Ludhiana, March 16
The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation today passed its interim budget of Rs 631 crore for 2013-14. The budget is Rs 110 crore less than that of previous year, as it does not contain house tax and property tax.

Interestingly, unlike last year, the budget was passed after two councillors spoke on it. Last time, the budget was passed in only eight minutes without any discussion being held on it.

The main highlight of the budget meeting was the BJP councillors, Inder Aggarwal and Gurdeep Singh Neetu, were 'specially' given time to address the meeting. During the recent general house meeting, the proceedings were mostly dominated by the councillors from the groups of Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Akali MLA Simarjit Singh Bains.

Sources said its district president Parveen Bansal had attended the all-party meeting held in the Mayor's camp office yesterday. It was decided that the BJP councillors would be asked to address the budget meeting.

The Congress councillors said they were not given a chance to speak during the meeting. When Leader of the Opposition, Hem Raj Aggarwal, was about to address the meeting, former Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura, Akali councillor Pal Singh Grewal and Akali MLA Ranjit Singh Dhillon stood up and demanded the budget should be passed unanimously.

When Inder Aggarwal and Neetu were addressing the councillors, some other councillors tried to raise a question over the budget, but Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria assured them that they should not interfere as they would be given due time to speak as well. But, when the announcement was made that the budget has been passed "unanimously", the Mayor , MC Commissioner Rakesh Kumar Verma and other senior MC leaders left the committee room.

Ludhiana, March 16
The property tax meeting, which was scheduled for tomorrow (March 17), has been postponed once again. The meeting was to be held to announce the "proposed" rates of land in the city.

In the previous meeting held on March 12, it was announced that a meeting will be held on March 13, but it was postponed for March 17 due to the ongoing Vidhan Sabha Session in Chandigarh.

According to highly placed sources in Chandigarh, a meeting of higher officials (from the leading municipal corporations) was convened by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal in Chandigarh to discuss the issue and get a feedback from the higher officials on the proposed property tax in the state. Since the state government, too, feels that it would be an additional financial burden on the common man, the Deputy Chief Minister wanted to weigh all the pros and cons.

One of the top officials in Chandigarh said the issue was discussed in detail with the Deputy Chief Minister yesterday. "At the same time, the corporations, which are running in losses, feel through the funds generated from property tax, huge development works can be accomplished, which otherwise were not possible due to the paucity of funds. The corporations want to generate a good revenue, as the rates will not be increased for the next five years. But, political leaders feel that it will be a blow to the common man and he must not be burdened unnecessarily.

"So meetings are being held to find a solution in a way that the corporations get more revenue and at the same time the common man pays a reasonable tax," said the official. Rahul Tiwari said owing to the busy schedule of certain members, meeting was postponed, but it would be convened soon.

Ludhiana, March 16
The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation is all set to auction its land, which was allegedly “encroached” upon by independent councillor Veeran Bedi, earlier. The property, measuring 2,800 sq yards, is located in Sunet village and the structures on it were demolished by the civic body on December 5 last year.

An agenda in this regard was put up at the MC general house meeting recently and was passed by the house. For generating revenue, the MC plans to auction seven of its properties, which includes this particular property as well.

The structures constructed on this land were demolished amidst protest by Ludhiana Municipal Corporation officials. Khasra number 106 is reportedly that piece of land which is owned by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation and “some persons” had encroached upon it for more than a decade, while the civic body totally unaware of it.

After an NGO, Maha Sabha, Ludhiana, approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding the matter, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) was asked to investigate the issue. The DC on November 16 directed the MC to get the encroachment removed and take possession of the property as expeditiously as possible. An MC team led by Municipal Town Planner Raj Kumar and Assistant Town Planners Surinder Singh Bindra and Rajinder Sharma demolished the structures, which included a godown, which is owned by Jaspal Singh, an aide of independent councillor Veeran Bedi and a “vehra”.

As per the MC agenda, the collector rate (per sq yard) of this property is Rs 4,600 per sq yard and the reserve/market price for this land is Rs 12,000 per sq yard.

Welcoming this move, Col (Retd) Jagdish Singh Brar, president of Maha Sabha, Ludhiana, and member of the MC monitoring committee on encroachments, said that this way the MC would be able to generate revenue. “We want that the MC should get all its lands vacated from encroachers so that these can be put to maximum use,” he said.

ATP Rajinder Sharma said that now that the MC general house had passed this agenda, the auction in this regard would be planned shortly.

