Ludhiana, December 10
The Punjab State Human Rights Commission has asked the Chief Secretary to take administrative/disciplinary action against erring jail officials and medical staff due to whose negligence a jail inmate died in Ludhiana in 2009.

In its report, a five-member committee of the commission stated that an NRI convict, Amarjit Singh, alias Sweety, appeared to have died due to lack of coordination between jail officials and medical staff, non-availability of a doctor and pharmacist, and a delay in providing treatment to the convict. The panel said action should be taken against the erring staff.

Amarjit Singh, who was undergoing life imprisonment in a murder case in Central Jail, Ludhiana, had died on May 3, 2009. His family lives in the USA. His friend, Satwinder Singh, had blamed the jail staff for his death. In the backdrop of the details and facts available on record, a show-cause notice under Section 16 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, was issued to the state and its functionaries to put their defence, if any.

The Superintendent, Central Jail, here had filed a reply on November 28, 2011, and after considering the reply, the commission directed the state government that the jail officials concerned be proceeded against at the department level.

The ADGP, Prisons, vide a reference dated February 5, 2013, had stated that no opportunity was given to the Superintendent, Central Jail, to explain his conduct. Keeping in view the principles of natural justice and to fix responsibility of the officers concerned, the state government again directed the District Magistrate, Ludhiana, to file his report in the matter.

Following the orders, the then Deputy Commissioner, Rahul Tiwari, constituted a three-member committee, comprising the Executive Magistrate (chairman), the District Revenue Officer and the District Welfare Officer as members, to look into the circumstances leading to Amarjit Singh's death.

The committee submitted its report in May 2013. It was reported that the convict was suffering from a chronic disease and never complained of any sickness till he remained in jail. It was also stated that on March 19, 2009, he was shifted to Central Jail, Ludhiana, following a jail doctor’s report, which stated that “the person is healthy and fit for hard work”. According to the jail record, too, till his death, he was neither given any medicine nor was he referred to any hospital outside the jail. However, all of a sudden, he felt some pain in the arm and was referred to the Civil Hospital on May 3, 2009, for treatment where Dr Gurbinder Kaur, after a check up declared him dead.

Ludhiana, December 10
The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation wants a greener Ludhiana, but the reality is that park management committees (PMCs) are not paid on time. Due to the dwindling financial position of the civic body, several PMCs in the city have not been paid for the past seven months. As a result, several gardeners have left their jobs and parks are God's mercy.

There are around 750 parks in the city and 300 PMCs, which manage 350-odd parks.

A majority of the PMCs are managed by senior citizens, who rue that despite several visits to MC offices, they fail to get satisfactory replies from the staff regarding non-payment of dues.

It is learnt that Senior Deputy Mayor Sunita Aggarwal brought the matter to the notice of MC Additional Commissioner Sumit Jarangal, but to no avail.

Sant Parkash Singh Gill, a retired Superintending Engineer from the Irrigation Department and resident of C Block in Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, manages a park (number 247 D) in the area.

"We had formed a PMC, but haven't received payment since July. Even the cheque in lieu of the bimonthly payment for May and June was received only two days ago. The idea behind setting up the PMCs was to increase the participation of city residents in the maintainance of the parks. However, with such harassment, it has become difficult for us to run the PMC. The payments are released only from the Zone A office of the MC, which is located in Mata Rani Chowk. Most of the PMCs are managed by senior citizens, who find it difficulat to visit the office every time. The MC should formulate a policy so that the payments can be sent to the respective councillors. This will help us as we will not have to visit the MC office repeatedly," said Gill.

Another senior citizen, who maintains a PMC in Sarabha Nagar, said, "The city is fast turning into a concrete jungle due to haphazard growth. Despite this, the MC is harassing the PMCs by not releasing payments for the maintenance of parks. Sometimes cheques issued by the MC to the PMCs bounce due to a shortage of funds, which is shameful."

The PMCs were set up on an initiative taken by former MC Commissioner SS Sandhu during his tenure about a decade ago.

Ludhiana, December 10
Auto-rickshaw drivers staged a protest at Aarti Chowk on Ferozepur Road against the decision of the municipal corporation and the city police to run auto-rickshaws on service lanes and not on main roads. Irked by the poor condition of service lanes, which are uncarpeted, the auto-rickshaw drivers blocked the road for sometime and raised slogans against the authorities.

