Ludhiana, July 18
A 19-year-old youth was found dead at a hotel near the bus stand today. The victim, identified as Prakash Singh Rana, was a resident of Gaind village at Tehri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand.

Prakash had checked in room number 301 of Hotel Park Blue last night along with a couple. While checking in, Prakash had told the hotel authorities that the man and the woman who were accompanying him were his brother and sister-in-law.

The incident came to light this morning when the room service staff went to clean the room.

When Prakash did not respond, the employee opened the door and was shocked to find the victim dead.

He raised the alarm and informed the hotel authorities about the incident.

The police reached the spot and started investigations. Owner of the hotel further intimated the police.

Five beer bottles (three empty), used condoms and some medicines were found from the room. It was learnt that the couple, who checked in another room (303) left the hotel during the wee hours.

“Prima facie, the victim died of strangulation. We have sent the body to the Civil Hospital for postmortem and informed the victim’s relatives about the incident,” said SHO, Division No. 5, Dharampal. The victim was working as a cook at a hotel in Barnala. Prakash had left the job two days ago and took Rs 10,000 from his employers. The SHO said it had come to light that Prakash, along with another youth, had stayed in a hotel near the bus stand two days ago. “It is not yet known what led to the killing. The entire story will be clear following the arrest of the youth and the woman,” said Dharampal. Sources said it was suspected that while consuming beer a heated argument would have ensued and led to the killing.

Police sources said the investigating team had got a CCTV camera footage of the youth and the woman, adding that teams had been sent to nab the accused.

Recently, the police had raided a hotel located near the bus stand and nabbed several young boys and girls studying in nearby colleges and designing institutes. The hotel owner, who is also a physician, was arrested. 

Ludhiana, July 18
In a daring daylight robbery, four armed men entered the house of a property dealer in Basant Avenue and decamped with Rs 15 lakh in cash.

The robbers took the realtor’s wife, Kawaljit Kaur, and their domestic help, Gudiya, hostage, but did not hurt the two.

The incident took place at 11.30 am when four armed men, two of them carrying pistols, entered the house of property dealer Gurvinder Singh.

Kawaljit Kaur said the door was open as she was cleaning the house.

Gurvinder was at his shop while the couple’s son was away to school.

Soon after entering the house, the robbers said if she would raise the alarm, they would kill her. Soon, they took her mobile phone in their possession and switched it off.

One of the robbers asked Kawaljit to give them the keys of the cupboard. She tired to outsmart the robbers and gave them the wrong keys.But they broke the lock and took away Rs 15 lakh in cash, two gold rings and one diamond ring.

Before leaving the house, the robbers asked Kawaljit to remove her gold rings. But those got stuck.

As per police sources, Kawaljit reportedly told the robbers to let her go to the kitchen and apply mustard oil on the fingers to remove the rings.

However, the robbers decided to leave the house. Soon Kawaljit informed her husband Gurvinder about the incident. Gurvinder raised the alarm and sounded the police about the daylight robbery.

Police officials, including ACP (West) Gurpreet Singh Sikand reached the spot and started investigations.

It was not clear whether the robbers used any vehicle or they came on foot and dispersed after committing the robbery. However, the police officials believe that the robbers would have used some vehicle for escaping the scene.

As no CCTV camera was installed in the house, the officials were seen visiting the houses in the area where CCTV cameras were installed.

Did they do a recce?

Kawaljit said the robbers knew where the cash was kept in the house. She said she had overheard one of the robbers talking over the phone and confirming about the recovery of cash. All of them were clean-shaven. Kawaljit said she could recognise them easily.

Meanwhile, the police have identified the accused involved in yesterday’s sensational robbery. The car used in the crime has also been impounded.

Police Commissioner Pramod Ban said, “The robbers have been identified.” Yesterday, four car-borne persons robbed Sunil Garg of Rs 2.5 lakh. Garg is employed with a telecommunication agency near Punjab National Bank in the Shivpuri area.

The police have not yet divulged any details about the cash. Sources said CCTV footage helped the police crack the case.

Ludhiana, July 18
ASI Balkar Singh caught a youth posing as a policeman. The youth possessed a fake identity card of the Punjab Police.

Ludhiana, July 18
The state government has transferred Assistant Town Planner, Zone A, Harpreet Ghai to Moga. Besides, two building inspectors, Arun Khanna from Zone D and Pradeep Sehgal from Zone A, have been transferred to Jalandhar and Phagwara, respectively.

