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16-yr-old accuses dad of murder
However, the Sirhind police booked Jatinder Singh, husband of Harshdeep Kaur, and started the investigations, but filed to arrest him, nearly three months after the incident. Simran, who is residing with her maternal grandmother in Yamuna Nagar following the incident, said she was in Chandigarh when her mother, younger brother and sister were thrown into the Canal. “I would also have been killed along with them if I was at home that day,” said Simran, a Class XII (Medical) student. She said that following the incident, her father withdrew her school fee of Rs 40,000 that was deposited by her mother. Sarandeep Singh and his mother Surinder Kaur, brother and mother of Harshdeep Kaur, claim that while senior officials assured them of quick action, it was the lower-rung officials who were favouring Jatinder Singh and not arresting the accused. “We are literally made to shuttle from one office to another and police officials tell us that we are not pursuing the case in the right manner. They tell us that Jatinder has been booked in an abetment to commit suicide case and not for murder. It has been nearly three months since my sister and her two children died, but nothing has been done and Jatinder has not been arrested for the offence,” said Sarandeep Singh. The family does not buy the point that Harshdeep could commit suicide. “She was a government schoolteacher and was earning well. It was with her saving that she built a house in Khanna. Just two days before the incident, she paid the school fee of three children. So, I do not see any reason for her committing suicide,” said Surinder Kaur. “Why would she travel nearly 30 km to jump from into the canal and that too in the evening along with her two children? She spoke to me during the day and she behaved normal. There is more to the story than meets the eye,” said Surinder Kaur. Simran revealed that her father had an illicit relation with another woman and he used to beat up her mother. “We came to know about it when Simran accused her
father in front of us and did not let him touch the body of her brother,” said Sarandeep. Harshdeep Kaur and two of her children Japneet and Gurmanjot went missing on the evening of April 23. Her scooter was found from floating restaurant near Sirhind two days after her disappearance. The body of Japneet was found from Adampur, Hisar, and was cremated by the police. Gurmanjot’s body was found from the Rajpura area, while Harshdeep’s body was found from Hanumangarh in Haryana. It was also cremated by police.
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City-New Delhi Shatabdi extended up to Moga
Ludhiana, July 6 As per the new winter timetable, in force from July 1, three new trains touching Ludhiana city have been introduced. Another train has been extended while minor changes have been made in the arrival and departure timings of several trains passing through the city. The new schedule states that the Ludhiana-New Delhi Shatabdi train, which presently runs four days a week, will go up to Moga on Mondays and Saturdays. During its extended run, it will leave New Delhi at 7 am, reach Ludhiana at 12.25 pm and depart for Moga with stoppage at Jagraon at 1.37 pm. On its return journey, it will leave Moga at 3 pm, arrive in Ludhiana at 4.15 pm and finally reach New Delhi at 10.10 pm. On Tuesdays and Fridays, the train will, however, run only between Ludhiana and New Delhi. Among the three new trains introduced are tri-weekly 22401/22402 Delhi Sarai Rohilla-Udhampur, weekly 18514/18513 Amritsar-Kanpur Central and weekly 12422/12421 Amritsar-Hazur Sahib Nanded express trains. The tri-weekly 22401/ 22402 will run from Delhi Sarai Rohilla on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday while the corresponding train from Udhampur will run on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The weekly 18514/18513 train will run from Amritsar on Tuesday and from Kanpur Central on Friday while the weekly 12422/12421 will run from Amritsar on Monday and from Hazur Sahib on Wednesday. The 19771/19772 as well as 19781/19782 trains running between Amritsar and Jaipur will now go up to Ajmer with new numbers 19611/ 19612 and 19613/ 19614. Railway authorities said the timing of departure and arrival of several trains leaving or arriving at Amritsar, Jammu and Udhampur via Ludhiana have been slightly changed. Among these
trains are the 14033 Delhi-Udhampur Jammu Mail, the 12903 Mumbai-Amritsar Golden Temple Mail, the 11077 Pune-Jammu Tawi Jhellum Express,
the 12919 Indore-Jammu Tawi Malwa Express, the 12203/12204 Saharsa-Amritsar Garib
Rath, the 19325/19326 Indore-Amritsar Express, the 12038 Ludhiana New Delhi Shatabdi Express, the 14649/14673 Saryu-Yamuna/Shaheed Express running between Jaynagar and Amritsar, the 18104 Amritsar-Tatanagar Jallianwala Bagh Express, the 12426 Jammu Tawi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, the 12380 Amritsar-Sealdah WB Sampark Kranti Express and
the 14604 Amritsar-Saharsa Jansadharan Express. The railways have advised the passengers
to ascertain the revised time of the arrival/departure of their trains from railway enquiry (139) or the
railway website before commencement of their journey. |
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RTI Act:Rap for welfare society
Ludhiana, July 6 HL
Bhandari, a resident of Tagore Nagar “A”, Civil Lines, had sought some information regarding utilisation certificates furnished by the
