Ludhiana, November 15
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal made tall promises about transforming the city into a world-class city in terms of cleanliness during his presentation while unveiling "Mission Ludhiana" today.

There will be no signages and unipoles on roads except for specific places in the city and like Times Square in New York, where major billboards, signages and outdoor advertisements are in place, advertisements and billboards will be allowed only at specified places. "Road furniture" will be created and it will also be utilised for advertising purposes as in metros and other places.

He said mechanised cleaning and sweeping would be started on city roads. He said like foreign countries, there would be automatic cleaning of roads and it would be started by July next year at a cost of Rs 50 crore.

Ludhiana, November 15
There is good news for those commuting to Chandigarh or Amritsar from the industrial hub of the state as the Northern Railway today introduced a new intercity daily express between the holy city and the state capital, which will pass through Ludhiana. The train 12411/12412 will run as a corresponding train to another intercity superfast train (12241/12242), already running on this section.

With the introduction of the new train, a long-pending demand of people has been met who wanted a parallel train to run between the two cities, leaving Chandigarh in the morning and returning from Amritsar in the evening as the existing intercity superfast train leaves Amritsar in the morning and returns late in the evening.

According to railway officials, the intercity express (12411) will leave Chandigarh at 6.55 am, reach Ludhiana at 9.00 am and then continue its journey to Amritsar where it will arrive at 11.25 am. On its return journey, the train (12412) will leave Amritsar at 5.30 pm, arrive in Ludhiana at 7.45 pm and reach Chandigarh at 9.55 pm. While running up and down on the Amritsar-Chandigarh section, the train will have commercial halts at Beas, Jalandhar City, Ludhiana, New Morinda and SAS Nagar (Mohali).

On its return journey, the train (12412) will leave Amritsar at 5.30 pm, arrive in Ludhiana at 7.45 pm and reach Chandigarh at 9.55 pm. While running up and down on the Amritsar-Chandigarh section, the train will have commercial halts at Beas, Jalandhar City, Ludhiana, New Morinda and SAS Nagar (Mohali)

Jagraon, November 15
High drama was witnessed at the District Food Supplies Office yesterday when two rice millers of the area clashed with each other. Both the sides had prolonged heated arguments before exchanging blows. One youth even fainted probably due to hypertension. The matter was resolved when some other persons intervened into the matter and made both the parties reach compromise.

The incident took place around 11 am today morning. According to sources, two rice millers, including a youth, suddenly arrived at the DFS Office, Jagraon, and started blaming each other for creating hurdles in each other's business.

Surinder Kumar Beri, DFSO, Jagraon, was not present at the office when the incident took place. “I was not present in the office at the time of incident and I came to know about it from a subordinate. I have learnt that it was some personal dispute between two rice millers and both the parties reached a mutual agreement after some time,” said Beri when contacted over phone.

Ludhiana, November 15
Outsourced drivers and conductors of Ludhiana City Bus Service Ltd (LCBSL) resumed their duties after getting an assurance from the authorities that their salaries will be released by tomorrow. However, the staff said if they failed to get their salaries tomorrow, they would again go on strike.

Sources in the LCBSL said as Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was to flag off a new lot of buses under the city bus service project, they had to strive hard to convince the drivers and conductors to resume their duties today.

Khamano November 15
In order to control drugs in the state and in jails, the Punjab Government is fully committed and is taking several steps and to stop drug smuggling in state jails. The Punjab Government is introducing three-tier security system in all jails of Punjab and will not allow drugs to the inmates.

Stating about it during a function at Cordia Group of Institutes at Sanghol, Jail Minister, Sarwan Singh Philaur, said that under the three-tier security system, jawans of the Punjab Police will be posted for outer security, jawans of PAP will be posted for the security of jail towers and for internal security, the jawans of Pasco will be posted in jails to stop drugs inside jails by any means. He said to keep strict watch the CCTV cameras and jammers will be stalled in all the jails of Punjab and the process had already started in some jails.