The other properties to be auctioned by MC include 4,463 sq yard land (khasra number 67//19/2, 101 min) near Government School in Kuliewal, 1,180 sq yard (khasra number 173) on Bhamian Road in Kuliewal, 653 sq yard (khasra number 230 min) near Post Office on Chandigarh Road in Jamalpur Awana, 1,004 sq yard (khasra number 17) near Gurudwara Reru Sahib at Lohara village, 232.22 sq yard (khasra number 32//26) near Preet Bal Clinic in Giaspura, 1,200 sq yard (khasra number 64) in Haibowal village and 2,800 sq yards (khasra number 106) in Sunet village.

Chandigarh, March 16
The much-awaited Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link is likely to become operational from March 31. A team of officials drawn from all the departments, which is headed by Railway Divisional Manager (RDM) P K Sangi, today inspected the link.

The RDM said during the inspection, minor faults were found on the line and the departments concerned had been asked to rectify them. He said they had made a request to the Commissioner of Rail Safety (CRS) for inspecting the link but he had not confirmed any date in this regard.

Sources said in the past two weeks, a number of freight train have been run on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana link by the railway authorities on a trial basis to detect faults on the track. Till a team of the CRS inspects the track, the permission to ply trains on it will not be granted by the railway authorities.

The 112-km track between Chandigarh and Ludhiana will help to reduce traffic on the road route. Recently in his budget speech, Union

Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had announced that the link between Chandigarh and Ludhiana would become operational before March 31.

The officials said after the commencement of the Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail track, several trains, which ply on the Ambala-Ludhiana line, will be diverted to Chandigarh.

Jagraon, March 16
Fear gripped the residents of Akhara village, 6 km from Jagraon, when armed assailants allegedly attacked a middle-aged man and opened fire at him this morning. The victim, however, escaped with minor injuries on the back.

The victim has been identified as Tara Singh, a resident of the same village. After the attack, the assailants fled the scene. The members of the victim's family and other villagers took him to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) where he is undergoing treatment. He is stated to be out of danger.

According to sources, around six assailants, who were carrying guns and sharp weapons, attacked Tara Singh at his house and opened fire at him in the morning. Soon after the incident, a police team, led by DSP Jagraon Surinder Kumar and SHO Hathur Dilbagh Singh, arrived at the crime scene.

In his statement to the police, Tara Singh alleged that Jaswant Singh and Kulwant Singh, both residents of Akhara village, Rupinder Singh and Ravinder Singh from Kamalpura village along with other persons attacked him at his house when he was preparing to leave for his fields around 9 am. He alleged that the assailants fired several bullets at him with the motive of killing him because of an old rivalry. After the attack, all the assailants fled the scene.

Surinder Kumar said the police had registered a case against five persons, including Jaswant Singh, Kulwant Singh, Rupinder Singh, Ravinder Singh and one unidentified person under sections 307, 324 and 120 B at the Hathur police station on Tara Singh's statement.

There is an old rivalry between two groups of Akhara village. Last year, too, some assailants from the rival group had allegedly attacked Tara Singh's house. Two assailants were killed after they suffered bullet injuries during the clash.

Ludhiana, March 16
Passers-by spotted a damaged SUV (Scorpio), with blood stains, at a petrol station, near Jawadi village on Pakhowal Road, here today.

Police sources said the SUV had hit a vehicle on the way to Delhi from Ludhiana. Those travelling in it managed to drive the badly damaged vehicle here from Karnal. It hit a cyclist, Kuljit Singh, a resident of Harnampur on Pakhowal Road, in Ludhiana. He was rushed to the Civil Hospital where he is said to be critical. Two persons who were travelling in the SUV were allegedly detained by the police, but they were let off later.

According to eyewitnesses, the two persons were going to Dugri to get the vehicle repaired. On the way, another accident took place. They parked the vehicle near the petrol station and took the injured to a hospital.

Jagroop Singh, in charge of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar police post, said Kuljit Singh was unconscious. We will take action against those travelling in the vehicle after the victim lodges a complaint. He denied the two were detained and later released. The SUV has been impounded.

Ludhiana March 16
A two-day Kisan Mela at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) witnessed enthusiastic and active participation by farmers in various agri-competitions such as crop produce and home science competitions. Dr JS Sandhu, Agricultural Commissioner, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, gave away prizes to winners.

There was great demand for farm literature at the mela. Dr Anil Sharma, business manager, PAU, said that the university sold literature worth Rs 3.60 lakh at the mela. "The sale of literature has been increasing as the farming community knows the significance of farm literature. As compared to last year, we have sold more books this time", informed Sharma.

