The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	MC staff on warpath over pending salaries Protest against govt, civic authorities; Mayor says salaries to be disbursed tomorrow GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 Hundreds of employees of the Municipal Corporation today took out a procession against the government and civic authorities demanding salaries of last two months. The dejected employees of the Municipal Corporation are now on the warpath against the government for non-payment of their salaries and took out a procession from the Town Hall to Hall Gate to lodge their protest over the issue. However, in a mid-day development, the City Mayor informed that Rs 2 crore had been transferred into the MC’s account by the government and that the salaries would be disbursed shortly. Barring a few Class IV employees, over 4,000 employees of the MC working in different departments, were not paid salaries for the past two months. They lodged their protest under the banner of the Safai Mazdoor Union (Bitta group), Municipal Corporation Workers Union, Amritsar Nagar Nigam Workers Union (CITU), Nagar Nigam Karamchari Talmel Dal (Khalsa). City Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said it was a genuine problem and their salaries could not be paid due of lack of funds with the MC. He urged the government to release MC’s own funds lying idle with them against VAT and Excise. “During the meeting held with Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi yesterday, I had informed him that we do not have funds to pay the salaries of our employees. We have our own funds to the tune of Rs 4 crore as VAT and Rs 9 crore as the Excise tax lying with the government. Besides, Rs 5 crore is under another head. I had apprised the Deputy CM of the same during a meeting held a couple of days ago and urged him to get these funds released. This afternoon, Rs 2 crore have been credited in our account and the employees’ salaries would be disbursed day after tomorrow, as tomorrow is a holiday on the account of Gandhi Jayanti,” he said. official speak This afternoon, Rs 2 crore has been credited into our account and the employees’ salaries would be disbursed on Thursday, as tomorrow is a holiday on account of Gandhi Jayanti — Bakshi Ram Arora, city mayor
	Corporation’s recovery teams crack the whip on tax defaulters GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 Cracking a whip against tax defaulters, the Municipal Corporation's House Tax and Water and Sewerage Department continued their recovery campaigns. While the House Tax Department sealed four properties for the non-payment of dues, the Water and Sewerage Department disconnected six connections of six properties, whereas their proprietors paid partial amount of their dues afterwards. The Water and Sewerage team, led by Superintendent Pushpinder Singh, raided the posh Green Avenue area and collected an amount of Rs 5.71 lakh from the defaulters. The connection of Orane Beauty Parlour was disconnected as the property owner Tara Singh was a defaulter of Rs 13,000. Superintendent Pushpinder Singh said he paid his dues later. Similarly, another commercial property in the Green Avenue area faced the same fate after its owner owed Rs 21,000 to the Water and Sewerage Department. He too cleared his dues later. The connections of another property in Green Avenue in the name of Subhash Chander were also disconnected. He too cleared his dues amounting to Rs 7,500 afterwards. The connections of Raj Palace located on Shivala Road were also disconnected as its proprietor Suneel Kumar who owed a total of Rs 56,000, but could pay only Rs 25,000. Similarly, a car repair garage at Krishna Nagar in the name of Krishna Rani could not pay the full amount of Rs 24,000. “We got only Rs 10,000 till now, but his connections were snapped,” Pushpinder informed. Other members of team were Sandeep Kumar, Satinder Singh, Arun Kumar, Harjinder Singh and Tarun Arora, all inspectors with the Water and Sewerage Department. On the other hand, the House Tax recovery team, led by Superintendent Subhash Chopra, sealed four shops and recovered Rs 30,000 from the defaulters. They raided Katra Dullo area and sealed three shops, the proprietors of which were liable to pay Rs 22,000 as the house tax. Similarly, another shop locted at Jodha Peepal area was sealed. Its owner did not pay house tax amounting to Rs 42,000. Others in the house tax team were inspectors Gurpreet Singh Bhatia, Pardeep Vermani and clerk Jeevan Parkash. MC ACTS TOUGH While the House Tax Department sealed four properties for non-payment of dues, the Water and Sewerage Department disconnected six connections of six properties. The Water and Sewerage team, led by Superintendent Pushpinder Singh, raided the posh Green Avenue area and collected an amount of Rs 5.71 lakh from the defaulters. The House Tax recovery team, led by Superintendent Subhash Chopra, sealed four shops and recovered Rs 30,000 from the defaulters.
