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HIKE IN VAT
PTU to get BoG Chairman soon
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Suwidha Centre to provide income certificate from today
3 drug peddlers nabbed, 1.5 kg opium seized
MC approves purchase of iron cutters worth Rs 2.3 lakh
Mithapur Subsidiary Health Centre
‘BJP for strong Lokpal to check graft’
Cong demands dismissal of Majithia, Ranike
Government keen on setting up Jang-e-Azadi memorial
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HIKE IN VAT
Jalandhar, September 13 Demanding that VAT should be zero up to Rs 500 and it should be 5.5 per cent on footwear above Rs 500, Manchanda said the shoe merchants would hold one-day strike by closing their establishments and also hold demonstrations at district headquarters from 11 am to 1 pm on Friday. Manchanda said the steep hike in VAT on footwear had not only adversely affected their business but also had put extra burden on the pockets of the common man. The president of the association said: “The shoe merchants had been demanding that there should be no VAT on footwear up to Rs 500 as the same system was being adopted in the neighbouring states but instead of providing us relief, the Badal government imposed an extra burden on us.” Manchanda said: “If the hiked VAT is not withdrawn at the earliest, they would be left with no other option but to intensify their stir by starting an indefinite strike.” |
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PTU to get BoG Chairman soon
Jalandhar, September 13 Principal Secretary SS Channy, who was a member of the committee, said it was now a matter of seven to 10 days for the file to get finally cleared through Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Governor Shivraj Patil. He said of the 25 nominations that the committee received, the names of a few top scientists had been cleared. He, however, refused to give any further detail. Having remained a member of the university BoG for three terms spanning nine years, Dr RS Khandpur’s name is among those whose name has been recommended. Dr Khandpur is also the Director-General of the Pushpa Gujral Science City. His name was proposed by the Vice-Chancellor of Central University, Bathinda, Dr Jai Roop Singh. The names of two former PTU Vice-Chancellors Dr YS Rajan and Dr SK Salwan are also doing rounds. Dr Rajan has also been a member of the DAV College Management Committee. Dr Salwan, popularly known as a missile man, has been with the DRDO. The applications have been received by the selection committee, comprising of top bureaucrats, including Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, Technical Education, Secretaries, Personnel and Finance. The PTU has not been able to make any fresh appointments and take other important decisions in the absence of a BoG Chairman for the past nearly two months. A PIL filed by the Anti-Corruption Society had challenged the legality of the PTU BoG under the chairmanship of the Punjab Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh, since he hails from a non-technical background. Following this, PTU had advertised the post of the Chairman inviting people of eminence from technology and industry to submit their applications before July 20. An ambitious plan of Punjab Technical University to start six new Punjab Institutes of Technology (PITs) in rural areas across the state this year had also failed to take off for there could be no new appointments. |
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Suwidha Centre to provide income certificate from today
Jalandhar, September 13 All they would have to do is to apply for the certificate through the single-window system and produce a set of documents mentioned in the checklist to get the documents in the specifically mentioned time period. The service, however, would come at an additional cost of Rs 100 to be paid along with the application at the Suwidha Centre. Even as the service is covered under the Right to Service Act, there was much of a problem for the students who required an income certificate for availing themselves of fee concessions and scholarship schemes from their respective institutes. Further, since the patwaris, who had been designated as the field officers, had passed a resolution claiming that they could only assess the agricultural income and could not
ascertain income from any other source, getting a certificate had become all the more difficult. The checklist would include a set of documents, including salary slip for the employed persons, income tax return for the business class, a self-declaration from the applicant and a copy of ration card. The GA to the DC, Jasvir Singh, said he had held a meeting with the officials concerned today, checked all modalities, prepared a checklist and passed orders on starting the service from tomorrow morning. “From tomorrow onward, the applicants would be able to seek the income certificate from the Suwidha Centre”, he confirmed. |