A large number of farmers attend the mela and it is a good platform for companies to display their products. Firms pay hefty amounts to the university as the mela is a good platform to display their products.

Ludhiana, March 16
The newly appointed president to Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Partap Singh Bajwa, has expressed reservations against property tax being imposed on residents. He said that the Congress would continue to oppose the anti-people policy.

He was addressing party workers at the Ludhiana railway station while on his way to pay obeisance at Sri Darbar Sahib in Amritsar today. On the occasion, party workers, including MLAs, municipal councillors led by Ludhiana DCC (Urban) president Pawan Dewan and DCC (rural) president Malkit Singh Dakha welcomed Bajwa at the station.

The Congressmen were carrying banners and shouting slogans in favour of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, general secretary Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Manish Tewari and Bajwa.

Bajwa further said that the proposed property tax that was being implemented from April 1 onwards would have its adverse impact on everyone across the state. He said the property tax would severely hit the pocket of people who were already facing unemployment, inflation, costly power supply and deteriorating law and order situation. He regretted that instead of understanding the problems of the people, the state government was bent on burdening the common man.

Bajwa said that the party would oppose the property tax and if need be go to the jail and he would be the first one to court arrest. He said the Congress would not tolerate injustice with people of the state at any cost.

Bajwa said he was enthused to see a huge gathering at the station. He said the workers were the strength of the party.

Sahnewal,March 16
Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Public Works Minister, today laid the foundation stone for widening of three roads Katani Kalan village and said that the construction of three railway over bridges has been approved.

The roads to be constructed include Katani Kalan, Karani Khurd, Kot Gangu Rai, Upplan and Sanghe Road.

Speaking on the occasion, the PWD Minister said, “The Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is very keen as far as the overall development of the state is concerned.”

“The 7.2-km-long road will be widened from 10 feet to 18 feet with a cost of Rs 5 crore. The people of the area have been demanding widening of the road as the traffic on this road has increased manifold in the last few years. People of the remote areas of Sahnewal constituency will get direct access to Ludhiana Chandigarh road,” he said.

He said the department has also approved three railway over bridges. The sanctioned bridges are railway over bridge at the Science City, Kapurthla, Malerkotla and Mandi Gobindgarh.

Two holy cities of Punjab namely Sultanpur Lodhi and Chohla Sahib will be connected by constructing high-level bridge on the Beas and Rs 76 crore will be spent on it. “Final touches are being given to the alignment of four laning of Ladhowal bypass which will link Ludhiana-Ferozepur road with the Ludhiana-Amritsar road. A total of Rs 450 crore will be spent on this project. Work on Ropar-Chamkaur Sahib and Neelon-Doraha road is in progress. It will be widened for the convenience of the public. The work will be completed by October 2014,” said Dhillon.

Speaking about the increasing accidents on the roads, Dhillon said speed governors in buses and trucks are a must. “The government will take bold steps to make the journey safe,” he assured.

Among those present on the occasion included Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, Chairman Punjab Mandi Board, Santa Singh Umedpuri, Chairman SS Board Punjab, Ajmer Singh Bhagpur, Chairman Milk Plant Ludhiana, Harinder Singh Lakhowal, Chairman Sugar Mill, Budhewal, and sarpanches and panches of the nearby villages.

Khanna, March 16
Chairman of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited KD Choudhry today laid the foundation stone of a 66kv sub-station at Doburji village near Khanna along with Punjab Assembly Speaker Chranjit Singh Atwal.

On the occasion, Choudhry said people of the state should be ready to feel the heat of hike in electricity bills from April 1. He said that they had already brought the need in hike of the electricity bills to the notice of regulatory commission on whose recommendations decision will be initiated. He said a communication regarding the hike in bills would come up on March 31.

He also said that Doburji area of Khanna was declared as an industrial zone. So under the advance planning they laid the foundation stone of 66 KV sub-station.

Punjab Assembly Speaker Chranjit Singh Atwal said, “The state government is trying its best to make Punjab a power surplus state in few years.”

Khanna, March 16
Punjabi Singer Satinder Sartaj today said that he will donate some part of money collected from the sale of his new CD "Afsaaney Sartaj de" for helping Cancer patients.

He said that Cricketer Yuvraj Singh and he had formed an organisation led by Yuvraj to help the cancer patients. He said they both took this decision when he met Yuvraj after his illness.

Ludhiana, March 16
The general house of the District Bar Association today elected NPS Gahir as the returning officer for conducting the annual election of the body.

