Ludhiana, November 18
Much to the relief of traders, the Excise and Taxation Department has extended the date for submission of the VAT-20 form manually by November 20. A meeting was held between the Excise and Taxation Commissioner and representatives of the Punjab Tax Bar Association during which the decision was taken.

“Keeping in view the difficulties faced by dealers and advocates, we have decided that the VAT-20 form for 2011-12 can be submitted manually up to November 20 and thereafter it shall be submitted online from December 1 to December 31. All AETCs have been directed to accept the VAT-20 form manually by November 20,” said A Venu Parsad, Excise and Taxation Commissioner.

“We held a meeting with the Excise and Taxation Commissioner and apprised him of our problems following which he extended the date. Now the VAT-20 form can be submitted manually till November 20,” said Ashok Juneja, president of the Punjab Tax Bar Association.

Jatinder Khurana, president of the Taxation Young Lawyers Association, said many traders had got their returns filled manually much before the department made online filing mandatory. It was getting difficult to re-fill the entire returns all over again on the site while some needed to update their software for the purpose. The extension in the date was a welcome step, he added.

Gursewak Singh, a trader, said, “I had already got my returns filled manually when the department announced that the returns be filed online. From the next quarter, I will file the returns online. Thankfully, this time we have been allowed to file the returns manually, which I have already done.”

Ludhiana, November 18
Though the data available with the police shows that as compared to last year, the number of accidents has reduced this year, as many as 115 persons have lost their lives in accidents in the district during the past five months. Of these accidents, a majority have taken place on two roads: the Ludhiana-Chandigarh road and the Sherpur-GT Road.

According to the police, from June 1 to October 31 this year, 110 accidents (in which cases were registered under Section 304 of the IPC) took place in the district and 115 persons lost their lives in these.

There were 96 other road accidents in which 102 persons were injured. In 2011, as many as 137 cases were registered under Section 304. As many as 142 persons were killed in these road accidents during the June 1-October
31 period.

Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh said on these two roads, pedestrians bicycle riders often became victims of rashly driven vehicles. "Once motorists are outside the city, they accelerate their vehicles, which is one of the major reasons for fatal accidents. Besides, while crossing roads, pedestrians and those on bicycles get crushed under speedy vehicles at times. We have taken several steps to check the speed of vehicles and have been motivating people to use reflectors on bicycles to avoid fatal accidents during night," said Ishwar Singh.

An Assistant Commissioner Police (ACP) said there was no proper laning of roads and marking by the municipal authorities. Besides, many roads had been encroached upon, which was one of the reasons behind the accidents. "Boards displaying speed limits have to be properly installed for the convenience of commuters. With joint efforts, we can control the number of accidents," he said.

Fog major reason behind mishaps P3

Jagraon, November 18
The Ludhiana-Moga highway has turned into a death trap with more than a dozen casualties reported in separate road accidents during the past few months. Fifteen people have lost their lives in accidents on the Ludhiana-Moga highway in the recent past. Besides, more than 20 persons got critically injured in these accidents. A majority of these accidents have taken place on a 23-km stretch between Mullanpur Dakha and Nanaksar on the highway.

A 2-km stretch between Sidhwan Khurd village and Chaunkiman village and a 5-km stretch between Jagraon and Nanaksar on the Ludhiana-Moga highway have emerged as the most vulnerable points.

Despite a large number of fatal mishaps having occurred near these points during the past few months, the administration is yet to install signboards at these locations. In the absence of signboards, commuters fail to have an idea about the risk spots.

Heavy traffic, blatant violation of traffic norms, overspeeding, drunken driving, absence of reflectors on road dividers, reckless driving by drivers of heavy vehicles, particularly those of private buses, are some of the reasons behind the accidents.

Besides, the existence of several marriage palaces on both sides of the road has added to motorists' woes. Those visiting these marriage palaces often park their vehicles on the roadsides, disrupting the smooth flow of traffic. Moreover, a large number those attending wedding ceremonies or other functions in these marriage palaces often indulge in drunken driving, increasing the risk of road accidents.

Another major reason behind the accidents is the presence of a large number of stray animals on this highway. There have been many instances when the sudden appearance of stray animals on the road has lead to accidents. The situation becomes more dangerous during night as drivers often fail to spot an animal on the road.

The National Highways Authority of India has undertaken a project to four-lane this highway. Construction work is going on full swing.

Once the project is completed, the number of accidents is likely to reduce.

However, the ongoing construction work has increased the risk of accidents due to lack of safety precautions.

