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SC student ‘denied’ degree
Mohit Khanna
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
Twenty-five-year-old Kuldip Singh from Bhogpur near Jalandhar is a classic case of how the policies for the welfare of Scheduled Caste (SC) students never reach them and are restricted to the creamy layer.

Kuldip alleged that the authorities of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College have refused to provide a detailed marksheet and a provisional degree certificate after the SC scholarship funds amounting to nearly Rs 1.5 lakh of four semesters was not released by the department concerned.

For nearly a month, Kuldip along with his father has been travelling 100 km from Bhoghpur near Jalandhar to Ludhiana on a motorcycle to convince the authorities for releasing relevant documents so that he could apply for a decent job.

Narrating his ordeal, Kuldip said: "I am paying the price of being poor. The statement of free education for SC students exists only on papers. As the payment of four semesters has not been released by the directorate of technical education, the college authorities have denied issuing a detailed marksheet and the provisional degree certificate. I lost a job in HCL as my documents were not complete. The college authorities are demanding Rs 1.5 lakh in lieu of issuing the documents. My parents are poor and ailing and I am their only hope."

“Everyone knows my plight. Besides urging the college authorities to issue my certificates, I met ADC Neeru Katyal, who spoke to the college authorities on my behalf. Then I met Deputy Director, Technical Education, Mohanbir Singh Sidhu. He told me that he would talk to the college authorities.”€ť

Next day Mohanbir Singh told me told me to submit the amount for two semesters. The reply was an eye opener for me. It was enough to realise that the scholarships for SC students was a farce.”€ťEven SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar and Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, who are chairman and member of the Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College management committee, shattered his hope.

"Both the leaders said that I have to deposit the money for two semesters. I agreed, but the college authorities want that I should give them a blank post-dated cheque for Rs 50,000 and sign a bond as well. Exasperated, I met the district welfare officer, who is also looking after the scholarship matters of the SC students, but he, too, did not suggest any way out. I do not know what to do," lamented Kuldip. 

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Authorities go slow on Rakh Bagh project
Puneet Pal Singh Gill
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
The toy train at Rakh Bagh is in a shambles. A famous attraction for children once, the train is out of order since 2005. However, officials of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation had been claming that the toy train was being repaired and would operational soon.

The MC officials now claim that the project is in a shambles as the state tourism department is developing Rakh Bagh and till the time this project is complete, they would not be able to start the toy train.

The project to develop Rakh Bagh and Nehru Rose Garden started when Hira Singh Gabria was the state tourism minister. Hailing from Ludhiana, Gabria showed interest in the project, but ever since he lost the elections, the pace of the work has slowed down.

MC Joint Commissioner AS Sekhon said: “When Gabria was the tourism minister, the project was going on at a normal pace, but now it has slowed down. The engine of the toy train has been repaired. We will start the toy train as soon as the project to develop Rakh Bagh is complete,”€ť claimed Sekhon.

However, sources in the MC claimed that the project was unlikely to be completed soon. The state tourism department seems less interested in the project and till the time it’s€ completed, the toy train project is unlikely to start, added sources.

This is not the only project in the city that is in a shambles. The boating facility at Nehru Rose Garden has disappeared while the zoo is almost on verge of closure.

A city resident recalls: “When Rakh Bagh came into being, it emerged as one of the most spectacular picnic spots ever provided by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation. With a toy train and a swimming pool, Rakh Bagh was the most visited place in the city.”€ť

But today, the beautiful park is crying for maintenance. Wild grass has covered the toy train track and even the ornamental plants are in a poor condition. 

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File I-T return at kiosk, mobile van
Manav Mander
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
In view of the forthcoming tax return season, the Income Tax department for the first time has decided to set up special ‘tax kiosks’ in residential areas for facilitating taxpayers. These kiosks will deal with a host of taxpayer related queries as the time of paying the annual income tax return draws near.

The taxpayers will now not be required to visit the I-T offices or other special camps for filing of returns, tracking refunds and applying for fresh PAN cards.