The protest led to long traffic jams on Ferozepur Road and other link roads.

Police officials reached the spot and pacified the protesters. The police had ordered the auto-rickshaw drivers to run their vehicles on service lanes instead of main roads a few weeks ago. The drivers had started following the orders, but the poor condition of the road forced them to raise their voice. The drivers demanded that the roads be recarpeted.

Rakesh, an auto-rickshaw driver, said, "We do not have any objection in using the service lanes. However, the roads need to be recarpeted. The bumpy lanes are causing damage to our vehicles."

Ludhiana, December 10
Amid a protest by city residents, the building branch of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation today demolished seven illegal shops, which were under construction, in different parts of the city.

However, despite the protest, MC officials managed to demolish the illegal structures.

The demolitions were carried out in Sunet, Shastri Nagar, Model Town and the Kochar market.

These shops were constructed without getting the building plans sanctioned and were coming up in violation of the building bylaws.

Assistant Town Planner Rajinder Sharma said the construction of a shop was going on near a gurdwara in Sunet village. "We demolished a portion of this shop, but as the violation was compoundable, the owner submitted a cheque to pay the fee to the MC."

Two such illegal shops were demolished in the Shastri Nagar area. "One shop was being constructed without following the building bylaws and sans permission, while the other shopkeeper had encroached upon an area. The illegal shop was demolished while the encroachment was removed," said Rajinder Sharma.

In Model Town, three shops were demolished while in the Kochar market, the shutter of an under construction shop was removed.

These shops were demolished on a complaint of a city resident, Rohit Sabharwal. 

Ludhiana, December 10
Giving one more chance to city residents, the state government has extended the last date for filing property tax returns with a 10 per cent rebate till December 31. The last date for filing returns without a 10 per cent rebate has been extended till January 31. The government has made it categorically clear that the date will not be extended any further.

The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation had started its recovery drive of property tax on October 2.

Since this tax is based on a self-assessment method, residents can calculate the amount they have to pay as property tax. The MC has been able to recover over Rs 36 crore as property tax from 1.26 lakh residents.

Earlier, the last date for filing property tax returns with a 10 per cent rebate was November 30, which was extended till December 10. Now, the last date has been extended once again.

MC Additional Commissioner Isha Kalia said a two-page order in this regard was received this evening. “The state government has made it clear this is the last time the date has been extended. We appeal to residents to file their property tax returns by December 31 if they want to avail of a 10 per cent rebate,” she said.

For easy payment of tax and complete information regarding property tax, residents can also log on to www.mcludhiana.gov.in. The residents can enquire about the tax and the calculation method on helpline number 9780022410.

Now, residents who file their property tax returns before December 31 will get a rebate of 10 per cent. They will not get any rebate if they file their returns up to January 31. After January 31, they will have to pay tax with a 25 per cent penalty. Those who do not clear the tax amount by March 31 next year will be have to pay a 50 per cent penalty along with 18 per cent interest.

Ludhiana, December 10
A thick blanket of fog engulfed several parts of the city, especially the outer areas, today. Till 9.30 am, thick fog was witnessed inside the city at many places, including Punjab Agricultural University, Rose Garden and Leisure Valley. According to the weatherman, during the next few days, the city is likely to witness foggy mornings and evenings.

Dr KK Gill, an agro-meteorologist at the PAU, the weather on the whole will remain clear except for foggy mornings and evenings. The temperature is likely to decrease in the next few days.

She said compared to the temperature in the first 10 days of December in 2012, the minimum temperature this year was 3°C higher. In December, the minimum temperature dipped to around 3.4°C in 2012, while this time, the minimum temperature was hovering around 6.8°C and the maximum around 23.6°C.

Those going out on walks in the morning, milkmen and drivers had to face difficulty while going about their work due to the fog. “The visibility was poor and we had to drive cautiously and use dippers,” said Barjinder Singh, a milk supplier in the Barewal area.