According to officials of the company which has been awarded the contract of widening this road, September 2014 is the deadline for the completion of the project.

“We will complete the project on time. We have taken the required safety measures during the construction work,”€� claimed assistant project manager Kamlesh Shukla.

Jagraon DSP Surinder Kumar says there is need for creating awareness among people about traffic rules.

Asserting that a large number of accidents take place due to blatant violation of traffic norms by drivers, he says people should follow traffic rules and avoid drunken driving to avert mishaps. 

Ludhiana, November 18
With the state government putting off the announcement of a new policy on regularisation of unauthorised colonies, real estate developers, it seems, will have to wait for some more time before the process for compounding and regularisation of illegal colonies is set in motion.

Even after a series of meetings between officials of the Housing and Urban Development Department, developers and other stakeholders during the past couple of months, the government has apparently failed to make up its mind and come out with a simplified and liberal policy to deal with the crucial issue of unauthorised colonies.

Sources in the corridors of power say the draft of the policy is ready, and at one time a decision was taken to announce the policy before November 19 when the Punjab and Haryana High Court will take up a clubbed writ petition from Punjab and Haryana on this subject. "However, there was another opinion that the draft policy be presented to the HC first, and a formal announcement be made only after the draft policy finds favour with the judiciary," the sources said.

That the state government will take some more time to finalise and notify the new policy was also indicated by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal when he made a presentation on real estate prospects in Punjab in a convention of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India in New Delhi on November 17. Sukhbir said at the convention that the Punjab Government would come out with a comprehensive real estate policy by December 15.

Established players in the real estate sector here maintain that the market is sluggish and no deals, either in the approved colonies or in unauthorised colonies, are taking place. "Both developers and buyers have adopted a wait-and-watch policy, and a turnaround is expected only after the new policy is announced, that too if the government provides the promised relief and concessions to developers and property owners," the sources said.

An exercise by the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) to constitute a screening committee for compounding of illegal colonies, and to divide the unlicensed colonies into four categories has also drawn flak from developers.

Ludhiana, November 18
Traffic jams in the city and inadequate information regarding the mishap sites given by callers create problems for the staff of "Ambulance 108" to locate accident victims on time.

Jagdeep Singh, Cluster Head, Ludhiana-1, for Ambulance 108 said, "Often when we get a call regarding an accident, the caller is not able to give us information about where the accident has taken place. For instance, if there is an accident on Ferozepur Road, the caller just tells us that there has been an accident on Ferozepour Road and fails to describe where exactly it has occurred. In such a case, it become difficult for us to locate the right place on time, resulting in a delay in the arrival of the ambulance."

He said sometimes callers inadvertently gave them wrong information, which added to the confusion and delay.

Citing another problem being faced by the ambulance staff, he said, "There are a few hospitals in the city which do not attend to serious accident victims till their attendants deposit money. We usually take accident victims to nearby civil hospitals."

Ludhiana, November 18
A Meeting of the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal held today. Shyam Bihari Mishra, ex-MP, was also present on the occasion. Members of the Beopar Mandal from across the state participated in the meeting during which important issues relating to trade and industry were discussed.

While addressing the traders, Shyam Bihari Mishra, national president, said the Congress-led Central Government was harassing the trading community. He said traders were being mentally tortured by creating unnecessary pressure on them. He also pointed out that no policy had been created for the welfare of traders, which indicated that the Central Government did not have any sympathy with the trading community. He said when prices of goods were sky-rocketing, traders were barely able to manage their business and alleged that the Central Government wanted to ruin them by allowing Foreign Direct Investment in the retail sector.

Mishra further said the government was trying to impose the "Inspector Raj" through several measures like the Food Safety Act and the Goods and Services Tax.

He demanded that the government should constitute a Traders' Welfare Board to formulate policies for the traders. Speaking on the occasion, Kasturi Lal Mitta, district president of the Beopar mandal, appealed to fight unitedly against the Centre's decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail as it would be detrimental for the economy. He said the FDI would ruin the economy, particularly the retail sector, and would be against the interests of farmers, common man and businessmen.

General Secretary Mohinder Aggarwal said "The new e-trip system, started by the state government, is giving a tough time to the traders. We have requested the government to rollback its decision." 

Ludhiana, November 18
Fog remains the major reason behind road accidents in the winter. With visibility almost nil, it becomes difficult to drive and accidents, especially head-on collision, are common.

Prithpal Singh, Consultant, Traffic Police, Punjab, said, "Driving with caution can help save precious lives."