The department has also decided to run and station ‘mobile vans’ in smaller cities manned by I-T-trained personnel, who will help taxpayers perform their tasks in view of the July 31 deadline of filing I-T returns.

“The innovative measure has been taken by the department to facilitate the taxpayers. The department had run a pilot project in this regard last year and the plan will be executed this year countrywide. The department will talk to resident welfare associations and other such bodies for establishing temporary kiosks at apartment blocks, large office complexes and other central locations of the city,”€ť a senior I-T official said.

The mobile vans in smaller cities will act as a single window for salaried class and other small and marginal taxpayers.

Metros and other big centres will have the tax kiosks.

These vans and kiosks, which will be stationed at one location for one to two days, will be manned by trained tax return prepares (TRPS) who help the taxpayers in filing returns. The department will also issue advertisements in order to publicise the location and timing of these kiosks and vans.

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2 more suspected cases of dengue at DMCH
Anupam Bhagria
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
Two more suspected cases of dengue have been reported in Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) here today. However, none of these cases are from Ludhiana.

Confirming this, Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, Dr Subhash Batta said: “One of these suspected patients is from Jalandhar and the other one is from Jammu and Kashmir."

With this, the total number of suspected dengue patients admitted to the DMCH has reached six. District epidemiologist Dr Puneet Juneja said: "We will conduct Mac ELIZA test on the patients tomorrow. We can simultaneously conduct 96 tests with a single kit. So, we conduct these tests twice a week.”€ť

A total of nine confirmed cases of dengue have been reported in Punjab, out of which four are from Ludhiana. A health official said: “People who are suffering from dengue in the city might have visited some hill station where temperature is comparatively low. There is no chance of them contracting dengue in Ludhiana as the temperature in high. The aedes mosquito, which transmits dengue, does not survive in high temperature.

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30 new low-floor buses to hit city roads
Puneet Pal Singh Gill
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
Soon, 30 new low-floor buses will run on city roads under the City Bus Service project. These buses will run on five new routes, which will be finalised after a meeting of the board of directors.

These buses will be part of the 40 buses to be purchased from Tata under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) project. The Ludhiana City Bus Service Ltd has already taken delivery of 10 buses while the final batch of 30 buses is expected to reach the city in the next 15 days.

The five routes identified by the Ludhiana City Bus Service Ltd are Chandigarh Road, GT Road, Gill Road, Dhandra Road and Hambran Road.

The Chandigarh Road route will be 19-km long. The buses will start from the Ludhiana bus stand and will have stoppages near Preet Palace, Gill Chowk, Partap Chowk, Cheema Chowk, Samrala Chowk, Vardhman Mill, Sectors 32/39, Jamalpur, Mundian, Jhabewal, Ramgarh, Jandiali and Kohara.

The 6-km Dhandra Road route will start from the Ludhiana bus stand and will pass through Preet Palace, Dugri Bridge, Dugri Urban Estate Phase I, Dugri Urban Estate Phase II and Manakwal.

The Gill Road route will be 6.9-km long and will start from the Ludhiana bus stand and will pass through Preet Palace, Gill Chowk, Janta Nagar, ATI Chowk, ITI Chowk, Gill Canal Bridge, Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College and till Gill village.

Similarly, the GT Road route will be 15.5-km long. The buses will start from the Ludhiana bus stand and will have stoppages near Preet Palace, Gill Chowk, Partap Chowk, Dholewal Chowk, Sherpur Chowk, Giaspura, Dhandari Railway Station, Dhandari Kalan, Kanganwal, Jugiana, Pawa/Khakat and till Sahnewal.

The Hambran Road route will be 8.9-km long. The buses will start from the Ludhiana bus stand and will have stoppages at Bharat Nagar Chowk, Old Court Chowk, Dandi Swami Chowk, Arya College, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Kitchlu Nagar, Radha Swami Satsang Bhawan and till Partap Singh Wala village.

An official of Ludhiana City Bus Service Ltd told The Tribune that six each of the new buses are expected to ply on these five routes. We are hopeful of getting the delivery of 30 low-floor non-AC buses this month,” said the official.