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3 drug peddlers nabbed, 1.5 kg opium seized
Jalandhar, September 13 Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Yurinder Singh Hayer said acting on a tip-off, the CIA staff and the special staff of the rural police laid a trap at T-point Garha Baksh village on the Pathankot Road and nabbed three drug peddlers while they were travelling in a Scorpio. The suspects had been identified as Balbir Singh, Mehatpur, Harpreet Singh Mani of Rajasthan and Sagar Garg of Mohali. The SSP said the police party intercepted the vehicle on the Pathankot Road and during a search, 10 gunny bags of poppy husk were recovered from it. Later, the police also recovered 15 bags of poppy husk from a godown owned by Balbir Singh on the village outskirts. In a similar incident, the police also nabbed two motorcyclists at a naka on the GT Road and recovered 1.5 gm poppy husk from their possession. The police has registered cases under the NDPS Act against the three in this regard and impounded the vehicle used in the crime. Further investigations were on, the SSP added. |
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MC approves purchase of iron cutters worth Rs 2.3 lakh
Jalandhar, September 13 The demand for iron cutters was felt during the rescue operation at Shital Fibres factory, which had collapsed. Iron rods which had been used to provide strength to the factory building had got badly mangled during the collapse and had caused obstruction to teams who had been trying to rescue survivors. Tonnes of iron rods had to be cut using gas cutters and mechanical equipment by the Army and NDRF teams. While the incident had occurred on the intervening night of April 14 and 15, the rescue operation had taken eight days. A day after the rescue work had been over on April 25, a meeting on the issue had been convened by MC Commissioner wherein the demand for having such a tool kit was raised. Tenders were called three months later at an estimated price of Rs 2 lakh. However, the price quoted by the lowest bidder Vikas Dhawan was 15 per cent more than the tender amount. Realising the requirement for the same, the finance and contracts committee approved of the bid during a meeting held on September 5. |
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Mithapur Subsidiary Health Centre
Jalandhar, September 13 Staff says half of the building of the centre was built by the Municipal Corporation and the other half belongs to the Health Department. Therefore, half of it is fresh and gleaming and has just been painted, while the other half wears dilapidated look, which most of the government dispensaries are known for. While the centre itself has only one ANM, she functions both from the Mithapur SHC as well as the Alipur SHC. There are three other ANMs working from sub-centres, in Wadala (2) and Subhana (1), which fall under the centre. One of the most challenging problems faced by the Mithapur SHC is that it has been assigned a huge and scattered area. Residents and staff at various sub-centres like Wadala told The Tribune that due to the SHC being at a great distance from their areas, people usually prefer to go to the Civil Hospital rather than going all the way to the SHC. Sources also say ANMs miss out on many areas and colonies under the centre but the staff denies that. Staff
The centre has one RMO, one pharmacist, one LHV and one class four employee working in it. While one ANM is posted jointly at the SHC itself and a sub-centre in Alipur, two others are posted at the sub-centres in Wadala and one at Subhana. However, the sub-centres at Sabhowal and Lohar Nangal have no ANMs posted in them, which leaves other ANMs to share the additional burden. Staff says at times ANMs breakdown due to the immense workload. Ailments
While the SHC caters to a population of 47,897 people, the centre mostly caters to migrant population, which thrives in the area. Staff says most of the diseases that the people struggle with are typical of the migrant population. Troubles in the upper respiratory tract, anaemia, skin infections, boils and gastro problems are common in the area. There are a good number of addicts, too. TB is also common in the area. The centre has an OPD of 30 to 32 patients per day. Staff says it gets 800 to 900 patients in a month. BPL watch
While half the area population has BPL cards, none of them have so far been seen with smart cards. Staff says they constantly have to be on their toes because the migrant population in the area is very fluid. Unaware populace
The staff claims during the recent Pulse Polio campaign, the centre deployed a team of 26 ASHA/anganwari workers for the campaign. “There are times when we go to a certain place and administer vaccinations covering area populations till evening making sure no one is left out. Later, we get to know that a train full of migrants just arrived for a new city project in the night so our work is reduced to naught,” a staff member says. “The constant arrival of new migrant groups ensures we are constantly working,” the staff member adds. The area is also low on awareness. Supplies