He added that the stores of essential commodities will be opened in jails for the inmates to stop outer supply of commodities. He said drug peddlers often send drugs to the inmates in jails on the name of providing needed commodities to the inmates and this practice will not be allowed for the welfare of inmates. He also said mobiles phones will not be allowed inside jails and the Punjab government is opening phone booths inside jails so that inmates can make calls to their families on scheduled timing.

He further said the Punjab Government had ordered strict action against the drug sellers in and outside of the state to the Punjab Police and police had unearthed several such groups in and around state in the past some months. He said that drugs will not be allowed at any cost to save the people specially the youths of the state from the menace of drugs. The Punjab Government is taking all steps to make the state drug free till next year.

Sukhdev Singh Mahal, SDM Bassi Pathana, chairman of the Cordia Group of Institutes, Diljit Rana, Director, RK Sharma, and Harpreet Kaur, Naib Tehsildar, Khamano, were also present on the occasion. 

Ludhiana, November 15
The traders' policy announced by the Punjab Government yesterday has received a mixed response from the industry in the city. The implementation of a social security scheme for traders from January 1 next year has been well-received, while traders have given the thumbs down to issuing of VAT refunds on the basis of the "star system".

Traders having a turnover up to Rs 1 crore will be covered under a health insurance scheme (up to Rs 50,000 in the case of hospitalisation due to an accident or an illness). It will cover surgeries and diseases such as heart problem, stone, hernia, cancer, kidney failure and stroke/paralysis.

A fire insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh will also be given in case of natural calamities such as earthquake and floods, besides riots.

"This is a good step taken by the government. We hope it is implemented properly. Traders being covered under a health insurance scheme is a welcome move," said Gurdial Singh, a garment trader.

Besides, there will be minimum interface between dealers and the department. To ensure hassle-free and transparent governance, a single taxation system will be implemented from January 1 next year. Initially, white goods, aerated drinks and kiryana/fast-moving consumer goods marketed by MNCs will be covered under the single-stage taxation. The new effective tax component will be lower than the existing effective tax component.

"The Punjab Government has taken three major initiatives for hassle-free and timely refund of VAT, including the creation of a dedicated refund fund, the star rating scheme for fast-tracking of refunds and online transfer of refunds into the dealers' accounts. The Punjab VAT Refund Fund will be constituted only for refunds, in which all collections made under advance tax will be deposited. The Deputy Chief Minister has announced that the entire backlog of refunds will be cleared by March 31, 2014," said taxation lawyer Sumit Khanna.

To check frauds in VAT refunds, the star-rating system for fast-tracking of funds from December 2013 will be introduced. "I do not understand how the government will differentiate between good taxpayers and fraudsters,” said Satish Lal, another trader.

Under the star-rating system, the highest taxpayer will be granted “five stars” and will get the refunds within 15 days. Four, three and two star-rated traders will get refunds online within 25, 35 and 45 days, respectively.

Khanna/Samrala, November 15
Member of the SC/ST commission, Dalip Singh Pandhi, demanded transfer of the case of a Dalit girl of Mushkabad village, who had tried to commit suicide by consuming some poisonous substance after being harassed by a village youth to the CBI to get justice in the case.

In a letter, Dalip said that as the family of Sher Singh, father of the victim, had lost faith in the local police, the case should be handed over to CBI for further action as the victim’s family lives in fear of the attackers. In his letter, Dalip demanded that the affected family should be provided security. He alleged that the police officials were pressuring Sher Singh for compromise and a concerned police post in charge had already forced them for compromise with the attackers some time ago. Now, again the concerned youth had started eve-teasing and harassing his daughter. He also rued that he had took up this matter with the ADGP crime and the commission had written three reminders but no police official is hearing or taking any action in this regard. Alleging harassment and eve-teasing, a minor Dalit girl of the nearby village had consumed some poisonous substance and tried to commit suicide was recovering at a hospital and was said to be out of danger now.