Ludhiana, December 10
Led by activists of the Bharti Kisan Union (BKU), farmers from Punjab and other parts of India will lay a siege to Parliament in New Delhi on March 27, 2014, to press for their demands.

Talking to media persons here today, BKU president Ajmer Singh Lakhowal said in the first phase of the mass movement, the BKU will organise 20 meetings of farmers in each district of Punjab to focus on the issues relating to farmers and farming.

As a result of anti-farmer policies of the Centre, a majority of farmers were facing a financial crisis, leading to an increase in the number of cases of suicide by farmers all across the country.

Commenting on the results of the recent Assembly elections, he said Congress rout in four states was indicative of widespread anger and resentment among the farming community against the policies of the Congress-led UPA government. “If the Congress continues with its anti-people and anti-farmer policies, it will meet a similar fate in the Lok Sabha elections, scheduled to be held in 2014,” Lakhowal added.

The BKU chief lauded the resolution adopted by the World Trade Organisation at its meeting recently held in Indonesia to continue with the subsidies to the farmers in developing nations. “This has been made possible due to the persistent demand of farmers of the poor and developing nations,” he said while making a special mention of the role played by Cabinet Minister Anand Sharma, who had represented India in this meeting.

According to Lakhowal, the state committee meeting of the BKU held earlier had urged the Punjab Government to raise the limit of agricultural loans granted by cooperative societies to farmers by at least 50 per cent in view of a steep hike in the cost of farm inputs.

The meeting reiterated its demand to raise the support price of various crops as per the recommendations of Dr MS Swaminathan Committee and also asked the state government to ensure eight-hour uninterrupted power supply during the day for tube-wells.

Ludhiana, December 10
The input costs of local dyeing industry have increased by nearly 20-25 per cent, leading to a hike in the cost of dyeing. There are numerous other factors responsible for the increase in the cost of dying. Among them are 20-25 per cent increase in the raw material prices such as chemical and dyes and the increased rates of electricity, husk, etc.

The prices of dyes and colour, main raw materials in the dyeing and printing of fabric, have increased by 10-12 per cent. “Prices of raw materials have increased considerably in the past few months. Even husk, which was initially priced at Rs 350 per kg, is now available at Rs 500 per kg,” said Ashok Makkar, president of the Ludhiana Dyeing Industries Association.

Another dyeing unit owner said unable to bear the rising costs, many dyeing units in the city had shut down and turned to some other professions.

“Input cost was increasing and our customers were not ready to pay the increased price. Unable to bear the pressure, I decided to shift to another allied profession,” said Krishan Kumar, a dyeing unit owner from the Tajpur Road area.

Meanwhile, Naresh Sood said the MGNREGA was proving to be counter productive for them. Labourers are moving out of Punjab as they have plenty of work at their hometowns. It has become very difficult to get skilled labour. “Knowing there is shortage of labour, skilled labour is charging exorbitant rates,” said Sood.

Ludhiana, December 10
Common man is bound to suffer as work at major departments is expected to be hit during visits by VIPs and VVIPs to the city in the coming days. If the proposed schedule of the VIPs is any indication then most government machinery will be busy making necessary arrangements for the dignitaries while the routine work in offices is bound to suffer.

One of the SDMs in the district said meetings were being conducted by the higher-ups to make elaborative arrangements for the dignitaries. He said on December 12, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was expected to visit the city to review arrangements for two mega events, the finals of the World Kabaddi Cup to be held at Guru Nanak Stadium here and Narender Modi’s rally at Jagraon on December 21.

“Since Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister,Pakistan Punjab, and a few other ministers are expected to be the guests at the finals of the Kabaddi Cup, the arrangements will be minutely monitored by the DCM himself. Their stay, security arrangements, etc, are the major tasks that will keep a majority of officials in the district busy. If files were not cleared as we might not be able to sit in the offices as routine, we will need to put in extra efforts to clear the backlog in the days to come,” said the SDM.

On December 18, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is expected to visit the city for laying the foundation stone of a meritorious school coming up at the boys’ hostel of SCD Government College here.

A local Tehsildar said it was not just that top officials of the district administration were involved in the mega event, services of almost all the officials from every department were needed to make the event successful. “The common man does not know about the VVIP/VIP movement in the city. They will visit offices to get their work done as routine. But officials will not be able to stick to their offices alone all day,” said the Tehsildar. 