respondent-Tagore Nagar “A” Welfare Society to the state government and Local Bodies department in respect of funds received during the period January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. On April 26, Bhandari pointed out a deficiency in the information furnished to him and averred that he has not been given certified copies of the utilisation certificates. The counsel for the respondent society had undertaken to file a reply in written in this regard. The respondent was also directed (by the SIC) to furnish certified copies of the utilisation certificates to the information seeker, before the next date of hearing. “Today, however, the complainant states that copies of the utilisation certificates have not been provided. The respondent has filed an affidavit stating that since the matter pertains to the years 2007 to 2010, no document is available with them. It has further been stated that all utilisation certificates “may” be submitted to the concerned departments at the relevant time. A perusal of the affidavit shows that it is an evasive and non-specific reply,” read the order of Chief Information Commissioner Ramesh Inder Singh. The SIC order further read, “In the order of the Commission dated April 26, the period of utilisation certificates was clearly specified from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010. The commission does not accept the non-specific plea of the respondent that record for this period, which is less than two years old, is not available with the respondent-society. It is also unlikely that the accounts pertaining to this period have been audited by the Government auditors. The respondent has not shown under which rule they have the authority to destroy record pertaining to funds, which is only two years old. Therefore, we consider this affidavit to be a willful denial of the information and do hereby issue show cause notice to the
respondent-PIO as to why penalty should not be imposed on him under 20 of the Right to Information Act, 2005 for willful denial of the information. The PIO may file his written reply and also avail the opportunity of personal hearing on the next date of hearing,” read the order issued on July 2. Observing the delay in this case, the SIC stated, “Since this case has been lingering for a very long time due to evasive attitude of the respondent-society, the Commission, therefore, awards an interim cost of Rs 1,000, which shall be paid by a crossed cheque by the respondent to the complainant before the next date of hearing (which is July 20).”
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Hawala racket: Panic grips traders
Ludhiana, July 6 Badish Jindal, president of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association, said: “We are carrying out our business in a fair manner and before dealing with anybody, we check the firm's VAT number and see that it is filing I-T returns online. We are liable for our transaction and cannot detect anybody's background, it is the department's duty,” he added. "We are doing our business genuinely and also filing returns. However, in case any dealer we are dealing with is involved in bogus billing, it will also land us into trouble as the department will raise a finger on us. I am keeping everything in black and white, but cannot guarantee about the person with whom I am dealing. It is not my fault if the person with whom I am dealing is indulging in bogus billing," said Som Parkash, a trader in cycle parts. Another trader said the department should not zero in on everybody who is dealing with tainted dealers. "Everything is being carried under the nose of the department and it should have been watchful. A multi-crore scam has taken place and caused a loss to the state exchequer and now the department,” he said. The department must take proper step to curb the menace, he added. Exporter in Nepal!
Sources said the exporter involved in the multi-crore hawala racket unearthed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is presently in Nepal. Although, no official conformation has been made in this regard. The exporter took undue advantage of the duty drawback scheme of the Central government and gain incentives worth Rs 60 crore. The matter came to light after the fake inflated bills of the exporter were found, who use to export sub-standard readymade garments and yarn. |
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Three child labourers rescued from bakery
Ludhiana, July 6 Rajesh and Dinesh, representative of the Bachpan Banchaoo Andolan, said the children were brought from the backward districts of UP and West Bengal. They were made to work under inhuman conditions and were paid very less. They said the children were working in extreme heat. They baked biscuits, buns and other bakery items on the hearth. The children had also sustained burn injuries while working at the bakery, the NGO representatives claimed. Additional Deputy Commission (Development) Rishipal Singh said, "We have launched a campaign to rehabilitate slum children and children working in hazardous conditions. We have formulated a strategy not to allow child labour." Singh said he met Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh and Assistant Labour Commissioner to check child trafficking. "We would make efforts to nab the gang. 1098 is our helpline, if anyone sees a child in distress, they should call at the helpline number," said Rishipal Singh. Nearly a week ago, the city police had rescued nine children working as rag pickers at railway station.
