Ludhiana, June 18
Finally, the Sidhwan Canal bridge was thrown open to traffic today in a haste as two layers of wearing coat were not laid on the bridge.

PWD Minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, who was to inaugurate the bridge, could not make it due to some prior engagements.

The delay in opening of the bridge was highlighted in these columns on Tuesday.

The new bridge will ease the traffic congestion on the busy Ferozepur Road. The construction work on the new bridge started on April 5.

The commuters travelling on Ferozepur Road were seen relieved today as both the bridges were open to traffic. For the past more than four months, only the old bridge was being used for the two-way traffic, leading to congestion.

The authorities say that both the bridges will remain open for the next few days. The old bridge will be closed only when the work on an underpass starts.

Pardeep Kumar, AGM, Supreme Infrastructure India Ltd, the company constructing the bridge, said they were informed about the inauguration this morning.

“At 11:30 am, we were told by senior PWD officers that Sharanjit Singh Dhillon would not be able to attend the function. That is why the bridge was opened for vehicular traffic without holding any formal function,” said Kumar.

Ludhiana, June 18
Throwing rules to wind, some unidentified persons allegedly took out goods lying on the premises of Caliber Plaza, which was sealed by the municipal corporation on May 2011.

The act was captured on the CCTV camera installed near the office. When some shopkeepers saw the CCTV footage, they were surprised to see the unidentified persons breaking the seal and taking out the goods from the premises in broad daylight. The shopkeepers have approached the MC and have demanded registration of an FIR against the culprits.

On May 20, 2011, an MC team led by the then ATP, Kamaljit Kaur, sealed the office of M/S Calibre Plaza after the shopkeepers failed to remove the building bylaws violations. “The shopkeepers keep their goods and even dummies in the corridor. The lift had been shifted from the place where it had been shown in the site plan with the MC and escalators installed in the market complex were not working. Similarly, two bathrooms meant for the shopkeepers had also been locked. We also got a complaint regarding the supply of water from the RO plant installed in the market to other areas outside the market complex,” ATP Kamaljit Kaur had told The Tribune on May 20, 2011.

In March 2011, the MC officials had set a deadline of two months for the shopkeepers to remove the violations. At that time, the then Municipal Town Planner (MTP) Hemant Batra had also held a meeting with representatives of the shopkeepers’ association of Calibre Plaza, also known as the AC market, located near Bhadaur House in the city. When MC officials visited the multi-storeyed Calibre Plaza on May 20, 2011, they found that the shopkeepers had not removed the violations. The canteen in the basement, which was demolished on December 14, 2010, was also functioning as usual. Satish Kumar, who owns a shop at Calibre Plaza, complained that the seal was broken.

OFFICIALSPEAK
Assistant Town Planner, Zone A, Harpreet Ghai said: “I have joined recently. I am yet to read the case file. I have come to know that the office of Calibre Plaza was never sealed. It was only locked. Some persons have taken out goods from the office and again locked the office,” he claimed.

But when reminded about the CCTV footage in possession of The Tribune, he said he would look into the matter.

Ludhiana, June 18
An eight-member team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today conducted a raid at the city railway station.

The team led by inspectors Jagdish Kumar and Kuldeep Singh checked the records at the booking counters.

Sources said that the CBI team took documents in its possession. The raid was conducted following complaints that the railway station had turned into a den of corruption. It is learnt that the team will submit its report to the railway ministry. 

Ludhiana, June 18
The Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) has been rapped on the knuckles by the audit wing for purchasing electrical items much in advance which led to the blockage of Rs 44.88 lakh for more than a year causing loss of revenue in the form of bank interest.

A copy of the audit report of GLADA for 2011-12 obtained under the Right to Information Act by Rohit Sabharwal and Arvind Sharma, president and secretary of the Council of RTI Activists, indicated that GLADA had purchased 548 units of 45 watt LED lamps for providing streetlights on the under construction eight-lane road from Sidhwan Canal to octroi post on Ferozepur Road at a cost of Rs 44,88,120.

As per the audit report, the material was received on January 22, 2012, and the full payment was made to the supplier on February 12, 2012.

