Ludhiana, September 23
Even after the revised policy on regularisation was announced by the Punjab Government on August 20, 2013, and the last date for filing applications (October 4, 2013) is fast approaching, the developers of unauthorised colonies are still shying away, if the applications received till now by the Municipal Corporation and the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) is any indication. However, individual plot and property owners are apparently keen to get their properties in unlicenced colonies regularised.

GLADA officials said, just 33 developers out of the total of more than 1,700 colonies located in the jurisdiction of GLADA, had filed their applications for the regularisation of colonies till September 20, 2013. In stark contrast, more than 3,220 plot holders and another 1,170 owners of built up properties had come forward for regularisation. The applicants had deposited a total amount of Rs 10.15 crore by way of composition fee, development charges, application money and licence fee.

As far as colonies located within the city limit are concerned, the developers have chosen to stay away from the process of regularisation, till now. The MC officials said not even a single coloniser had submitted their application for regularisation of the unlicenced colonies, whose number stood at 300.

The plot and property owners in the city, it seems, are taking full advantage of the revised policy on regularisation of their respective properties. The MC had, till September 20, 2013, received 2,506 applications from individual property owners, generating a revenue of Rs 4.04 crore in the process.

Ludhiana September 23
Baljinder Singh, a trainee at the centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) won a bronze medal in the long jump event this morning at the National Inter-Zonal Junior Athletics Championship being organised in Kochi (Kerala).

Baljinder bagged the third position by jumping a distance of 7 meter on the first day of the championship.

SS Pannu, Centre Incharge of the Sports Authority of India, was happy with the performance of Baljinder Singh. Pannu said Baljinder was a very committed player and I was expecting a medal from him at the championship.

Student of BA-I year at SCD Government College, Baljinder has been practicing under the guidance of SAI coaches since 2009. He had clinched silver medal in the National Junior Athletic Federation Cup held at Pune in 2012. He jumped 7.22 meter in the Federation Cup.

Last year, he also won a silver medal in the National School Game by covering a distance of 7meter.

"We were expecting a medal from him and he did a very good job. We have many hopes from him. We hope that he has a good future", Pannu said. 

Ludhiana, September 23
Mahatma Gandhi has rightly said: There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.

Picture this: A labourer works for 18 hours, thinking his employer will pay him well, but ends up getting a meagre sum, not adequate even to buy a square meal.

Pay a visit to Ferozepur Road at night and you will come across many such people who have been struggling to make ends meet.

Unaware of the latest happening, they are seen jostling for space where they can spend a night.

They have come from far-off places and for them footpaths are a home away from home. They brave heat, chill and are aware of the fact that no one will come to help them.

It is their inner strength that keeps them going.

Sleeping on his rickshaw, Vishnu, who has come from West Bengal, said, "I have been spending nights on footpaths for the past 30 years. I cannot afford a rented accommodation."

When asked if he was comfortable sleeping alongside roads, he laughed saying he had no other option.

Sunder Lal, another migrant from Samastipur, Bihar, said, "Trees protect us from scorching heat. Rented accommodation is not a viable option as I have to send money home every month. I have five children to look after."

At a time, when the city is in the grip of vector-borne diseases, these families have no option but to wait for help. Holding her two-month-old baby in her arms, Sangeena, a migrant from Bharatpur, Rajasthan, said, "I cover my baby with a dupatta. We have a hut on a roadside, but cannot sleep there as it is hot and humid."

Her husband, who was giving final touches to an idol of Lord Ganesha, said,"With the prices of essential commodities going through the roof, we can't think of putting up in a rented room. Everything is so expensive." 

Ludhiana, September 23
A free medical and heart check-up camp was organised by Hero DMC Heart Institute at Shree Sidh Peeth Dandi Swami Mandir.

A team of doctors and technicians, led by chief cardiologist of the institute Dr GS Wander, examined around 250 patients.

