The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	MC plot auction runs into rough weather Opposition says property sold at throwaway price in nexus with land mafia; allegations baseless, says Mayor GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 The decision of the cash-starved Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC) to sell its properties has not gone down well with the Opposition as its leaders have flayed the recent sale of a property on Mall Road saying the prime property fetched the civic body a meagre amount "just above its reserved price". They alleged that the top brass of the MC has been hand in glove with the land mafia and gobbled up huge amount of money as the said property was located on a posh area of the city. The MC had put a plot measuring 4,067 square yards located behind the MC Commissioner's official residence on July 26 at a reserve price of Rs 36,000 per square yard. The property went under the hammer and it was sold at Rs 36,100 per square yard thus fetching a total amount of Rs 14.68 crore. Even as Mall Road commands the highest commercial value here, this particular plot could be utilised for residential purpose only because of its close proximity with the historical Company Bagh. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has put a blanket ban on any kind of commercial venture within a radius of 100 metres from Company Bagh. Terming it as a conspiracy, leader of opposition Raj Kanwal Preet Pal Singh Lucky alleged that MC officials, including Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora, sold this prime property at throwaway price. "A BJP leader who had a good rapport with the city Mayor was sitting alongside the bidders during the auction held at Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan. Instead of mending the deteriorating fiscal health of the civic body, the MC authorities are throwing the civic body into crisis by obliging their near and dear ones," he alleged while flashing a picture in hand. Lucky said the MC in 2005 had sold another plot in the same location at Rs 78,500 per square yard. "It could be anybody's guess that after eight years, the plot located in the same locality is being sold at Rs 36,100 per square yards. It speaks volumes about the gross corruption in the MC system which is a betrayal of residents," he claimed. Congress leader Karamjit Singh Rintu said a thorough inquiry should be ordered into the matter. "We demand that this auction should be declared null and void. Moreover, if the MC was not getting handsome price for the plot, they could have waited for sometime. What was the point of selling it at such a low rate? This indicates towards the nefarious designs they have," he said. City Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said, "The Opposition is behaving ridiculously. I am a public figure and a senior BJP leader. Hundreds of leaders and residents come to meet me but this does not imply that I share any proximity with anyone. I feel the plot under question was sold at a reasonable price. It could have been sold at a better price had there been no restriction put on by the ASI. It could not be utilised for any other purpose except residential. All allegations are baseless and frivolous", he said. The plot in question The MC had put a plot measuring 4,067 square yards located behind the MC Commissioner's official residence on July 26 at a reserve price of Rs 36,000 per square yard The property went under the hammer and it was sold at Rs 36,100 per square yard thus fetching a total amount of Rs 14.68 crore The Congress alleged that MC top brass sold the prime property at throwaway price as the MC had sold a plot in the same location at Rs 78,500 per square yard in 2005 Taking potshots at each other A BJP leader who had a good rapport with the city Mayor was sitting alongside the bidders during the auction held at Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan. Instead of mending the deteriorating fiscal health of the civic body, the MC authorities are throwing the civic body into crisis by obliging their near and dear ones. It speaks volumes about the gross corruption in the MC system which is a betrayal of residents — Raj Kanwal Preet Pal Singh Lucky, Congress councillor We demand that this auction should be declared null and void. Moreover, if the MC was not getting handsome price for the plot, they could have waited for sometime. What was the point of selling it at such a low rate? This indicates towards the nefarious designs they have — Karamjit Singh Rintu, Congress leader The Opposition is behaving ridiculously. I am a public figure and a senior BJP leader. Hundreds of leaders and residents come to meet me but this does not imply that I share any proximity with anyone. I feel the plot under question was sold at a reasonable price. It could have been sold at a better price had there been no restriction put on by the ASI. It could not be utilised for any other purpose except residential. All these allegations are baseless and frivolous — Bakshi Ram Arora, City Mayor
	Safai karamcharis threaten to go on strike Garbage collection system may come to halt; MC Commissioner assures benefit disbursal Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 The garbage collection system will come to a halt in the holy city as over 1,500 safai karamcharis, who claimed to have not been paid salaries and allowances for the past few months, have threatened to go on strike if they were not paid benefits by tomorrow. The allowances include uniform and mobile bills. MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda, during an emergency meeting held this evening, assured the safai karamcharis to pay partial disbursal of benefits by tomorrow noon. The agitating employees announced to stay away from work in the city if their demands were not met. Various organizations, including Nagar Nigam Tal Mel Dal, Municipal Corporation Workers’ Union (AITUC), Safai Mazdoor Union (Bitta) and Nagar Nigam Karamchari Dal showed solidarity with their cause. Surinder Tona, general secretary, Municipal Corporation Workers’ Union, Amritsar, said over 1,000 safai karamcharis, including Mohalla Sudhar Committee employees and those employed under the DC rate scheme, were affected for the past few months. Tona said the Municipal Commissioner had assured them that he would distribute cheques in a phased manner, to which the unions unanimously agreed upon. “But this does not mean that we have withdrawn our protest. We will assemble tomorrow to gauge the situation. If authorities stick to their assurance, we may think of shunning the idea of protest,” Tona said.