Ludhiana, December 10
A letter-writing competition is being conducted by the Department of Posts.

The 43rd UPU Letter Writing Competition will be conducted on January 5 next year on the subject ‘write a letter describing how music can touch lives’.

Open for children up to the age of 15, the language of the letter would be English or any language listed in the eight schedule of the Constitution. The last date for the submission of forms for the competition is December 21.

Winner of the competition at the national level would receive a prize of Rs 2,000 and a certificate. The second and third prizes would be Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,000 along with certificate. Best entry from each postal circle would receive a consolation prize of Rs 250, along with a certificate.

Ludhiana, December 10
The Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), a centrally-sponsored scheme for reforming the state higher education system, will adopt a new approach towards funding of state universities. No funds will go to private universities or institutions under the scheme.

The key principles for RUSA funding will be based on performance.

Funding through State Higher Education Councils would mean some funding powers of the University Grants Commission would be subsumed. This had been envisaged in an amendment to the UGC Act moved in 2004-2005. It had proposed setting up of a separate commission to fund educational institutions.

“It is a long process and will take time to formulate but according to my opinion more liberal view should be adopted by the government in funding the institutions. Giving funds according to the performance is a good step but the parameters to judge the performance should be clear,” said Dr Narinder Sandhu, Principal, Ramgarhia Girls’ College.

“Once eligible for funding under RUSA, the states will receive funds on the basis of achievements and outcomes. The yardstick for deciding the quantum of funds for the states and institutions comprise the norms that reflect the performance in key result areas (access, equity and excellence)," said a principal of another college.

Ludhiana, December 10
President of the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU), Punjab, Inderjit Singh passed away here today. He was 92.

He breathed his last in a private nursing home in the city this morning after a prolonged illness.

Inderjit Singh was also the Chairman of the Punjab State Small Scale Welfare Industrial Board from 2009 to 2012. Sat Pal Sharma and Avtar Singh, vice- president and general secretary of the CICU, respectively, said Punjab had lost a true bold and upright industrial leader.

Punjab Industries Minister Madan Mohal Mittal also expressed shock over his demise and said the state had lost a sincere industrial leader and adviser. 

Ludhiana, December 10
Day after a leopard attacked two persons, residents of Kadian village, which is located close to the tiger safari on the Jalandhar bypass, spotted the leopard this evening. Senior officials of the Forest Department said the residents informed the team, which on a hunt for the leopard in the area, about the presence of the big cat in the area. The team of continued hunt for the leopard whole day.

The staff of the department installed traps in the area. As many as 15 personnel are on the trail of the leopard.

Daljit Singh Brar, District Forest Officer, said: “Our team is on a hunt for the leapard in the area. We have installed cages to catch it.”

Ludhiana, December 10
In the wake of the recent acid attack on a bride-to-be in the city and in line with the instructions of the Supreme Court, the police have tightened the noose around those indulging in the open sale of acid. They seized 440 litres of acid from a shop.

The Daresi police arrested two shopkeepers and one supplier in this regard. The accused have been identified as Jamil Jain and Rohit Kumar, both owners of grocery shops at Pansari Bazar in the Old City area, and a supplier, Ram Bachan, a resident of Tajpur Road.

The police got a tip-off that the shopkeepers had been selling acid openly in the market. A team from the Daresi police station raided on of the shops. The police seized 11 containers of acid. According to the police, each container contained 40 litres. After quizzing the shopkeepers, the police also arrested the supplier, who used to supply the acid.

Sanjeev Kapoor, SHO, Daresi police station, said, "The shopkeepers failed to show licence and we have arrested them. During investigation, they confessed that they used to get the acid from Ram Bachan. He further bought the acid from chemical factories. We are investigating the matter thoroughly. The chemical factories will also be questioned".

The police have registered a case under Sections 285 and 286 of the IPC against the accused.

Jagraon, December 10
The police have arrested three persons and seized 200 kg of poppy husk 
from their possession in two separate incidents during the past 24 hours in Jagraon. The accused have been identified as Didar Singh of Bhamipura village, near Hathur, Sukhwinder Singh alias Bagga and Jasvir Singh alias Neeta, both residents of Bahadurke village, near Sidhwan Bet. The police have also confiscated three motorcycles being used by the accused allegedly for transporting the same.