The team made people aware of heart ailments and gave tips to prevent these. Expressing concern over the growing number of cardiac diseases, Dr Wander said: "The current statistics show an alarming incidence of heart diseases among youngsters in India. The problem has reached epidemic proportions."

Diagnostic tests including echocardiography, ECG and blood sugar tests were conducted free of cost. The attendees were also able to seek free consultation from experts.

Dr Surinder Gupta-led National Integrated Medical Association team, meanwhile, orgainsed a free camp for diabetes patients at the same venue. Over 290 people visited the camp for free consultation. Free blood glucose test and neuropathy test were also conducted. Free medicines were given to patients.

Dr Gupta said a person should not panic if higher glucose levels were detected in the blood.

“First of all consult a doctor to know whether you are pre-diabetic or diabetic,” he said.

Ludhiana, September 23
The Youth and Heritage Festival of Panjab University commenced at the Khalsa College for Women today. Eleven colleges from the Zone-B of Ludhiana are participating in the four-day event. The day started with the lighting of lamp by Dr Nirmal Jaura, director, youth welfare, PU.

A variety of events took place on the first day with the aim to make participants realise their potential. The coming days will help in developing a sense of competitive spirit, cooperation and leadership among them.

The top three positions in various events were secured by the following:

Classical vocal

Amarpreet Kaur (Khalsa College for Women), Manpreet Kaur (Guru Nanak Girls College, Harminder Kaur (Ramgarhia Girls College)

Shabad/bhajan (group)

Guru Nanak Girls College, Ramgarhia Girls College, DD Jain Memorial College for Women

Shabad/bhajan (individual)

Anureet Kaur (Ramgarhia Girls College), Reetika Vig (DD Jain Memorial College for Women, Charandeep Kaur (Guru Nanak Girls College)

Creative writing (story)

Ria Bedi (Khalsa College for Women), Ashanpreet Kaur (DD Jain Memorial College), Aastha Parmar (Government College for Girls)

Creative writing (essay)

Sunayana Malik (Master Tara Singh Memorial College), Prabhjot Kaur (Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women), Sonia Yadav (SDP College for Women)

Creative writing (poem)

Harjeet Kaur (DD Jain Memorial College), Kirandeep Kaur (Guru Nanak Girls College), Gopica Anand (Guru Nanak Khalsa College)

Knitting

Rupinderjeet Kaur (AS College for Women), Amandeep Kaur (Master Tara Singh Memorial Colelge), Jasleen Kaur (Khalsa College for Women)

Crochet

Manisha Rani (Government College for Girls), Shanno (DD Jain Memorial College), Manpreet kaur (AS College for Women, Khanna)

Pakhi-making

Parminder Kaur (Ramgarhia Girls College), Gurpreet Kaur (Khalsa College), Sandeep Kumari (Government College for Girls)

Mehandi design

Swati Jain (Guru Nanak Girls College), Harmanjot Kaur (Mata Ganga Khalsa College), Vanita (Master Tara Singh Memorial College)

Rangoli-making

Rupinder Kaur (Mata Ganga Khalsa College), Jasleen Kaur (Government College for Girls), Amandeep Kaur (Ramgarhia Girls College)

Phulkari/bagh

Shivani (Government College for Girls), Priya (SDP College for Women), Sarbjit Kaur (Khalsa College)

Dasuti/cross-stich

Rupinderjeet Kaur (Khalsa College), Gurpreet Kaur (Master Tara Singh Memorial College), Barinder Kaur (Guru Nanak Girls College)

Folk song

Amarpreet (Khalsa College for Women), Bhawna Handa (Ramgarhia Girls College), Beant Kaur (AS College for Women, Khanna)

Ludhiana, September 23
Youth festivals are not only about bringing together students from various colleges and allowing them to display their talent. Through these festivals, many traditional art forms have been able to survive the onslaught of modern art forms.

On the first day of the zonal youth festival at the Khalsa College for Women, the only time the audience was seen cheering for and applauding the performers whole-heartedly was during the folk song event.