The two zones are sans ATPs now. ATP, Zone B, Monica Anand has been given the additional charge of Zone D, which itself requires a full-time ATP. The officials have every reason to worry about as the High Court has asked for action-taken report on encroachments in all zones.

One of the officials with the building branch said earlier in November-December 2013, building inspector Karandeep Singh, Zone C, was shifted to Bathinda and then again in June, Tarun Kumar, another inspector was transferred from Zone D to Patiala. Since then, the two posts have been lying vacant in Ludhiana.

“We have not received any instructions regarding the replacement. In the absence of adequate staff, it will be difficult for the department to carry out demolition drives. A number of court cases are pending,” said the official.

Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Pradeep Aggarwal said it was the government’s prerogative to transfer officials. “But replacement must be provided on time,” said Aggarwal.

Ludhiana, July 18
Power cuts are giving sleepless nights to industrialists. With a 35-40 per cent decrease in production, it has become difficult for the industry to survive.

After the large-scale industry, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has imposed power regulatory measures on small-scale and medium industries in the state.

“Two-four hours power cut is being imposed every day. It is easy to manage operations during scheduled power cuts, but unscheduled outages result in losses,” said Gurmeet Singh Kular, president of the Federation of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking (FICO).

“The situation has gone from bad to worse. Frequent power cuts are being imposed on the small-scale industry,” he added.

Badish Jindal, national president of the Federation of Associations of Small Industries of India (FASII), said, “The Punjab Government has failed to meet the demand-supply gap. The industry is suffering losses due to the power cuts,” he said. “The government does not chalk out plans for the industry. To supply power to fields, it imposes power cuts on industrial units. We are facing a tough time. It is busy promoting agriculture. We don’t know how we are going to survive. If things do not change, we will have to shut down our units,” said Sunil Kalra, a manufacturer. 

Ludhiana, July 18
Refusal of entry to a dhoti-clad Judge of the Madras High Court and two lawyers has sparked a debate. Justice Hariparanthaman and two lawyers were denied entry to TNCA Club. Reacting to it, managements of the local clubs said there was no such rule, but decency should be maintained at such places.

Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal, who is the president of Sutlej Club and Lodhi club, said people went to clubs to unwind and express themselves.

General Secretary of Sutlej Club Dr Rohit Dutta said there was no such strictness as far as the dress code was concerned. 
“There are certain rules which are to be complied with. If someone comes in kurta pyjama, we give them jackets, which can be worn on kurtas. Those wearing shorts or slippers do not enter the dining area or the bar. The members are intelligent enough and dress up decently. The management has hardly faced any problem so far,” said Dr Dutta.

General secretary of Lodhi Club Manoj Gupta said members never put them in a spot. “But we do face a great difficulty while dealing with guests. Even if we try to provide them jackets, they refuse. Otherwise, the members maintain decency as it is the family club where women, children, elderly persons come and enjoy,” said Gupta.

Another member of the club said one or two members tried entering the bar area in shorts once or twice, but they were politely asked by their friends to leave the area and maintain discipline. “Dress code has never been a problem here,” said the member.

Ludhiana, July 18As monsoons arrive the city residents are elated. After the scorching heat and humid weather during the past couple of months, the month of saawan has begun with cheer and joy amongst residents.

City women say that they would celebrate the month in a traditional manner. “This is the time when you celebrate enjoying the rains, overcast skies and have great food,” said a resident.

Many of the city women said they would be celebrating the month by cooking and sharing malpuas. “There is no delicacy that you can enjoy more during this time of the year. Malpuas with kheer are the ultimate taste one can enjoy during saawan, while it is raining,” says Anju Tuli, a resident. And having pakoras with tea during the rains in the evenings are something that one cannot miss, during this month, she said.

“This is the month of absolute joy. Although people enjoy festivals during a day or a week, but for me, the entire month of saawan is a kind of festival,” said Karan, another resident. “I love watching the rains, cloudy skies and greenery all around,” he said.

Srishti, another resident, said she gets mehandi applied during this month, as a mark of tradition for for Teej. 

Jagraon, July 18
Local residents finally heaved a sigh of relief with Jagraon receiving the first rain of the monsoon season. This brief spell of rain provided much needed respite to the local residents from the scorching heat but it also caused a lot of troubles for them as the town was seen flooded with rainwater.

The rain also exposed the tall claims of Jagraon Municipal Council about its preparations to prevent waterlogging during the rainy season as all the major roads of the town were flooded due to poor drainage arrangements made by the civic body. This brief spell of rain played havoc in several areas of the town.