Sushil Kumar, SSP, Khanna, when contacted in this regard, said the police had taken appropriate action in to the complaint immediately and had arrested the alleged accused and ruled out any bias or inaction by the police.

Ludhiana, November 15
In a press conference held today, members of the United Church of Northern India (UCNI) claimed that the Supreme Court of India has dismissed the appeal of the Church of North India (CNI) in which the CNI had claimed that it came into existence following the merger of six churches on November 29, 1970 and that the CNI had become the successor of all the movable and immovable properties of those six churches across India. Rev Clarence Bansi Lal, president of the United Church of Northern India Trust Association, claimed that the Supreme Court observed, “Merely by filing the change report, the CNI cannot claim a merger of churches and thereby claim that the properties vested in the trust would vest in them.”

“Now, the Supreme Court of India has passed its judgment where it clearly states that the merger was illegal and the properties cannot be claimed by the Church of North India. We would now approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court to claim back some of the properties which have been illegally sold by some persons,” claimed Fredrik. — TNS

Ludhiana, November 15
Result of the elections for Indian Medical Association, Punjab, was declared yesterday. There were three candidates for the post of president - Dr SPS Sooch from Phagwara, Dr HS Narang from Bathinda and Dr RL Taneja from Ferozepur.

Dr SPS Sooch was declared as the president of IMA's Punjab unit. There were four candidates for the post of vice-presidents- Dr Rajinder Sharma from Hoshiarpur, Dr Navjot Singh Dhayia from Jalandhar, Dr Rakesh Kumar Gupta from Bathinda and Dr RL Taneja from Ferozepur. Dr Rajinder Sharma and Dr RL Taneja have been elected as vice-presidents. 

Ludhiana, November 15
Students from Pakistan and Nepal attending the three-day long glittering cultural extravaganza, Inter-School Youth Festival “Fusion - 2013”, are feeling at home, thanks to the warm atmosphere they are getting in Ludhiana.

“Fusion - 2013” got off to a colourful start today at BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School amidst much excitement and fervour. This grand festival aims at bringing young people from India and other neighbouring countries together on a single platform to discuss, share and highlight their rich culture and values.

Rukhsana, a teacher accompanying the students from Islamabad, Pakistan, said her students were the ambassadors of goodwill and peace. “It is a great opportunity for the students to get acquainted with their counterparts here. They are interacting with the students of India. They are learning many things from them. The visit will definitely prove to be an altogether different experience,” she said.

“We are loving the spicy and vegetarian food of India. Food here tastes great, quite like our country, but it is little bit spicy. The best part is that even the vegetarian food tastes great here,” said the students from Pakistan and Nepal.

Over 400 students from nearly 31 schools across India as well as from Pakistan, Nepal, Bahrain and other states of the country are showcasing their talent and creative skills in nearly 20 events based on literary, artistic, cultural and intellectual activities. All events in the fest have been designed to develop analytical abilities, enhance confidence and channelise creative potentials among young minds in order to nurture their physical and mental growth and meet the demand of this millennium.

Maj-Gen Binoy Poonnen (AVSM, VSM) was the chief guest on the grand opening ceremony. He was ushered in the bedecked school hall amidst much applause. After the wonderful welcome of the chief guest and other galaxy of dignitaries, the programme was inaugurated with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp, followed by Saraswati Vandana to invoke the blessings of the Almighty.

Ludhiana, November 15
Three youths had a narrow escape when a SUV in which they were travelling in overturned after hitting a pole at the Jamalpur Chowk late last night. All three persons escaped with injuries. The injured have been identified as Charanjit Singh, Gagandeep Singh and Abhishek of the Moti Nagar area.

According to information, the incident took place at 1.10 am when the victims were coming from the Chandigarh Road side.

Baljit Singh, investigating officer at the Jamalpur police station, said when the SUV-borne youths reached the Jamalpur Chowk, suddenly a scooter came in front of them. The driver lost control while saving the scooterist. The speeding SUV hit the pole at the chowk and overturned.

