Ludhiana, March 28
A 22-year-old youth was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and raping a 12-year-old girl from the Jaspal Colony in Kailash Nagar, near Basti Jodhewal, today. The accused identified as Sanjay works in a factory and hails from Uttar Pradesh.

The victim was allegedly kidnapped on March 25 and found outside her residence on Thursday evening.

The victim’s father, a vegetable vendor, said accused Sanjay lived in the neighbourhood and had allegedly tried to rape his daughter earlier too.

“Accused Sanjay befriended my daughter and tried to rape her on March 22. But, somehow, my daughter managed to escape,” alleged the girl’s father.

He further alleged that he tried to report the matter but Sanjay’s accomplices threatened him with dire consequences.

“Emboldened by the move, Sanjay kidnapped my daughter on the pretext of marriage on March 25 and raped her,” he alleged.

Though the victim’s father approached the Jodhewal Police, the police ‘refused’ to register a case.

Following this, a social worker came to the rescue of the victim’s father and approached the Commissioner of Police.

On the directions of the senior police official, the police registered a case of kidnapping and rape under Sections 376 and 365, IPC.

The victim was also taken to the Civil Hospital where her medical examination was conducted. The report is awaited.

The police, however, ruled out the possibility that accused Sanjay took the victim to his native village. They suspect that the victim was confined at some place in the city and are trying to find out possible locations.

Investigations are on.

Ludhiana, March 28
In a first of its kind move, banners — dissuading the masses not to sell their votes for liquor — have been put up outside liquor vends in the city.

“Tuhada vote bahut kimti hai, iss nu sharab de badle na becho” (Your vote is important, do not sell it for liquor), read the banners. The posters have been put up on the directions of the District Election Officer (DEO).

The owner of a liquor vend, situated on the Ferozepur Road, said: “Officials from the administration have put up these banners outside vends. Liquor prices have been slashed across the city as liquor licences will expire on March 31. To sell the surplus stock, contractors have slashed the prices. It is a good initiative on the part of the government to spread awareness among people about the elections.”

The move has been lauded by a large number of city residents, including senior citizens.

“It is a good move by the District Administration. The DEO has done a good job. It is an open secret that some people sell their votes for liquor. Every vote is important and one should cast it wisely,” said Kulbir Singh, a senior citizen.

Meanwhile, tipplers are having a field day as dealers are offering huge discounts in the wake of licences expiring on March 31.

Heavy discounts are being offered on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and Country Liquor to clear the stock.

Contractors say they have no other choice than to give discounts as stocks have to be cleared by March 31.

“At present, we have slashed the prices by 20-25 per cent. However, prices will be further slashed in the coming days. We have to clear all the stock in a few days,” said a contractor.

LIQUOR PRICES SLASHED
Liquor prices have been slashed across the city as liquor licences will expire on March 31. To sell the surplus stock, contractors have slashed the prices. Heavy discounts are being offered on Indian Made Foreign Liquor and Country Liquor to clear the stock.

Ludhiana, March 28
Coming down heavily on the defaulters for not paying wealth tax, the Income Tax Department today shot off notices to as many as 1,000 people in the city. It is the first time that the department has sent notices to the defaulters.

Wealth tax is 1 per cent of the taxable wealth. The last date for filing wealth tax returns is March 31. The income tax and wealth tax returns are filed separately. 
Sources in the IT Department said during the scrutiny of income tax returns, they came across several tax payers who had assets coming under the purview of wealth tax, but were not paying the same.

For the financial year 2012-13, any individual or partnership firm having assets of more than Rs 30 lakh have to pay wealth tax. Residential houses and those having cash up to Rs 50,000 have been exempted from being included under the wealth tax.

A senior department official said registered societies, political parties, charitable trusts and corporate sector companies did not come under the purview of wealth tax.

Jatinder Khurana, general secretary, Taxation Bar Association, said, “Many people confuse property tax with wealth tax. While wealth tax is a Central tax, property tax is imposed by the state government. Both the taxes have to be filed separately.”

