Ludhiana, August 23
As part of a stepped-up drive for the recovery of arrears of house tax and user charges from defaulting city residents, the municipal corporation has decided to act tough on the issue of bounced cheques.

It has become a common practice among defaulters to issue cheques towards the payment of arrears whenever there is a threat of attachment of property or disconnection of water and sewer connections. However, when these cheques are presented to banks, many of these are dishonoured due to insufficient funds.

Addressing a press conference here today, PS Ghumman, Zonal Commissioner (Zone B), said under the directions of MC Commissioner RK Verma, action was now being initiated under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, which provided for imprisonment up to one year and a fine equal to double the amount of the bounced cheque.

He said under the provisions of the Act, notices for the payment of the amount of the bounced cheques were issued to defaulters, asking them to deposit the payment against the bounced cheques within 15 days of the receipt of the notices. "Complaints with the competent court have been filed against those who had failed to deposit the amount of cheque within the stipulated period," Ghumman said.

Giving details of the cheques which were not honoured by banks, he said in Zone B, 29 cheques (24 against arrears of house tax worth Rs 9,32,730 and five against arrears of water rate worth Rs 52,217) had been dishonoured. After following the provisions of the Act, complaints under Section 138 had been filed with the Judicial Magistrate against the defaulters. "After recording the statement of the complainant (MC in this case), the courts have issued summons for appearance of the accused," Ghumman said.

A senior MC official said strict instructions had been issued to other zonal commissioners in the city to file criminal complaints with courts against defaulters who had issued cheques which were dishonoured so as to secure the recovery of the arrears.

Ludhiana, August 23
Answering the nature's call on a wall proved costly for a lawyer as some youngsters of the area thrashed him. The victim, Harinam Singh Sandhu (26), received injuries.

The incident took place on Ferozepur Road when Harinam Singh was heading home on his scooter. He stopped his scooter near Bhiwala Chowk to answer the nature's call at a vacant plot in the street.

According to Harinam Singh, some youngsters came there and started abusing him. When he opposed them, one of the boys slapped him. Harinam called up his friend Arun, an advocate, and also the police control room.

Arun said, "By the time I reached the spot, the boys had taken Harinam to a nearby house. They locked the gate of the house and tied his arms and legs and beat him up. There were also dog bite marks on his arm."

A complaint has been lodged at the Division No. 5 police station.

Ludhiana, August 23
The Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, Dr Subhash Batta, conducted random checkings at the subdivisional Civil Hospital, Raikot, and Community Health Centre, Sudhar last night.

The Civil Surgeon reached the Civil Hospital around 8 pm. He said, "The hospital is on the preiphery of the town. The stretch which links the hospital with the main road was devoid of light and patients and their attendants were finding it difficult to reach the hospital in the dark. The staff did not have much workload as the number of deliveries and surgical cases were less. I instructed the staff to provide better health facilities to the public."

The officer also visited Community Health Centre, Sudhar, and was satisfied with its working. Dr Batta said, "About 20 delivery cases were reported and patients in the Emergency ward were being attended to properly. The staff was instructed to maintain better cleanliness."

Ludhiana, August 23
Now, specialist doctors serving in various government hospitals in the state Health Department will get first-hand tips on major diseases. For the first time, the Health Department will publish a handbook on major diseases, which will have standard guidelines for different diseases.

Disclosing this, the Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, Dr Subhash Batta, said, "The aim behind publishing this handbook or reference book is to provide 'tips at a glance' to specialists in government hospitals while treating emergency cases. This will include major communicable as well as non-communicable diseases, with a focus on their symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and preventive measures."

The Civil Surgeon said experts from each district had chosen some subjects for this book. He said, "For Ludhiana district, I have selected three subjects for this book: haematology, surgery and cardiology. Dr Avinash Jindal, a medicine expert at Lord Mahavir Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, said, "I will write about cardiology, Dr Varun Saggar will write about surgery and Dr GS Grewal and Dr Harinder Sood from the subdivisional Civil Hospital, Raikot, will write about haematology. We have to submit our assignments by September 3."