A huge amount of water was found accumulated at most of the roads and streets of residential areas. The worst hit areas included Old Grain Market, Sabzi Mandi Road, Kamal Chowk, Sadan Market and Rani Jhansi Chowk, where the rainwater entered in the shops and damaged goods stored there.

The major reason behind the rainwater flooding the city was a choked drain which carried with it the sewerage of whole of the town. The drain was not properly cleaned as a result of which the flow of water was blocked and the rainwater got accumulated in the town.

Even though the authorities of Jagraon Municipal Council had claimed of being fully prepared for the rainy season but all these claims fell flat during the rain and it was literally a flood-like situation in the town after the rain.

The local residents held poor drainage arrangements made by the civic body responsible for this situation. “This was the very first rain of the monsoon season and the tall claims of the local municipal council authorities proved futile as the city was flooded with the rainwater only after a brief spell of rain. The town witnessed waterlogging due to the poor drainage system,” said Naresh, a local resident.

Jagraon Municipal Council executive officer Davinder Toor denied that the civic body was not prepared for the rainy season. “We had cleaned all the drains before the rain. Despite our efforts, the rainwater accumulated in some lower parts of the town. Later, the rainwater was also drained out with the help of motors and generator sets in short time,” Toor said. 

Ludhiana, July 18
District Taxation Bar Association (Direct Taxes) today organised a seminar on union budget 2014 and an overview of Wealth Tax Return Format. The seminar was presided over by Anup Jain, president, and Sanjeev Bhandari, secretary of the DTBA (DT).

Sanjay Agarwal, central council member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, New Delhi, discussed in detail the amendments proposed by the Union Budget 2014 and also enlightened the audience on the issue of ‘Online Wealth Tax Return by Individuals and Companies’ covered under the provisions of Tax Audit under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Agarwal discussed in detail the provisions regarding the imposition of wealth tax, arriving at the value of wealth for the purpose of wealth tax return, calculation of wealth tax liability and procedure for filling of online wealth tax return.

Sanjeev Bhandari, secretary of DTBA, shared with the audience various initiatives proposed to be taken by the bar association for the benefit of profession and the society by organising various workshops, programmes and activities of social benefit such as tree plantation, blood donation etc.

Rajeev K Sharma, convener of DTBA, said the association organises such informative and useful programmes on practical issues of taxation on monthly basis besides other activities of professional and social interest. He focussed upon the fact that with the changing economic environment it was becoming very important for chartered accountants, advocates and income tax practitioners to get themselves abreast of latest changes in various laws so that they may guide the clients properly. 

Ludhiana, July 18
The meeting of the All India Bank Employees Association was held here today to mark the 45th anniversary of bank nationalisation in India.

While addressing the meeting, leaders of the federation said major private banks were nationalised on July 19, 1969, and in the last 45 years, these government banks have played a significant role in mobilising the savings of the people and in utilising the same for economic development.

“No doubt the achievements and performance of the nationalised banks are impressive and appreciable but there is still a long way to go. More than 50 crores of people still do not have a bank account. More than five lakhs of villages do not have bank branches. While non-performing loans have assumed alarming proportions,” said Naresh Gaur, secretary of Punjab Bank Employees Federation. 

Ludhiana, July 18
Members of Punjab Taxation Bar Association (PTBA) today met Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (CCIT) Nishi Singh and BK Singh, additional commissioner.

Ashok Juneja, president and BR Kaushal, secretary general (PTBA), objected the latest directions of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) according to which a single mobile number and e-mail ID can be used for maximum of 4 user accounts as the primary contact during e-filling. They requested the CCIT to take up this issue with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for its reconsideration and revocation in view of the difficulties faced by assesses and tax professionals.

They said practically it was not justified as most of the assesses are illiterate and were not having e-mail IDs and they do not understand the income tax implications and laws.

Juneja said earlier professionals used their e-mail IDs to register an assessee and all the correspondence and intimations were received by professionals on their e-mail IDs and they were replying instantly.

Raj Pal Gupta, senior vice-president, highlighted the problems relating Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) which is wrongly adjusting refunds against arrears in so many cases that too without getting confirmation from jurisdictional assessing officer as provided under Section 245.

They told the CCIT that in some cases refund vouchers sent for revalidation to CPC/State Bank of India (Mumbai) are not received after revalidation even after passing of six months.

CCIT assured that all the pending applications of rectification of mistakes, refunds and its revalidations as well as appeal effects will be disposed off immediately. The disposal information of current matters as well as in future will also be communicated to assessees. 