He has some tips to offer to motorists to avoid accidents during foggy weather.

n Switch on the headlights with dipper. High beam should be avoided as lights get reflected back

n Ensure that all lights and blinkers of your vehicle are working

n Swiitch on all blinkers of your vehicle as the amber light is visible from a longer distance

n All types of commercial vehicles should use conspicuity tape - a special tape manatory for all commercial vehicles. This should be pasted on all three sides of the vehicle as it is visible at night and foggy weather

n Keep a distance from the vehicle in front of you. The thumb rule is that tyres of the vehicle in front of you should be visible while touching the ground

n In case of a breakdown of your vehicle, park it on the side of the road and switch on the parking lights and put a safety triangle - a reflector in such a way that there should be a distance of 50 metres between the vehicle and the reflector 

Ludhna, November 18
Dr Baldev Singh Aulakh, Professor of Urology and Transplant Surgery at DMC, Ludhiana, took over as the president of the Urological Society of India(NZ) during the three-day annual conference of uro-surgeons, held at Government Medical College, Jammu.

His elevation to the post is an acknowledgement of his contribution to the field of urology. Dr Aulakh has performed more than 1,000 kidney transplants and nearly 10,000 kidney cancer, stones and prostate operations. He has also authored a book "Prostate problems, Know before it is too late".

Speaking on the occasion, he said he would do his best to raise the academic standards by organising workshops, seminars and scientific activities. The Urological Society of India (NZ) consists of 660 urologists, including those from premier institutes like PGI, Chandgarh, AIIMS, New Delhi, and SGPGI, Lucknow.

Ludhiana, Nov 18
The Chhatt Puja was performed by hundreds of devotees here in Ludhiana today. Soni Yadav, a resident of Bihar, who works at PSPCL, said " The sun is the God, who gives us us energy and guidance, so we worship it." She said it was the biggest festival of Bihar and people in certain parts of Uttar Pradesh also perform.

TR Mishra, chairman, Focal Point Industry Welfare Association, said from tomorrow devotees would keep fast for the next 24 hours. "Day after tomorrow, they will worship the sun and have 'prasad'.

There are lakhs of devotees here in the Industrial capital of Punjab, who perform the Chhatt Puja. For those who feel that canals are far-off, small ponds have been made, in which they can take a dip . The four-days puja has great importance and the devotees celebrate it with much enthusiasm." — TNS

The much-hyped drive against thousands of illegal three-wheelers plying on the city roads seems to have lost its steam if the attitude of the traffic police or the Transport Department is any indication.

Ludhiana, November 18
A hasya kavi sammelan was organised at the Nehru Siddhant Kender last evening. Noted poet and humourist Surender Sharma along with other poets presented hilarious poetry. The poets, including Ritu Goyal, Yusuf Bhardwaj, Nawaz Devbandhi, Dr Seeta Sagar and Mahendra Ravi participated in the sammelan.

Yousuf Bhardwaj took a dig on the Haryanvi attitude of taking everything in a lighter vein and Ritu Goyal brought in the serious notes of poignancy with the poem dedicated to significance and importance of father . Nawaz Devbandhi made many think with his insightful Urdu couplets. Dr Seeta Sagar from Kurukshetra University drew a loud applause as she poetically described all aspects of Ludhiana, its people, landmarks, and everything it is known for. Mahendra Ravi made many laugh. In one of the poems, he showed the imaginary world in which ghosts were scared of the human beings , Surender Sharma made everyone laugh with his typical Haryanvi style. — TNS

Jagraon, November 18
The ancestral house of legendry freedom fighter, Lala Lajpat Rai, in Jagraon has been laying in shambles due to the constant negligence by the different governments. The near collapsing building of house has been crying for attention. But neither the State Government nor the Union Government seems to be paying any attention towards this.

Today was 84th martyrdom day of Lala Lajpat Rai. But the local administration forgot to organise any function in memory of great freedom fighter. Though a local school and college named after Lala Lajpat Rai organise functions every year to remember the great freedom fighter and tall claims are made by political leaders during these functions to provide funds for the maintenance of the house building but nothing has been done on the ground level to save the building.

During a visit to the Lala’s ancestral house situated in Mohalla Misarpura of Jagraon today, it was found that the building of Lala’s house was in an utterly bad condition. The building may collapse anytime if not repaired at the earliest.