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Govt schools witness thin attendance
First day after summer vacations, 50 per cent students attend classes
Charanjit Singh Teja
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
On the first day of schools after summer vacations, government senior secondary schools of the city witnessed thin attendance. The school authorities said only 50 per cent students attended the schools after one-month-long summer holidays. The students from classes VI to X were comparatively more absent as compared to senior secondary classes.

The schools authorities called it “carefree attitude” of the students, but teachers considered it the effect of hot weather.

Out of 1,300 students, about 750 of senior secondary classes were present at Shaheed Sukhdev Thapar Government Senior Secondary School, Bharat Nagar, and about 150 students, out of 342, from classes VI to X were present today.

However, at Government Senior Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar, only 29 students out of 52 were present from class VI and 34 students, out of 58, attended class VII. Only 40 students of class VIII were present out of 64. A total of 51 students out of 82 of class IX and 50 students out of 63 of class X attended the classes today. Meanwhile, Government Senior Secondary School, Gobind Nagar, also witnessed only 50 per cent students in class X, where 40 students were present out of 72.

According to the 
school authorities of Government Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agricultural University, “About 80 per cent students of classes VI to X attended the school. Meanwhile, 265 students, out of 387 of class XI, and 310, out of 462 of class XII, were present at the school.”

Government Senior Secondary School, Gobind Nagar, principal Harjit Lal said, “A large number of children studying in the government schools of the city are of migrants. It is a common tendency among the students that they visit their native village or maternal home during the summer vacations. So, due to the carefree attitude and sometimes due to family problems, they miss the classes for a few days after the summer vacations.”

While a teacher from a government school said, “All students cannot bear the scorching heat. Moreover, they are aware of the fact that during power cuts, fans will not be functional, so they might have stayed back at home today.”

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New concepts in development of health food discussed
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
“Health is wealth but reverse cannot be true. Sadly, focus of most of the people is on wealth nowadays and that is creating problems,” these remarks were made by former additional director-general, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Dr RP Kachru, during the inaugural of ICAR-sponsored 21-day summer training on “Newer concepts and techniques in development of health foods”, organised by the food grains and oilseeds processing division at the Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) here today.

A total of 25 participants from across the country are taking part in the training programme. Dr Kachru, also the chief guest, said food had a fundamental role to play in the overall development of a person. “But we need to go beyond the new emerging buzzword of health foods, as nature has made no food unhealthy. It was due to the interventions of man in food in the recent past that we now need to think of developing health foods,” he cautioned. While Dr Manisha Mangal, senior scientist, coordinated the inaugural, Dr Sangeeta Bansal, senior scientist, proposed a vote of thanks.

Trekking tour

The directorate of students’ welfare of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) organised a seven-day annual hiking and trekking tour for its students recently. A group of 20 students, selected on the basis of academic, cultural and sports achievements, visited places like Minri Monistry (Tumbashero Religion Temple), Kufri, Shimla, Kasauli and Baru Sahib. Director of students’ welfare, Dr DS Cheema, physical education assistant director Kanwaljit Kaur and welfare officer Satbir Singh accompanied the students on the tour.

Dr Cheema said such type of tours not only refresh the students but also give them exposure and help in broadening their vision. He advised the youths to make enthusiastic participation in extra-curricular activities, along with academics for their overall personality development.

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Jaspreet shines in BSc biotechnology (honours)
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
Students of the Khalsa College for Women (KCW) have brought laurels to the college by their excellent performance in BSc-III biotechnology (honours), the results of which were declared by Panjab University.

Jaspreet Kaur has bagged first position in the university by securing 85.1 per cent marks, while Jasmine Puri has clinched ninth position in the university by securing 81.8 per cent marks. The pass percentage of the college is 100 per cent and that, too, all in first division. The position holders attributed their excellent performance in the university to their hard work and support of the college principal and faculty members for their tireless efforts in rendering help and constant encouragement, besides blessings of their parents. Jaspreet, who had cherished the dream of topping the university, said the journey from bagging third position in the university in BSc-I to securing first position in the university was not easy.

