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Farmers’ Protest takes passengers for a ride
Khalsa College managing committee clears resolution on autonomous status
Two TB cases detected in central jail, authorities begin awareness drive
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MC acts tough against sewerage board office
 Amritsar, March 20
Continuing its drive against house tax defaulters, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation today sealed the building of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) which owed Rs 17.38 lakh to the MC as house tax. Sushant Bhatia, superintendent, house tax department, seals Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board office at Ranjit Avenue in Amritsar on Tuesday. photo: sameer sehgal
Families seek release of kin from Thailand jail
‘Latest budget proposal on income tax will bring more revenue’
Seminar on microbiology concludes
Rare achievement for GND University professor
Fake travel agents booked
Polio drops given to 1.07 lakh children
Students bring laurels to BBK DAV College
Motorcycles stolen
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Farmers’ Protest takes passengers for a ride
Amritsar, March 20 The four-hour protest upset the schedule of over a dozen trains. It caused resentment among passengers, majority of them daily passengers, who got involved in war of words with the protesting farmers. However, the police timely intervention prevent the situation to go out of control. A city resident Ravi kumar, who is employed with PWD at Pathankot, said he arrived at the railway station at 6:15 am to board Amritsar-Pathankot passenger train. However, the train did not arrive even after three hours and he decided to return home. He said he would take leave today. Travelling by bus would have consumed another three hours, so I decided to take leave today, he added. Satwant Kaur of Gurdaspur was upset with the farmers for holding the entire railway network to ransom. She said earlier in the morning she came here along with her daughter and two grandchildren from Gurdaspur by Pathankot–Amritsar DMU to board another train at 7:15 am to reach Delhi. She was to attend a marriage of a family member. After nearly four-hour, the farmers eventually lifted their protest following announcement from SDM MS Narang. He announced Rs five lakh ex-gratia to the bereaved family. He said the reason of the farmer’s death would be known after getting the autopsy report.
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Khalsa College managing committee clears resolution on autonomous status
The proposal will now come up for discussion before the Khalsa College Governing Council during its meeting on March 22. Once it is cleared by the 100-member council, the case will be forwarded to the UGC for its approval. The college authorities are hoping to get autonomous status prior to the start of new academic session in July this year. The college also intends to launch new courses in the streams of information technology and biotechnology after going autonomous. The college authorities have already made it clear that the services of its staff will remain secure while the students will continue to get their degrees from the Guru Nanak Dev University. The historic college was mired in a controversy last year when a proposal regarding turning it into a private university came to the fore. The move sparked protests from various quarters. The teachers went on a warpath, alleging that it will put their jobs into risk, while some social organisations apprehended that the hefty fee structure of the proposed private university will deprive poor of getting education at the college. The alumni also voiced their concern over any change in the historic institution. The residents of Kot Khalsa, who claimed to have donated land for the college, had also joined the protests. Subsequently, the move was put on the backburner. Now, a year after the controversy, the governing council of the college has decided to keep the main Khalsa College out of the private university proposal and get autonomous status for it. As per the fresh move, the proposed varsity will now have other institutions being run by the Khalsa College Charitable Society.
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Two TB cases detected in central jail, authorities begin awareness drive
Amritsar, March 20 Considering the fact that the prison houses more number of prisoners than its capacity, the probability of inmates catching the disease is very high, expressed TB experts. As per records with the district TB control office, six inmates are suffering from TB. Large number of inmates and members of health staff participated in the awareness camp. The TB hospital has decided to collected sputum of suspected cases every week. Rajeev Choudhary, District Coordinator of Project Axshaya for Control of TB, said, "Volunteers will collect the sputum every week and send these for investigation." He said the inmates have been advised to give the sputum samples for investigation in case their cough doesn't cure in two weeks. District TB Officer, Dr Naresh Chawla, said, "All TB patients in the jail are being given treatment under Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP)." He said though the TB can be communicated to other inmates, they have been requested not to behave inhumanely with the patients. He said residents of places as jails where people live in congestion should guard themselves against communicable diseases. The programme in central prison was organised by District TB Hospital in association with volunteers of project Axshaya. On this occasion various short plays were staged by local artist Gurinder Makna and his team. Inmates were informed about the causes, symptoms and cures of TB.