Ludhiana, July 18
Operators of school bus ferrying students of Sacred Heart Convent School submitted a memorandum to the District Transport Office (DTO) stating that they have not been given written permits by the school to operate.

Notably, school buses were impounded by the DTO for the possession of incomplete documents yesterday.

The president of School Bus Operators Welfare Association, Sukhjinder Singh Jaura, said about 60 members of the association went to the DTO office to submit the memorandum.

Jaura alleged that because of lack of written permits by the school, the bus operators have not been able to get the RCs of the buses. But the bus operators do have the possession of other requisite documents, said the chief of the association.

In the absence of school buses, parents had to pick and drop the schoolchildren themselves which led to traffic chaos.

“The road was choked and traffic moved at snail’s pace right from Zone D office till Pakhowal Road,” said a parent.

DTO Anil Garg said the issue of agreement between bus operators and school managements is their mutual issue and must be resolved by both of them. He said no school buses and vans without complete documents would be allowed to ferry students.

Despite repeated attempts, the school authorities could not be contacted. 

Ludhiana, July 18
Looking at a building doesn’t sooth a soul, but observing a tree does. This was said by poet Surjit Patar at Guru Nanak Bhawan, while talking about the coming Earth Hour, an attempt at planting one lakh trees within an hour on June 20 in order to register spot in the Guinness world records.

The Central University of Punjab Chancellor, Dr SS Johl, said the objective of organising the event is making the city residents feel that they are a part of a great initiative.

While the Khalsa had to seek refuge during their emergency seeking, they took the refuge of trees and carried out their spiritual activities under the trees. The trees were called as green temples during that era.

Actor Rana Ranbir said he joined the initiative because it’s a noble cause. Sardar Sohi said trees are the part of our culture and their place should be reinstated in our culture at 
the earliest.

“People say that the government and Administration do not take any initiative and the government term people as irresponsible. This leads to cynicism,” said Jaswant Zafar, poet and member of Sambhav Foundation.

This event will help Ludhiana shed the image of a place where no work is done for the welfare of the people and improving the environment. Zafar said the residents have had to endure the shame of living in one of the post polluted cities. But now they must claim the right to live in a clean and green city by planting trees.

Poet Gurbhajan Singh Gill said a tree is a complete habitat in itself. Recounting his recent visit to Germany, he visited Freiburg that is called the Green City because of the large number of trees planted there. Temperature of the city also remains a few degrees lesser because of the greenery. Such an effort needs to be replicated here too, he added.

Industrialist Ranjodh Singh said everyday should be celebrated as green day.

Baljit Kaur from VMAD said Earth Hour would start from 8 am to 9 am on July 20.

In the evening, celebration and acknowledgement programme would be celebrated at Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan from 7 pm to 9 pm, said Balbir Kaur Pandher from Sambhav Foundation.

“Everyone who has planted even two-three trees during the Earth Hour must come and celebrate the good deed,” said Baljit Kaur.

“Plantation of trees will be done not just during the Earth Hour, but throughout the day. The objective is not just making a world record, but making Ludhiana a green city. Once this is accomplished, more such projects will be carried out collectively by residents for making Ludhiana a better place to live in,” said Dr Johl.

Patar said this day might prove historic and mark a new chapter in the city for a better future.

Ludhiana, July 18
A complaint was submitted by a parent to the Deputy Commissioner stating that a mobile transmission tower on the premises of GMT School, near Jalandhar Bypass, poses a danger to the health of the students studying at the school.

A playway, opposite to GMT School, also has a mobile tower installed in the area. The complainant, Rajinder Sharma, stated that hair of his daughter has already started greying and she complains of headaches frequently due to the radiations of the mobile tower. Schoolchildren also complain of aching eyes.

Children, in particular, are vulnerable to these radiations, said Sharma.

Jawinder Singh, manager at the school, said, “We have received a notice regarding the mobile tower from the MC and we have forwarded it to the company operating the mobile tower. The requisite documents have also been forwarded to the MC.”

Ludhiana, July 18
A student of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, suffering from multiple disabilities including cerebral palsy and low vision scored 72.4 per cent in BTech in Computer Science.

Jaswinder used to get help of a writer throughout his academic career. Due to this, he used to get extra time during the examinations.

With the help and support of his parents and teachers, Jaswinder got 91 per cent in mathematics in Class X. He secured an aggregate of 83 per cent in matriculation. Jaswinder’s parents said they faced problem during his admission to Class XI, as he wanted to opt for non-medical stream, but many schools denied him admission saying that he was not fit for practical study.