Students win laurels

The students of BSc (honours) bioinformatics-III of Guru Nanak Girls College have proved their excellence in Panjab University examinations. Paramjit Kaur stood first in Panjab University by securing 81.4 per cent marks. Harpreet Kaur bagged fourth position by securing 78 per cent marks, while Sonia Bakshi stood sixth by securing 72.3 per cent marks.

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Postman killed in road mishap
Askok Kaura

Phillaur, July 2
A postman, identified as Vijay Kumar, a resident of Kot-Badal Khan village, died on the spot when a speeding Maruti car hit his scooter near Sagarpur village in PS Phillaur last evening. The accident took place when he was returning home.

However, driver of the car managed to escape from the spot. The police has registered a case against the car driver and sent the body for a post-mortem to the Civil Hospital.

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Beopar mandal protests orders
Excise & taxation officers, inspectors asked to authenticate bill books
Shivani Bhakoo
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
The Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal is up in arms against the excise and taxation department, Punjab, for issuing recent orders in which excise and taxation officials (ETOs) and excise and taxation inspectors (ETIs) have been asked to authenticate all bill books of dealers, especially those who were dealing in 12.5 per cent tax items.

Sunil Mehra, state general secretary of the mandal, said the recent decision taken by the Commissioner, excise and taxation, Punjab, was uncalled for, which had termed the dealers as unscrupulous elements.

“The dealers or the traders are paying taxes to the tune of Rs 14,000 crore per annum to the state exchequer and the recent step is like keeping a hawk eye on the traders, which we protest,” said Mehra.

The Commissioner has asked his officials that they should visit shops and establishments on regular basis and note down the number of running bills/invoices of the dealers. They have been asked to randomly check the customers for issue of retail invoices by the dealers to improve VAT companies. Besides, all ETOs and inspectors will maintain a complete dealer-wise one single register with regard to their field visits and the dealers of the area will be visited at least once in every two months by the officials.

Mahinder Aggarwal, mandal secretary, said such “dictatorial” decision taken by the Commissioner will add burden on the traders. “We will act as puppets in the hands of ETOs and ETIs, many of whom are corrupt. This is evident from the fact that in 2007, the Vigilance Bureau had exposed a big scam in the sales tax department, in which about 30 ETOs and ETIs were involved. When we are paying our regular taxes to the government, then where was the need to unnecessarily harass all traders?” asked Aggarwal.

He further added that in case the government had any doubt on particular trader, his records must be checked by inspectors or ETOs, but unnecessarily bothering all traders was uncalled for. The traders have asked the government to withdraw this decision, so that the former could work in peaceful conditions.

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Power cuts make life of residents miserable
Charanjit Singh Teja
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
A day in the scorching heat and night without regular electricity is the fate that every resident of the city has been facing these days. Power cuts are becoming an integral part of the life of the residents these days and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has not decided any timing for power cuts. The PSPCL is officially imposing three hours of power cuts in the city, but it is observed that power cuts continue from more than the declared timings, which is making life of the residents miserable.

According to the city residents, the PSPCL is imposing more than six hours of unscheduled power cuts in a day. The power cuts at night make the condition worst. Anuradha Sharma, a resident of Ashok Nagar area, said, “The most unsatisfactory behaviour is of customer care centres, who don’t have any information about the duration of cut.”

Ajit Singh, another resident of Shimlapuri, said, “Electricity in their area play hide and seek and their life has gone topsy-turvy.”

He further said there were no scheduled power cuts. “Nowadays, the department is not caring about the complaints. People have been facing six to eight hours of cuts in our area,” said Gurdev Singh from the Pakhowal road.

Manvi, a teacher from Sarabha Nagar, said, “The PSPCL is imposing three hours of cuts in daytime and three hours during night. Air-conditioners do not work properly during night, so we can’t sleep properly. Night cuts spoil the whole day.”

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40-year-old feared drowned in canal
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
A 40-year-old man has been feared drowned in Sidhwan Canal while trying to save his 10-year-old son here today.
The victim has been identified as Hemraj, a daily-wage earner and a resident of Sunet village.