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MC acts tough against sewerage board office
Amritsar, March 20 Commotion prevailed in the PWSSB complex located in Ranjit Avenue, when the AMC recovery squad led by Shushant Bhatia, Superintendent, House Tax wing barged into the room of the Executive Engineer Arvind Mahajan for questioning. Nevertheless, amidst allegations and counter allegations, Bhatia ordered his team to seal the main entrance of the complex. However, the record room and the passage to the guest house were exempted. Sushant Bhatia said the record room and the guest house located within the premises were let off because it would have otherwise hampered their official proceedings. The staff of the office too would take an alternate route to enter. "But, I had to abide by what the law says. It was not justifiable to let them off when we have already tightened the noose around the private commercial establishments," he said. Officials of PWSSB said the MC calculated the house tax at an exorbitant rate. The matter has been taken up with the higher authorities. As per precedent, the tax used to be about Rs 50,000 for a year, but the fresh house tax recovery notice of the MC reveals that the tax has been calculated on the basis of Rs 6 lakh per annum. "I was about to discuss the matter with the higher officials, but it was just unexpected on the part of the AMC to act so hastily. I was already in communication with the MC Commissioner to justify the calculations made for house tax. Otherwise, we have no hitch in paying the tax," said Arvind Mahajan. On the other hand, Sushant Bhatia said any objection on the house tax assessment would not be entertained as the departments concerned were already given a 30-day time span after serving them recovery notice. The notice period has elapsed. "We have already received payments from the BSNL office, Punjab State Power Corporation office and PWD office." He said all the calculations have been made according to the prevailing norms based on the cost of construction and current value of the land and there is no discrepancy. So, the PWSSB too would have to shell out due house tax, he added. Meanwhile, the MC team also raided an SCO from where Rs 22 lakh was to be recovered. "The proprietors paid us Rs 2.5 lakh on spot and assured to pay the rest of the amount within a day. We had already announced a grace period of 48 hours to the SCO and SCF owners. After the lapse of this period, if they still do not pay up, they too would have to face the same music. We visited 10 more properties today and recovered an amount of Rs 7.5 lakh," confirmed Bhatia. It has been learnt that the land over which the PWSSB office has been built originally belonged to the Improvement Trust and the official proceeding about the possession of the land is still pending.
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Families seek release of kin from Thailand jail
Amritsar, March 20 Levelling serious allegations on the part of the Indian consulate in Thailand, the families alleged that the consulate officials have hardly visited the prisoners thrice in the past seven years. Showing a letter from the prisoners, the families said the consulate has failed to reply to the letters and emails send to it requesting legal documents required for seeking pardon. The prisoners identified as Hardayal Singh (52) and Daljeet Singh (32) are imprisoned since 2006 and 2007, respectively. The duo was allegedly arrested for possessing drugs. “Daljeet had gone to Thailand on a three-day tourist visa. His file is lying with the consulate since 2010,” said Rajwant Kaur, Daljeet’s sister. Hardayal’s brother, Harvinder Pal Singh, said, “My brother is suffering from high blood pressure. He needs regular medicines but the jail authorities do not allow medicines. They ask for recommendation from a doctor of the Indian consulate. The consulate has not given it.” He said if the government cannot help in releasing Hardayal, it can at least ask the consulate to send a recommendation. President of International Human Rights Organisation (IHRO) Jaspreet Singh Sidhu said, “We have a case here of Jasbir Singh who was arrested in 1994 along with 10 Pakistani nationals. While all of them secured pardon in 1996, Jasbir is still languishing in jail for want of a covering letter to support his pardon application.” Sidhu said two more Punjabi prisoners, Mahesh and Harwinder Singh, had completed their sentences on December 8, 2010. But they are not released as the consulate has not provided out passes to them. Talking about the cases of Punjabi prisoners, Sidhu said the IHRO has filedan RTI in this regard. “We have asked them about the steps they have taken on the requests of covering letters and medical recommendation in case of Hardayal Singh,” he said adding that they have also asked for information about the legal aids or any other help provided by the consulate to the prisoners in Thailand.
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‘Latest budget proposal on income tax will bring more revenue’
Amritsar, March 20 Addressing the seminar, chartered accountant Girish Ahuja said incorporation of stringent provisions like power to re-open cases 16-year-old and compulsory filing of income tax return in relation with assets located outside India would act as a deterrent to the menace of black money. He said these provisions coupled with penalty on undisclosed income were serious attempts to fight corruption. He added that prosecution proceedings under the Income Tax Act would be expedited by constituting special courts. Cash credits, unexplained money, investments, un-explained investments and unexplained expenditure would be taxed at a flat rate of 30 per cent. Ahuja said in case of non-listed companies, any amount received as share capital would have to be proved as genuine and source of the investor should be explained by the company, otherwise the same shall be treated as income of the company. He said the deduction of tax at source at the rate of 10 per cent on payments made for purchase of immovables properties (other than Agricultural Land) beyond a certain limit would work in halting divergence of black money towards real estate. He also said cash sale of bullion and jewellery exceeding Rs 2 lakh have been brought under check for the first time. Tax to be collected at source at the rate of one per cent is a modest one, which would bring more revenue to the government.