	Photo exhibition on village life held at IAFA Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 Capturing the rural life in its simple yet alluring frame, the photo journalists and artists from city put up an exhibition of photographs based on the theme, “A Village Through Lens”. Vice-Chancellor of the GNDU Dr AS Brar inaugurated the exhibition. College Governing Council’s honourary secretary, Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, said the exhibition was an attempt to bring alive the village life in Punjab through pictures. The event was jointly organised by Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC), News Cameramen Association (NCA), Amritsar Press Photo Journalists Association (APPJA) and Indian Academy of Fine Arts (IAFA). The exhibition has 65 photographs clicked by the press photographers at village Harsha Chhina and Ladeh. The news cameramen from the city caught varied glimpses of rural life as they clicked pictures of rural life and the daily routine, depicted through captured moments. ”The cameramen clicked hundreds of photographs depicting village landscape and life, the best five of each cameraman were chosen for the exhibition,” said APPJA President Raminderpal Singh. Another senior photographer Ravinder Singh Robin said the works of Deepak Sharma, Manish Byala, Vishal Kumar, Avneet Byala, Sushil Sharma,Sanjeev, Rana Simranjit Singh, Pankaj Sharma were on the display. “Almost every glimpse of the rural life is alive in these pictures'', remarked VC Brar.
	Health Dept gears up to tackle dengue, malaria Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 The District Health Department has claimed to made elaborate plans to fight dengue and malaria. District epidemiologist Officer Dr Charanjit Singh said department had instructed its employees to observe the month of July as dengue awareness month. In the events organised during the month of July, the officials held various programs to create awareness about dengue. A motorcycle rally was also held to create awareness in city, said Charanjit Singh. The health department had also sought help from various other government departments to create awareness. Dr Charanjit Singh said schools had been requested to educate students about the causes and prevention of dengue and malaria. He added that other government departments had also been told to ensure that stagnant water is removed from water cooled fans. “People should ensure that all materias which can hold water are not kept in open. Sometimes people ignore junk materials and it has been noticed that they help in mosquito-breeding,” he said.
	Boy celebrates B'day by planting saplings Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 A teenager of Sant Avenue Jatinderpreet Singh has set a unique precedent by celebrating his 18th birthday in a novel manner. Instead of distributing sweets or cake, he chose to plant saplings and distributed mangoes and jamuns at Student Haven School. The NGOs, Amritsar Vikas Manch and Mission Aagaaz supported the cause. He also planted 18 saplings in a public park at Kot Mit Singh and vowed to maintain them. “Together we can tackle the world’s problem of global warming and climate change. Let every soul be enlightened with green light in one’s hands, words and deed. I dedicated my birthday to Mother Earth”, he expressed. On this occasion, his father Daljit Singh Kohli, general secretary of Amritsar Vikas Manch, urged the students to plant more and more trees in order to protect the environment and natural resources. He said the children can play a vital role in maintaining the ecological balance. Deepak Babbar, executive director, Mission Aagaaz, informed the students about the depleting water table in Punjab especially in Amritsar. He stressed on judicious consumption of this vital source of life as there is no life without water.