The incident took place when the father-son duo decided to take a bath in the canal to beat the heat. While they were taking bath, Tony, son of Hemraj, lost balance and slipped into the canal.

Hemraj, in order to save his son, dived after him. While Tony was rescued by passers-by, Hemraj disappeared in the water.

Manjinder Singh, SHO, Sarabha Nagar, said the search operation was launched to find Hemraj, but in vain. The search was stopped at night and would be resumed in the morning, he said. 

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500 gm gold jewellery goes missing from bank locker
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
High drama was witnessed at a bank located near Samrala Chowk when a city-based cloth merchant claimed that his gold ornaments weighing 500 grams (50 tolas) kept in a bank locker was missing.

The complainant, Daljit Singh, a resident of Guru Arjan Dev Nagar, said he kept the gold jewellery in the locker four years ago. He claimed he had not opened the locker for the past two years.

Daljit Singh said when he opened the locker today, he was shocked to find the gold jewellery missing.

He took up matter with the bank authorities and the police was informed.

Anil Bhanot, SHO, Division No 6, said the complaint has been received and an inquiry has been initiated. 

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City synonymous with luxury cars
Gurvinder Singh
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 2
It has been long when Ludhiana was called the Mercedes capital. But now it is not just Mercedes, but a variety of luxury car brands that can be seen on the city roads. These luxury cars have become so ubiquitous that these no longer draw eyeballs and make onlookers curious. The city truly seems to be becoming a name synonymous with the luxury cars now.

“When I came to Ludhiana, I was completely surprised by the number of luxury cars that are plying on the city roads,” says Gurjot, who migrated to Ludhiana from Delhi.

“It simply epitomises the Punjabi nature of enjoying life in luxury. The good thing about these cars is not that they just don’t have the brand value but the features that take them to the next level,” says Sarabjeet, a factory owner.

“Being entrepreneurs, people here have money and feel like spending too. People of the city hanker after being counted among the elite,” says a resident. With the luxury cars becoming so common in the city, these have increasingly become the need for many of the residents.

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Sunita spots niche in creative gardening
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
Looking at flowers and foliage, planted in a conventional manner do not interest her, for she imagines accompanying containers, embracing these blooms, to be as vibrant and interesting. Sunita Singal, a resident of Ludhiana, doesn't feel any boundaries when it comes to fashioning the containers for plants and flowers in a garden.

Slippers, bicycle, clock, cup-plate, teapot, umbrella, handbag and all make her garden look intriguingly different. It is all the manifestation of her imagination, she says, as any object can become an inspiration for plantation of flowers and look beautiful.

Passionate about gardening and garden ornaments since 20 years, she has various flowers, garden ornaments and bonsai collections. “Plants and flowers are my penchant and I think everything can become a showcase for the plants,” she says.

Whenever an inspiration strikes, she briefs a carpenter or a welder about what she has in mind and then chooses the most appropriate flowers for the new shape created. “I think every form looks beautiful with flowers and plants, but still aesthetics of the creation have to be taken care of. Although she hasn’t studied art, she feels that this is an extension of her artistic disposition, which is not only restricted to this creative gardening but also to embroidery and painting.”

She also draws inspiration from European style of gardening.

Being meticulous about the kind of look she wants, some projects take a lot of time and search for the perfect material. Creation of flower arrangement from a log of tree took a lot of time, as she had to search for the perfect look for the plant. She plants various seasonal flowers, including petunia, pansies and chrysanthemums. 

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Old GT road to open in 2 weeks
Puneet Pal Singh Gill
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
The portion of the old GT Road near the Clock Tower, which had caved in April, has finally been repaired by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation staff. The MC officials, who were overseeing the repair work, which has been going on at a snail's pace, have got a lentil constructed on the road. They plan to open the road for vehicular traffic in the next two weeks.

Since this portion had caved in in mid-April, the MC officials have been adopting a lackadaisical approach in repairing the road. The slow pace of work not only leads to traffic congestion in the area, but also wastage of public money.

When just a small portion of this road had caved in, a shopkeeper, Anup Sharma, had informed the MC officials about it in writing. But the MC officials didn’t even bother to take any step to repair the road and just placed concrete slabs around it.