While addressing a press conference here today, DSP, Jagraon, Surinder Kumar said a police team, led by ASI Baldev Singh arrested two youths outside Parjian Biharipur village, near Sidhwan Bet, and seized 170 kg of poppy husk from them following a tip-off. The police have also confiscated two motorcycles from the accused, he added.

“In a separate incident, a police team, led by ASI Shashipal Singh, arrested another youth from a place outside Ramghar Bhullar village, near Jagraon. The police have seized around 25 kg of poppy husk from the accused. The motorcycle of the accused was also impounded,” the DSP said. Later, the accused were produced before a local court that sent them to a two-day police remand. — OC

Ludhiana, December 10
A four-member team of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi visited Guru Nanak Stadium here today. The team examined the seating arrangements in the VIP enclosure and other blocks, next to the main stage.

The delegation was in the city to check the security and other arrangements being made for the Chief Minister of Punjab (Pakistan), Mian Shahbaz Sharif, who, along with his family and others, will vist Ludhiana to watch the final and closing ceremony of the ongoing World Cup Kabaddi slated for December 14.

The delegation included Abrar Hashmi, Saina Shahid, Anwar Ujamin and Faiz Bhatti. Later, they went to Punjab Agricultural University and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and some local hotels as foreign dignitaries are expected to visit these places also. The team also visited Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, and Suvidha Centres at Transport Nagar and in the Hambran road area.

Sources in the local administration said the team would also go Jati Umra in Tarn Taran district, the native village of Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Badal village and Talwandi Sabo where the guests from across the border had the plan to go.

Ludhiana, December 10
Government Model Senior Secondary School, PAU campus, registered 43-run victory against Nankana Sahib Public School (NSPS), Kila Raipur, to lift the Don Bosco Global Cricket Cup (u-14) organised here today.

Eight teams competed in this tournament and these two teams won their respective matches to set up the title.

In the final, batting first, Government Model Senior Secondary School piled up 123 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 15 overs. The main contributors were Amit and Mohit Singh Rawat who scored 49 and 26 runs, respectively.

For Kila Raipur outfit, Gagandeep sent down three overs and claimed one wicket for 22 runs while Sukhdeep Singh grabbed two wickets for 38 runs in as many overs.

Chasing the target, NSPS, Kila Raipur, were bowled out for 80 runs in 12 overs. Fine innings by Nav Kewal and Gagandeep went in vain as their side failed to make the required runs. Nav Kewal scored 35 runs off 20 deliveries while Gagandeep chipped in with 26 runs.

For the winners, Manish took three wickets for 18 runs and Ankit Kumar captured two wickets for eight runs.

Amit of the PAU school was declared the Man of the Match while Mohit of Kila Raipur and Gagandeep of the PAU school were adjudged the best bowler and the best fielder, respectively. Gunraj of hosts Don Bosco Global School was named the best batsman.

Vinay Sharma and Manjinder Singh, Principal and DP education, Don Bosco Global School distributed the prizes among the winners. 

Ludhiana, December 10
Bikramjit, an athlete (long jump), has brought laurels to the city by winning gold in the 26th National Junior Athletics Championship that concluded in Bangalore on December 5. Bikramjit jumped 7.54 metre to win the gold while silver went to a player from Kerala.

With this achievement, Bikramjit has qualified for the World Junior Athletics Championship scheduled to be held in the US in May. He has also qualified for the Junior Asia Athletics Championship scheduled to be held early next year.

Earlier, Bikramjit won a silver medal in the long jump event at the first Asian School Track and Field Championship held in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in September. He had also won silver in the long jump (7.14 metre) at the championship.

A trainee at the local training centre of the Sports Authority of India, he had won gold at the National School Games in 2012-13 where he jumped 7.31 metre and also clinched silver at the National Junior Athletics Championship in 2012-13.

In charge of the training centre SS Pannu said: "Bikramjit is a very dedicated and committed player. This achievement will provide him a good exposure in the future as he has qualified for two international events.”