“The department should adopt a lenient approach towards tax payers and give them some more time as they are not clear about wealth tax and property tax,” added Khurana.

pay UP
Wealth tax is 1 per cent of the taxable wealth. The last date for filing wealth tax returns is March 31. The IT and wealth tax returns are filed separately.

Ludhiana, March 28
Finally waking up from its deep slumber, the Municipal Corporation has issued notices to the owners of 16 ‘illegal’ buildings. However, the date of issuing of notices has been disputed by an RTI activist.

Through the notices, the civic body has asked the owners to reply within three days or face action.

Though the Assistant Town Planner (ATP) Zone A, Harpreet Ghai, claimed that the notices were issued a few days ago, he could not provide the exact date.

On the other hand, RTI activist Rohit Sabharwal —who had filed a complaint regarding illegal buildings — said the MC officials had “issued the notices to the defaulters much earlier.”

Sabharwal claimed the challans were issued in the back date after the complaint was filed.

“If the challans were issued in February or March, why didn’t the authorities initiate action till date? It is shocking that construction is still under way in these buildings,” said Sabharwal.

A complaint in this regard was filed with the Principal Secretary, Department of Local Bodies, recently.

As many as 16 ‘illegal’ buildings are being constructed in blatant violation of the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and building bylaws in Zone A.

Of these 16 buildings, nine are located in Sunder Nagar, two on the Circular Road, one at Gaushala Chowk and four at Division Number 3, near the Subhani Building Chowk.

Ludhiana, March 28
In absence of proper planning to collect garbage from major dumping sites in the city, the residents and commuters have to face problems. The A-Z company, which has been given the contract by the civic body to collect garbage from the city, has no fixed timings for the task. It has made it too inconvenient for the residents, leading to traffic jams on busy roads like Ghumar Mandi during peak hours.

There is a huge garbage dump on main Ghumar Mandi Road outside Khalsa College for Women. The company workers come to collect garbage from 11 am to 3 pm.

Sarabjit Singh, a shopkeeper, said the company driver parks the truck on the road to lift garbage but it generally chokes the traffic. "It takes at least an hour or more to clear all the waste and till that time, the smooth traffic flow on the road gets disturbed. Traffic from both sides is jammed and commuters face a lot of inconvenience," said the shopkeeper.

A student of Khalsa College for Women, Kanika, said lifting of garbage emits foul smell. "Our classes are over at 1:30 pm and while coming back, we usually see the company officials lifting garbage. It becomes intolerable to cross the small stretch during that time. This work should be done at night or in the wee hours, when there is no rush on the roads so that there is no disturbance," the student said.

Despite repeated attempts, the company officials could not be contacted for their comments.

Ludhiana, March 28
Rainfall brought back chill to the city today. Dr PK Kingra, Associate Professor of Agrometrology at Punjab Agricultural University said, "3.3 mm rainfall was recorded in the Ludhiana district today. The weather will remain cloudy in the next 24 hours. There is a possibility of thunderstorm followed by light rainfall and hail storm."

She said this rainfall was not bad for the wheat crop, but if the same conditions continue in the coming days, it would be dangerous as the crop is on the verge of ripening.

The maximum temperature has gone below normal. The maximum temperature recorded today was 24 degree Celsius. However, the normal temperature during these days remained 29.5 degree Celsius. The minimum temperature recorded today was 16.4 degree Celsius.

Commuters had to face a tough time due to the unexpected rains.

Ludhiana, March 28
The apathy of the Municipal Corporation has given a free hand to contractors to use sub-standard material for development works worth crores of rupees.

The sample of the material used in the road construction project on Pakhowal Road failed the test conducted recently at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College laboratory.

Perturbed over the low quality material being used by contractors, Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohlwaria said it was unfortunate on the part of contractors to indulge into such unethical practices.