“Scrutiny of records revealed that the material was not utilised till February 2013 on the work for which it had been purchased. This has not only resulted in purchase of stores much in advance of requirement but blockage of funds to the extent of Rs 44.88 lakh for more than one year, and has also caused loss of interest to the tune of Rs 2,24,406 to GLADA (calculated simple interest on saving account at the rate of five percent)," the auditors pointed out while asking the officials to provide reasons for purchase of stores without assessing the requirement and non-completion of work in time.

In a stern note to the Executive Engineer, Electrical Division, GLADA, the auditors have remarked that responsibility for purchase of material much in advance and causing financial loss be fixed.

GLADA officials said the work of 8-laning projects was delayed for a variety of reasons, and the LED lamps purchased for the purpose of providing street lights will be installed very shortly on the road which is near completion now. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 18
The news of the death of a large number of devotees, due to the cloud burst in Badrinath, on Monday sent shock waves among the residents of this part of Malwa.

Rajesh Joshi, Rakesh Kumar and Sanjay Mittal of Mandi Ahmedagarh are on a pilgrimage to Badrinatth, but their families are worried lot as none of them could be contacted.

People remained busy in enquiring the well-being of their friends and relatives who had gone to pay obeisance at the shrine and the volunteers of social and religious organisations organising langars there.

The residents who could not contact their family members, left for the shrines with an aim of finding them. They were accompanied by the activists and office-bearers of social and religious organisations, who besides feeling concerned about safety of devotees, intended to contribute towards the rescue operations.

Ravinder Puri, president municipal council, and Bimal Sharma Billu, municipal councillor and patron, Shree Ram Mandir Committee said some residents, who could not contact their family members were rather more concerned.

They further said,"After coming to know about their difficulties in collecting the information, we asked volunteers of various organisations at shrines of Badrinath, Gangotri and Kedarnath to collect and pass on information about the devotees of those areas. We have established an enquiry counter at the municipal council and Shree Ram Mandir dharamshala for convenience of anxious families." They added that a large number of devotees of the area were stranded at places which were disconnected from rest of world due to heavy rains during the past few days.

The residents, whose family members had left for pilgrimage about a week ago, remained glued to their TVs for the updates about situation at the various shrines. However, those who were able to contact their kins were a bit relieved.

Tarsem Garg, a social activist and Jaigopal Joshi, relative of a pilgrim, said they had tough time convincing families who were stranded at the various shrine after rains.

"Having failed to convince them in a normal manner, we made the parents of stranded devotees talk to the bureaucrats of the concerned area, who assured them the safety of their wards,"said Garg. He further added that he had sought help of his bureaucratic friends in contacting concerned officials. 

Doraha, June 18
The road along Doraha bridge is in critical state but who cares? It has been years together but no single authority has shown any concern towards this. Ironically, half of the road has disappeared altogether. The municipal council says it is PWD's baby while the latter too refuses to adopt it by putting the onus on the NHAI which in turn is in severe financial crunch.

The road having contracted fissures, gaps and potholes has worsened to the extent that it is no longer visible now. This road is tredded upon by thousands of vehicles ranging from two wheelers to heavy commercial vehicles. Due to absence of any recarpeting, coupled with poor maintenance, the condition of the road is simply pitiable.

The road is used by commuters as a matter of routine. With the passage of time, the road has degenerated and a road user has to think twice before putting his vehicles wheels on such a crooked road, which may easily give slip discs and bone injuries to the weaker ones.

This road serves as a major link from under the Doraha bridge towards national highway, for all those coming from Chandigarh-Neelon side and going towards Ludhiana, besides the residents of Doraha and surrounding villages. The commuters have no other option as there is no alternate route to be adopted. The big potholes have made travelling for the two wheelers next to impossible. The broken dusty stretch is not only troublesome for the commuters but also for the villagers, who reside alongside the canal. "The uncomfortable and jerky road is too heavy to be tolerated any more. With the recent downpour, the situation has become so critical that it is impossible for the commuters to judge that at

which point they are suddenly rendered pathless. The problem aggravates during the night hours as the visibility reduces and due to poor judgement" shared a resident of Rajgarh village.

Ludhiana, June 18
The Ludhiana Sikh Migrants Welfare Board has charged the officials of the district administration and the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) with giving a raw deal to the genuine victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots at the behest of certain self-styled leaders of riot victims and 'kabza-mafia'.

