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Shopkeepers lay siege to Ferozepur Road
Ludhiana, May 14 Protesting against the anti-encroachment drive being carried by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation and the police, hundreds of shopkeepers had closed their establishments today. The bandh call was given by the Joint Action committee of the Aarti Chowk Shopkeepers’ Association and the Bharat Nagar Chowk Shopkeepers’ Association. All shops on Ferozepur Road were closed today. One of the shopkeepers, Deepak Badyal, showed a document where the MC had issued tenders to develop spots for parking vehicles in 2007. “The MC had spent crores to develop spots for parking. But now all of a sudden, the authorities have started torturing the shopkeepers by banning parking of vehicles in front of their shops,” said Badyal. The protesters said the parking spots were neither developed on Ferozepur Road nor on service lanes and were not causing any hindrance to the smooth flow of traffic. “Some police personal are permanently deputed on the road and they are not permitting residents to park their vehicles here. Our business has been hit,” lamented another shopkeeper. The shopkeepers also held a rally at Aarti Chowk which was attended by MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Deputy Mayor RD Sharma and councillor Gurpreet Singh Gogi. Later, they submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner. A senior MC official confirmed that spots for parking of vehicles were developed on Ferozepur Road. “But the court did not admit this plea and ordered the MC not to allow parking at these spots,” he said. MC Commissioner Rakesh Kumar Verma said they were abiding by the orders of the court. “If the shopkeepers have any problem, they can move the court. Moreover, for the eight-laining project on Ferozepur Road, we already have a proposal to develop parking lots alongside the road,” he said.
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Realtors find flaws with draft policy
Kuldip Bhatia
Ludhiana, May 14 In a memorandum submitted to the state government, Kultar Singh Jogi, president of the association, pointed out that as per the draft policy, the unauthorised colonies developed before the cut-off date (August 17, 2007) would have to pay compounding fee of Rs 2 lakh per acre (in big cities as per the declared potential zones), and development charges of Rs 600 per square yard would be payable by the plot/property holders. "In other words, put together the developers and buyers of plots would have to pay anything between Rs 25-30 lakh per acre. As per the then prevailing policy, the government used to charge a maximum fee of Rs 3.5 lakh per acre in the approved colonies carved out before 2007," Jogi said. He pleaded that in accordance with the notification dated April 15, 2011, the compounding fee for the colonies developed before the cut-off date be kept at Rs 40,000 per acre. The realtors’ body stated that the compounding fee of Rs 8 lakh per acre proposed in the draft policy for colonies developed after the cut-off date, in addition to development charges of Rs 850 per square yard, worked out to be in the range of Rs 40-45 lakh per acre. As against this, the government used to charge a maximum of Rs 24 lakh per acre in the approved colonies carved out after the 2007. This included the change of land use charges, licence fee and external development charges. "In this category also, the compounding fee be maintained at Rs 40,000 per acre as per notification of April 15, 2011," Jogi pleaded. Terming the classification of unlicensed colonies developed after the cut off date into three categories as complicated, the association maintains that for regularisation, there should be only two categories where the sale of plots is up to 25 per cent and from 25 to 100 per cent, in order to make the policy simple, hassle-free and practical. Jogi also asked the government to accept affidavits of plot/property holders to determine the quantum of sale of plots in unauthorised colonies rather than going by the registered sale deeds. "It is a common practice that most of the plots are sold on the basis of power of attorney or agreements and sale deeds are registered at a later stage," he added. The association made a fervent plea with the government to discuss the draft policy in detail with the stake holders before it was given a final shape.