The injured persons were immediately rushed to a hospital. “Charanjit Singh, who was driving the vehicle, received severe injuries, while two others who were sitting on the rear seat got minor injuries,” said Baljit Singh. 

Ludhiana, November 15
Paramjeet Singh Gill, Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana, was transferred this evening. Nirmal Singh Dhillon, IG, Bathinda Zone, replaced Paramjeet Singh Gill. Twenty-two senior police officers of the Punjab Police were transferred today.

Paramjeet Singh Gill has been transferred to the IG Zonal, Patiala. He joined as the Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana, on June 11, 2013. 

Ludhiana, November 15
The No. 4 Punjab Air Squadron NCC, Ludhiana, organised a felicitation ceremony for the cadets who had excelled in various disciplines at the Annual Training Camp (ATC-66) held recently at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Dhanansu, on the outskirts of Ludhiana city. All ANOs and instructional staff attended the function, which was held today at the unit office in Sarabha Nagar.

During the camp, there were multiple disciplines in which the cadets had an opportunity to perform and excel. The cadets, who were felicitated, had won gold medals in events like solo song/dance, static aero-modelling, simulator flying, rifle shooting, mini-marathon, remote control aero-model flying, etc. During the function, Wing Commander SS Kaila, Commanding Officer of the unit, congratulated the cadets and appreciated the efforts of respective ANOs/training staff for their efforts in helping them to excel.

CSUO Gurlal Singh Sandhu, who was adjudged the best cadet among boys, sharing the details of the camp, said: “Even though I was selected for the Vay Sena Camp at Bangalore, I chose to stay back instead for the ATC. As the senior-most cadet, I had certain responsibilities and was clear that my presence during the camp was more important. I had an excellent opportunity to hone my leadership skills under the watchful eyes of my CO and training staff. The experience of handling over 500 cadets was a satisfying experience, more so when my efforts have been lauded by the CO in front of everyone at the end of the camp”.

Cdt Priyanka, the best girl cadet, said: “Our CO sir, in his opening address, had explained about the events that were planned during the camp. He asked us to excel in a true competitive spirit and win medals. I really strived to do the same and winning the best cadet award from him at the end of the camp was very exhilarating”. — TNS

Ludhiana, November 15
Socio-religious organisations staged a protest against the screening of Bollywood film “Ram-Leela” at Aarti Cinema here today. Activists of the Shiv Sena Hindustan and the Hindu Morcha Punjab gheraoed the cinema hall. The administration deputed heavy police force outside the cinema hall to tackle the situation.

The activists removed some posters and banners from the walls of the cinema hall. Meanwhile, Harmohan Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, held a meeting with the leaders of the Shiv Sena and the authorities of the cinema hall. In the meeting, it was decided that the leaders would watch the movie and then the objections would be noted.

Five persons from different organisations watched the movie and demanded to remove some objectionable scenes from the movie.

Varun Mehta, president, Hindu Morcha Punjab, said: “First of all, the name of the movie should be changed. Then, there is a song in which an actor in Hanuman’s role has performed a dance over a vulgar song. The song should be removed from the movie”.

The administration assured the Shiv Sena activists that they would ask the higher authorities to remove the objectionable scenes from the film.

“If the authorities concerned will not remove the objectionable scenes from the movie, then we will intensify the protest and will not allow the screening of the film in cinema halls,” said Krishan Sharma, President, Shiv Sena Punjab.

Ludhiana, November 15
Seventeen patients tested positive for dengue at various hospitals in the city today. Of them, 12 are from from the city and five from rural areas. Nine cases are from other districts— five from Fatehgarh Sahib, two from Bathinda, one each from Hoshiarpur and Sangrur.

One case was reported from Himachal Pradesh.

With this total cases till date diagnosed in Ludhiana hospitals are from Ludhiana are 885, from other district 425 and other states 137.