Addressing a press conference today, chairman of the board Kartar Singh Patna alleged that the draw of lots conducted by GLADA for the allotment of residential flats to riot victims on June 17 was carried out on the directions of 'ill-reputed' operators of 'kabza mafia' who had usurped government property in the name of bogus riot victims.

Terming the draw of lots a cruel joke, Patna maintained that the names of a large number of genuine applicants were not included in the draw while some others had managed to get multiple slips in their name, thus increasing their chances of getting the flats.

In support of his allegations of gross irregularities committed in conducting the draw, the leader of the Sikh migrants body quoted an instance of a female applicant having been bashed up by members of the 'kabza mafia' when she objected to the way applicants had been chosen for inclusion in the draw of lots.

He said 145 eligible applicants had filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking allotment of MIG flats. "The HC issued a notice of motion on June 10, 2013d to GLADA which is to come up for hearing on July 3,2013. The names of the petitioners have not been taken into consideration in the draw of lots whereas these should have been taken up on priority," Patna asserted while demanding that the draw ought to be cancelled and conducted again in a fair and a transparent manner.

GLADA officials, however, stoutly refuted the charges saying the two groups of riot victims, owing allegiance to different political parties, were trading charges in a bid to draw political mileage.

"The draw of lot for allotment of flats to riot victims was conducted in a fair and a completely transparent manner," a senior GLADA official claimed.

Jagraon, June 18
Isher Singh Meharban, a former minister and senior Congress leader, claimed that the Congress party is completely united and fully prepared for the upcoming panchayat elections in Punjab. Meharban stated this while presiding over a meeting of local congress workers.

He claimed, "There is no rift among the party workers and the party is completely united. Though our political opponents are spreading the news of a rift in the Congress party, we would leave no stone unturned to win the panchayat elections", said Meharban, who had lost to the SAD candidate, SR Kaler, during the last assembly elections from Jagraon.

Meharban, who is also in charge of Congress party in Jagraon constituency, motivated the party workers to actively take part in the party affairs and attach maximum people with the Congress to make the party stronger. Meharban also welcomed the appointment of former chief minister Captain Amrinder Singh as permanent invitee of Congress Working Committee (CWC).

"The appointment of Captain Amrinder Singh in CWC is a very good sign for the Congress party. This move has filled a new enthusiasm among the party workers. I am quite sure that the Congress party would emerge victorious in the panchayat elections in Punjab", maintained Meharban. A large number of party workers were also present during the meeting. 

Ludhiana, June 18
In a bid to boost non-conventional energy as an alternative source of power generation, the Punjab Government has announced a subsidy bonanza under different schemes of the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA).

Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari today stated that it was the need of the hour to motivate general public to opt for non-conventional energy sources as it was very difficult to mitigate the current need of power through conventional sources only because the requirement had increased manifold in the recent past.

Appreciating the efforts of PEDA in striving hard for developing and promoting new non-conventional energy sources under various attractive and people-friendly schemes, Tiwari said PEDA had successfully installed 73 domestic solar water heaters with a daily heating capacity of 100-500 litres. A subsidy of Rs 12.32 lakh is being given on these. It has also installed 20 commercial solar water heaters having a capacity of 1,000-3,000 litres.

The Deputy Commissioner said PEDA was also providing subsidy of Rs 4,500 on tube collector solar heater of 100 litres capacity and Rs 6,600 subsidy on plate collector solar heater.

Each domestic solar heater system can save more than 100 units of power every month.

A subsidy of 30 per cent is being given on solar cookers.

He said the cost of a parabolic solar cooker which could cook food for 100 persons was Rs 2.88 lakh and a subsidy of Rs 86,400 was being given on it.

Tiwari said, "We must use solar energy to save our conventional overloaded power sources." 

Ludhiana, June 18
Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari today held a meeting with officials of various departments to review arrangements for flood prevention.

The DC told the officials that 16 places apart from Dhussi Band on the Sutlej had been declared sensitive.

Tiwari said work of laying stones at Mattewara, Khehra bet and Madepur had been started.

Tiwari said they were ready to face any situation.

Teams have been formed to keep a 24-hour vigil on Dhussi Band.

Tiwari said the SDMs would be the nodal officers at the sub-division level for flood-control measures.

"SDMs and DSPs will be preparing a list of the flood-prone villages. Contact numbers of sarpanches will also be mentioned on the list.