“This is the power of folk songs that these make everyone enjoy and sing along,” said one of the teachers, who attended the event sitting in a jam-packed auditorium.

Talking about the disappearance of folk songs from the popular cultural scene these days, participants said they too sang these songs during college events and youth festivals only. With no audience these days, there are hardly any singers performing folk songs, said the participants.

One of the participants from the host college, Amarpreet Kaur, said she learnt Alam Lohar’s song “Mitti deya baweya” for the festival, and would not perform it outside the college.

“The pure Punjabi culture must be revived,” said another participant, Beant Kaur from AS College, Khanna.

Dolly Guleria, who was at the venue to judge the ghazal competition stayed back to attend the folk song performances. She said good singing brought contentment to life. So, only good songs should be sung and listened to, she said.

Another traditional art form which seems to be relegated to these youth fests is phulkari. Some of the home science students were seen participating in the phulkari competition.

Shivani, a third-year student, said she did not make any phulkari designs at home. Most of the students said they learnt the art form to participate in the youth festival. They said it was very time consuming.

Although “pakhis” have also lost their utility in the modern times, students said they learnt the art form as these looked beautiful.

“It requires creativity and finesse to create a good design within a stipulated time,” said a student.

“Although crochet is a beautiful art form, I haven’t seen many people knitting it manually anymore,” said another student.

Ludhiana, September 23
Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, will host the Ludhiana Zone-A teams during the Youth and Heritage Festival of Panjab University, which kicks off on September 25.

College principal Dr Narinder Singh Sidhu said 15 colleges would participate in the festival. These include AS College, Khanna; Malwa College, Bondali, Samrala; Gobindgarh Public College, Alour; Government College, Karamsar, Government College, Sidhsar; GGN Khalsa College, Ludhiana; Arya College, Ludhiana; SCD Government College, Ludhiana; Government Evening College, Ludhiana; Mata Gurdev Kaur Memorial Shahi and Sports College of Physical Education, Samrala; KLSD College, Ludhiana; Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management, Jhande; Panjab University Regional Centre, Ludhiana; Shree Atam Vallabh Jain College, Hussainpura, Ludhiana, besides the host college.

Dr Nirmal Jaura, director, department of youth welfare, Panjab University, Chandigarh, said: "The basic motive of organising these festivals is to revive our cultural heritage, especially among the youngsters. Keeping this in mind, the varsity organises most of these festivals at rural institutes, where the cultural tradition is still valued and preserved to a great extent."

Ludhiana, September 23
Following a protest march by teachers on January 22, a meeting was held with the Deputy Commisioner, Rajat Aggarwal. The teachers from SSA, RMSA, and CSS met the DC here today.

The state president of the union, Deedar Singh Mudaki, said, “Teachers have been struggling for their rights. Despite repeated requests, the administration failed to arrange a meeting with the Chief Minister, Punjab. And now we have been told to hold a meeting with the Secretary, Education. It will hardly serve the purpose.”

As many as 14,000 teachers, working under these unions, have been struggling to be regularised for the past five years. The teachers alleged that a notification regarding their regularisation of services had already been issued by the government, but still there was no action on the part of the authorities concerned.

The teachers said they did not want to put the common man in any kind of inconvenience and were holding the protests peacefully, but if the government failed to redress their grievances, the teachers will be forced to intensify the agitation.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 23
A large number of students, employees and professionals, who spend maximum time of their day in front of a computer, have been found to be suffering from Computer Vision Syndrome (CVC).

Though the CVS has been defined as a temporary condition resulting from focusing the eyes on a computer display for protracted, uninterrupted periods of time, it can result in irreversible and permanent damage to faculty of vision.

Looking at an object situated at 20 feet distance for at least 20 seconds after every 20 minutes, saves your eyes from falling prey to the ailment diagnosed by non-specific ocular discomfort ( eye strain ), blurred distant vision, fatigue, dry or irritated eyes, headache, neck-ache and back-ache, blurred near vision and diplopia ( double vision ). Other symptoms of the CVS include redness in the eyes, polyopia and difficulty in refocusing the eyes.