Dr Jindal said although all this information was available in big books, while dealing with emergency cases, a handbook was of great use. The handbook is expected to be released soon.

Ludhiana, August 23
Eight persons tested positive for dengue today. They are under treatment at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital for the past seven days. Of them, three are from Ludhiana district (one each from Jagraon, Shastri Nagar and New Kartar Nagar), two from Hoshiarpur, and one each from Kapurthala, Moga and Haryana.

The Integrated Diseases Surveillence Project Officer, Dr Anil Verma, said, "So far five cases have been reported from Ludhiana, one from Gurdaspur, two from Hoshiarpur and one each from Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Moga, Patiala, Haryana and Rajasthan." Meanwhile, an awareness talk on dengue and malaria was held at Government High School, Sunet. Students were briefed about preventive measures and water-borne diseases. — TNS

Ludhiana, August 23
A team of the building branch of the municipal corporation today pulled down a three-storeyed building near the cremation ground in Sunet village and secured the complete possession of a 2,200 sq yard chunk of land of the civic body, which was under encroachment for a long time.

It took the MC team around five hours to demolish the building. Four JCB machines were deployed during the operation. Mild resistance was put up by Darshan Singh, who had encroached upon the MC land, but the presence of adequate police force at the site kept those trying to obstruct the drive at bay.

Rajinder Sharma, Assistant Town Planner (Zone D), who led the demolition team, said another building constructed in a part of this piece of land was razed a few months ago. "At that time, Darshan Singh, the 'owner' of the unlawful structure, had given an undertaking that he will demolish the building on his own. However, since enough time had been given for this purpose and the building had not been removed, the MC had to act and raze the structure," he said.

The building razed in the course of an earlier demolition drive on this chunk of land was owned by Independent councillor Veera Bedi, and the MC team had to face a stiff resistance at that time before the demolition was carried out.

Ludhiana, August 23
Get ready to shell out more for buying stationery items, especially art paper, as the prices are going to increase by 15 per cent from September 1 onwards. In addition to art paper, prices of sweet boxes and packaging will also be increased. The falling rupee has cast its shadow on the printing industry also.

Offset printers has decided to increase the prices of paper, especially art paper, by Rs 3,000 PMT due to an increase in the dollar price as imported pulp is used in the manufacture of these papers. As per the communication received by the printers, paper mills continue to be impacted severely by an increase in raw material costs.

Since May 2013, the cost of wood has increased by nearly 200 per cent. Fibre procurement has become a huge challenge and the paper industry in India has started sourcing wood chips and logs from Australia, South Africa, Vietnam, Myanmar, etc.

Niraj Sinha, vice-president of Ballarpur Industries Ltd, estimates that approximately 1 million mt of wood chips and logs will be imported this year by the industry to meet fibre requirement for paper making.

“With the depreciation of the rupee by 1 per cent and its continuous slide against the US Dollar, the landed price of imported fibre and other inputs, too, has increased forcing paper mills to increase paper prices to partially offset the cost increase. The price increase will be effective from September 1 onwards on all uncoated wood free grades of paper, including poster and copier paper,” he said.

“So, with the rise in the prices of inputs, printers and packaging manufacturers have no option but to increase the price of their products. Prices will have to be increased minimum by 15 per cent to cover the cost of costly inputs,” said Gagandeep Singh, Secretary, Offset Printers Association (OPA).

“Price rise will take effect immediately as some paper manufacturers have already increased the prices of paper. It has been decided by the OPA that the prices of sweet boxes, stationery, packaging and all other printed items will be increased by 15-20 per cent. If the rupee keeps on declining, the prices may rise further,” he said.

Ludhiana, August 23
Adding a new zest to the ongoing protest against Punjab Agricultural University authorities, the students today played "been" (a musical instrument) in front of a buffalo.