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Teachers accuse Guru Nanak Girls College management of harassment
Ludhiana, May 14 They have been asked to be present before the commission at Chandigarh on May 22 at 12.30 pm. Prithipal Singh said the women commission had summoned the trio following several complaints by the staff members. “The college authorities are denying maternity leave to women employees. Against 20 casual leaves in a year, the college authorities are giving only eight casual leaves to the staff. Not only this, the leave is sanctioned on the recommendation of the principal,” alleged Prithipal Singh. When contacted, president of GNG College Trust, Gurbir Singh said the allegations levelled by the secretary were baseless and the principal would file a reply in the commission. "Besides, the secretary himself is a part of the trust and is equally responsible if there is any lapse. The maternity and casual leaves are sanctioned by the principal,” said the president. Principal Dr Charanjit Kaur Mahal could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. In another development, Panjab University had constituted a five-member committee, including Dr Aruna Goel, Dr Rajesh Gill, Dr Nandita, principal KN Kaul and Prof JS Raghu, to look into the allegations levelled against the management of Guru Nanak Girls College. The first meeting of the committee was held in Chandigarh on May 10. The committee had asked the management to file a reply by May 17. The next meeting will be held on May 18. President of the college trust Gurbir Singh said he was not aware of any committee constituted by the university. “I will write to the Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University to take an affidavit from the complainant. All the allegations are baseless,” he said. The allegations The college authorities are denying maternity leave to women employees. Against 20 casual leaves in a year, the college authorities are giving only eight casual leaves to the staff. Not only this, the leave is sanctioned on the recommendation of the principal
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Passengers feel the heat as fans remain non-functional at railway station
Ludhiana, May 14 Helpless passengers have no other option but to wait for their trains in sweltering heat. A visit to the railway station this afternoon revealed that not even a single fan on platforms number 2 and 3 was functional. Rudresh Kumar, who was to board a train to Amritsar, said: "It is very difficult to wait for a train under these circumstances. Not even a single fan is functional here.” Unable to bear the heat, an infant was crying continuously in his mother’s lap. The child’s mother, Suman, said: “I fail to understand why these fans have been installed when they don’t function. Our train is late by over 30 minutes. I wish I could have come late.” Passengers waiting in long queues were seen wiping sweat from their faces with handkerchiefs and towels. Some passengers were seen holding hand fans and newspapers to keep themselves cool. When contacted, station superintendent Ravinder Sharma said he was out of station.
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Two-wheelers parked outside school confiscated
Ludhiana, May 14 The MC had warned school authorities not to allow parking of vehicles outside their premises. A majority of schools don’t allow their students to come on two-wheelers as they don’t possess a valid driving licence. However, the authorities fail to take action when students park their vehicles along the boundary wall of the school. Zone D superintendent of the tehbazaari wing Naveen Malhotra said the MC would not allow illegal parking. “Even if the vehicle is parked outside the school premises, we would confiscate it,” he warned. Meanwhile, the tehbazaari wing officials also removed 18 illegal signboards from Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Model Town, Sarabha Nagar, Maya Nagar and some other areas of the city. The MC also challaned 16 encroachers. |
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Court: Collect blood samples of Congress leader’s brother
Ludhiana, May 14 Charanjit Singh is undergoing treatment at the DMCH. The court of additional civil judge (senior division) Amrinderpal Singh ordered the Civil Hospital doctors to collect Charanjit’s blood samples for the DNA test. Meanwhile, the court also ordered the petitioner, Bupinder Kaur, to deposit Rs 5,000. Bupinder Kaur claimed that Charanjit Singh was the father of her two sons.
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Show-cause notices served on 150 employees
Ludhiana, May 14 Singh said that his department had prepared a list of about 150 employees from various departments, who did not turn up for the rehearsals on May 12. "We are being fair and asking them as to why they were not present to perform their duties. We will definitely consider those having genuine problem but action will be taken against erring employees. In extreme cases, it might affect their annual confidential reports
(ACRs)", said Singh. One of the employees at the ADC (D) office said that a majority of those who did not report on the election duties on May 12 were women, who could have genuine problems. "But notices will be served to all and only they will tell us the reason behind their absence. We have prepared the list and will be sending them notices today itself", said the
employee. Aparna Sharma (name changed), an employee, said that she could not be present on duty as she was in the family way. "A few days ago, I had gone to meet an official of the district administration, who asked me to wait till notices were served. The official said that it was not possible to cut my name from the list, as the list had already been sent to the Returning Officers/Supervisors concerned. Now, when I will get the notice, I will file a reply", she said. During all the meetings of the Panchayat elections, the District Election Officer had made it clear since a large number of staff was required to perform the duties, no one would be exempted from duty except for those having a genuine reason. Even a delegation of teachers had submitted a memorandum that one of the spouses (in case of both working) should be exempted from duty. The officials in the district administration had maintained since both the spouses were drawing salaries separately, both were bound to perform their own duties.
