Ludhiana, November 29
The excise and taxation department has cracked its whip on marriage palaces and hotels owners who are not paying VAT as per their sales and evading luxury tax.

Raids have been conducted on the instructions issued by the head office. Till now, as many as four marriage palaces located on the Chandigarh Road have been raided. A recovery of more than Rs 21 lakh has been made from the two marriage palaces till date, said sources. Meanwhile, a hotel located at Field Ganj was also raided by the department today.

Giving details, HPS Ghotra, AETC (III), said, "It was found that many marriage palaces and hotels were evading tax.

Luxury tax which is levied at the rate of 8 per cent was not paid by them and in addition to this they were also found paying less tax as compared to their sales.

They were evading 40-45 per cent of the tax value," said he.

“The hotels and marriage palaces have been identified and special teams have been formed to carry out the raids.

Till now, four marriage palaces and one hotel have been raided and more will come under department's scanner in the coming week,” said Ghotra.

"The marriage palace owners were found issuing bill less than the actual amount.

The bill was issued of half the payment done by consumers. People should also be vigilant and should always ask for bill of the full amount that they have paid.

If they are paying money, the other person should also give tax," added he.

Rs 21 lakh has been recovered during raids
Raids have been conducted on the instructions issued by the head office of the excise and taxation department. Till now, four marriage palaces located on the Chandigarh Road have been raided. A recovery of more than ~21 lakh has been made from the two marriage palaces till date, said sources. Meanwhile, a hotel located at Field Ganj was also raided by the department on Thursday

Ludhiana, November 29
A body of newborn girl was found at the Railway Colony behind the bus stand police post here today.The body that was wrapped in a piece of cloth was spotted by commuters this evening.

The police was informed and they reached the spot. Surjeet Singh Nagra, in charge, Bus Stand Police Post, said that they were informed that a body of a newborn girl was found abandoned. A case has been registered.

Ludhiana, November 29
In a shocking incident, 19-year-old daughter of a BJP councillor from Ward No 51 Renu Bansal, allegedly committed suicide under mysterious circumstances at her residence in the Bagh Naurahia Mul Street near Sham Nagar here today.

The girl identified as Dhriti Bansal, alias Nanhi, was perusing Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA) course from the Khalsa College for Woman.

The incident came to light at around 9:30am, when Renu Bansal raised the alarm on spotting her daughter hanging from a ceiling fan in a room located on the first floor of the house.

Yogesh, Dhritis father, was informed about the incident as he was away participating in the “prabhat pheri” of lord Jagannath.

Sandeep Jindal, a neighbour, said Dhriti appeared to be fine this morning when she performed the “aarti” of Lord Jagannath.

Renu Bansal reportedly told the police that she was busy preparing breakfast for her daughter. The incident came to light when Renu went to Dhriti's room to tell her that her breakfast was ready.

Dhriti's alleged suicide has come as a shock to the residents of the locality.

"I don’t know as to how a girl, who appeared to be fine in the morning, committed suicide few hours later. It is mind-boggling," said a resident on condition of anonymity.

Investigating Officer (IO) Surjeet Singh Nagra said that exact reason of the death was not known. "We have handed over the body to the family after conducting an autopsy. We have launched an inquest proceeding under 174 Section of the CrPC", he said.

The police said that no suicide note was found near the body.

Sources in the family revealed that Dhriti did not share anything with anyone in the family.

The family refused to share any details with the media.

Soon after the autopsy was conducted, the body was cremated by the family members. 

Ludhiana, November 29
Flouting norms set by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust, a residents' body in Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar has been occupying 3,556 square yards of land for the past more than 25 years without paying a penny towards the cost of land. As per the norms, the allotment of residential plots or commercial sites made by the Trust is liable to be cancelled in case one fails to make the payment of one fourth of the cost of property on allotment, and subsequent installments as per the schedule of payment.

Surprisingly, the LIT authorities, who should have cancelled the allotment of the prime chunk of land worth more than Rs 10 crore for persistent default (more than 25 years) long ago, referred the matter to the Principal Secretary, Local Government, Punjab, seeking directions on the issue.

The land was allotted to the Welfare Council, Block-J, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, for a community centre in September1985 for Rs 51 per square yard.