While medicine supplies are otherwise regular, staff says more medicinal supplies are required concerning children’s problems. The staff gets no repair funds so the recent whitewash or any other maintenance projects is funded by the staff’s own contribution. It’s been four to five months since the staff got EPI cards so they have been getting the cards photostated to maintain patient records. JSSY
For a population of about 47,897 people, the staff has strangely seven to eight deliveries per month. One to two deliveries are also conducted at home per month. A sum of Rs 700 is paid for institutional deliveries and Rs 500 for those at home. No answer to staff demands
The staff has constantly been writing to the Health Department in this regard. A year ago, the staff had written to the Health Department (through the Jamsher PHC) regarding the excess workload, but so far they have not received any answer on that front. The provision of another dispensary or unit in the area or the deployment of additional staff could solve their problems but so far that hasn’t been done. They reiterated this demand of theirs verbally informing the Jamsher PHC of the crisis a couple of months ago, but to no avail. |
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‘BJP for strong Lokpal to check graft’
Jalandhar, September 13 Responding to various queries regarding the alleged corruption by leaders of the ruling SAD-BJP government, he said: “The BJP is in favour of transparency and no
one should be spared whosoever is found involved in the same.” Manoranjan Kalia, also BJP national executive member, said: “Coalgate is the scam of the era in which Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has been drenched in black from head to foot.” CAG calculated the magnitude of the scam to the tune of Rs 1.86 lakh crore on the basis of average prices of Coal India Limited (CIL), he said. He said if it was calculated on the basis of auction price, the loss would have been to the tune of Rs 11 lakh crore. If the calculation of the loss was made on the basis of import price of the coal, it would had been Rs 18 lakh crore, he added. Further alleging that the Prime Minister was squarely responsible for not acting on the advise of the Law Ministry that the bidding process could be set in motion by simple administrative order, Dr Manmohan Singh, who was the minister in charge of the Coal Ministry, adopted the lengthiest route of going into the amendment in The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act 1957, which took long eight years to implement the bidding process which gave an ample time to allot 142 coal blocks on the bases of whims and fancies. Manoranjan Kalia demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should take the moral responsibility of kicking the Indian economy into the abyss of economic doldrums, de-allocate the coal blocks and resign. Earlier, BJP workers held a dharna here at Company Bagh on Wednesday against the Dr Manmohan Singh government for its alleged involvement in the Coalgate scam. |
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Cong demands dismissal of Majithia, Ranike
Jalandhar, September 13 Former Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said: “The CBI on the instruction from the Punjab and Haryana High Court has registered an FIR against three youth Akali leaders and front-men of Bikram Majithia in a fraudulent land acquisition of Bathinda. These front-men having benami share of Majithia had bought land worth Rs 1.50 crore from farmers of Mandi Khurd village in Bathinda and passed it on to the government for acquisition for Rs 8.67 crore making a clean profit of Rs 5.63 crore within days. The so-called Youth Akali leaders could not have in any manner pressured the government for the said acquisition without the connivance of Majithia who is behind the whole scam.” “The said fraudulent acquisition is nothing but open loot and plunder of the public exchequer by gross misuse of ministerial authority by Majithia,” he said, adding that the CBI should also include Majithia’s name in the FIR as one of the main accused to unearth this scandal. Khaira further said: “Another minister Gulzar Singh Ranike has gulped down over Rs 5 crore of Border Area Development Programme (BADP) funds as well as his discretionary funds. The Chief Minister is not only turning a blind eye to the blatant and rampant corruption of his ministers but also shielding them and hindering any investigation into the scams.” The former MLA said: “In order to get to the core of these scandals, it is highly imperative that these ministers be dismissed from the Cabinet so that a fair investigation can be carried out. The scam of misappropriation of BADP funds by Ranike should also be handed over to the CBI, since no transparent enquiry is possible by the Punjab police.” Khaira also called upon the Congress leadership of Punjab to initiate a strong action-oriented programme, including gherao of these ministers, to force their resignations. |