Several persons have been injured in accidents, as the concrete slabs were kept right in the middle of the road. Later, another portion of the same road caved in on May 14.

Parminder Mehta, a Congress leader and husband of area councillor Sushma Mehta, had visited the spot along with the MC officials on June 19. He had pulled up the officials and directed them to complete the repair work at the earliest.

While speaking to The Tribune, RP Gupta, SDO (B&R), said the lentil on the road was constructed today. “We plan to open this road in the coming two weeks so that the area residents and shopkeepers don’t have suffer any more. The remaining repair work on the other side of the road will be carried out after the monsoon season. After consultations with the Operations and Maintenance Cell, we have made temporary arrangements for the flow of water during the rainy season,” said Gupta.

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Jagraon MC fails to cover manholes
Jaswant Shetra

An open manhole on the Disposal road in Jagraon.
An open manhole on the Disposal road in Jagraon. A Tribune photograph

Jagraon, July 2
The Jagraon Municipal Council seems to have learnt no lesson from the past incidents of people losing their lives after falling in uncovered wholes in different parts of the country. A number of manholes across the town are still uncovered.

One of these uncovered manholes is located on the road connecting Shashtri Nagar with the Disposal road. This manhole is situated right in the middle of the road and the local residents say an accident is waiting to happen in their area. During night, the uncovered manhole becomes almost invisible.

According to the residents, this manhole has been lying uncovered for more than six months. "This is a busy road and hundreds of people use it everyday. This open manhole might prove fatal if not covered immediately. But, it seems the local municipal council officials are waiting for a tragedy to happen," said Rajinder Jain, who resides nearby.

There is another uncovered manhole on the Old Sabzi Mandi road. According to the residents, it has been lying uncovered for the past many days. The cemented cover of the manhole had caved in.

The residents said though they had brought the matter to the notice of the MC authorities, no action has been taken so far. A local resident, Sony Bhullar, said: "I, along with other residents of the colony, had even met the president of the MC and apprised him about the problem. Though he assured us of getting the manhole covered at the earliest, nothing has been done so far."

The problem is bound to become more serious during the rainy season, as these manholes will disappear under rainwater.

Meanwhile, president of the MC Baldev Krishan Dhir said he was not aware of the uncovered manholes in the town. He, however, said if there was any it would be covered immediately.

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Service tax: Holidaying abroad gets costlier
Manav Mander
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
Ludhianvis, who are known for spending their vacations in style, will now have to loosen their purse strings for planning trips abroad since air tickets and overseas holiday packages bought from online portals would attract service tax in the wake of the new service tax regime coming into effect from July 1.

Speed post and express parcel service of post office, earnings of TV channels and theatre artistes have also come 
in the 12 per cent service tax bracket.

With the exception of 38 services, which figure on the negative list, all other activities would attract 12 per cent tax.

“Eating out, holidaying, everything has been made costlier by the government. Inflation is touching new heights while the value of rupee is diminishing. I don’t understand where our economy is heading. The government is burdening the common man with taxes,” said Alpana Sood, a banker.

The other services, which would be exempted from tax, include auxiliary educational services and renting of immovable property by educational institutions.

Services like metered taxis, auto rickshaws, betting, gambling, lottery, entry to amusement parks, transport of goods or passengers and electricity transmission have been kept on the negative list.

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Mining ban: Developers seek govt intervention
Manav Mander
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
The Ludhiana Builders Association has taken serious note of the rising prices of building material due to the ongoing ban imposed on mining. The members of the association want that state government should intervene in the matter as construction activity has come to a halt in the state.

Patron of the association SS Mavi said the prices of construction material like crusher sand, fine sand and coarse sand had gone up by 50 per cent. Construction activity in the state has come to a halt for another two months.

Press secretary of the association Ajit Singh said: “The ban on mining has come as a double whammy for the builders who are already going through a rough patch due to the hike in prices of cement and steel by around 20 per cent in the past few months”.