Ironically, the then Welfare Council of the area not only secured possession of the land without depositing one fourth amount of the total cost, but also got constructed two halls to make the community centre operational. Obviously, no building plans were approved for the construction.

Information obtained under the Right to Information Act by Rohit Sabharwal, president and Arvind Sharma, general secretary of the Council of RTI Activists, revealed that since the date of allotment, the LIT authorities had served more than a dozen notices, some by registered post, to the allottee Welfare Council for making payment of default amount failing which the allotment of land would be cancelled. However, the council failed to respond, and the LIT officials also did not move any further in the matter.

The information provided by the Trust officials under the RTI further stated that the Welfare Society made a plea with the LIT in November 2008, and again in July 2011 that the body was prepared to make the payment at the original allotment rate of Rs 51 per square yard, that too without any interest, or penal interest on the default amount. It further wanted that the allotment be transferred in the name of Welfare Society as the erstwhile Welfare Council had ceased to exist.

The Executive Officer of the Trust, Avtar Singh Azad, said the matter of allotment of land for the community centre would be discussed in the next meeting of the Trust and further action as per the provisions of Punjab Town Improvement (Utilisation of Land and Allotment of Plots) Rules 1983 and directions of the state government would be taken in due course.

Ludhiana, November 29
After coming to know how law enforcers have become law breakers in several parts of the city, Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria has shot off a letter to the Police Commissioner, stating that he should get the encroachments removed from outside the houses of senior police officials residing in the city, else the MC would demolish them themselves.

A survey conducted by The Tribune yesterday revealed that in many parts of the city, the officials had encroached upon a large portion of roads, causing congestion and inconvenience to the common man.

A few have even pitched tents, constructed rooms and sheds for parking their vehicles on roads. And it's not that they have encroached upon the roads overnight, but the practice has been going on for the past several years.

It's not that the MC officials are not aware of the encroachments, but they have failed to act against the violators.

"I have come to know that some police officials have encroached upon roads. A road is meant for public and it cannot be used for any personal purpose. If any police official is having a security threat, he should make some alternative arrangements, instead of encroaching upon the roads," said the Mayor.

MC Commissioner Rakesh Kumar Verma stated that he would look into the matter. Mayor Gohalwaria has already shot off a letter to the Police Commissioner.

A few months ago, when Malwinder Singh Jaggi was the MC Commissioner, the MC had even made red markings on such encroachments in Rakh Bagh and adjoining areas.

Sources said the matter was taken up with Police Commissioner Ishwar Singh, who had stated that he would ask his staff to remove the encroachments. "But no action was taken later, for reasons best known to the district administration as well as the MC officials. We have come to know that on the lines of Chandigarh, some residents have filed a public interest litigation in this regard," said a senior MC official.

Ludhiana, November 29
Air India has changed the schedule of its lone flight operating between Ludhiana and Delhi due to change in weather. The schedule will be effective from December 4 till December 31.

Instead of Monday, Wednesday and Friday, now the flight will operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The schedule has been changed keeping in mind the weather conditions as the DVOR device, which helps in the landing of the aircraft, has not been made operational, despite the fact that it was installed almost a couple of months ago.

Earlier, the flight used to operate every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. But now the timings have been changed keeping in mind visibility issues.

Amrik Singh, manager, Air India, said the flight would depart from Delhi at 12:35 pm and will arrive at the Ludhiana airport at 1:45 pm. "The same flight will then depart from Ludhiana at 2 pm and will land at the Delhi airport at 3:10 pm. The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from December 4 to December 31, which means that there will be no flight this Saturday," informed Amrik Singh.

Earlier, during winter and in the absence of DVOR device, the flight used to get cancelled almost regularly because of poor visibility at the Ludhiana airport. Even as the DVOR device has been installed at the airport, it is yet to be made operational.

Ludhiana, November 29
The Punjab government's decision to set up a dry port near Kila Raipur in Ludhiana district has cheered the local industry.

The port will be a link with the Eastern and Western Railway Freight corridor. The upcoming facility of double stack containers at the port will benefit the local industry to cut down on its transportation cost by 33 per cent.

The proposed dry port is the need of the hour. Now, that the business ties of India and Pakistan are improving, the proposed dry port will help in catering to exporters. The decision taken by the government is a welcome step and we hope that the work of the dry port is completed on time," said Satish Kumar, an industrialist from Mandi Gobindgarh.