He directed officials to arrange JCBs.

SHOs have been directed to prepare a list of divers. A flood control room (2400394) will be set up by the administration from June 20 to September 30.

The Municipal Corporation's helpline number is 2748412 and the district health department's control room number is 2444193. 

Ludhiana, June 18
Fifteen more Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTC) will be set up in the city, taking the tally to 35.

District programme officer for AIDS control, Ludhiana, Dr US Sooch said, "There are two types of ICTC centres 'standalone' and 'facility integrated'. Two centres will be opened at Pakhowal and Sahnewal while the remaining 13 will be set up at Ghawaddi, Mansuran, Mehdudan, Issaru, Hambran, Talwandi Kalan, Bopairai Kalan, Koomkalan, Ladowal, Mattewara and Chowkimaan, Mullanpur and Rampur.

At 'facility integrated' centres, only the screening and counselling of HIV positive patients is done while at 'standalone' centres, confirmation of HIV is done.

Ludhiana district has nine 'standalone' and 11 'facility integrated' centres.

Dr Sooch said the centres will be opened by September or October.

As far as HIV cases are concerned, Ludhiana ranks third in the state.

Ludhiana, June 18
The labour department with the help of an NGO, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, today rescued 10 children working in industrial units at Shimplapuri and Salem Tabri.

"A district task force has been entrusted with the task of rescuing children," said Mona Puri, labour commissioner.

Harcharan Singh, member, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, said they had filed a complaint with the Deputy Commissioner, following which the DC constituted the team to check child labour.

The children were taken for medical examination. "They will be sent to child care home," said Harcharan Singh. 

Ludhiana, June 18
Members of the Textile-Hosiery Kamgar Union (THKU), Karkhana Mazdoor Union (KMU) and Naujawan Bharat Sabha (NBS) submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner seeking security.

They told the DC that the incidents of robbery and snatching were on the rise.

They said miscreants targeted colonies in slum areas.

On June12, hundreds of labourers staged a dharna on Bahadurke Road.

The authorities have turned a blind eye to their plight, said Lakhwinder, member of the Karkhana Mazdoor Union. The members demanded that patrolling should be intensified at night.

They said labourers should get salary on the 7th of every month. They urged the authorities to issue identity cards and attendance cards to them. 

Ludhiana, June 18
The government is in constant touch with the Interpol for the safe release of five Indians held captive by Somali pirates for past three years. The hostages include Surjit Singh from Badhowal village in Ludhiana.

In a release issued here today, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said he had written to the External Affairs Minister urging him to seek their earlier release of the hostages.

The seafarers were on board MV Asphalt Venture when they were taken hostage by Somali pirates in 2010.

Ludhiana, June 18
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) today conducted a Combined Entrance Test (CET) 2013 today for admissions to the four academic programmes, including four-year BSc Agriculture (Hons), four-year BSc Biotechnology (Hons), four-year BSc Food Technology (Hons) and five-year Integrated MSc (Hons) in Biochemistry, Botany, Chemistry, Microbiology and Zoology. The entrance test received an unprecedented response from the students, coming from various parts of the state.

Dr PK Khanna, PAU Registrar, said that out of 6,728 applicants, a total of 5,971 candidates appeared in the test. He added that the number of candidates appearing for the CET 2013 has shown a significant upward trend as compared to the last year, when 4,232 students had appeared.

Dr Khanna stated that the academic programmes of the PAU were gaining momentum amongst the youth due to the popularity and brand name of this university, in the field of agriculture at the national and international level.

He further said that besides, the quality of education imparted by the university academicians to the students, the infrastructure for the studies and sports at PAU were also a big attraction for the youth.

In addition, a number of employment opportunities were available for agricultural graduates in the farm sector, due to which the agricultural education was becoming popular in the state, he added.

Dr BS Sohal, Controller of Examination, PAU, said that 5,971 candidates, including 3,537 boys and 2,434 girls appeared in the test for only 242 seats of four academic programmes of the university.

He added that as many as 3,974 opted for non-medical stream, 1,744 for medical and 253 for agriculture stream. Dr Sohal added that the eligibility for appearing in this test was class XII. A total of 22 centres (six venues, including five city schools across the Ludhiana city) were set-up to accommodate the candidates for CET, he said.