They said no re-auction of mines had been done after the expiry of their contract on March 31 and around 280 crushers in Punjab had been shut since then. The allied raw material is being procured from the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh.

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Vegetable prices up as heatwave continues
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
Heatwave continues and simultaneously the prices of vegetables are going up. Owing to intense heat wave, vegetables perish the next day. So wholesalers buy only a limited stock of vegetables.
"Gone are the days when cauliflower and bottle gourd were available at a price of Rs 2 or 5 per kg. Today, nothing is priced below Rs 20 per kg. Even potato is old at Rs 15 per kg,” said a vegetable seller at Agar Nagar.

“With the prices of fruits and vegetables skyrocketing, my kitchen budget has gone haywire. Since fruits are costly, I prefer to cut down on fruits and rather prefer drinking fruit juice,” said Seema Jawanda, a homemaker from Rajguru Nagar.

“Most of my salary goes in managing the kitchen budget. With everything priced highly I do not understand what to buy. It has become very difficult to manage the kitchen budget,” said Jaspreet, a school teacher.

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ludhiana scan
Elected

The annual general body meeting of Maharaja Aggrasen Sewa Sangh, BRS Nagar, was held on Sunday. RP Gupta was unanimously elected as the president of the organisation for the next term. He said the organisation had been working for the welfare of society for the last four years.

333 vaccinated

As many as 333 persons were vaccinated against Hepatitis-B during a two-day camp organised at Litter village by the Guru Hargobind Sahib Charitable Trust, Karir Sahib, in collaboration with Christian Medical College and Hospital. Trust chairman Surjeet Singh said, “We vaccinated people against Hepatitis-B by charging Rs 25 from each. However, we vaccinated about 70 students of a school free of cost.”

‘Hariawal lehar’

Santokh Singh Sukhana, chairman of International Punjabi Nat Akademi Charitable Trust, appreciated the beginning of “hariawal lehar” by the Punjab government. He said this movement would be a blessing for environment. He said only trees could save the environment, as reduction of water and global warming had become a huge issue for society.

‘Extend summer holidays’

Balwinder Singh, president of SC/BC Teachers’ Union, Ludhiana, said the union had demanded extension of summer holidays in schools in the face of scorching heat and frequent power cuts. They said after opening of the schools, there had been cases of students becoming sick because of the excessive hot weather.

Foundation day

Staff of various branches of the State Bank of India (SBI) vowed to make their organisation the first choice for financial dealings. The oath was taken during the foundation day celebrations of the organisation held on Monday at Dehlon, Sehora, Raekot, Sandaur, Sahnewal, Doraha and Hathur branches, besides local branch. Led by assistant general managers, Ashok Dhall and Ravinder Bhardwaj, the staff posted at over 60 branches of the area vowed to contribute their best for achieving target of making their organisation the first choice for financial dealings. — Tribune Reporters

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Rs 1.5 lakh snatched from couple
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
There seem to be no end to snatching incidents in the city as three armed assailants riding a motorcycle snatched Rs 1.5 lakh from a couple in Gopal Nagar.
The incident took place last evening when Laxman Gupta of Tibba Road was returning home on a motorcycle along with his wife after a land deal at Transport Nagar.

When the couple reached near Gopal Nagar on Tibba Road, three armed assailants riding a motorcycle intercepted the couple. One of the assailants pulled out a pistol, while the other miscreant snatched the bag containing cash.

Laxman said after taking the cash, the assailants fled towards Samrala Chowk.

The police has registered a case under Section 382 of the IPC against the assailants. 

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Interstate gang of drug smugglers busted, 2 held
Our Correspondent

Jagraon, July 2
With the arrest of two persons, the CIA staff of the Jagraon police claims to have busted an interstate gang of smugglers who used to supply opium to its customers on demand. The police has arrested Suresh Vyas, a resident of Dehbaria in Rajasthan, and Roor Singh of Saakria in the same state, and recovered 2 kg of opium from their possession.