"The port will cater to the future commercial needs of the region,” said SK Kataria, an exporter.

"Since Ludhiana is an industrial city, the proposed port will assume great important to the city in particular and to Punjab in general,” said Lalit Khanna, another industrialist.

Ludhiana, November 29
Computer security has become increasingly important in the present times. Computers are now more vulnerable to viruses and hackers than ever. Appropriate steps and precautions need to be taken to prevent stealing of information from computers and any damage to computer systems, say experts.

We must use genuine software, as the chances of hackers hacking into your computer sytem become much higher with the use of pirated softwares, says Satpal Singh, proprietor, Sun Solutions.

"There is an increasing trend nowadays wherein hackers hack into your computers, copy the mailing list and send virus-laden promotional mails to the mailing list through your email address, without you knowing about it," he said. So one must use proper anti-virus systems and use genuine software to safeguard against viruses

People must make sure to check the url's of the websites they are visiting, as "imposter" websites can cause harm to your computers. As online money transactions are becoming common these days, we must make sure that the url starts with "https" rather than "http", as most of the websites offer this security feature. The chances of being hacked on secured websites are very less.

Ludhiana, November 29
The Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) has asked the Punjab government and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to provide an eight-hour uninterrupted power supply to the tubewells during daytime.

BKU vice-president Avtar Singh Mehlon and general secretary Ajmer Singh Gill said the wheat crop needed to be irrigated at this juncture and other crops sown by the farmers also required water. "The power utility has backed out from its assurance of making available adequate power supply and the farmers have been left in the lurch," they said.

The BKU functionaries maintained that power supply to the farm sector was being supplied only for three to four hours, and that too late at night. As a result, the wheat crop sown by the farmers was not getting the much-needed irrigation.

They urged the Union government to announce the minimum support price of major wheat as per the recommendation of Dr MS Swaminathan Committee.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 29
Accusing successive Union and state governments of ignoring their long-pending demands, the Punjab Kisan Sabha called upon office-bearers and activists of all the organisations working for the welfare of peasants to launch a coordinated movement to save the agricultural sector in the state from collapsing.

The call was made during the inaugural session of the 37th annual state-level conference of the Punjab Kisan Sabha that commenced at Maharaja Agarsain Dharamsala here today.

State chief Gurchetan Singh Bassi presided over the conference, and politburo member and general secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha K Waradhrajan was the keynote speaker.

Addressing a rally, Bassi, Waradhrajan, national executive Bijju Krishnana, general secretary Lehmbar Singh Taggar and Mukhtiar Singh Jalaldiwal alleged that defective policies of successive state and Union governments had forced a large number of farmers to commit suicide.

They accused the political leaders of the state for not coming forward to rescue the families of the deceased farmers.

"We apprehend that agriculture in the state, which has been known as the wheat bowl of India, will no longer remain self sustaining, if small and marginal farmers are not rescued by waiving old loans and granting fresh loans on concessional rate of interest," said the speakers, reiterating Sabha's demand to implement recommendations given by Dr Swaminathan Commission.

Policy of crop insurance by state and Union government, Rs 5 lakh compensation for families of farmers who committed suicide and registration of criminal cases against those abetting them to suicide, subsidised deepening of bores at all villages, and subsidy on other inputs of agriculture including seeds, pesticides, diesel and fertilizers were other major demands raised by the Sabha leaders.

Sukhwinder Singh Sekhon, chairman of the event, Sikandar Singh Jartoli and Baldev Singh Latala also spoke on the occasion.

Ludhiana, November 29
The joint action committee comprising of Punjab Chandigarh College Teacher Union (PCCTU), Retired Employees Association, Non-Teaching Employees Union and Principals' Federation is organising a hunger strike in front of the Deputy Commissioner office to protest against the non-acceptance of their pending demands on November 30.

According to the district president, PCCTU, Dr MS Komal, government did not show any concern for their demands, including grant of pension and lifting of the ban on fresh recruitments.

Earlier, a fast was initiated by PCCTU on November 23 that continued till November 26. The joint committee has decided to resume the fast once again and hold it in different parts of the state.