Several inspection squads monitored the examination venues. Dr PK Khanna and Dr BS Sohal also visited the examination centres to oversee the arrangements for the smooth conduct of the test.

Ludhiana, June 18
In order to keep a strict vigil on the incidents of ragging in colleges, University Grants Commission (UGC) has made it mandatory for all the students and parents to submit anti- ragging affidavits to the institutions at the time of admission.

The UGC has sent letters to the colleges mentioning this condition of submitting the affidavits at the time of admission. The affidavits can be downloaded from the website of UGC.

The University Grants Commission has framed "UGC Regulations on curbing the menace of ragging in higher educational institutions, 2009" which have been notified in the gazette of India.

“It is a good step taken by the UGC and was the need of the hour. In the past, many students have lost their lives due the menace of ragging. In order to save the precious lives, which are the future of the country, this step is laudable,” said Jasbir Kaur, retired principal of SCD Government College.

“I was little scared of going to college during the first week, due to ragging. But now I am confortable and confident, since college is getting the affidavits from the students related to anti-ragging,” said Sakshi, who has taken admission to the first year of graduation. 

Ludhiana, June 18
Nearly a month has passed since the declaration of PSEB class XII results, but the detail marks cards (DMC) are yet to arrive at the respective schools. Students, seeking admissions to various courses, are facing problems as it is mandatory to attach a copy of detail marks card along with the admission form.

“It has been nearly a month, when the results were declared but the DMCs are yet to arrive. Students are facing difficulties for further admissions as they need to show the detail marks certificate. The students are downloading the DMC from the website but they will need it in case they are appearing for the interviews,” said a member of one of the school managing committee.

Pooja Chawla, a student said that she was really worried as only few days were left for her interview. “I have made numerous visits to my school but the detail marks card has not arrived yet. I have to appear for an interview for a professional course, which I will be pursuing along with my graduation. I hope the mark sheet arrives within a day or two,” she said. 

Jagraon, June 18
The local police has arrested an alleged drug peddler and seized 10 gm heroin from him. The accused has been identified as Avtar Singh alias Tari, a resident of Ludhiana.

While giving the details of the drug recovery, the CIA Staff Jagraon in charge, Inspector Prem Singh said that the accused was arrested by a police party, led by ASI Manjit Singh, near Baddowal village last night

According to Prem Singh, accused Avtar Singh was already a wanted to the police in several other cases registered against him at different police stations. "In fact, Avtar Singh has been a member of the four-member robbers' gang, wanted to police in more than 20 cases. Earlier, the members of this gang used to rob the people but after the death of two gang members, the remaining two got involved in the drug peddling", said Prem Singh.

He further said that a case had been registered against the accused Avtar Singh at the Mullanpur Dakha police station under the NDPS Act and further investigation was on. "During the preliminary investigation, the accused confessed that he had purchased the drug from Moga at a cost of 2,000 per gram. He was supposed to sell the drug on a higher price in Mullanpur Dakha area", added Prem Singh.

He also said that the police had been trying to trace the drug peddler from whom Avtar had purchased this drug. 

Ludhiana, June 18
It has been over a day since a one-and-half-year old girl, Alka, was kidnapped, in front of her mother, in the Focal Point area, but the police has failed to find any clue of the kidnapper.

According to the investigating officer, Tersem Lal, a youth of around 25 years, took the girl on the pretext of buying sweets. Alka's mother said that the man had sought her permission for buying sweets. She said that she had no clue when the man vanished away along with child. The police has registered a case of kidnapping against an unidentified person, on the complaint of Alka's father Suresh Kumar. ADCP II has formed a special search team to locate the child. No extortion call has been made by the kidnapper, so far.

The police is trying to investigate the motive behind the kidnapping, as the victim is from a humble background. The victim's father, Suresh Kumar, works at a factory unit.

Ironically, two minors have been raped and murdered Basti Jodhewal area in the recent past. 

Ludhiana, June 18
A 50-year-old debt-ridden farmer committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in a forest near Bhittian village today.

The deceased was identified as Bnarasi Das. His relatives told the police that Bnarasi was under immense stress as the bank recovery agencies were pressing him to pay loan instalments.

The said Bnarasi, along with his two friends Hansa and Balbir Singh of Talwandi village, had taken a combine machine (gleaning machine) on loan.