Having conferred with titles such as 'Punjab Kesari' and 'Sher-e-Punjab', the late leader's ancestral house speaks volumes of the government's apathy. The near collapsing building of the house is the ample proof of government's indifference towards preserving the memorials related to great freedom fighters, who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the country.

"One can easily guess the 'sincerity' of the government towards preserving the freedom-fighters' memorials after seeing the condition of Lala's house. The claims of the government for preserving memorials of freedom fighters remain only on paper. The government has made no effort to save the building of the house from collapsing," said Amarnath, a senior citizen who resides alongside the ancestral house of Lala Lajpat Rai.

It is reminded here that the archeological department had taken the custody of the ancestral house in its hand in 1987 and also declared it a national heritage. A library and a museum were also constructed in the memory of the freedom fighter some years ago. But nothing concrete has been done so far to save this historical building from ruins, where Lala spent his childhood days.

The state of affairs is so bad that heaps of garbage welcome the visitors at the entrance of the house. The library and the museum are too in no better condition and remain locked most of the time. The rusty doors and windows, broken furniture and worn-out books explain everything.

Sanjiv Malhotra of Sher-e-Punjab Jagrity Manch and Kanwaljit Khanna of Inqulabi Kendra Punjab have urged the government to provide funds for saving the building of the ancestral house of Lala Lajpat Rai from ruining.

Ludhiana, November 18
"The key to writing for children is to "write for children," and not about children," says Faqir Chand Shukla. Faqir has been selected by the state language department for two awards for his Punjabi and Hindi books of short stories. He has won the award Shri Guru Harkrishan Children's Literature Award for "Door Hunda Hanera". His book "Janam Din Ki Party" has also been adjudged as the best literary work for children in Hindi language.

"Children need to be informed in an interesting manner, rather than being preached," he says. "Stories have to be made interesting for children. The message has been to be given to them indirectly," he says.

His first story was published in a magazine back in 1957, he said. Believing his writing talent as god-gifted, he says he never took any training in creative writing.

He has won several awards including ten national awards for literature, Punjab Rattan Award, Shiromani Sahitkar Award and 16 state awards, he says.

Ludhiana, November 18
Prices of vegetables remained stable during the past week. Vegetables like carrots, turnips have started descending the market. Much to the relief of people, this week did not see any increase in the prices of vegetables.

" Now as the festival season is over, the prices of fruits and vegetables have become stable. The supply from the neighbouring states have also normalised," said Mian ji of Mian ji vegetable and fruit shop at Aggar Nagar.

Vegetables of winter season have started arriving the market and much to the relief their prices are not sky-rocketing. "While turnip is priced at Rs 20, carrot is available at Rs 40 per kg. "Hope the low prices remain throughout the winter season," said Sheetal, a homemaker from SBS Nagar.

CLP leader Sunil Jakhar (left) pays tributes to Maharishi Valmiki at a programme in Ludhiana. photo: inderjeet verma

Dalit Mahapanchayat celebrated Valmiki Jayanti at Kapoor Palace here on Sunday. The function was presided-over by the president Chander Shekhar Sahota. Many dignitaries took part in the celebrations. The Dalit leaders assured their fellow-beings that the problems being faced by them would be resolved soon. The leaders blamed the state government for not giving a patient hearing to the problems of Dalits and said that the ruling government did not let the funds (meant for Dalits) reach to them.

Training courses for the unemployed

Ashish Kapoor, principal, Apparel Training and Design Centre said that short courses for the unemployed youth of backward classes will be held and the interested students could send their applications by November 26. The interested applicant must be between 18-35 years of age and should be a primary pass-out. The training courses will be for Smart Sewing Machine Operators, Smart Surface Ornamentation Technique and Smart Quality Checker. The courses will be for one and two months, respectively.

‘Protect gaushalas’

Office-bearers and activists of various constitutional, social and religious bodies called upon the people to come to the rescue of 'gaushalas'. Cows provide milk, oxen sustain cultivation of fields, maintained speakers including legislator Darshan Singh Shivalik, former SAD minister Jagdish Singh Garcha, Ravinder Puri president municipal council, Ahmedgarh, and Krishan Kumar Bawa patron of the Bairagi Mandal Punjab. Leaders were addressing a gathering of office-bearers and activists of a few social and religious organisations during Gopashtmi celebrations at Shri Radha Krishan Gaushala, formerly known as Seth Gobindmal Chanan Ram Parmapati Gaushala, at Kaind village near here today. —TNS

Ludhiana, November 18
The city police rescued a man, who was kept in an illegal confinement for a week, today. Manoj Kumar, a carpenter, was detained on November 12 when he returned from his native village in Uttar Pradesh. The Salem Tabri Police rescued him from a room in Ashok Nagar following a secret information. Naveen Kumar, a trader, has been arrested for illegally confining Manoj Kumar.