Meanwhile, a team of Health Department officials visited ATI Campus, New Jantaagar, Chet Singh Nagar, Adarsh Colony Barewal, Pushav Colony Barewal, Parkash Colony Barewal and 13 Group Meetings were conducted. Total of 45 coolers and 121containers were checked by them and larva was found in a cooler at Parkash Colony.

Ludhiana, November 15
Students of Punjab Agricultural University have failed to maintain cleanliness at the café located near the students' home despite the fact that posters urging students to use garbage bins have been put up there.

The students leave their empty paper cups and plates on their benches, despite the fact that garbage bins have been placed nearby only.

Few days back, some PAU students had pasted posters at the café as well as the benches urging the students to throw empty paper cups and plates in garbage bins. But this thing seems to have not moved the students because they still leave litter the place.

Karanvir Singh Sandhu, president, Punjab Agricultural University Students Association (PAUSA), said: "Maintaining cleanliness on the campus is already on cards. "We have already discussed this matter within the PAUSA and we will involve students in a regular cleanliness drive on the campus. All the students are well educated and should make sure they throw the litter in garbage bins whenever they get up from benches," he said.

Jagreet Singh Virk from the PAU Young Writers Association urged the students to use garbage bins while having tea or snacks on the campus. "We all should understand that the campus is ours and it is our own duty to keep it free from litter," he said.

Rajwinder Singh Kalyan, a volunteer of the PAU Students Eco Club, said: "The students leaving behind litter at the café should know that an 80-year-old man cleans the area. We are all youngsters and should throw the litter in garbage bins only. We have organised several cleanliness drives on the varsity campus and another such drive is certainly on our cards."

Chandigarh, November 15
Raising questions over the selection of teachers in the colleges affiliated to Panjab University (PU), three out of six members of a selection committee that conducted interviews at Ludhiana-based Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management have complained to the Vice-Chancellor against the selection of a candidate.

The trio, after selecting the candidate, accused the college management of “stressing” on conducting the interview for the selection of a particular 
candidate.

The complainants--Senate member Kuldeep Singh (VC nominee), Prof Sanjay Kaushik and Assistant Prof Navdeep Kaur, both subject experts from the University Business School (UBS)--had gone to the college as a part of the committee in May this year.

The trio, in their complaint to the VC, stated that the college provided them with a list of 92 candidates, while the list of candidates provided by the university mentioned only 77 applicants for four posts in the commerce department.

The PU Senator, Kuldeep Singh, said as per the rule, candidates must submit the application form to the college, while a copy has to be submitted to the Dean College Development Council (DCDC) at the university.

“There were several candidates who had not applied to the university, to which we raised an objection,” said the committee member.

The committee members, in their complaint, stated that the college management wanted the committee to conduct interviews of 10 such candidates, who were not in the list provided by the university. The complaint further mentions that the management was “adamant” on the selection of Priyansha Mahajan, who was among these 10 candidates.

The chairman and secretary of the managing committee and the college principal were also a part of the selection committee. SP Oswal, chairman of the Vardhman Group, is the chairman of the managing committee.

College principal RL Behl told this correspondent that if the committee members were not satisfied with the selection, they should not have signed the selection proceedings.

“The committee members who have complained did not raise any objection at the time of selection. Raising the issue after selection is not justified,” the principal said. 

Ludhiana, November 15
An ASI deputed on VIP duty on the Deputy Chief Minister's route attempted suicide by taking poison this morning. The ASI, Joginder Singh Kalsi, is a resident of Baranhara village and posted at the Jagatpuri police post in Division No. 4.

Joginder Singh joined the security duty in the morning on the Jalandhar bypass. Around 10 am, while standing on the route duty, he took celphos tablets and fell on the spot. Shopkeepers and commuters informed the police about the incident.