The students had posed buffalo as the PAU authority and alleged that their demands were falling on deaf ears so they were playing "been" to depict the lack of concern of authorities.

Sharanbir Singh, President, Punjab Agricultural University Students Association, said: "We are not creating drama by playing "been" in front of buffalo. It is to depict the attitude of authorities toward the students. The students have been protesting from last 10 days but authorities did not change their attitude toward the students."

However, the university authorities did not issue any statement today but according to students the authorities had been making phone calls to their parents that if the students do not resume classes they would be rusticated from the university. The university authorities have asked the parents to come on campus on Monday.

Meanwhile, the office-bearers of the PAUSA met Mangal Singh, Director, Agriculture Department, who was in the PAU to attend "Workshop for Rabi Crops" at the PAL Auditorium. The students had discussed their issues with him.

Karanvir Singh Sandhu, vice-president, PAUSA, said: "Instead of solving the issue, the authorities trying to suppress the students. The students did not consume the liquor so they will not confess it. The university is the responsible for the loss of our study. We will intensify the protest from Monday."

Today's action of the PAUSA, playing "been" in front of buffalo, seems more concerned to give an entertainment as they feel bored with the routine of raising slogans against authorities. The students arranged the buffalo of "Murra" breed from a nearby village on rent and hired a mini truck to ferry the buffalo from village to the PAU campus. The truck entered from the gate of the Veterinary Hospital of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in the PAU campus. The students were seen clicking the photographs with the buffalo.

Ludhiana, August 23
The Ludhiana Minibus Owners Association today submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari regarding an increase in the annual tax to Rs 50,000.

“We have been requesting the government to decrease the annual tax to Rs 15,000, but at present it has been increased to Rs 50,000. In September 2012, the tax on minibuses was increased from Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000. We have been requesting the government since then. But now in August 2013, the tax has been further increased to Rs 50,000. On the contrary, the increase in bus fares is very nominal i.e. Rs 4 per km,” said Gurpreet Singh, member of the association.

“We requested the government to rollback the increased tax by August 31, and the increase in the fare in the first stage should be Rs 10. We will hold a meeting on September 5 to discuss the further strategy in case the government does not rollback the increased tax,” he said.

Ludhiana, August 23
The Ludhiana Chapter of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India today organised a seminar on Companies Bill, 2013. The seminar was inaugurated by NK Jain, past secretary and CEO of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, New Delhi.

NK Jain, past secretary and CEO of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, addresses a seminar on Companies Bill in Ludhiana. Photo: Inderjeet Verma

The Companies Bill was recently passed both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and is now with the President for his assent. This Bill will replace the 57-year-old Companies Act, 1956, with the new Companies Act, 2013.

The government has now classified companies based on their size and operations of business as small companies, listed companies, public limited companies and private companies. Further, the concept of one person company (OPC) has been introduced in the Bill. The new Bill provides for more transparency and corporate governance in companies. The auditor will hold office for five years and firm of auditors for 10 years. More investor protection measures have been introduced in the Bill.

The seminar deliberated upon the new provisions of the Companies Bill and opportunities for professionals. The Bill has enhanced the role of a company secretary in employment as well as practice. Now, secretarial audit has been introduced for certain companies.

The seminar was attended by people from companies, practicing professionals and students of company secretaries and other professional bodies.

Doraha, August 23
Harbans Kaur and Kulwant Singh were elected the chairperson and vice-chairman, respectively, of the Doraha Block Samiti today. Both belong to the Congress.

The election was supposed to be conducted from out of a total of 17 members, including a MLA vote. Out of these, only 9 members, all belonging to Congress party, were present at the time of voting.

Harbans Kaur was unanimously elected as the chairperson and Kulwant Singh as the vice–chairman of the Panchayat Samiti of Doraha. Other 7 members, all from the Akali Dal, were conspicuous by their absence.

It may be mentioned here that the election of chairperson and vice-chairman was postponed earlier on August 5 as none of the 7 members of the ruling party was present even on that day.