	1,120 metric tonne paddy procured Paddy procurement process yet to begin at 17 centres in district Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 With the commencement of paddy procurement process in the district today, around 1,120 metric tonne crop was procured by various government agencies. Out of the total 31 procurement centres, paddy was procured from only 14 procurement centres in the district. The procurement process at the remaining centres (mandi) was yet to begin. Even though basmati varieties had ripened earlier, around 12,660 metric tonnes of early varieties had been procured by private players till date. The government agencies do not buy basmati varieties. However, farmers at Bhagtawala Mandi seemed elated as they revealed that they are receiving a better price for basmati varieties as compared to the previous year. “This time per quintal rate is between Rs 3,300 and 3,600,” said Joginder Singh, a farmer. Farmers also revealed that per acre yield of crop is better this season. “This year, monsoons have increased yield and helped farmers cut costs as well,” said Balwant Singh, another farmer. The neighbouring Tarn Taran district has outrun the local centres as far as the overall procurement figures are concerned. In Tarn Taran, around 2,700 metric tones of paddy was procured by the government agencies today, informed Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, Deputy Commissioner. He said private agencies have so far procured 54,360 metric tonne crop. The maximum rates for basmati, ‘sharbati’ and ‘parmal’ varieties which are not procured by the government agencies stood at Rs 3,500, Rs 2,475 and Rs 1,465, respectively. District Mandi Officer, Amritsar, Sukhwinder Singh Khaira, said the procurement process would pick up pace within the next few days. He said they had made all arrangements at all centres to facilitate farmers during the procurement process. He said the drinking water, electricity and resting sheds for the farmers had already been set up.
	Youth all praise for Gandhi’s philosophy Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 The youth in the city is all praise for the ideals and philosophy of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi. On his birth anniversary, we ask them how do they connect with the great man. Non-violence, truth, patience, self-sufficiency, tolerance, honesty, integrity and nationality ?was what he always stood for. "Honestly speaking, I think whatever he stood for, his values and teachings are too idealistic and utopian in today's world. It is actually challenging to make today's youth follow his path," says Pragya Sethi, a Class XII student from Springdales. Agrees Jasmine Bawa, a communication professional. "His ideals are not totally irrelevant in today's time. The policy of truth and honesty, leading simple life should be followed even today. But non-violence and Swadeshi cannot be justified. How can you not react if somebody attacks you? Or willingly give yourself up for another slap in case of domestic violence? That wouldn't make sense," she asks. Does that mean we're giving up? "Gandhi was monumental in teaching us self-reliance and there are a million ways in which we can connect with him," Khadi says. The Gandhian fabric has been the coolest ever medium for the youth to wear Gandhi's beliefs on their sleeves. From being the fabric of a commoner, it has emerged the trendy and chic fabric with designer bets," shares Gureena Arora, a fashion designing student from INIFD. Credit Anna Hazare for turning Gandhi caps into a fashion trend from antique. Ashwini Pasricha, a research scholar from GNDU, believes that some of his teachings could solve a million problems if given a chance. "One of the few ways out is to keep on reminding the youngsters and reinforce his teachings,” he adds.