“We are not going to leave defaulting contractors. I have called a meeting in this regard and soon action will be taken against them. They were using bitumen of low quality at Pakhowal Road. In another incident, the sample of the material used in Gill Road project was also taken and the ratio of sand was found to be much more than the permissible limit. To save on cement plaster, the contractor used more sand,” said Gohlwaria.

In the recent past, this has been the fourth such incident where low quality material was used by contractors. All these samples were got checked by the Mayor himself, but no action has been taken against the contractors till date.

An Municipal Corporation official said if authorities woke up from their deep slumber, crores of public money could be saved. There are two reasons that contractors adopt such practices - shortage of technical staff to check the quality of material and some officials are hand-in-gloves with contractors for vested interests.

In absence of strict action by the civic body, the unscrupulous contractors continue with their practice of using low quality material to gain maximum profit.

Jagraon, March 28
In the wake of a series of protests by the parents of students of a private school at Jagraon, a team of the State Education Department visited the school today.

The team lead by Block Primary Education Officer (BPEO) Jagmail Singh had a discussion with the authorities of Roop Vatika School, Disposal Road, and also inspected the school records.

A large number of parents have been protesting against the school management for allegedly ‘forcing’ students to purchase new uniforms and books from the school at higher prices.

High drama was witnessed at the school as the parents and students held a series of protests against the management.

The parents alleged that the school authorities had increased the school fee and admission fee several times compared to the last session.

“Now, the school authorities want to exploit parents by pressuring them to purchase uniforms and books from the school at high rates. This is not fair,” said Parveen Kohli, parent of a student.

“Many people cannot afford to buy new uniforms. Those students who did not purchase uniforms and books from the school are being harassed by the school authorities,” alleged Harpreet Singh, another parent.

Refuting the allegations of ‘forcing’ students to buy uniforms and books from the school, principal Paramjit Kaur Dhaliwal, said, “We only asked the students to buy new uniforms and books for the next session. We did not force them. Parents are free to buy uniforms and books from anywhere.”

As the issue could not be resolved, the protesting parents took up the matter with the Jagraon Child Welfare Association, an NGO, which further raised the issue before the Education Department.

Block Primary Education Officer (BPEO) Jagmail Singh said no school could force students to purchase uniforms or books from them. “On the complaint of the parents and the Jagraon Child Welfare Association, a show-cause notice has been issued to the school authorities. We’ve sought a reply within two days. We are looking into the matter and a report will be submitted to the District Education Officer after the probe is over,” added BPEO Singh.

Ludhiana, March 28
The fate of 114 successful allottees of residential plots of 125 square yards each in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar Colony of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) hangs in the balance for more than 18 months as the local government department (read Punjab Government) has not approved the resolution for issuing allotment letters for the draw conducted in September and October 2012.

Devinder Kumar Rehan, one of the allottees, said the LIT had conducted two draw of lots in September and October 2012 for the allotment of plots to the applicants who were originally allotted plots way back in 1982. These applicants were not given possession of plots as the land in question was acquired for the now abandoned city centre project.

Even as the hope of allottees for getting residential plots to which they were entitled was rekindled after a long wait, the local government department threw a spanner in the works. The resolutions adopted by the LIT in November 2012 after conducting draw of lots was rejected on the ground that at the time of adopting the resolution, the trust had not been formally constituted as per the provisions of the Punjab Town Improvement Act.

After the allottees of the plots took up the matter with the LIT authorities and the local government department, the Trust approved another resolution in October 2013 for the approval of the draw of lots and grant of physical possession of plots to the successful applicants.

The new resolution, which was adopted after formal constitution of the Trust, is still awaiting the nod from the government with reasons for delay unknown to the allottees.

Rehan and other successful allottees said the last they had learnt from the department was that the matter was under consideration of the government.

In a memorandum submitted to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the harassed allottees have made a fervent plea for immediate intervention and issue of allotment letters as well as grant of physical possession of plots to them so as to put an end to the long wait of more than three decades.