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5 more test positive for dengue
Ludhiana, July 6 Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, Dr Subhash Batta, said: "Out of seven samples, five tested positive for dengue today. Among the five positive patients, two are from Ludhiana. However, two samples of patients of from Lord Mahavir Civil Hospital have tested negative."
— TNS
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Marked decline in English compartments
Doraha, July 6 Prof LS Bedi, head of the postgraduate department of English, GGN College, Ludhiana, said, "There has been a definite improvement in the results this year. The reason being that the syllabus and the pattern of question paper was changed and the
students could get a better grasp over the syllabus. In our college, it is three-four times better than previous results." Dr Narinder Kaur Sandhu, principal, Ramgarhia Girls College, Ludhiana, "Students of our college have shown very good results in BA-I this year. There has been marked decrease in compartments in English and the percentage too has been very good. The department of English, Panjab University, needs to be given special credit for this." Dr Narinder Singh Sidhu, principal, Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, informed, "The result of BA part-I has been simply marvellous. Students have performed very well this time. It is all due to the changed syllabus and the pattern of examination. It was in English that we used to have maximum compartments." Prof Kusum Narula, member, Board of Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, shared "The results have improved a lot this time. Earlier the syllabus was literature-oriented. But in the syllabus designed for these three years, equal weightage has been given to language and literary parts. Although it began as an experiment, we are happy that the things are working out well. Grammar has been made simpler and short answer
type questions have been introduced." Dr Balraj Thapar, member, Board of Studies, said, "Earlier the students had to study all sorts of literatures, despite the fact that they often did not possess even bare minimum proficiency in English. Contradictory to the earlier approach, an effort has been made to adopt a balanced one." Prof Rana Nayar, former chairman, department of English and cultural studies, Panjab University, said, "The department of English and cultural studies had undertaken a massive exercise of curriculum reform at the undergraduate level. It was felt that a major structural and ideological shift was long overdue. A large majority of teachers in Punjab felt that the approach to English teaching deserved serious reconsideration. Despite best efforts, the standard of English at the undergraduate level was constantly declining. This resulted from the undue emphasis on literature. We have primarily chosen language oriented text books. Also, new modes of testing and evaluation have been advocated. The text book 'English @ Work' had been selected for BA Part-I compulsory course with the view to help the students improve their skills. Greater emphasis is on language-based activities. If at the end of three years, students are able to read, write and speak English with a degree of confidence, our objective would be realized," he added.
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MSME sector wants new offset policy at the earliest
Ludhiana, July 6 Government of India is drafting a National Policy of Offsets which seeks to take advantage of large imports. India already has an offset policy in the defence sector where, for import orders above Rs 300 crore, foreign suppliers have to procure at least 30 percent of the contract value from within the country. The new draft policy will cover all imports by all government departments. These departments are supposed to give advance information about their procurements to above Rs 500 crore to a National Offset Authority. This authority is headed by Cabinet Secretary and its members are secretaries of various
ministries. "Country expects to encourage FDI in the country. In this regard, it is appropriate to involve the MSME sector. This sector by itself is not capable to face this gloomy situation. No country can overlook the contribution of this sector in the economy. In our country this sector is contributing about 8 per cent of the GDP, has a share of 45 per cent in the manufacturing output and 40 per cent in exports," said PD Sharma, president of Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Gurpargat Singh Kahlon, president of Auto parts Manufacturers Association, said there is a plethora of laws in the country to take care of the MSME sector, but in reality the lawas are for mere show. We have to take cue from other developed countries in this regard, and
South Korea is a shining example of development which has built its strong economy on the basis
of capitalistic free market principles. What is Offset Policy? According to the offset policy, the foreign supplier has to procure at least 30 per cent of the contract value from within the country. The new draft policy will cover all imports by all government departments. These departments are supposed to give advance information about their procurements to above Rs 500 crore to a National Offset Authority.