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MCPI demands Prime Minister’s resignation on moral grounds
Ludhiana, May 14 The state committee of the party, which met here today under the presidentship of Zora Singh noted the blatant misuse of official machinery by the ruling coalition in the ongoing Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections. It urged the State Election Commission, to ensure free and fair elections. Kuldip Singh, member of the state committee, said the party vociferously opposed the hike in diesel prices while maintaining that it would hit the economy very hard and add fuel to inflation, which had already made the life of common man miserable. At the meeting, they criticised the government for slashing the subsidy on food grain and other
items of daily use being supplied to the people below the poverty line while also charging that the supply was inadequate and erratic. Through other resolutions adopted at the meeting, the MCPI flayed power cuts and inadequate power supply to the agricultural sector, revision of minimum wages
while also asking the Indian and the Pakistan governments to ensure safety of jail inmates which had recently witnessed fatal attacks on Sarbjit Singh in Kot Lakhpat Lail in Lahore and Sanaullah in Bhalawat Jail in Jammu and Kashmir.
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Campaigning yet to gain momentum in Jagraon area
Jagraon, May 14 The campaigning has started in some of the villages, but there has been little enthusiasm regarding the elections among the candidates belonging to different political parties. The leadership and the candidates of both the major political parties, including the ruling SAD-BJP alliance and the main apposition, the Congress, seems very much inactive. Though the candidates of the ruling alliance have begun their campaigning but the opposition candidates are way behind. The vigour that used to be at its peak among the candidates as well as their supporters in the past years has been missing this time. Quite surprisingly, the voters too are showing no eagerness towards the elections as compared to the past polls. The village “saths” (common assembly points of the villagers) which used to be abuzz with election-related talks and political activities during the election time in the past years are inactive these days.
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GGN School bags honour
Nehru Sidhant Kendra Trust on Tuesday commemorated the upcoming 49th death anniversary of India's first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The trust had earlier organised the 20th inter-school declamation contest in which 31 schools from Ludhiana participated. The winners were given prizes during the function. The champions’ trophy was bagged by GGN Public School. Besides this individual prizes were also given to the students. Scholarship cheques worth Rs 5,29,750 were given to students of 28 Ludhiana-based schools. Bank officers’ meeting
The UCO Bank Officers’ Association, Punjab, on Tuesday organised a meting to welcome DN Thakur on his first visit to Punjab after becoming the officers’ director in the bank board. The facilitation programme was addressed by DSK Nandi, circle general manager of UCO Bank, Chandigarh. Thakur, while adressing the officers, stressed upon the need of complete solidarity among them to maintain the status of the organisation within the bank. Congress women wing meets
A special meeting of the women wing of the Congress party was held on Tuesday. Leena Taparia presided over it. Discussions were held with women members from the district. It was decided to appoint 31 women members from every ward to strengthen the base of the party. The city has been divided into six zones for this purpose. Taparia said for the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, the 31-member committee of women will be given the responsibility of making the public aware about the anti-people policies of the Akali-BJP alliance. Ration distribution
A ration distribution function was organised by the management committee of Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh at Model Town Extension on Tuesday. Dr Tejinder Pal Singh, vice-president of Shiromani Akali Dal, and Baba Ajit Singh, president of the gurdwara committee, distributed the ration to around 100 needy women. School building inaugurated
The newly constructed building of Government Primary School, Haibowal, was inaugurated on Tuesday by MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu. Speaking on the occasion, Ashu said children were the future of the country. He appreciated the school staff for not only teaching the children, but also keeping the environment clean. He also distributed books to the students under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan programme. Medical camp
A free gynaecology camp was held on the premises of RG Stone Urology and Laparoscopic Hospital, Model Town. Around 100 patients were examined by doctors of the hospital. Free investigations were done and free medicines were also distributed among the patients. Dr Richa also provided information on how to prevent uterine tumour, ovarian cyst, ovarian tumour and cancer. Martyrdom Day
On the 24th Martyrdom Day of Gurmail Singh Hunjan and Joginder Singh, a public meeting was organised at their native village of Pandher Kheri in Dehlon block. Thousands of people gathered to pay homage to the leaders. While paying homage, Bant Singh Brar, Punjab state secretary of CPI praised the sacrifice made by the duo during the days of terrorism in the state. On this occasion, a free ENT medical check-up camp was also organised. Dr Arun Mitra examined over 200 patients, who were also given free medicines. Cultural performances were presented by a team from Bathinda.