Terming the syndrome as largest single eye ailment among humans using computers and other digital gadgets, Dr Brijinder Rana, an ophthalmologist, said ignorance about causes and consequences had resulted in degradation of quality of vision among majority of users of these gadgets.

Improper contrast and resolution of display, poor room lighting, incorrect viewing distances and angles, sustained viewing and rigid conditions of workstation were identified as major factors behind the increasing incidents of the syndrome.

“Unfortunately the ailment is detected most commonly among educated persons, as only learned persons use computers and other digital devices,” said Rana, maintaining that a little care could prevent thousands from falling prey to the disease.

Rana said some social organisations had come forward to launch coordinated movement to aware all concerned so that further rise in number of incidents of the ailment is checked without any further delay.

Besides educating officials working on computer desks, managements of computer training centers would be persuaded to introduce the issue in
syllabus of the courses, said Rana.

Copies of tips to help avoid the syndrome were distributed among the concerned, with a motive to spread awareness about the syndrome. Increase media usage is the reason behind the syndrome, but with little care, an individual can lead a sightful life, said the doctor.

Ludhiana September 23
Two more patients have been confirmed positive of dengue today. Both the women belong to Ludhiana and are the residents of Kashmir Nagar, New Subash Nagar.

The integrated disease surveillance programme officer said, “Three more patients who tested positive for the disease, hail from Jammu and Kashmir.”

The patients are undergoing treatment at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana.

In the recent past, the number of dengue patients has increasedrelatively.

“Residents must empty stagnant water from trash cans, flower pots and coolers. To prevent mosquito bites, an individual must cover the exposing parts, said a health official from the hospital.

Dr Mandeep Singh Bal, assistant scientist, department of veterinary parasitology, College of Veterinary Science, GADVASU, Ludhiana, attended the 24th international conference of World Association of Veterinary Parasitology (WAAVP-2013) at Perth, Western Australia.

Four scientists from India presented their work from their respective fields during the conference. Dr Bal presented his research work on ‘Polymerase chain reaction vis-a-vis parasitological techniques for diagnosis of trypanosoma evansi infection in bovine’. Bal was granted an international travel grant from GADVASU and department of science and technology, Government of India.. Over 500 delegates USA, Canada, Australia, UK, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, France and Saudi Arabia attended the conference. —TNS

Ludhiana, September 23
High drama was witnessed at Nehru Rose Garden when a contractor and his employees resorted to moral policing and chased away boys and girls sitting in the park today.

The employees said they had targeted only those children who missed classes and kept sitting in the park.

"Grownups can sit and talk freely, but he problem is with the children who bunk school and keep sitting in the park. If a minor is raped, we will be in trouble. The police and residents will blame us for turning a blind eye to the menace," said the employee.

The boy was taken to the police post but was let off. The boy works as a domestic help while the girl is a Class VIII student.

Several students were seen fleeing on seeing the boy being taken to the police post. A morning walker while appreciating the move said the teenagers tried to emulate elders.

"There should be a separate enclosure in the park where the youngsters could sit and talk freely. Any given day you can spot boys and girls sitting in a compromising position. Earlier, youths in their mid 20s used to sit in the garden, but now schoolchildren are seen in the park," said Sunil Kumar.

The moral policing drive has triggered a debate. Why the employees sitting in the park did not take the police along? 

Ludhiana, September 23
People no longer postpone their shopping plans during shradh. During the fortnight, two days are considered 'auspicious' when people can buy new stuff.

"With stores offering discount on merchandise, shopaholics have gone berserk. During shradh people thank the departed souls or their ancestors," said Ridhima, a shopper.

Shubham Chopra, owner of a garment store at Mall Road, said there were only a few customers who kept off during the period.

"Things have changed with time and nowadays people don't mind shopping during shradh," he said.