	Six trees uprooted in Ram Bagh Lack of proper care and treatment damaging greenery in the historic garden Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 The state government’s claim to turn the holy city into a greener, planned and developed one has fallen flat as six trees were noticed lying over ground at the historic Ram Bagh, which houses the summer palace of legendary Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Ram Bagh is popularly known as Company Garden. Notably, the garden houses many rare trees which are on the verge of felling down due to the careless attitude of authorities concerned. A morning walker Surinder Singh said the government was investing huge sums in restoring the concrete legacy of the Maharaja while there was no attempt to preserve the flora and fauna planted during his reign. Even as the state government is spending quite significantly on the landscaping and preserving the historic buildings at Ram Bagh, but no effort has been made to maintain the rare varieties of trees some of which are centuries old. Many trees are dying for the want of treatment while burning of refuse around these is driving them to collapse. Many rare trees which normally grow in the Himalayas and Nilgiri Hills are facing apathy. Spread over 84 acres of land, the garden came into existence in 1818 as the summer palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. However, today the flora of the garden is facing apathy of the authorities concerned. Regular visitors at the garden said for the upkeep of these trees, a plan enlisting the names of rare trees, their benefits and the ways to preserve them was required. The similar plan was submitted to the Municipal Corporation about 10 years ago but nothing concrete came out. Rat menace is threatening the very existence of trees. The population of rats in the park has increased as people offer grains, pulses, jaggery and other eatables to birds and insects. Majority of the people resort to such activities to appease the planet gods as per the advice of astrologers, said another morning walker Subhash Chander. Many trees with medicinal properties can also be located in the garden. An old Gingo Biloba tree, used in preparing homoeopathic medicines can be seen in a large number. The garden also has a few palm trees, but the possession of a couple of royal palms (oreodoxa regia) makes the garden unique in the northern region. The variety is normally found near the coastal areas. Tropical trees, including mahogany (swietenia mahogani) and sarinh (albizia procera) can also be noticed in the garden. Standing aloof, junglee badam (sterculia alata) attracts the attention of visitors by its dark green leaves. It is the favourite of horticulturists for its straight growth and is used extensively in urban landscaping. A 200-year-old ashoka tree (polyalthia longifolia) at the entrance of the garden from the Mall Road welcomes the visitors to the garden. The rare tree of camphor, with its huge trunk, is the favourite haunt of senior citizens. It also has a number of black and white eucalyptuses and three varieties of trees used in Ayurvedic medicines - harar (terminallia chevula), behera (terminallia bellerica) and mahua (madhuce). Even then the authorities have not prepared a plan to safeguard the trees for the posterity.
	Ground handling: Indo-Thai firm signs pact with Qatar airlines Amritsar, October 1 Indo-Thai Airport Management Services Private Limited, a company under Dhoot group, today signed a ground handling agreement with Qatar Airways for Sri Guru Ram Das Ji (SGRDJ) International Airport. On behalf of Indo-Thai President Rakesh Jain and from Qatar Airways, Doha its head of Contracts John C Itz signed the documents of the agreement. Jain asserted that this association for ground handling would provide passengers boarding from Amritsar an unmatched experience with the availability of trained personnel and state-of-the-art ground equipments. He intimated that the company would foray into the aviation sector by pressing in a chartered chopper at Jaipur Airport from October 5. He said the company was employing about 600 employees. Itz said, “Qatar Airways is a five-star airline operating daily flights to Doha from Amritsar and the Indo-Thai airways have been selected after a strenuous audit procedure and cross-checking Indo Thai’s ground handling capabilities.” Piyush Dhoot, director, Dhoot Group, who has interest in various businesses like Power, Finance, Real Estate, Education, Manufacturing, Trading and Healthcare, informed that Indo-Thai is the authorized ground handler appointed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for providing professional ground handling services at north Indian Airports. It was delegated the responsibility following the signing of a contract in 2009 for a period of 15 years. The company is currently operating out of eight airports and handling major domestic and international airlines like Oman Air, Fly Dubai, Turkmenistan, Air Arabia, SpiceJet, Go Air and others. — TNS
	All-India Public Sector Hockey Tournament begins Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 The All India Public Sector Hockey tournament was today inaugurated at Guru Nanak Dev University. The teams from public sector units, including Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Air India, Food Corporation of India, Indian Oil and Indian Overseas Bank are participating in the tournament scheduled from October 1 to 6. Addressing a press conference here today, JS Waraich, Secretary, All India Public Sector Sports Promotion board (AIPSSPB), said the tournament would help promoting the game in the region. He said, “The AIPSSPB is working for the development of various sports in country.” He said various PSUs in the country too were striving hard for the promotion of sports. The AIPSSPB has an active participation of around 40 public sector enterprises, said Waraich. He said to promote sports enthusiasm among the sportspersons recruited by various PSU’s, the AIPSSPB has recommended for an introduction of four year evaluation programme to assess their progress in a particular sport. However, he felt his dissatisfaction over the trend of sportspersons shifting their priority from their game to their job once they are employed by a PSU. He said some of the PSUs are doing very good in the field of sports while others still need to learn more.