Jagraon SSP Gurpreet Singh Toor said while Suresh was arrested by a police party led by CIA staff in charge Ramaninderjit Singh near Bangsipura village on the Jagraon-Sidhwan Bet road, the second smuggler was arrested by another party led by ASI Manjit Singh near the Sirhind Feeder Canal bridge near Dalla village.

"On seeing the police party, Suresh got scared, which made the police suspicious about him. The police recovered around 1 kg of opium from a bag he was carrying," stated Toor.

Roor Singh was arrested with 1 kg of opium, the SSP added.

Ramaninderjit Singh said during the preliminary investigation, both the suspects had confessed to supplying opium to their customers in Punjab and Haryana on demand. The police is trying to identify the persons to whom they used to supply opium.

Later, both the suspects were produced before a local court which sent them to two-day police remand.

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Thieves take away jewellery worth lakhs

Ludhiana, July 2
Thieves struck at a house of a business man at Rishi Nagar and decamped with gold jewellery worth lakhs.
The house belongs to Rajiv Kapila, who has gone on a Europe tour along with his family.

The incident came to light this morning when the residents of the area saw the doors of Kapila's house were broken.

They informed Kapila about the incident. As Rajiv is in Europe, he told his brother Rajesh Kapila, a resident of Chandigarh, to reach Ludhiana and brought the matter to the notice of the police. — TNS

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Habit-forming drugs seized
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 2
Drug Inspector Sukhbeer Chand has said habit-forming drugs worth Rs 7,000 were sized from Janta Medical Hall, Dhuri Line, yesterday.

As many as 286 capsules of Parbonspas, 6200 tablets of Lomotil and 50 cough syrups have been seized. The owner of Janta Medical Hall said he had purchased those drugs from Rajesh Medical Hall, Pindi Street. Following this information, that chemist was raided too and medicines worth Rs 24,000 were seized. The seizure included 11,300 tablets of Lomotil.

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Ludhiana set huge 362-run target for Patiala
Anil Datt

Ludhiana, July 2
Ludhiana gained first innings lead of 45 runs and then declared their second innings on 317 runs against Patiala on the third day of the four-day match of the Punjab State Inter District Cricket Tournament (u-22) being organised by the Punjab Cricket Association on the Punjab Agricultural University campus here today.

The visitors resumed the third day's play at the overnight score of 250 for 8 and added 28 runs to the score before their first innings culminated in 101.4 overs at 278 runs.

As Ludhiana secured 45-run lead, their batsmen went on a leather hunt in the second innings. They put on 316 runs on the board, losing seven wickets. The skipper, Geetnash Khera, declared the innings setting the victory target of 362 runs for the Patiala team.

For Ludhiana, Nikhil Chowdhary cracked a century while Anil Siag contributed 72 runs. Akhil Aggarwal, too, chipped in with 72 runs and Sunny Pandey made 30 runs.

Needing to play their heads down, wait for loose deliveries to play long innings to achieve the target, Patiala began their chase scoring 19 runs without any loss when it was called a day. They still require 342 runs on the last day to come out triumphant in the match.

Brief scores:

Ludhiana (first innings): 323 all out in 93 overs (Akhil Aggarwal 127, Himanshu 71, Devinder Sidhu 48 n.o. and Nikhil Chowdhary 18; Amrinder Singh 5 for 75, Sukhwinder Singh 2 for 80 and Beant Singh 1 for 35).

Patiala (first innings): 278 all out in 101.4 overs (Amrinder Singh 64, Prabhjot 31, Mohit Mahindra 39, Vikrant 21, Jivanjot 20, Robin 17 and Babish 35; Sukhjinder Singh 4 for 69, Anil Siag 4 for 65, Sandeep Singh 1 for 40 and Ashish 1 for 33).

Ludhiana (second innings): 316 for 7 in 78 overs (declared) (Nikhil Chowdhary 100, Anil Siag 72, Sunny Pandey 30, Akhil Aggarwal 72, Geetansh Khera 13; Bhavish Goel 1 for 45, Himanshu Chawla 1 for 53 and Beant Singh 5 for 40).

Patiala (second innings): 19 for no loss in 6 overs (Jivanjot 9 n.o. and Prabhjot 10 n.o.).

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