According to sources, Manoj had taken a loan of Rs 10,000 from Naveen Kumar few months ago but failed to return the money.

Manoj claimed that he was paying the money in instalments.

However, Naveen was pressing Manoj to pay the entire money with interest in just one instalment.

Manoj had gone to his native village a month ago. On November 12, when Manoj returned, he was picked up by Naveen and his aide and was kept in a room for more than a week for not paying the money.

Besides, Manoj was thrashed by Naveen and his men.

A case has been registered against Naveen under Section 342 of the IPC and Naveen has also been arrested.

He will be produced in the court on Monday.

Mandi Gobindgarh, Nov 18
The local police has nabbed three persons allegedly accused in the murder case of Mohammad Muneem, who used to run a meat shop near Ambey Majra village, Mandi Gobindgarh, said the district police chief Hardyal Singh Mann during a press conference here today.

On the statement of Mohammad Imtiaz, brother of the victim, the police has registered the FIR number 228 under Sections 364, 302, 201 and 34 of the IPC on November 15.

It was stated in the complaint that Kameshwar Mukhia, who also runs a meat shop near the victim, used to feel jealous on the heavy sales of his competitor.

The inquiry was entrusted to SP (D) Gurpreet Singh, DSP Devinder Singh Barar and inspector Gurmeet Singh. The accused person Kameshwar accompanied by Santosh Mukhya and Upinder Sahni kidnapped the victim in Scorpio Car No PB 23N-1189 on November 9 at 9.30 PM and killed him by bludgeon victim’s head. They tied the stones with the dead body, after putting it into a piece of cloth (palli), they threw it into Bhakhra Canal near Sonda Head on the night of November 9.

The district police chief Mann said that the police with the help of divers, succeeded to trace the dead body of Kameshwar on November 16 and arrested all the three accused persons on November 17 (Saturday) from the Mandi Gobindgarh Bus Stand, while they were trying to run away to Bihar state said Mann.

Ludhiana, November 18
City gymnast Keshav Thakur (13) once again proved that he is the best gymnast in city. Keshav was declared second best gymnast in the state during Punjab School Games recently held at Sports School, Jalandhar.

13-year-old Keshav, won one gold and two silver medals in the championship. He won the gold medal in table vault and silver medals in pommel horse and parallel bars.

Keshav had won several gymnastic tournaments in last two years.

His coach Prem Singh he has a strong and flexible body, which is perfect for a gymnast. He lived up to her reputation, as he did not disappoint her coach and parents in these school games.

On his achievement Keshav said, “With this achievement I have made my place in the school national games. Now I am concentrating on the national events. I am working hard and sure that I will clinch medals in school national games.”

Keshav has been practicing for last four year at multi-purpose indoor hall of Guru Nanak Dev stadium. He used to practice for four hours everyday and wants to be an international player.

Prem Singh, his coach, said, “Keshav has good potential as he has won many championships. Despite the lack of proper infrastructure for gymnastic, he is performing well and I think he has a good future. He is dedicated toward his game and I hope he will represent India in International events.”

Ludhiana, November 18
Hosts BCM Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh road branch, along with another school from the city, Green Land Public School scripted victories in their respective matches on the first day of the CBSE National Carrom Championship that started here today.

Besides, participants from the CBSE affiliated schools from Varanasi that include Varanasi Public School, Aditya Birla Public School, Vikram Nagar, Jyoti Public School, Dr Amrit Lal Public School, Happy Model School, Sunbeam School, DLW School and Swami Harsevanand Public School recorded wins to move into the next round.

Earlier, Pushkar Vohra, Director CBSE, declared the championship open. He took salute from the participants at an impressive march past.

The highlight of the opening ceremony was a spectacular cultural programme followed by welcome songs, sports dance and martial arts display by the students of host school.

DP Guleria, principal, BCM School, Chandigarh road branch, welcomed the chief guest and the participants.

Around 400 participants (boys and girls) drawn from different schools across the country are taking part in the four-day event.

He added that the main feature of the opening ceremony would be an impressive cultural programme to be presented by the school students.

Dr Madhuruchi Lamba, vice-president, Mohan Dai Memorial Cancer Hospital, principals of BCM Schools, faculty members and a large number of students were present at the inaugural function.