Balwinder Singh, SHO of the Salem Tabri police station, reached the spot and took him to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital. Joginder Singh's condition is stated to be stable. Police officials tried to hide the incident and did not respond to repeated phone calls. Later, Bitten Kumar, SHO of the Division No. 4 police station, confirmed the incident.

Police officials said Joginder Singh was under depression due to some domestic problems. A policeman claimed that the ASI had been demanding leave for some days, but due to the Deputy Chief Minister's visit, he was not granted leave.

Ludhiana, November 15
In a board daylight incident, two motorcycle-borne miscreants snatched a bag containing Rs 5 lakh from a property dealer at Upkar Nagar here today. The incident took place around 1.30 pm, when the property dealer, Rahul, was returning home from a bank on the Mall Road after withdrawing Rs 5 lakh.

Rahul, along with his wife Richa, withdrew the money from HDFC Bank located on the Mall Road and they were returning home in their car. Rahul told the police that four miscreants on two motorcycles started following them from the Mall Road.

When they entered the Upkar Nagar area, two youngsters stopped on a turn, while the two others keep following them. When Rahul reached home and alighted from the car, the miscreants snatched the bag from him. The miscreants have covered their faces.

The police said Rahul had recently finalised a property deal and had withdrawn the money for the property.

Bittan Kumar, SHO, said, "We have registered a case against unidentified persons and are investigating the case."

Ludhiana, November 15
A 17-year-old girl committed suicide under mysterious circumstances in Karamsar Colony at Basti Jodhewal here today.

The girl was a student of Class XII. The mother of the deceased teaches in a private school, while her father works in a factory.

The police recovered a suicide note from the victim which stated that: “Mamma, Papa, I love you a lot. I am going to commit suicide”.

Officials at the Police Station, Basti Jodhewal, said no clue to the suicide had been found from preliminary investigations.

The mother and the brother of the deceased were at the school, while her father was at the factory when the girl committed suicide.

The girl's mother told the police that she had called up her daughter in the morning when a vendor came to deliver a gas cylinder at their house. She wanted to know that from where she gave money to the vendor.

When after repeated attempts the girl did not respond to her calls, the worried mother called her neighbour in the afternoon to go to her place. The neighbour on visiting her house found the girl hanging.

A case has been registered at the Police station Basti Jodhewal. Gurpreet Singh, SHO, Basti Jodhewal Police Station, said: “From preliminary investigations, we did not find any clue to the suicide. We will investigate the matter from all angles”.

Ludhiana, November 15
GMT Public School and Spring Dale Public School recorded victories on the second day of the Ludhiana Sahodaya School Complex Cricket Tournament being organised at Green Land Convent School Stadium, GT Road, Manj Phagowal, on the Ludhiana-Jalandhar road here today.

In the first match, GMT Public School defeated Bhartiya Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School by 16 runs.

GMT Public School scored 125 runs in 19.2 overs in which the main scorer was Ashish. He made 32 runs off 35 balls. For BVM school, Anurag and Rahul Sikka scalped four wickets each after conceding 17 runs and 2 runs, respectively.

In reply, BVM could only score 109 runs. Tanroop and Japjeet scored 19 runs and 15 runs, respectively, but that was not enough to surpass GMT school’s total.

For the winners, Akshay accounted for three wickets for 11 runs and Rishab claimed two wickets for six runs.

However, the second match played between Spring Dale Public School and Shivalikwala Doon School turned out to be a mismatch as the former wrapped it up comfortably with 8 wickets.

Shivalikwala Doon School set a target of 78 runs as they made 77 runs in 18 overs. Not even a single batsman could touch double figure.

For Spring Dale school, Harminder and Jashan shared the bowling honours, chipping in with three and two wickets after giving away 8 runs and 16 runs, respectively.

Spring Dale Public School achieved the target in 11.2 overs losing two wickets. Ramandeep scored 35 runs, while Gursewak made 12 runs that proved decisive for their team's win. For the losers, both the wickets were grabbed by Sourav who bowled three overs and conceded 14 runs.