Later, Gahir appointed JS Sanghe and PS Batra as the assistant returning officers. Gahir said the aspiring contestants may file nomination from March 19 to 21. The scrutiny of nomination papers will be done on March 22. Voting will be done on April 5 from 9 to 4 pm and results will be declared on the same evening.

Ludhiana, March 16
Pratip Chaudhuri, chairman, State Bank Group, during his visit to Ludhiana today handed over the keys of three ambulances (equipped with ultra modern medical care units) to Mohinder Singh Bakshi, president, Guru Teg Bahadur Sahib Charitable Hospital.

The vehicles donated by the Bank will be used to render medical care services to poor people.

Chaudhuri said that SBI under its corporate social responsibility scheme undertakes such activities to keep up to its commitment for the welfare of the needy sections of the society. During the current year, the bank had donated 1,40,000 fans and 40,000 water purifiers to schools across India. Apart from this, more than 275 Ambulances have also been donated by the bank across India, out of which 25 have been donated by the Chandigarh circle.

Doraha, March 16
The ATM machine of SBI, which has been lying defunct for the past one and a half year, would finally be replaced in a week’s time. This was said by RK Tandon, manager, State Bank of India.

This would come as a welcome relief for the customers who had no other option but to depend on the ATM’s of other banks, especially that of State Bank of Patiala.

Ludhiana March 16
The city police claimed to have busted a gang of opium smugglers here today. The police arrested three accused and recovered 3 kg of opium from their possession.

In a press release Ishwar Singh, Commissioner of Police said that the Crime Investigation Agency-2 (CIA-2) had received a tip off that a gang of smugglers were coming to deliver opium in Ludhiana district.

The accused persons were identified as Arjun Paswan, resident of Salempur village, Girjesh Dass, resident of Bijhara village and Ram Kumar, resident of Take Kuppa village of Gaya district (Bihar). The police said that one of their accomplices, Soma Rani, resident of Mangat village, was still at large.

Police officials said that they got a tip off that the three accused would come to Mangat village for the delivery of opium.

"The police had set up a temporary check post at T-point at Seerha village to nab the smugglers. On reaching the check post, the accused tried to flee the spot. The police succeeded in nabbing them", informed Inspector Gurbans Singh, In charge of the CIA-2. The gang members used to bring opium from Bihar and earn good money by selling it in Punjab.

After the arrest, the police party raided Soma Rani’s house at Mangat village, but she had fled before the police party could reach her house.

A case has been registered at the Mehrban police station against four persons.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, March 16
The Sudhar police has nabbed kingpin of a gang that has been involved in the distribution of habit-forming drugs among youths and labourers. 10,500 ml of a cough syrup was seized from his possession.

The accused has been identified as Deepak Kumar Singh of Dhandari Kalan, Ludhiana.

A police party supervised by Rajesh Sharma, SHO, Sudhar police station, nabbed the accused at Ghuman Chowk on Raekot-Mullanpur road today.

The accused used to purchase scheduled drugs from a person on whole sale prices at Pindi street market in Ludhiana and supply the same to youths and labourer through his network.

The police is yet to identify his regular customers and agents.

Samrala, March 16
The Samrala Police has arrested a person and recovered 18,000 tablets of habit-forming drugs from his possession.

SHO Samrala Harjinder Singh said a team of the Hedon Police Chowki officials under Samrala the police station had laid a naka near bus stop at Hedon. The police party noticed a person with a heavy bag. When the police party stopped him and searched his bag, large quantities of drugs were recovered from his bag. The seizure includes 11,000 tablets of Phenotil, 6,500 capsules of Parvan Spas and 40 bottles of Rexcof.

The arrested person has been identified as Charanjit Singh, a resident of Lal Kalan village. The police has registered a case under the NDPS Act. The accused will be presented in the court tomorrow.

Ludhiana, March 16
The Court of Additional Sessions Judge Mandeep Pannu has convicted Sukhjit Singh, alias Sukhi, of Nai Abadi, Manku Motor Wali Gali, Samrala Road, Khanna, to rigorous life imprisonment on the charges of raping and murdering a six-and-a-half-year-old girl.

Delivering the verdict, the court held that the prosecution had proved the case against the accused. It also dismissed the plea for leniency raised by the convict, with the remarks the accused had committed a henious crime. A fine of Rs 20,000 was also imposed on Sukhjit.

However, the court acquitted Navdeep Singh of Model Town, Samrala Road, Khanna, as the case could not be proved against him.

A case under section 376 of the IPC was registered against the accused at Khanna on March 3, 2009, on a statement of the victim's father.