— TNS
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Aggrieved parents seek DC’s help
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, May 14 "The school is being run in a residential area and does not have a playground too," said Jaspreet Singh, president of the foundation, who was approached by the aggrieved parents, complaining that the school authorities were not giving them a patient hearing. In the memorandum, parents have sought an immediate action against the school authorities. "School authorities kept fleecing parents by increasing the fee every now and then. The parents were also duped as they were told the school was affiliated to the CBSE. It is, in fact, using the GLADA ground as a playground for the students,” stated Jaspreet Singh in the memorandum. Each student was paying a monthly fee of around Rs 5,000, while the fee structure at the other branches of the school was different, he said. "It is only the Dugri branch that is charging such a huge amount of fee, that too without getting affiliated to the CBSE," said Jaspreet. The school principal, Parveena John, commenting on the issue, said the school was in the process of getting affiliated to the CBSE. “We only recently upgraded the school to Class VIII from Class V. The question of affiliation arises only when the school is up to the senior-secondary level. We are in the process of completing the formalities and will soon get affiliated to the CBSE. The school is following every norm and not violating any condition laid down by the board,” she said.
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Graduation ceremony
It was a day of new beginning, fun and frolic as the tiny tots of the kindergarten at Green Land School, Jalandhar Bye Pass, bid farewell to their teachers who had helped them get through their years of informal learning. On their graduation day, they along with their seniors from Class I presented a cultural programme. The function commenced with the Saraswati Vandana rendered by the students of Class I. It was followed by various dance performances that enthralled the audience. The performance by Srishty, one of the graduating students, was well received. A PowerPoint presentation highlighting the students’ activities during the past three years was also shown. Talent hunt
A talent hunt show was organised at Green Land Convent School for the pre-primary section students. The function provided a platform to the students to showcase their talent through various activities including dance, singing, speech, recitation, instrumental music, mimicry and mono acting. All the participants were cheered for by other students. The performance by one of the Kindergarten students, Aryan, left the audience spellbound. The school principal, Jyoti Sachdev Pujara, felicitated the winners. Anshul shines at karate meet
Ansual Garg, a Class XI student of Green Grove School, won two gold medals at International Karate-Do Championship held at Patiala. The school students brought laurels to their institute by winning gold and silver medals at the meet organised by All-India Pacific Karate-Do body recognised by Indian Olympic Association. Harsahil of Class V won a silver medal, while Gursimran, also of Class V, brought home a bronze. Investiture ceremony
GGN Public School, Rose Garden, conducted the investiture and swearing-in ceremony for the student council appointed for the 2013-14 session. Sargunpreet Kaur and Icchpuneet Singh have been appointed as the school captain and vice-captain respectively. All the House captains, vice-captains, senior prefects and prefects were given badges and sashays by director principal S Karnail Singh. He administered the oath to the entire student council. Mother's Day
Jagraon: Mother's Day was celebrated with fervour at ABC Montessori Pre-school. Children welcomed their mothers by giving flowers. Mothers played various games conducted by the school authorities. They cut the cake to celebrate the occasion.