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Seminar on microbiology concludes
Amritsar, March 20 The valedictory session was presided over by Dean, Academic Affairs, Prof Rajinderjit Kaur Pawar. The speaker in the valedictory function was Prof Anand Bacchawat from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali. Prof Anand in his research paper on Glutathione metabiolism-new insights from yeast-said that the glutathione is an important enzyme that counteracts reactive oxygen species generated in human cells by simple action of respiration. “The low levels of glutathione can lead to cancer, ageing and other diseases like Parkinson, Alzheimer etc. Using yeast as a model, glutathione balance can be studied”, he said. Prof RK Saxena from Department of Microbiology, Delhi University, talked about microbial cellulose. He said the cellulose is the most abundant polymer on earth. “It is the major constituent of plants and woods,” Microbial cellulose has high degree of crystalline, tensile strength and absorbency. “It has versatile applications in various fields such as medical, cosmetics and food industries. In medical field, microbial cellulose can be used for wound dressing, drug delivery agents and artificial skin substitute, he added. Prof Sanjay Chhibber, Department of Microbiology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, delivered a lecture on “Combating bacterial inaccessibility in biofilms by using novel delivery systems." He explained that certain human bacterial pathogens can form bio-films, which are resistant to the action of the antibiotics and to immune system.
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Rare achievement for GND University professor
Amritsar, March 20 Dr Sandhu is the first Indian and ninth Asian to be nominated to this group. A communication to this effect reached here from Prof (Dr) Lyle Micheli, Secretary General of FIMS and the Chair of Pediatric Sports Medicine in Harvard Medical School, USA. The FIMS recognises those individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the field of sports medicine nationally and internationally. The nomination is recommended by the Awards Committee of FIMS which includes the topmost peers in the field of sports medicine. Earlier, Prof Jaspal was unanimously re-elected as Secretary General of Asian Federation of Sports Medicine (AFSM) for a term of four years by the Council of Delegates of Asian Federation of Sports Medicine representing all the Asian countries which met during the International Congress of Knee Surgery, Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine in Kish Island free zone on February 21. FIMS is the parent organisation that controls sports medicine in 136 countries. Till date there are only 53 fellows of FIMS of which 20 are the founder honorary fellows.
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Fake travel agents booked
Amritsar, March 20 A case has been registered against Seema Mahajan and her husband, Vipan Mahajan. They are resident of Bharat Nagar. Chander Bhushan, in-charge of police, said no arrest has been made so far as the matter is under investigation. In yet another case, Lovjinder Singh, a resident of Jethuwal, said he was duped of Rs 3.5 lakh. He alleged that Ajmer Singh promised to send him to Italy. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered.
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Polio drops given to 1.07 lakh children
Amritsar, March 20 The special polio drive was planned for the migratory families working at the construction sites, factory premises, brick kilns and slum areas. The department had a target of immunising over 1.06 lakh children. Civil Surgeon Dr Manjit Singh Randhawa said on the third day of the drive 24,574 homes were covered and 32,692 children were immunised. He added that as many as 23,239 kids were from the urban areas. He said the department had formed 588 teams for the purpose and drive was completed successfully.
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Students bring laurels to BBK DAV College
Amritsar, March 20 Manpreet Kaur (80.4 per cent) got the first position, Deepali Sehgal (79.6 per cent) stood second and Parul Jain (78 per cent) bagged the third. College principal Dr Neelam Kamra said pass percentage of the college was hundred per cent. She said the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, has sanctioned a grant worth Rs 40 lakh to start this innovative course. She said the course taught students regarding cyber crime, web services, cyber law, search engine and other subjects. Khalsa College to facilitate Rector The Khalsa College will felicitate Rector Dr Dharambir Singh Jolly, who has turned 100 on March 22, at Khalsa College’s Gurudwara. The Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) has taken the decision here today, said its president Satyajit Singh Majithia. An Akhand Path was organised today started to seek God’s blessing for Dr Jolly’s healthy life. Dr Jolly has been serving the council since 1966 in various capacities such as its member, vice president and rector. KCGC’s honorary secretary Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina said it was a matter of great pride that they have Dr Jolly as their guide and leader.
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Motorcycles stolen
Amritsar, March 20 Jasbir Singh, a resident of Kale village, said his motorcycle (PB-02-BE 3380), which was parked on the Lawrence road, was stolen yesterday. In another instance, Amritpal, a resident of Jethuwal village, claimed that his motorcycle (PB-02-AY 7776) was lifted by unidentified persons from Hall Bazaar yesterday. The police is looking for the accused, while cases in this regard have been registered.
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As members of the Kissan Sangarsh Committee (KSC) blocked all railway lines at Amritsar railway station, passengers of as many as 11 trains faced inconvenience.
Amritsar, March 20
Amritsar, March 20