Dr Kuldip Singh, general secretary, PCCTU, said, "Today there was a hunger strike at Ferozepur. On December 3, it will take place at Jalandhar, Nawanshahr and Kapurthala, while on December 4, the chain fast will be observed at Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Pathankot and Gurdaspur. On December 5, it will continue at Moga, and at Patiala, Ropar and Mohali on December 6. On December 7, Bathinda and Sangrur will witness the fast, while on December 10, it will be held at Muktsar and Fazilka, and on December 11 at Hoshiarpur. On December 13, the chain fast will culminate at a state rally to be held in Jalandhar.” 

Ludhiana, November 29
A crew shooting a Punjabi song in Mattewara forest area was in for a shock when the leopard that had injured a forest guard while being rescued from a borewell on November 11 was caught on camera on the embankment of Sutlej river.

The shooting took place on Tuesday. Following the incident, Dharinder Singh, chief wildlife warden, visited the forest area today. He took a stock of arrangements and asked the forest officials to increase number of cages to catch the wild animal.

The leopard can be seen drinking water in the video. "The presence of leopards in the forest area of the state is not unusual. However, the presence of a wild cat near a densely populated area raises concern," said Dharinder Singh.

Two wildlife experts, Sunil Kumar and Yadwinder Singh, are also assisting the team. "Fortunately the leopard has not shown any aggression and has not attacked anyone so far," said Dharinder Singh. 

Ludhiana, November 29
More and more artists are organising group exhibitions in the city. Hyphen Art Alliance, the group that was formed about three months ago, organised a group exhibition at Artmosphere Art Gallery today.

Eight artists from the city displayed their work at the exhibition "Cocktail Colours".

Harminder Singh Boparai

Harminder is known as scrap sculptor. He creates art from scrap metal. He uses parts of motorbikes and spare machine parts. Delving in various media, including wood, clay, m-seal, he is better known for the metal works. He has won Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi award for his creation "Ganesha" from the same material. He has exhibited his works at various art exhibitions and won many awards.

Manpreet Kaur Devgan

Having completed her masters in fine art at Khalsa College for Women, she now teaches art at Ramgarhia Girls College. Working with various media, doing both abstract and realistic art, she likes to use different media for creation of her art. A play of colours that formed interesting flowers with acrylics in the background and interesting splashes with enamels add energy and dimension to her works. She doesn't teach art at home to work and create art.

Tejinder Ladi Singh

His works were selected at the United Art Fair that was organised in Delhi recently. Although he has used technical pen, acrylics, charcoal and water colours, but he has found oil pastels as a great way to work. Starting as an interior designer, he now is a full-time artist. Not having learnt art from anyone, he says it is not necessary to go to art school to learn art. "Nobody can teach you art, it is inside you. Schools can only polish your skills."

Ludhiana, November 29
Professor-cum-head, department of veterinary and animal husbandry extension education, at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) has been awarded the prestigious fellowship of the Indian Society for Study of Animal Reproduction.

Dr Harish Kumar Verma was honoured for his rich experience and contribution in the field of animal reproduction. He is actively involved in dissemination of knowledge and demonstration of technologies for the benefit of livestock farmers.

Young Scientist Award

Dr Navdeep Singh, department of veterinary gynaecology and obstetrics, got Young Scientist Award in clinical case presentation. Meanwhile, Dr GH Rasool Bhat received the award for oral presentation and poster presentation of research paper.

Ludhiana, November 29
Her aim is not only to be a soldier in the Indian Army but she has also set a goal to fight social evils like female foeticide, crime against woman, and dowry.

Kamini Chawla, being a cadet of the 3 Punjab battalion National Cadet Core (NCC), is proud to have attended the Special National Integration Camp (SNIC) at Andaman.

Sharing her experiences at SNIC, Kamini says, "I am the only cadet who got this opportunity from the four states — Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. Interaction with cadets from other parts of the country was very useful."

Kamini has been selected as the senior under officer recently and is now the head girl of Khalsa College, where she is a BA final year student.

"It has been my childhood dream to join the Indian Army, but I was not aware as to how I would achieve my goal. When I joined the NCC some years go, I realised that this was the best way to serve the nation," says Kamini.

Khanna, November 29
A cotton weaving unit suffered heavy loss as massive fire erupted on its premises on Behlol Pur Road, Samrala. The fire reportedly erupted after a fire cracker was burst on the premises during Gurpurb celebrations.

