am today. People were forced to switch on the fog lights of their vehicles to avoid inconvenience. Metrologists maintained that though minimum temperature hovered around 4.8°C in the past 24 hours, still residents preferred to remain indoors due to the chill in the atmosphere.

Assistant Agro-Meteorologist at Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), Dr KK Gill, said with fog engulfing the region, the temperature was likely to fall in the next 24 hours. “Though it won’t rain, still dense fog will continue to hover over the city. Ground frost will be visible in the outskirts of the city,” said Dr Gill.

He, however, added that the day’s temperature (maximum) will not witness major fluctuation and will hover near 20°C.

The persistent weather was favourable for the wheat crop, but not for vegetables like tomato, potato and peas. The farmers must protect the crops by putting polythene sheets or covers. They can even irrigate the crops lightly to reduce the cooling effect.

The nursery beds of vegetables had to be protected in the severe weather conditions, he suggested.

Meanwhile, the dip in the temperature has thrown normal life out of the gear. Children are forced to brave the chill while going to the schools. Parents were seen dropping their wards in the four-wheelers. Many others, who could not afford the luxury of a school-van or a car, were seen walking to school in the bone-chilling conditions.

Ludhiana, December 22
City elites eagerly await winter to celebrate New Year or switch on blowers and heaters, sip hot cup of coffee and tea. But not all those living in the city are blessed. For underprivileged section of society winter is nightmarish. They fight for their survival and brave the chill on footpaths, but have no regrets.

A survey conducted by The Tribune revealed that the poor spend their nights along roadsides, under the flyovers, on rickshaws and rehris in the city. Madho, a rickshaw-puller, said he had no option but to sleep in his rickshaw under the bridge opposite the local railway station.

“I certainly can’t afford to take a room on rent. There is no room available for less than Rs 1,000. If I start living on rent, I will not be able to send money back home. Six family members are dependent on me,” added Madho.

When asked how he survives in open in such severe weather conditions, Madho said the God was there to care of lakhs of people like him. “I provide relief to myself by burning wood, paper and polythene bags. Besides, I get a kick from opium in the biting cold. This is all destined and I don’t have any regrets,” he said without any hesitation.

Pandit Mahanand of Dandi Swami Temple said the beggars sleep in groups on footpaths. “A few philanthropists provide them blankets and woollen clothes. Most of them are living in such a hellish condition by choice. They are drug addicts. They fight with each other and create nuisance outside the temple. The Municipal Corporation has recently constructed shelters for such people. But, they simply refuse to move in due to good earning outside the temple,” the priest added.

Ludhiana, December 22
If the amended Municipal Meat Bylaws 2011 of the Municipal Corporation here are any indication, the meat-sellers are in for tough regulatory measures in the days to come. The meat shops in the city will have to adhere to norms fixed for cleanliness of the premises, personal hygiene of the workers, display restrictions and locational guidelines in future.

A sub-committee constituted by the general house of the MC, which met here today with city Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura in the chair to incorporate the suggestions and objections received from the affected persons and general public in the existing bylaws, decided to increase the penalty from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 for first violation. In order to deter the habitual offenders, a provision for one-month imprisonment for third violation has also been made in the bylaws.

The amended bylaws will make it mandatory for meat shops to maintain the acceptable levels of cleanliness in and outside the shops, have vitreous or ceramic floor and wall tiles, have dark film on glass doors and windows, make provisions for a proper drainage system with a washbasin and disposal of dirty water while also ensuring personal hygiene of their workers.

Taking note of the meat shops located in densely populated residential areas, and common complaints of people that these hurt their religious feelings, the bylaws lay down that the MC will make arrangements for the establishment of meat markets in all four zones of the city. Moreover, no fresh licences for meat shops will be issued in residential areas without no-objection certificates from the people residing in those particular localities.

The amended bylaws for meat shops have been adopted in the wake of the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to the civic body for taking stern regulatory measures against the meat shops which were operating in highly unhygienic conditions.

Ludhiana, December 22
The computer teachers of the district schools have been using the official mail IDs to publicise the union programmes. The district education officer had already sent the instructions to schools not to use the official mail Ids for personal and union activities but to no avail.

According to the instructions from district education officer, the department will take strict action against those teachers who use their Ids for personal and union activities.

Teachers have also been prohibited to use the social network website like facebook, orkut, zorpia, shtyle etc in schools. The DEO had instructed the teachers to use mail Ids only for the official work. "Computer and internet facility in the schools is not for the personal use of computer teachers. The computer teachers are deployed in the schools to teach the students. Moreover, they use the internet and computers for electronic correspondence. But they are using the computer rooms as media centre," a teacher said.

Jasbir Singh, district coordinator ICT said, "We have already warned the teachers about the issue. If some of them are still using the official mail Ids, we will take strict action."

Ludhiana, December 22
"As in chemistry, the state of transition between the formations of final products is the most unstable and have maximum energy, similar is the state in the age of adolescence," said Varinder Kaur, District Science Supervisor (DSS) during a workshop of Nodal Teachers on Adolescent Education organised at the Ramgarhia School. Around 200 teachers participated from about hundred government schools.

Shashi Trehan former DSS said the programme is underway since 2005 under which children are given information and made to understand the quirks of teenage. The children are informed and counselled about their problems, drug-abuse, bad company, HIV, peer pressure and guided toward channelising their energy and developing life-skills. "In today's environment, exposure to an inappropriate material on media and the Internet can wreak havoc in a teenager's life, which can result in undue stress. Hence, counselling students is of the utmost importance," said Kusum Lata, headmistress at Government High Scool, Gujrawal.

Separate question boxes for boys and girls have been advised in the government schools where they can write any question anonymously, said Manpreet Kaur from Government Girls High School, Ramgarh. She said that the role-play is being organised under the programme apart from essay writing competitions, poster-making competitions to spread awareness about issues related to adolescence.

Ludhiana, December 22
Ashok Kumar Bajaj, a resident of Sector-32 Chandigarh road, alleged that four men traveling in an autorickshaw thrashed him following an accident on December 19.

He informed that the youths first rammed the autorickshaw they were travelling in into his car and then took up a fight. After which they thrashed him and took his laptop and Rs 5000.

The Division No 3 police has booked Shanty, Lucky and two unidentified persons of the Division 3 area under Sections 376, 323, 341, and 506-34 of the IPC for snatching and assault.