Jalandhar, December 31
Over 300 disability rights activists held a protest on city roads today against the delay in the introduction of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill in the parliament.

They later marched up to the residence of Mohinder Singh Kay Pee, MP, and held a demonstration. The Punjab Disabled Rights Group (PDRG), PARIWAAR, and multiple disable people joined hands in the march.

"Though the process of drafting the new law started over four years back and has gone through various stages, the delay in introducing this legislation is inexplicable. More than a year has passed since the new draft of the proposed bill was uploaded on the website of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment but it has not been turned into a legislature," said Amarjeet Singh Anand, chairman, Punjab Disabled Rights Group.

The ministry although has given an assurance that the bill would be introduced in the winter session but the abrupt ending of the parliament session on December 18 prevented the bill from being tabled.

The PDRG and PARIVAAR have demanded that the bill should be taken for discussion in the next parliament session to be held in January next year. They also said that many political parties have also been approached for support. 

Exit point of the Jalandhar ISBT in a deplorable condition. Photo: Sarabjit Singh

Jalandhar, December 31
Damaged entry and exit points and heaps of garbage greet passengers at the Inter-State Bus Terminus (ISBT) here. Thanks to the indifferent attitude of the local district administration, civic body and the authorities concerned, the maintenance of these points remains in limbo.

The journey of tourists gets bumpy as their vehicle reach PAP Chowk, the most congested and polluted area of the city. Potholed roads welcome them in the city. The entry point of the ISBT has developed deep potholes and the road from the exit point of the ISBT to the Police lines is in a bad shape. There is no sign of bitumen but gravel and boulders cause inconvenience to commuters .

The exit point has virtually converted into a death trap for passengers. Similar is the position of the entry and exit points of the local bus stand. "The condition of all the entry and exit points of the ISBT and the local bus stand is pitiable for the past couple of years and the situation gets worse when it rains," said Surinder Mittal, a resident of Model Town.

"Apart from the damaged entry and exist points, congestion on roads, violations of the traffic rules and unbridled unto-rickshaws are the major bottlenecks," says Tej Prakash Singh, a student from the Central Town area.

Iqbal Singh, an auto- rickshaw driver, was of the view that the administration should earmark a proper place for them to operate and park their vehicles. “In absence of such a facility, it is free for all,” he said.

Jalandhar, December 31
Continuing their protest against hike in tax on commercial property, traders observed bandh by pulling the shutter of their business establishments down in Bardana Bazaar on Mandi Road, here today.

With the end of chain dharnas and protests today, the members of the Industrialists and Traders Joint Action Committee (ITJAC) will intensify their protest by gheraoing houses of local MLAs from January 1 onwards.

The Industrialists and Traders Joint Action Committee members have also warned to gherao Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal during the NRI convention to be held at a marriage palace on January 11 before observing a complete bandh in Jalandhar on January 15.

The traders today staged a dharma in Bardana Bazaar for over three hours and warned the state government to face the music if their demands were not met.

Members of the Bardana Association under the leadership of Joginder Singh joined the Industrialists and Traders Joint Action Committee members and raised slogans against the state government.

The Industrialists and Traders Joint Action Committee members, Ravindra Dhir and Gursharan Singh, asked the traders to fight for their rights and be ready for intense agitations.

Jalandhar, December 31
On the last working day of the year today, officers and inspectors of the excise and taxation from across the state observed a mass casual leave to protest against chargesheets issued against them by the Excise and Taxation Commissioner regarding non-detection of some bogus purchases shown by Ludhiana-based Modgill Enterprises.

The excise offices of Jalandhar-I and II wore a deserted look owing to leave taken by the staff. The department which had been contemplating some raids since yesterday has not been able to take any action owing to absence of staff.

Surinder Singh Ruby, president, ETO Association, Punjab, said even as the officers were still doing scrutiny on the matter as per the assigned instructions, they were in for a shock when they found that as many as 40 of them had been even issued chargesheets by the Excise and Taxation Commissioner Anurag Verma. "Of the total 40 persons, who have been chargesheeted, 24 are inspectors and the rest are ETOs. In Jalandhar, eight officers have been chargesheeted", he said adding that the association was not against action on those who have not been working at all but had come in protection for those who had already scrutinised their cases and were in the process of issuing notices to the companies of their area which had aligned with Modgill Enterprises by showing bogus invoices.