Finally, BCM Arya Senior Secondary School, Shashtri Nagar, gave him admission in the non-medical stream. And he scored 78 per cent. Jaswinder always wanted to become a computer engineer.

“In Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College (GNDEC), there was no provision for providing writer to students. It was a very unique case, so convinced the Punjab Technical University (PTU). With the intervention of Vice-Chancellor of the PTU and Ministry of Human Resource Development, Jaswinder finallty got a writer and extra time to attempt the papers,” said Dr Neelam Sodhi, mother of Jaswinder. “Initially, we used to enlarge the text three times to make it legible. But with the routine practice, now he is able to read even small texts. During BTech, he used to download the audio lectures to prepare the syllabus.,” said his mother.

Jaswinder is now preparing for his masters in software engineer.

Ludhiana, July 18
Stairs coming-up in a commercial establishment on the Deep Hospital road were razed by the building branch officials of Zone D, here today.

Building inspector Nirmaljit Verma said the change of land use was clear but the stairs were being constructed in violation with the building bylaws.

“A complaint was filed by an RTI activist and a notice was served to the owner but he did not pay any heed following which we razed the stairs,” said Verma. 

Ludhiana, July 18
Pranaav Jerry Chopra from Ludhiana has been selected to represent the country in the upcoming XXth Commonwealth Games to be held at Glasgow in Scotland from July 23 to August 3.

According to information by the Ludhiana Badminton Academy (LBA), Pranaav will team up with Akshay Dewalkar to lead India’s battle in the men’s doubles’ category at Glasgow. The duo is the lone pair. Besides, other players in the singles’ category from India will also take part in these games.

Srekanth, P Kashyap, Guru Sai Dutt in the men’s section and Jawala Gutta, PV Sindhu, Thulashi and Ashwani Ponnapa in the women’s section will be seen in action at Glasgow. Unfortunately, sports lovers will miss India’s star performer, Saina Nehwal, who has opted out of the games due to an injury.

Pranaav and Akshay are the only doubles combination from India who qualified for these games. They have been selected on the basis of their performance in the domestic and international tournaments.

At domestic badminton circuit, Pranaav and Akshay hogged limelight when they defeated Roopesh and Sanave Thomas (7 times national champions) in the men’s double finals in the Tata Open International Tournament (2011). Pranaav and Akshay have won silver medal in the Swiss Open, bronze medal in Bulgaria and gold medal in Iran. Pranaav and Akhshay are currently the national champions.

Pranaav is representing the country since 2007 in the junior and sub-junior categories. He is a permanent member of the Indian men’s team for the last three years. He has already represented India in Thomas Cup, Sudhirman Cup and World Championship. He is the youngest Indian player to represent India in the World Badminton Championship at the age of 18.

Pranaav started playing the game at the age of 7 years and then moved to Mumbai for improving his skills under the watchful eyes of former international star, Uday Pawar. Looking at his performance at the national level tournaments, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) selected him in the elite group of players in 2007. He has also won the National Championship in the age groups of U-16 and U-19 years. Pranaav was sent to Indonesia by the Badminton Association of India to attend a specialised camp there to further improve his skills. Presently, he is training under national coach Pullela Gopichand at Hyderabad. 

Ludhiana, July 18
The Reliance Foundation and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced the launch of the second year of the Reliance Foundation Junior NBA programme in Punjab today.

After the successful completion of the first year of the programme, it will now be expanded to eight cities in the second year. The cities are Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Chennai, Delhi, Kochi, Kottayam, Kolkata and Mumbai.

The managing director, Yannick Colaco, NBA India, announced the programme in Ludhiana. In Punjab, the programme will include the trainer programme, in-school basketball sessions, elite training camps and a city final featuring shooting, 3x3 and 5x5 competitions.

Colaco said three international coaches will be in Punjab for three months to oversee the programme, train coaches, work with schools and teach the game to youngsters. Physical education instructors/coaches from all partner schools will undergo training from the international coaches along with turnkey curriculum. “Each partner school will receive essential equipment to grow participation. We are targeting to partner with about 175 schools across Punjab,” he added.

Ludhiana, July 18
The Gulzar Group of Institutes organised a mega job fair on its campus.

The job fair was for the diploma holders. This year, more than 15 national and multi-national companies participated in the job fair.

A major chunk of the students were recruited by the companies and were offered a very handsome package.