The reason of their absence was stated to be the failure in serving the information about the stipulated date to all the members at their respective places. Today again, despite being informed, the members stayed away for the reasons best known to them.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 23
The administration has launched a coordinated movement to check the degradation of environment in the region.

The movement was launched with intent to implement directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) regarding the identification and eradication of factors causing the degradation of the environment.

Joint teams, constituting officials from the Punjab Pollution Control Board, undertook comprehensive operations in their respective areas falling under the region of Ludhiana and Sangrur districts.

Owners, organisers and officials of various commercial establishments, educational institutes and industries were educated about the causes and consequences of environmental degradation including air, water and soil pollution.

Karamjit Singh, executive magistrate at Dehlon, and Kuldeep Singh, sub-divisional officer from PPCB, Ludhiana, said, “Teams of officials have visited various establishments situated at Payal, Sehora, Malaudh, Pohir, Sihar and Kilaraipur to ascertain violation of the National Green Tribunal Act 2010 and advised all concerned to ensure that pollution level at their premises was minimised without any further delay.

Maintaining that majority of the organisations, including banks, schools, colleges and commercial establishments inspected by the teams had installed devices to reduce the|pollution to a desired level. Karamjit Singh and Kuldeep Singh said violators were advised to remove the defective implements immediately. Some establishments which had installed uncovered electric generator sets were warned against the violation and required action was initiated against them. Some owners were advised to increase the height of the exhaust pipe of their generators so that the soot particles did not settle on the lower layer of the atmosphere.

Office bearers of various social and constitutional organisations were called upon to associate with the administration to enable the latter to provide ideal environment for healthy human life.

Meanwhile, local units of the Rotary Club and Lions Club led by Pardeep Sethi and Inder Pal Singh Walia announced to launch an awareness movement to educate masses about the need of preservation of the environment.

Ludhiana, August 23
Actors Achint Kaur, Sadia Siddiqui Preiti Mermain and Saurabh Shukla were in the city to perform in “2 to Tango, 3 to Jive”, a comedy play, at Guru Nanak Bhawan.

The play was organised by the Ludhiana Sankritik Samagam. Director of the play Shukla, while talking about the title of the play, said: “life is easygoing like a classical tango dance until we get into a relationship of a husband-wife. Life becomes a wild dance with the entry of a second person in someone's life through an extra-marital affair."

Ludhiana, August 23
Avtar Singh, general secretary of CICU, said Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are passing through crucial time and struggling for their survival and CICU is taking up their issues with the Central and state governments seeking solutions for their growth and developmen in this adverse economic scenario.

Now, CICU is organising an INFOCOM SME Roundtable Conference-2013 on the theme ‘Empowering SMEs for India-2020’. The event is sponsored by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), Investors’ Protection Fund and SME Rating Agency of India (SMERA).

Upkar Singh Ahuja, Joint Secretary, CICU, said the roundtable conference aims to bring together the different stakeholders from SMEs vertical, industry and government from across the country who will discuss the key factors that can bring further growth and development of this segment. He has appealed and urged upon SMEs to participate and interact with the experts and industry leaders of their invaluable insights in the panel discussion.

Ludhiana, August 23
The Excise and Taxation Department has once again failed to fulfill its promise and have not yet started the C forms online. The department had announced earlier that the forms will be available online from this financial year.

As per the information, C forms were to be issued manually by the department for this quarter. As usual the forms are in shortage with the department and traders are facing a lot of inconvenience regarding the same.

It is necessary for the traders engaged in inter-state transactions to fill this form with their quarterly VAT returns. But, since the forms are generally out of stock they are unable to do so.

Manish Khanna, one of the traders, said, “Government failed to keep its promise. Now, it seems our struggle for procuring the C forms will never end.”

Ludhiana, August 23
A fashion show titled ‘Preview Fashion Asia’ was organised last evening at Stallone Manor. A series of elegant bridal couture and jewellery were displayed at the fashion exhibition.