Shruti Singh, chairperson of the LIT, said the matter had already been taken up with the principal secretary, local government department, Punjab, for the approval of the resolution.

“We will once again take up the issue with the government so that the pending resolution is approved and allotment letters can be issued to the allottees,” she said.

Ludhiana, March 28
Awareness observer Rajesh Jha, appointed for anlaysing the efforts being made by the District Administration for making people aware of casting their vote, said this time more people would exercise their franchise.

He was addressing a gathering at Westend Mall where Ishmeet Academy held an awareness campaign, along with a musical evening.

He appreciated the efforts being made by the District Administration in making more and more people aware of casting votes.

Rajesh Jha said he interacted with many people who were enthusiastic about the polling day.

He appealed to the people to cast their votes without any fear. The Ishmeet Academy also sang songs related to right to vote.

Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal and Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Isha Kalia were also present on the occasion.

Earlier, the District Administration organised an awareness programme in the Gill Road area.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, March 28
With the announcement of candidates for the coming Lok Sabha elections by major parties, political activities have picked up in the region.

While candidates of some parties have started opening offices at various localities, others have started roping in supporters before establishing satellite points.

NDA candidates Manpreet Singh Ayali, Kulwant Singh and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa contesting elections on the SAD tickets from Ludhiana, Fatehgarh Sahib and Sangrur organised rallies after inaugurating offices at Malaudh, Amargarh, Ahmedgarh, Payal, Kalakh , Jartoli, Mehma Singh and Narangwal villages yesterday.

Speakers, including candidates, Iqbal Singh Jhoonda, legislator Darshan Singh Shivalik and Cabinet Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, urged the office-bearers and activists of various social and associated organisations to play an active role in the electioneering process by motivating more people to exercise their franchise.

Though Ravneet Bittu and Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Congress candidates, are yet to kick off their campaign in the region, their supporters, including Vikas Tandon, Jagir Singh, Lakha Payal, Jagga Ram Dharamsot and Jaswinder Singh Sond, have already started planning for their campaign.

Regional congress leaders have started holding meetings at the local town and surrounding localities, including Dehlon, Malaudh, Payal, Sihar, Karamsar and Kup Kalan.

Jagdev Singh Garcha, district committee member, and Baldev Singh Latala, CPI (M) leader, led the activists of Leftist outfits during rallies and meetings held in support of their party candidate Sukhwinder Singh Sekhon. With headquarters at Gill village, offices were opened at Dehlon, Mansooran, Tiba and Narangwal.

Simarjit Singh Bains, an Independent candidate from Ludhiana, has also succeeded in getting his presence registered in the area.

His supporters from the local town and office-bearers of various sports and social organisations are leaving no stone unturned to mobile support for Bains. Butahri, Harhobindpur, Chhapar, Ghungrana and Dehlon are localities where impressive meetings and rallies were organised by the Bains supporters.

Ludhiana, March 28
HS Phoolka, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat, intensified his election campaign and visited villages in the Gill constituency today.

Phoolka said: “Many drug addicts approached me with their queries. I told them that, if voted to power, we will distribute de-addiction medicines among them for rehabilitation.”

Phoolka said: “The villages that we have visited for our campaigning are filled with Akali-BJP posters, which is against the model code of conduct and the Defacement of Property Act. Despite the clear and blatant defacement, the Election Commission is turning a blind eye to the same, which clearly shows favouritism on their part.”

Rajat Aggarwal, District Electoral Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, said: “We have removed about 7,000 posters of different candidates which were pasted without permission. If he or anyone else has any specific complaint, he can bring it in our notice. We will take action as per law.”

AAP candidate HS Phoolka was accompanied by Gurbinder Singh Kang and Col JS Gill for the campaigning in the Gill constituency.

Ludhiana, March 28
Awareness observer Rajesh Kumar Jha, who is appointed to inspect different activities related to the elections, today visited several polling booths in the Dakha constituency and interacted with the voters.