	10 booked in post-panchayat poll violence Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 Four persons, including two women, were injured in two separate panchayat poll related instances of violence. The police has booked 10 persons in this connection. Prithipal Singh, a resident of village Jassar, said the accused was defeated in the recently concluded panchayat elections. He said that his group had won the elections and therefore they organised a religious ceremony in the local gurdwara. He said on a minor issue the accused identified as Jagjit Singh, Gulshan Singh, Darshan Singh, Dhanjit Singh and Jajbir Singh along with a couple of unidentified persons started quarrelling with them. The accused were armed with sharp-edged weapons and wooden sticks. Prithipal Singh said besides him Amrik Kaur and Sukhwinder Kaur were also injured. A case under Sections 324, 323, 452, 120-B, 148 and 149 of the IPC was registered. Meanwhile, Sukhraj Singh, a 11th class student of Government Senior Secondary School, Rayya and a resident of village Kaler Ghuman , said he was waiting for a bus at Rayya bus stand when the accused came on two motorcycles and attacked him while shouting that his family had voted against them during panchayat elections. The accused were identified as Vishal, Goli, Malkeet Singh and Gopi. A case under Sections 326, 324, 148 and 149 of the IPC was registered.
	Man held for duping woman Tribune News service Amritsar, July 28 The police has arrested one of the swindlers who had duped a woman of jewellery worth lakhs in Rani Ka bagh area by posing as Sadhu a few days ago. The daughter-in-law of the victim had clicked the picture of the accused in her mobile which helped the police to trace the culprit while his accomplice is still absconding. The police said following a tip off the accused were identified as Raji Nath and Buta Singh, both residents of Muradpura village in Tarn Taran. “After specific information that Raji Nath was roaming in the area of Putlighar, the police raided at designated place and arrested him”, said Sohan Singh, ACP. On July 17, the culprits duped a Rani Ka Bagh resident Kanchan who told the police that the accused knocked at the door and asked for food. She said after taking food the accused said there was danger to the life of her husband and in order to save him, she has to do something. She said they took her jewellery, including three diamond rings and a gold bangle. The accused covered the jewellery in a cloth and asked Kanchan to keep it in an almirah. While she was going towards almirah, she got suspicious and opened the cloth only to find stones in it. She immediately rushed outside but the accused had fled away. Her daughter-in-law clicked a picture of the accused with her mobile phone which they handed over to the police.
	Auto-rickshaw dealer directed to pay Rs 37,000 Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed an auto-rickshaw dealer to refund Rs 35,000 paid as down payment for buying an auto-rickshaw. The complainant had bought a three-wheeler from the agency, which it had recovered after some time as he didn’t paid the equal monthly installments (EMIs). The forum has also ordered to pay Rs 2,000 as litigation expenses. Kuldip Singh, a resident of Sultanwind road, had filed a complaint against Anand Auto stating that he had bought a new auto rickshaw for a sum of Rs 1,27,000 on May 4, 2007. He said that the agency assured him that he had to pay Rs 35,000 as down payment and rest of the amount can be paid in EMIs. He alleged that at the time of delivery of the vehicle the agency stated that they have alliance with renowned financial institutions and they will help in getting his loan sanctioned. He alleged that the dealer failed to get the deal financed as promised. He also alleged that he came to know later that the vehicle provided to him was not new and it developed a snag. He said later the dealership illegally recovered the vehicle from his home in September 2007. The dealer however claimed that the vehicle was brand new and Kuldip had returned the vehicle on his own. The dealer said that they had refunded a part of the down payment, Rs 25,000 after deducting the depreciation as per market cost. However the complainant countered that he had not received any refund. The forum observed that the dealership had failed to prove on record that complainant has entered into compromise with them and consequently they had paid Rs 25,000 to him. It stated that it stands fully proved on record that the dealership had taken possession of the vehicle from the complainant as the complainant could not pay the balance amount so it is liable to refund the amount of Rs 35,000.
	Woman alleges rape, four booked Amritsar, July 28 A married woman was allegedly raped by four persons in Chite Kalan village. In her complaint, the victim told the police that the accused first made her husband drunk and then took turns to rape her. Reports said the couple used to work as labourers in a cold store in Jalandhar. About a month ago, they shifted to Amritsar. The victim said she and her husband were looking for a rented accommodation when they met Malkeet Singh, one of the accused, who took them to the residence of Sarvan Singh at Chite Kalan village. The accused insisted the couple to stay there for night to which they agreed. She alleged that after offering drinks to her husband, the accused raped her. The police has booked Sarvan Singh, Malkeet Singh and their accomplice Shamsher Singh and an unidentified person. — TNS