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Chocolate Day: A feast for enthusiasts
Ludhiana, June 6 This one is to celebrate the romance for the chocolate, quips Komal, who is self-professedly mad about chocolates. When it comes to food, chocolates are the best thing to have happened to humanity, she says. "They say that having chocolate releases endorphins, which makes one happy. I don't know about the science behind it, but this surely has been my experience. I leave no opportunity to enjoy chocolate and celebrate the day," says Amritanshu, a resident. "I am totally mad about chocolates. Be it ice creams, shakes, cakes or cookies, chocolates just add taste to anything," says Navneet, a resident. Over a period of time, residents have also become aware about chocolates and are more particular about their choice. A variety of chocolates are being sold these days and this is the reason we are making a great variety of chocolates - be it blueberry, ginger, almond, coconut, caramel, truffle, raspberry, hazel dry fruits - says a chef from a popular chocolate restaurant. A lot of fruits
and caramel-filled chocolates are in demand these days, says Swastika from Cake Square. Chocolates in various shapes and colours with names or messages on them are popular, she says.
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PAU pensioners hold protest
Ludhiana, July 6 A large number of pensioners from the Punjab and that of the neighboring states participated in rally. The pensioners raised slogans against the university administration and demanded immediate release of their pension for the months of May and June 2012. Sources said that the university has not paid two installments of arrears, revised gratuity, and enhance old-age allowance to the pensioners and LTA to family pensioners on the pattern of Punjab government. Jaswant Zeerakh, vice-president of the association condemned the negative tactics of the Vice-Chancellor such as separation of pensioners of Class IV from other pensioners. This tactics like English policy of 'Divide and Rule' will not be tolerated. Sat Pal Gupta, general secretary of the association, appealed to the pensioners to remain united against the immoderation of the Vice-Chancellor and the comptroller. He further told that the association would go to the High Court soon to get the directions issued to the university for ensuring the payment of pension before 7th of each month.
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Parents, schools lack awareness
Ludhiana, July 6 However, even six years after the announcement, most schools have not enrolled any girl student under the scheme. Moreover, such parents are also not aware about this scheme. Now the CBSE has sent a reminder to schools to take the issue seriously. Gurmant Kaur Gill, Guru Nanak International School, said, "The CBSE sent a reminder recently to provide free education to all girl students who are single child. Earlier we were not implementing this, but now the board has made it mandatory. We identified two such students and we will ensure that they get "A parent approached us a few years back to enrol her daughter, but I was not aware about this programme. If the board is offering such facilities, we would also implement it," said Navita Puri, principal KVM School. The Central Board of Secondary Education directed its schools to provide free education to all girl students who are single child in their family in 2006. At the time of introducing this scheme it was noted that, if any school does not implement this scheme, the board can take action under the affiliation bylaws. Parents have to give a simple affidavit about having a single girl child. According to CBSE rules, in case the affidavit is found false, the school can take action and the board will consider withholding certificates.
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Teachers attend schools even during vacations
Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, July 6 Teachers of secondary schools are annoyed with the government as the education minister extended the vacations of primary school teachers, but teachers in secondary school have to attend schools. "Rules should be equally implemented in primary and secondary schools. Secondary school teachers are very disappointed from the government's decision," said Sukhdarshan Singh, a science teacher from local government school. "All the teachers are busy completing the Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation registers nowadays. The department sent us an outdated register, so we have to edit the columns and then fill in the entries. There is lot of work in schools to do. The government has adopted double standards. Primary school teachers are enjoying their vacations and we are facing the scorching heat in schools. Moreover, power cuts make the situation worse," said a teacher requesting anonymity. "Tea and samosas are the main attraction in schools these days. The education minister gave the instruction to complete the pending work. But there is not such work in schools," said another teacher from a local school. Earlier, teachers of government secondary schools were demanding to extend the vacations. The education minister extended the vacations for students, but gave no relaxation to teachers.