The people told Rajesh Kumar that they were being informed about different activities related to the elections by Kuljeet Pal Singh Mahi, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (West)-cum-Assistant Returning Officer of the Dakha constituency and his staff.

Mahi told the awareness observer about various activities being run for the awareness of voters.

He also visited the Voter Facilitation Centre at Nagar Panchayat, Dakha. Administrative officers of different departments were also present on the occasion.

Ludhiana, March 28
To facilitate the last-minute filing of income tax returns by taxpayers, field income tax offices and banks will remain open even on Saturday and Sunday. In some parts of the country, Monday has been declared as a holiday but banks and IT offices will be operational there as well.

In order to facilitate the payment of taxes by the taxpayers before the close of the Financial Year 2013-14, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided on the request of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) that all agency banks will keep open the counters of their designated branches on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

The said counters will remain open for extended hours till 8 pm. At locations where Monday, March 31, has not been declared as a public holiday, the said counters will remain open for extended hours till 8 pm. On Sunday, agency banks will keep select branches open at key locations as a regular working day for transacting government business.

All electronic transactions will continue till midnight on March 31.

In order to facilitate the filing of returns of income and other related work of taxpayers, the field officials have been asked to make special arrangements, including opening on additional counters required on March 29 (Saturday), March 30 (Sunday) and March 31 (Monday).

The measures have been taken by the Income Tax Department keeping in view the aim of collecting as much revenue as possible before the current financial year closes on March 31.

Ludhiana, March 28
Infertility problems have been a major concern in India lately, especially after the recent report by the World Bank that had reported 17 per cent decline in fertility rates in India from year 2000. Though the decline in fertility rate has been quite high worldwide in the past 10 years, the maximum decline of 28 per cent has been noticed in Punjab in the country. Experts attribute environmental factors and lifestyle changes for increasing problem of infertility. This was disclosed by Dr Manika Khanna, Director, Gaudium IVF, Ludhiana today.

Gaudium IVF today announced its launch in Ludhiana. Dr Manika Khanna said: “Till now, Gaudium has delivered more than 3,000 babies from various parts of the country and now they have entered Ludhiana.”

Earlier, it was only urban areas that were most affected with infertility. But recent reports highlight the rising trend of infertility in smaller cities and the rural areas. People today are widely exposed to chemicals and environmental pollutants, which affect the sperm quality and quantity both, she said.

The sperm quality in males has drastically decreased in the past decade, which can be blamed to environmental factors, changes in lifestyle and work style like exposure to temperature, pollution, etc. Smoking, drinking, stress and late marriage were other factors that lead to decline in fertility, she said.

Ludhiana, March 28
A play titled “Jis Lahore Nai Vekhya, Oh Jameya E Nahin,” was staged at Balraj Sahni Open Air Theatre Punjabi Bhawan to commemorate World Theatre Day last evening as part of the three-day theatre festival being organised here.

The play depicts the pain of partition of India. Written by Asgar Wajahat, it portrays an endearing tale of hatred, love and compassion, the partition and its futility.

It shows how hatred followed by the massacre of people and mass migration was overpowered by compassion.

One of the members of the audience said it was a moving play and was presented brilliantly. "In a way, the play shows the futility of partition and temporary hatred always gives way to compassion," he said.

The play was staged by Rangmanch Rangnagri. The play was directed by Jagjit Singh and the whole event was organised by Tarlochan Singh.

Khamano, March 28
The Khamano police claimed to have arrested a youth and recovered 24 bottles of illicit liquor from his custody.

ASI Inderjit Singh, chowki in-charge, Sanghol, under the Khamano police station, said a police party laid a naka near Panjkoha bridge on getting secret information.

When the police party signalled an Esteem car to stop, the occupant of the vehicle tried to speed away. The police later overpowered him.

During the search of the vehicle, the police recovered 24 bottles of illicit liquor. The accused has been identified as Sukhwinder Singh (25), a resident of Pohla Majra village.

A case under the Excise Act has been registered in this regard.