Designer creations on display on the first day of a fashion exhibition in Ludhiana on Friday. Tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan

The event saw various fashion designers and exhibitors. City-based singer Jasleen Royal performed during the programme. Former Miss India World Vanya Mishra along with models, including Indrani Das Gupta, Aanchal Oberoi and Karan Singh Chhabra walked the ramp to showcase attires by various designers.

Seven rounds showcasing the work of seven designers were held. Kavita and Meenu from Orange International attires showcased a rich and classy look. Colours like fuchsia, fiery red, lime green and cobalt blue with amalgamations of pastel hues like ivory and gold were used in the collection. Pankaj and Utkarsh along with Kheem Khab couture showcased a collection comprising of traditional Indian drapes, textiles into modern and an innovative structure that translate into global contemporary look. Deepak S Chhabra’s showcased his men’s collection. Rosy Ahluwalia's collection had two different apparels in various colours juxtaposed together. Chhui Mui by Reeti was also a juxtaposition of the old and the new. Alka Kumar showcased customised jewellery collection. Vajor Hongkong attires and jewellery collection were also showcased at the fashion show.

Ludhiana, August 23
The Crime Investigation Agency (CIA-1) has nabbed four persons from the Mini-Secretariat who used to get prepared driving licences on fake documents from the district transport officer.

A team of the Crime Investigation Agency raided their cabins today afternoon. However, the Crime Investigation Agency officials did not disclose the names of the persons.

Ludhiana, August 23
Students of the Green Land Schools chain gave an excellent performance and finished among position holders in all age groups in the Inter-School Zonal Table Tennis Tournament organised by the District Education Department at GMT Public School, Jalandhar bypass branch, here, today. They clinched 10 out of 18 titles, which were at stake.

In the girls’ U-19 category, Green Land Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar bypass branch, pipped Alpine International Senior Secondary School 3-2 to bag the title and three paddlers from the school, Ramanpreet Kaur, Kajal and Manpreet Kaur, were selected to represent PAU Zone in the District Table Tennis Championship.

In the boys’ U-19 group, Shubham Wadhwa, Saransh Arora and Nitin Dhawan enabled Green Land School, Jalandhar bypass branch, to romp home champions. In the final, they beat hosts GMT Public School 3-2.

Green Land School, Jalandhar bypass branch, edged out Delhi Public School 3-2 to win top honours in the boys’ 14-year section. Abhishek, Gurnoor and Pranav Garg from this school were selected to take part in the district tournament.

Girl paddlers from Green Land Convent School, Chandigarh road branch, blanked Green Land Convent School, New Subhash Nagar, 3-0 to lift the title in the U-14 category and students of the same branch outclassed Green Land School, Jalandhar bypass branch, 3-1 to emerge champions in the girls’ U-17 section.

Green Land Convent School, Dugri, thrashed Bal Bharti Public School 3-0 to clinch the title in the boys’ U-14 category.

Rajesh Rudhra, chairman-cum-director of Green Land Schools, congratulated the students, principals and coaches Sahil Sharma and Nirdosh Sood on this achievement.

Ludhiana, August 23
Defending champions Shraddha Srivastava from Delhi Division and Siddarath of Rohtak Division overpowered their opponents to retain titles in the women's and men’s sections, respectively, in the Life Insurance Corporation of India North Zone Badminton Tournament that concluded at Shastri Hall near Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

In the women's final, Shraddha Srivastava outnumbered Rajni Wazir, also from Delhi Division, 21-15, 21-16 to emerge champion, while Reema Shrama from Delhi Division beat Sunita to secure third position.

Siddarath managed to scramble past Prem Chauhan of Jodhpur Division 21-20, 21-19 to retain the title and Rajesh Kumar of Karnal Division outplayed Alok Kumar Meena from Ajmer Division to finish at third place.

KR Meena, Regional Manager (HRD), LIC of India, Delhi, distributed prizes among the winners.