Anurag Verma on the other hand has said that the case regarding the company had been sent for detection through our economic offenses wing to 13 excise districts since October 8. "As many as 114 dealers had been found to have claimed Input Tax Credit (ITC) to the tune of Rs 4.2 crore on purchases amounting to Rs 85.16 crore from Modgill Enterprises, whose TIN had been cancelled before purchases during January 1 to June 23. I had asked the officers to check the matter in their respective wards about two and a half months but none of them reported back. So there has been a dereliction of duty and hence showcause notices issued against them. I have introduced such a foolproof system on computer using ETTSA gateway through which detections can be easily checked but the staff has not been using it fully."

The unionists however have said that the case was never flashed on the ETTSA gateway as was being said. Through the notices issued to the ETIs, the ETC has asked them as to why no action should be taken against them under rule 10 of the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeals). They have been given 15 days time to respond on the matter. Even the ETOs have been told through notices that it was their primary duty to check mismatch of reports on ETTSA gateway and they should have checked bogus ITCs and ensured recoveries in time in which they had failed. 

Jalandhar, December 31
With Jalandhar Municipal Corporation (JMC) miserably failing to provide proper roads, the commuters are facing extreme difficulty. Most of the city roads are in a pathetic condition but so far the civic body has hardly taken any step for the re-carpetting.

What has made things even worse is that even the patch work is not being undertaken by the JMC. Though many city roads are presently in a state of neglect but the plight of Ladowali road is extremely bad.

Sandeep Singh, a shop keeper, said the entire stretch of the road starting from the BSF Chowk to the Alaska Chowk needs repair.

“Because of the big potholes, the commuters on two-wheelers are the worst sufferers. It is really shocking that despite being one of the busiest roads, the authorities are least bothered to get the road re-laid”, he rued. The commuters pointed out that when the people are paying taxes to the civic body, providing basic amenities is the responsibility of the MC.

“During the evening hours, daily about five to six commuters on two-wheelers fall as the scooter/motorbike loses balance on account of big potholes”, said Jugal Sharma, a resident of the Ladowali Road. Many people having shops on this road complain that a brief spell of rain leaves the road flooded with water. “It is high time the civic authorities should awake from the deep slumber and re-carpet the road as early as possible," demanded majority of the commuters, while talking to The Tribune. Leader of Opposition in the MC Jagdish Raja said the present SAD-BJP house had miserably failed to provide basic facilities to the people of the city. “I will raise the issue about the poor condition of the roads in the next general house meeting of the Corporation," he said.

Kapurthala, December 31
Kapurthala SSP Inderbir Singh and Deputy Commissioner DS Mangat have instructed the officials of all banks in the district to make sure proper security arrangements at the automated teller machines (ATMs). Mangat and Inderbir convened a meeting of the heads of the different banks today and briefed them about the necessary steps to be undertaken for the safety of the ATMs. Mangat said the banks must ensure that the ATMs were being installed in a setup which was strong and could not be broken easily.

Here, it is pertinent to mention that just a week ago, some miscreants had struck at two ATMs of the Punjab National Bank in Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala and had decamped with Rs 18.25 lakh. The thieves sprayed the screens of the monitors and the CCTV cameras with some dark substance before damaging them. With the help of gas cutters, they broke open the cash boxes and decamped with the cash.

Meanwhile, during the meeting, Mangat told the bank officials that the security guards of the banks deployed at the ATM should be instructed to remain vigilant and must not leave the ATM even for a short while. “The security guards should also be given requisite training by the banks. Also, e-alarm system should be installed at the ATM, which can alert in case of any suspicious activity/movement at the ATM," he said.

Mangat also said in the rural areas, the ATMs should be closed during the night hours. “Banks must also see to it that excess cash should not be kept at the ATMs. The cash at the ATMs should be in accordance with the average withdrawal”, he said. —TNS

Jalandhar, December 31
The city police last evening arrested an Amritsar-based man with a stolen Swift Dzire car from near a dhaba at Maqsudan Chowk.

SHO Balbir Singh said Deepak Verma of Beas town had as many as five cases against him for stealing over 24 cars including those in Kangra and at Nakodar in which he had been declared proclaimed offender. He said that the recovered car had been stolen from Vaishali locality in New Delhi and it actually had a Haryana registration number. "But he was driving it on a fake plate bearing number DL-3-CA-1512. We had a tip-off regarding him which was validated on his arrest as he could not produce any papers. We are yet to reach out to the owner of the car", he said. A case has been registered under sections 379 and 411 of the IPC. — TNS