— Tribune Reporters
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Manish Tewari to start three-day tour in villages of Ludhiana district from today
Ludhiana, May 14 Tewari will be visiting Tihara, Sherpur Kalan, Galib Kalan, Gurusar Kaunke, Kaunke kalan, Deharka, Chakkar, Lakha, Cheema, Cheemna, Aligarh, sidhwan kalan tomorrow. On Thursday he will be visiting village Jassian, Partap Singh Wala, Nurpur Bet, Jaspal Bangar, Tharor, Khanpur, Dehlon, Threeke, Jasdev Nagar and Gill villages. However, on Friday he will be touring Ayali Kalan, Mullanpur, Jassowal, Jodhan, Majri and Latala. Malkit Singh Dakha, president of district Congress Committee (Rural) said that Tewari would address public gatherings in these villages.The party workers are making preparations for his visit.
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Star cast of ‘Jats in Golmaal’ descend on city
Ludhiana, May 14 Sameksha who has also featured in South Indian films will be the lead actress in the film. "It was fun while working for the film and we hope to create a magic on the screen as well. Punjabi films are becoming popular and today it is at par with the Hindi film industry," she
said. BN Sharma, who also stars in the film, said, "The film is a good comedy with a hidden message for those who are eager to move to greener pastures," he signs off.
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Fraudsters held
Ludhiana, May 14 The Division No. 5 police got a tip-off that the duo was going to a bank on Mall Road. The police personnel on duty at Bharat Nagar Chowk nabbed the duo outside the HDFC Bank branch. Both were travelling a car with a fake number. According to the police, the accused used to get loans sanctioned from the nationalised banks and duped the people by taking commission from them. The police also recovered the money they were about to deposit in the bank.
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Meritorious students felicitated
Ludhiana, May 14 A cultural extravaganza added glamour to the occasion. Eminent folk artistes captivated the audience with their performances. Students turned nostalgic while expressing their gratitude to the faculty members.
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Heroin worth Rs 20 lakh
seized
Ludhiana, May 14 "The accused was coming on a scooter from the Jalandhar side. The police personnel deployed there got suspicious of him. During the search of his scooter, we found 40 gms of heroin," the SHO said. The preliminary investigation revealed that Gurinder got the contraband from Amritsar. He reached the city to supply it to consumers, the police said. Gurinder had been peddling narcotics for the past year and a half, the police said. Case registered against unidentified burglar
The police has registered a case against an unidentified person who in January this year, posing as a colleague of a Ghumar Mandi resident, robbed 18-tola gold and Rs 40,000 from his house when the victim's 80-year-old mother was alone at home. In his complaint to the police, Baldev Raj, who lives on Heera Singh Road in Ghumar Mandi, stated that he was in Hoshiarpur to attend a marriage on January 1 when the incident occurred. The accused came to his house and told his mother that he was a colleague of her son. He asked for a glass of water. In the meanwhile, he allegedly broke locks of the safe and took away the gold and cash. The police booked a case under Section 457 and 380 of the IPC.
Travel agent in police net
The city police has booked a travel agent for duping a youth of Rs 6.30 lakh on the pretext of sending him abroad. The accused, identified as Harbans Singh, is a resident of Bhaini Sahib village. According to the police, the accused duped Gurmel Singh, a resident of Maashian village. Gurmel had paid Harbans for travelling to the UK. Chamkur Singh, in-charge, Katani Kalan police post, said the accused was a proclaimed offender in two similar cases of duping people. He had been running the travel agency for years.
20 booked for obstructing SDO from performing duty
Dehlon: The Dehlon police has booked 20 persons for obstructing the government employees from performing their duty. The case was registered against one Tikka Singh and his 19 accomplices on the complaint of SDO, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited sub-division, Sareehn. Station House Officer, Dehlon, Satinderpal Singh said the power corporation SDO had seized the electric wires by with Tikka Singh used to run his tubewell by connecting it to the power lines. According to the complainant, the accused persons came to his office and forcibly took back the seized wires.
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