Jalandhar, January 2
From now onwards, the building inspectors of the Municipal Corporation (MC) of all cities across Punjab will have to take photographs of any under-construction building while issuing challans against them and bring them on record to strengthen their case against the violator.

The directions have been issued on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on a PIL filed by an applicant Parbodh Bali in a case against the poor functioning of the building branches of the MCs across the state.

The court issued orders on December 16 on a CWP 8801/2013 as per which "at the time of issuing of notices under Sections 269 and 270 of the Punjab MC Act 1976, the town planning inspectors are bound to take sufficient photographs to ascertain the correct position and stage of construction at the time of serving of notice. In case any further construction is carried out unauthorisedly, they are to lodge and FIR and proceed under Section 270 to arrest the constructor and staff and confiscate materials and tools".

The court orders read, "The petitioner has made two suggestions to prevent unauthorised constructions. One is that photographs must be taken and sent with the notices so that a situation does not come to pass that thereafter also the construction is made and then ignorance is pleaded by the violators. The second is that wherever required, adequate police force must be available for enforcement and removal of unauthorised constructions. Both suggestions are salutary and we adopt them and issue directions in terms thereof to the respondents. Compliance reports must be filed by all the three municipalities, including Jalandhar, Amritsar and Ludhiana, at least three days prior to the next date of hearing, failing which each municipality will have to deposit costs of Rs 20,000 with the Mediation Centre of this court," read the orders of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kant and Judge Augustine George Masih.

The next date falls on March 10.

The orders further read that even as only three municipalities had been arrayed as respondents to the petition, the state government would take steps to issue directions to the remaining five MCs also.

Besides inviting such a stringent order, the powerful PIL has also led to the appointment of as many as 48 building inspectors by the Punjab Government across the various Municipal Corporations. Of the 48 inspectors, the Jalandhar MC office has got 13 inspectors, a few of whom have just joined. Interestingly, even as the qualification of the inspector is a diploma in architecture, the Local Bodies Department has got inspectors who are even armed with postgraduation in the field. 

Jalandhar, January 2
The police was on its toes after a cash box of an ATM of Punjab National Bank, installed on the Police Lines road, was found open last night. Interestingly, despite the cash box lying open, there was no loss of cash.

The incident came to light after a person named Gurdeep came to withdraw cash from the ATM. On noticing the cash box lying open, Singh informed the police about the matter.

Meanwhile, ACP Jasbir Rai reached the spot and started investigation. He said the police would watch the CCTV footage to probe the matter.

Bank officials also reached the spot and found the cash balance to be correct.

Jalandhar, January 2
The Municipal Corporation (MC) today removed hoardings from police beat boxes installed at various intersections in the city.

The MC declared these hoardings on police beat boxes illegal as these were reportedly installed at the behest of the police department and the MC was not getting any money from the advertisers.

Superintendent, advertisement department, Lalita, said these hoardings were noticed by the MC a few days ago only and the MC took immediate action.

The MC had removed hoardings from four police beat boxes installed at Guru Nanak Mission Chowk, Ambedkar Chowk, Workshop Chowk and BMC Chowk. The MC would continue its drive against such types of hoardings in the whole city.

Interestingly, the MC had kept its eyes shut over these violations despite the fact that these hoardings were in place for long.

When asked why the MC had delayed action on these illegal hoardings, Lalita added that they had just noticed the violations and so the action followed.

Jalandhar, January 2
The chilly winters might be the most interesting and cheerful time for foodies and dreamers of a kind, but for others, it is a harbinger of diseases and lethargy. As deep mist clouds the air and the breath turns smoky, a certain section of people are panic-stricken as it heralds suffering due to ailments.

For patients of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, this is the worst time of the year. A time when a slight change in the weather or a brief outing may spell trouble for the body.

Like every other year, the winter this year has also brought in a string of asthmatics and COPD patients streaming to the hospitals. The rise in pollution levels is another factor which adds to the troubles of the patients.

District TB Officer Dr Rajiv Sharma says, “While winters usually signal a quiet OPD, for patients with lung problems, it’s the other way round. While TB cases see a decline in this weather, COPD and asthma patients have seen a major rise and the prime factor is weather.”

“In this season, if the OPD is hundred, then 70 to 80 patients out of the total are either COPD or asthmatic. Out of these 80, there is an equal share of both kinds of illnesses.”

Elaborating on the reasons for the rise in such cases in winters, he says, “There are two main factors -- one is pollution and the other is the dramatic change in the weather. The high amount of pollutants in the air has also caused higher number of cases being reported. Just by looking at the horizon in winters, one can tell the amount of pollutants accumulated in the air.”

On the other hand, the number of TB cases has greatly reduced and they are only around 10 per cent of the OPD. The rise in the TB cases begins somewhere in the mid of March.

Chest physician and bronchoscopist Dr HJ Singh said, “While the winter season certainly poses added dangers for the asthma and COPD patients, what is witnessed primarily is an intensification of the complications in COPD patients.”

“Smoking is one of the most important causes of COPD and it is of utmost importance that smoking is discouraged because COPD is also the third most common cause of deaths from diseases in the world. The affect of COPD is permanent and effective diagnosis rare. Often, the COPD is labeled as asthma due to the similarity in symptoms which has grave consequences for the patient. Its affects - contrary to asthma - are also more lasting and permanent because it leads to additional complications and diseases,” Dr Singh said.

The medical experts said early diagnosis and effective treatment is very important for patients to treat the ailments effectively. They said patients should immediately see a doctor in case of persisting cough or irritation in breathing.

Jalandhar, January 2
Peeved over the problems of property tax and delay in the VAT refund, a traders’ association met Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal who was here today.

A delegation led by president of the Federation of Jalandhar Industrial and Traders Association Gursharan Singh accompanied by Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh met the Deputy CM. Gursharan Singh said the Deputy CM assured them some respite on property tax in two to three days.

The traders had been holding a series of protest keeping one market closed each day since the past fortnight. A meeting of the BJP leaders on the issue is also likely to be held tomorrow, the traders were told.

The traders also raised the issue of delay in the VAT refund on which they were told that it had been decided that the advance tax would be kept in an account of the Sales Tax Department and not sent directly to the treasury so that the refund could be conveniently made. The Deputy CM assured the traders that they would get refund by March 31. On the issue of etrip, the traders said the system had also invited more bribery from the excise staff.