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Training camp for kisan club
Ludhiana: The experts of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) deliberated on diverse areas of agriculture during the training camp of the PAU Kisan Club. The farmers and the farmwomen from various parts of Punjab participated. Dr Sarjit Singh, senior agronomist, referring to the cultivation of direct seeding of basmati, said that the technology is water saving (up to 15-20 per cent), labour efficient and ensures timely sowing. He disclosed that a scheme has been accorded by the Government of India, to promote the direct seed rice on 15,000 hectare with an incentive Three-month course
for forest guards
A three-month basic training course, jointly organised by the Directorate of Extension Education and Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (F&NR) of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), began here on Thursday. Nearly, 180 forest guards of the State Forest Department are participating in the event. In his inaugural address, the chief guest Dr RK Luna, Chief Conservator of Forest, Punjab, said that in view of global warming and excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers, it is vital to enhance the area under forest, in the state. He disclosed that, recently, Punjab government has launched a "Green Punjab" drive from Fazilka, according to which, about 40 crore saplings of various trees will be planted across the state in the next eight years. The "Green Punjab" mission aims at augmenting the state's forest cover from 7 to 15 per cent. Addressing the participants, Dr MS Gill, Director of Extension Education, said that the Punjab state is deficit in forest
cover. — TNS
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Jagraon faces flood threat
Jagraon, July 6
Some of the local residents have been repeatedly appealing for timely cleaning of the drain, but the authorities have failed to do so. However, this is not the first time that the residents are facing this difficulty. Jagraon residents have been facing the problem for last many years. The areas like Old Grain Market, Nehru Market and Old Sabzi Mandi Road are usually the worst-affected areas. The shopkeepers and traders of theses areas have to suffer heavy financial loss every year as rain water enters their stores and ruin their products. Residents of Shastri Nagar, College Road, Railway Road, Lajpat Rai Road also suffer due to water logging. Water enter their houses as well during the rains. Proper draining system should be in place to avoid such situation, said residents. The local residents and traders have once again asked the Municipal Council to solve the matter. In reply, Municipal Council President Baldev Krishan Dhir said they will clean the drain soon. "We are very much concerned about the situation and we will do everything required to protect the locals from a flood-like situation," he assured. Official Speak We are concerned about the situation and we will do everything required to protect the locals from a flood-like situation. — Baldev Krishan Dhir, MC President
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Illegal parking irks residents
Ludhiana, June 6 Due to paucity of space outside, many people tend to park their vehicles in the residential areas. The condition is worse on weekends particularly when they do not
find enough parking space outside, almost blocking the lanes on the sides of the malls. Prof PS Bhogal, a resident of Rajguru Nagar, said that people not only park their vehicles and bring eatables from the mall but also throw the garbage outside. "We are welcomed by beer bottles, meat leftovers littered around the area,"
he said. The residents association of Rajguru Nagar has built a gate outside one lane,
and the members contemplating another gate to prevent parking outside their homes. "It is a very big nuisance for the residents especially on weekends. The mall authorities put up notice around 4 pm in the evening, that parking is full, and then all the vehicles are parked outside,” said Rajbir Singh Aujla, president of the
Rajguru Nagar Welfare Association. Although the process of laying the inter-locked parking area is underway yet the work is very slow, said a resident. The administration should think about solving the parking mess outside the malls and expedite the tiling process for adequate parking spaces, said a resident. It is the problem of improper townplanning. Now that there are already two malls, and another mall, and a hotel coming up within the stretch of a kilometre, and there is no proper parking space
and planning to manage the influx of people to the area, another resident said.
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Residents ‘encroach’ upon MC land
Ludhiana, July 6 On March 30, Kapoor had written to the MC officials claiming that two brothers had encroached upon a street in Mohar Singh Nagar area of the city. “These persons have encroached around 80 sq yard of land, the value of which is around Rs 40
lakh. When I raised this issue through the Right to Information Act, the encroachers started pressuring me. I have no personal grudge against them and I am just raising this issue as a vigilant resident of
Ludhiana,” claimed Parminder Singh Kapoor while speaking to The Tribune. In reply to Kapoor’s RTI application, the building branch officials of the MC admitted on May 18 that in the Town Planning
(TP) scheme of Mohar Singh Nagar, the said land is Again on June 20, ATP of Zone B had ordered (number 197/ATP-B) that the said encroachment on the street should be removed by the encroachers themselves within seven days, else the MC would take strict action against them. But even after 15 days have passed, the MC officials have failed to take any action against the encroachers. When contacted, assistant town planner, Zone B, Monica
Anand, said a notice has been sent regarding the said encroachment. “As per our records its an encroachment. But the persons who are believed to have encroached the street claim that the said land is owned by them. And now I have asked my staff to conduct a survey to make sure that the said land is an encroachment so that we can demolish it,” claimed the ATP.
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God particle discovery excites city students
Ludhiana, July 6 "Its great that finally science is also associating with religion by naming Higgs Boson as God particle. If people start believing existence of God as part of science, it would lead to belief that God and science are not too different," said Damanjit Singh, a resident. Twitter and Facebook were also abuzz with the discovery.
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Ludhiana, July 6