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Government keen on setting up Jang-e-Azadi memorial
Jalandhar, September 13 An announcement in this regard had been made by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during the Martyrdom Day function of Bhagat Singh in Nawanshahr on March 23. The Chief Minister had himself checked the site during his visit to the city on Saturday last. The land belonging to the state government has already been transferred to the Tourism and Culture Department for the construction of the memorial. The government, in its orders passed two days ago, has even appointed MC commissioner Vinay Bublani as the chief executive officer of the project. A local site office for day-to-day monitoring has been finalised at PUDA Complex on the Ladowali Road. It is learnt that the Chief Minister, along with other members of the concept committee constituted for the memorial, had recently visited Cellular Jail at Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, famous Akshardham Temple at Gandhinagar in Gujarat, “Teen Murti Bhawan” and the hi-tech museum showcasing significant aspects related to the national freedom struggle in Parliament House in New Delhi for seeking vital inputs and information for the finalisation of the concept and design of this memorial. The memorial is aimed at disseminating knowledge about the rich cultural heritage of the state in the minds of youngsters. The site, which falls on the Jalandhar-Amritsar NH, has been carefully selected by the state government keeping in mind its easy accessibility to visitors and to add another tourist destination for those on way to the Golden Temple. |
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from
colleges
Jalandhar, September 13 By giving examples of our day-to-day life, he shared his concern with students and PTU staff members about the wastage of water. He encouraged everybody to save at least one litre of water a day. Vijay Sampla, chairman, Punjab Khadi Board, Vice-Chancellor Dr Rajneesh Arora and Registrar Dr HS Bains attended the seminar. Khanna also opened an ATM of HDFC bank on the campus. Workshop on robotics held
The Electronics and Communication Engineering Department of the CT Institute of Engineering, Management and Technology organised a workshop on “embedded systems and robotics” in collaboration with Advance Technology, Chandigarh. All B.Tech final-year ECE students participated in the workshop. The event began with the introduction and applications of embedded systems. Subject expert Sumit from Advance Technology threw light on different controllers used in embedded systems and embedded designing courses. Doaba College holds seminar
The PG Department of Commerce and Business Management of Doaba College organised a UGC-sponsored seminar entitled “Corporate growth in India: Challenges and opportunities”. Dr HL Verma, Prof, Haryana School of Business, Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, Hisar, was the keynote speaker. Alok Sondhi, General Secretary, College Managing Committee, and MD PKF finance company, presided over the function. The dignitaries were accorded a welcome by principal Dr Naresh Kumar Dhiman, head and convener Dr Naresh Malhotra, staff and students. Dr Verma said in the current scenario, the nature of new economy had features like LPG economy, surplus economy, knowledge economy and technology-driven economy terms attached to it. He said in terms of purchasing power parity, India now stood as the fourth-largest economy in the world and its economy witnessed 7 to 8 per cent growth rate in GDP. Dr Verma said India would emerge as a super economics power and might become the third-largest economy after the USA and China by 2050. Nearly 20 participants presented their research papers on different sub-themes, including managing corporate change, changing scenario of global retail, corporate governance and ethical standards for corporate, role of e-commerce in corporate growth and venture capital. Hindi Divas observed
The Hindi Department of Kanya Maha Vidyalaya organised “Hindi Smarpan Smaroh” on the occasion of Hindi Divas. Renowned personalities participated and spoke on the topic, “Hindi, from national language to global language.” Principal Dr Atima Sharma gave floral welcome to the guests. Dr Vinod Shahi, renowned writer, Prof Suresh Seth, an eminent Hindi writer, and journalists were honoured on the occasion. All these eminent personalities threw light on the growing popularity of Hindi Divas. Competitions like story writing, essay writing, slogan writing and chart making were organised on the college campus. The victorious students were honoured. Dr. Vinod Kalra, head of the Hindi Department, thanked everyone present on the occasion. |
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