Cotton and fibre worth Rs 2.5 lakh turned into ashes within minutes. The incident came to light when the owner’s family members, who stay on the top storey of the building, felt suffocation, following which they raised an alarm.

Two fire tenders were pressed into service and after a struggle of four hours, the fire was brought under control.

Ludhiana, November 29
In yet another case of dowry death, four persons, including husband and in-laws, were booked for strangulating a woman to death and projecting it as a suicide.

The incident took place yesterday when the police came to know that Paramjit Kaur, who had tied the knot with Baldev Singh of Churpur Village four years ago, was found dead at her in-laws house.

While Baldev Singh and his family members claimed that Paramjit Kaur had committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan, the victim's family claimed that their daughter was killed.

Bakshish Singh, the victim's father, said Paramjit's husband and in-laws were harassing her for dowry.

It was yesterday that Baldev Singh reportedly informed Bakshish Singh that Paramjit Kaur's condition was critical and she was admitted in the CMC Hospital.

Before the family could reach the hospital, the victim passed away. However, it was learnt later on that she was declared brought dead at the hospital.

Baldev Singh told Paramjit's father that she had committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan.

However, Bakshish Singh termed the suicide theory as baseless. He said it was the husband and in-laws who had strangulated his daughter.

After recording the statement of Bakshish Singh, the Meharban police today registered a case under Section 304-B (dowry killing) against Baldev Singh (husband), Mehal Singh (father-in-law, Tej Kaur (mother-in-law and Meena (sister-in-law). All the accused are on the run.

Ludhiana, November 29
With the arrest of three persons, the city police has claimed to have busted a gang of vehicle lifters.

Two stolen motorcycles have been recovered from the possession of the accused.

While Subash Mandal of Civil City was nabbed from Chander Nagar area, other two accused, Akash and Subash, were caught near Karanvir Hospital in Haibowal.

One of the stolen motorcycles was recovered from the possession of Mandal, while the other was recovered from Akash and Subash.

Ludhiana, November 29
A large number of students, representing different houses namely Shaheed Bhagat Singh House, Prof Mohan Singh House, Maharaja Ranjit Singh House and Bhai Veer Singh House, battled it out in various sports disciplines and fun games on the opening day of the 36th Inter-House Annual Athletics Meet of Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar, today.

Bharat Bhushan Ashu, MLA declared the meet open. He took salute from the participants at an impressive march past. He appreciated the school management committee members for providing an excellent platform to hone their skills.

Jasbir Singh, president of the committee, thanked the chief guest to encourage the students.

First day's results: Boys (U-19) 200m race: Sahibjeet Singh 1, Rishab Sood 2 and Jaspinder Singh 3; 800m race: Harjot Singh 1, Anurag Hundal 2 and Surashish Singh 3;

boys (U-17) 200m race: Sukhdeep Singh 1, Ishupal Singh 2 and Paramvir Singh 3; shot put: Harsimran Singh 1, Avitej Singh 2 and Assa Singh 3; 800m race: Karan Singh 1, Wahegurupal Singh 2 and Ripudaman Singh 3; boys (U-17) long jump: Ishupal Singh 1, Sukhdeep Singh 2 and Arshdeep Singh 3; boys (U-14) 400m race: Jogeshwar Singh 1, Navrattan Singh 2 and Ramanjit Singh 3; girls (U-14) 400m race: Mandeep Kaur 1, Harsimran Kaur 2 and Jasneet Kaur 3; U-14: Gunpreet Kaur 1, Gursimran Kaur 2 and Harmohik Kaur 3; 600m race: Gurpreet Kaur 1, Shamandeep Kaur 2 and Navneet Kaur 3; girls (Class VI) long jump: Sukhleen Kaur 1, Harjot Kaur 2 and Yashpreet Kaur 3; Class IV 200m race: Jasleen Kaur 1, Harjaap Kaur 2 and Jessica Dang 3; Class VI 00m race: Ramaninder Kaur 1, Gurmeet Kaur 2 and Harjot Kaur 3; boys (Class IV) 200m race: Bismandeep Singh 1, Japjot Singh 2 and Karanpreet Singh 3; 50m race: Harkirat Singh 1, Sukhraj Singh 2 and Bavanjot Singh.