Mansi, a student, said it was strange that people avoided buying attire or other items during shradh.

"Even my mother does not stop me from shopping. Society needs to change its mindset," she said.

Jam-packed malls, especially during weekends, is a testimony to the fact that people do not stay away from shopping during shradh. "People come here to enjoy, shop and relax and they are doing it as usual. No exceptional change has been witnessed," said a garment store owner.

"We offer prayers during the fortnight but do not refrain from shopping. We do avoid buying gold or a car during the period," said Chhavi, a city resident.

Ludhiana, September 23
The demand for milk has increased during shradh. Residents complain that vendors have started adding water to milk. Cases of milk adulteration are on the rise during the period. The health department is yet to take stock of the situation.

Jangmeet Singh, a milk vendor, said, "As the demand for milk has increased, it has become difficult for us to meet the rising demand."

Another vendor said he had no option but to add water to milk.

Unhappy with the quality of milk, Nirmal Kanta, a homemaker, said, "The milk that we get stinks sometimes."

While another consumer said, "Our vendor has increased the milk prices, but has failed to improve the quality of milk."

District Health Officer, Ludhiana, Dr Avinash Kumar said,,"Samples of eatables are collected on a regular basis. As far as collection of milk samples is concerned, we are yet to start the drive." 

Ludhiana, September 23
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the date for filing of ITR-V for the financial year 2011-12 and 2012-13 till October 31.

There are many taxpayers who have uploaded their income tax returns electronically (without digital signature certificate), but have either not filed the corresponding ITR-V or have filed it with the local Income-tax office.

The ITR-V is accepted only at the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) of the Income Tax Department at Bengaluru by ordinary or speed post. Therefore, an opportunity is being given to such taxpayers to regularise their income tax returns.

"All such taxpayers can send the ITR-V by October 31 at Post Bag No. 1, Electronic City Post Office, Bengaluru, -560100 (Karnataka). Taxpayers who have filed their ITR-V with the local income tax office may again mail their ITR-V to the CPC.

Those taxpayers who have earlier mailed their ITR-V, but have not received the acknowledgement e-mail from the CPC, may mail their ITR-V to the CPC again," said a senor I-T official.

General secretary of the Taxation Bar Association Jatinder Khurana said without the acknowledgement of the ITR-V from the CPC, it would not be possible for the Income Tax Department to process the returns or issue any refunds as these would be treated as not having been filed with the department.

Ludhiana, September 23
The small scale industry plays a vital role in the development of any state. It generates employment and in a way eradicates poverty.

The sector has been urging the government to allot it industrial areas on subsidised rates.

"The government is not interested in fulfilling our demands. We have asked for subsidised land, but our demand has fallen on deaf ears," said Satinder Singh, general secretary of the Small Scale Industries Association.

A member of the association said they had been fighting against the repercussions of the Ludhiana Master Plan. "We had asked the authorities concerned to declare Simlapuri and New Janta Nagar as residential areas, but to no avail," he said.

"For long, we have been requesting the government to convert some of the city areas from residential to mixed land use areas but nothing has been done so far. Earlier, these were residential areas but now these have been turned into industrial-cum-residential areas. Our future is uncertain," said Dalbir Singh, a machine tool manufacturer from Shimlapuri. Subhash Jain, another small scale industrialist, said keeping in view the role played by the small scale industry in generating employment and its contribution to the GDP and foreign trade, the sector should be protected on the pattern of agriculture by providing raw material, power, transportation and loans on subsidised and fixed annual rates.

Ludhiana, September 23
With the arrest of a SAD leader's son and his three accomplices, the police has claimed to have busted an inter-state vehicle lifters gang.

The police has so far recovered 12 stolen cars which were further sold on fake documents.

It has refused to divulge any details.

The Bathinda police had nabbed a vehicle lifters’ gang two days ago. The name of the SAD leader's son also figured on the list. Sources said the police got leads in the case which led to the arrest of four persons, including the SAD leader's son.