	Heroin, arms seized, four arrested Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 Four persons were arrested today while one is still at large in connection with the seizure of heroin and arms in separate cases. According to Inspector Mohan Singh, SHO of the Airport police station, Sunit Kumar, a resident of Tehsilpura, Amritsar, has been caught with 500 gm of heroin along with one pistol and three live cartridges of 9mm. A case under Sections 21/61/85 of the NDPS Act and 25/54/59 of the Arms Act has been registered against the accused. “We are trying to verify whether the accused possessed the licence of the weapons or not,” he said. In another instance, the CIA staff has arrested Sandeep Singh, alias Deepu, a resident of Bank Avenue, Majitha Road with 10 gm of heroin while his accomplice Sarabjit Singh, a resident of Ibban Kalan, managed to flee the scene during an operation conducted today. ASI Maan Singh of the CIA staff said case under Section 21/61/85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against both accused and raids were being conducted to trace the third accused. In the third instance, the Chheharta police team arrested two persons, Jatinder Singh and Jaskaran Singh, both residents of Garden Colony Chheharta with 5g of heroin, silver foil paper, candle, burnt matchsticks and match boxes. Separate cases under Section 21/27-A/61/85 of the NDPS Act have been registered against both accused.
	Snatching incidents on the rise in city Amritsar, October 1 Snatching incidents continue unabated in the city as two more instances have been reported. In the first case, Vaibhav Kapoor, a resident of Roze Enclave, has lodged a complaint against three unknown persons who intercepted him and snatched his cash and other valuable items. In his complaint, he said when he reached the Mall Road on September 29, three unknown persons riding on an Activa scooty intercepted him and snatched his laptop, a mobile phone, internet dongle and a cash worth Rs 1,500 before they fled the scene. The accused were still at large but case has been registered in this regard. In the second instance, Puneet Jalal of Kirpal Nagar, Ludhiana, has lodged a complaint at the Sadar police station that two unknown persons snatched his belongings when he and his wife were riding a rickshaw near Power Colony. According to him, two persons, who were on a motorcycle, snatched his wife's purse which contained a gold chain worth 15 gm, an ATM card, and a mobile phone. A case has been registered in this regard. — TNS
	Newborn girl left in ‘Pangura’ Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 The shelter for abandoned children, Pangura, has received a newborn girl at its footsteps. Deputy Commissioner-cum-chairman of the District Red Cross Society, Ravi Bhagat, went to the shelter home to see the child today. Bhagat said the child was found in the cradle outside the institute yesterday. He said medical examination of the child was conducted where doctors reported that she was fine. He said the child would be sent to the adoption centre at Ludhiana where her adoption would be made possible to a deserving family.
	Cancer awareness campaign initiated Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 To observe the national breast cancer awareness month, renowned cancer specialist from Fortis hospital Dr Navdeep Singh initiated a cancer awareness campaign today. He said the purpose of the programme was to create awareness about breast cancer and to bring forth the latest developments in treatment procedures that had evolved over the years, making it curable with increased survival rate. He said there were misconceptions like cancer was not curable or that one could not lead a normal life even after the treatment. “The number of individuals who have survived cancer has considerably increased over the years,” he said. Dr Navdeep said the smaller the size of the breast cancer, the better is the rate of its cure. “A breast cancer that is 5mm in size has a 95 per cent cure rate. A breast cancer that is 1cm in size has a 90 per cent chance of cure,” said Dr Navdeep. He said timely detection of breast cancer can lower the risk. “Regular screening and medical check-up can help in early diagnosis of the disease,” he said.
	CPI to hold protest rally tomorrow Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 The Communist Party of India has announced to hold a protest rally against the heavy fees levied on properties in illegal colonies for their regularisation from Putlighar chowk to District Courts on October 3. The Communist Party of India’s leader, Amarjit Singh Asal, said party workers would present themselves for arrest by the police. He said, “Residents are facing difficulties in running their kitchens but the state government is devising new methods to extract money from them.”