Ludhiana, August 9
The Municipal Corporation will issue a show-cause notice to a former assistant town planner (ATP) of Ludhiana, who was “instrumental” in getting an industrial unit regularised by bending rules.

ATP, Zone B and D, Monica Anand said the owner of the industrial unit at Chandigarh Road, who got the unit regularised, had been asked to show all documents pertaining to the registry of land.

“After the final assessment, the owner will be asked to pay the remaining amount to the Municipal Corporation,” she said.

As per the regularisation policy, the building, being constructed on 5 acres, should have been regularised before April 1, 2013. But the registry of the plot is learnt to have been done in August 2013 and the construction is still going on. With the support of the ATP, the owner had reportedly deposited Rs 35 lakh as “part-payment” of development charges, but as per rules, unauthorised colonies that came up on or after April 1, 2013, should not be regularised. The matter was highlighted by a city-based RTI activist, Rohit Sabharwal. 

Ludhiana, August 9
Residents of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar Colony, developed by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT), have resented the installation of gates in the colony.

Earlier, residents of Rajguru Nagar (a colony developed by LIT) had expressed resentment over the installation of gates on public roads and streets, most of which remain permanently locked.

In a complaint lodged with the LIT authorities, a copy of which has also been forwarded to the Principal Secretary, Local Government, Punjab, Arvind Sharma, a resident of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar said six gates had been installed in E Block of the colony. “Of these, two gates (2 and 6) remain permanently locked,” the complaint read. Sharma said: “The installation of gates (and keeping some of them locked at all times) have had no impact on petty crimes in the area.” “In cases of medical emergencies at night, precious time is wasted to find the watchman and get the gate opened,” Sharma said. Lambasting the LIT authorities for their inaction on the issue, he wondered as to why no action was being taken to remove the gates when the officials admitted that these were illegal and amounted to encroachments on public roads and streets, especially thoroughfares.

LIT officials said instructions were being issued to resident bodies to keep all gates in the colonies open from 5 am to 10 pm and also deploy security guards at all gates at night. “Non-compliance of the instructions will attract penal action and in case of persistent default, action will be taken to remove the gates.”

Ludhiana, August 9
Four robbers took away an SUV at Hambran Road this evening. Complainant Reena Sharma, wife of Bharat Bhushan, a property dealer, said she had gone to Khushi Ram sweetmeat shop at Hambran Road in a Toyota Fortuner.

She said when the driver alighted from the vehicle, four youths, who were in a Skoda car, came towards the SUV. One of them got into the car and threw her out, she said.

Ludhiana, August 9
In no mood to call off their strike, excise and taxation officers (ETOs) demanded that an FIR should be lodged against traders who allegedly manhandled their colleague Major Amit Sarin in Jalandhar recently. The ETOs said if their demand was not met, they would stop working from Monday.

They have been protesting since August 6. Due to the “deadlock”, traders and taxation lawyers in the city are facing a tough time getting C forms. Their VAT numbers have not been issued and assessment cases are pending.

Shailendra Singh, an office-bearer of the Punjab ETOs Association, said they would wait till Sunday evening. “If our demand is not accepted, we will stop working at the Information Collection Centres in Punjab,” he said.

“The strike will hit the traders hard and the Excise and Taxation department will also suffer financial losses. An FIR should be lodged against the traders who abused and manhandled Amit Sarin in Jalandhar,” said Shailendra Singh.

Jatinder Khurana, president, Taxation Young Lawyers Association, said visitors to the Excise and Taxation office were being inconvenienced. “Those, who do not know about the strike, have to return disappointed,” he said. 

Ludhiana, August 9
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Manish Tewari today came out in support of the spinning industry which has been seeking reduction in VAT. He said the industry was the backbone of Punjab’s economy and that it was important to save it.

After inaugurating a tubewell at Hargobind Nagar today, Tewari said the Akali-BJP government in the state had failed. “Earlier, they used to blame the Centre, alleging that the Congress government there was not providing any support. But now it is their own government at the Centre. What prevents them from getting relief for the industry in Punjab?” he asked.

Referring to various civic issues, he reminded the government of its promises of turning Ludhiana into Paris. Pointing towards the inundated and flooded roads and lanes of the city, he said even a few minutes of shower were enough to flood it. He asked where the money collected from the people of Ludhiana was being spent. “May be, it is diverted to Bathinda”, he remarked.

Tewari said the euphoria about the BJP government at the Centre was already over. “It is one thing to promise moon to the people and quite a different thing to deliver it,” he pointed out, while taking a dig at the BJP-led NDA government at the centre.

Ludhiana, August 9
Eminent professor and senior economist at the Punjab Agricultural University Dr Amarjit Singh Bhullar will join University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), Prince George, Canada, from September 1.

Earlier, Dr Bhullar visited the UNBC several times and he was a visiting professor. He collaborated with the faculty of economic and business in a project on “Global Bio-Fuels Production”.

Dr RS Sidhu, Dean, College of Basic Sciences, PAU, appreciated the services rendered by Dr Bhullar. Dr MS Sidhu, technical advisor to the VC thanked Dr Bhullar on the behalf of university for his services.

Dr Bhullar served at the PAU for 32 years and contributed immensely through various research programmes. He was also invited by the University of Cambridge, UK, to deliver a lecture on agriculture sustainability. Dr Bhullar has large number of publications to his credit and completed several research projects to help the agrarian section of the society. 

Ludhiana, August 9
The students of the INIFD cherished when they saw the short stop-motion films which they had made during a six-day workshop. Guided by noted film-maker and artist Jiwan Kalia, the students designed and made the miniature sets for shooting of the films.

They shot films with still photography cameras using small models including miniature toys as characters to depict the stories.

All the aspects of film-making such as story writing, recording, shooting, editing and screening were part of the project.

The story about the dreams of Cleopatra to the aspirations of a young boy working at a dhabha, who wanted to study, life-story of Michael Jackson, and cultural differences of North and South India and sci-fi fiction of aliens were the different themes.

The students also recorded the dialogues and the sound and later added these to the sequences of photographs that resembled the motion animation.

“Cleopatra”, a film about the dreams of a young girl, won the first prize. The film winning second prize depicted the life of women living in red light areas. “The Wrong Tunnel” was a sci-fi film of the girls discovering dresses endowed with superpowers. 

Machhiwara, August 9
A man was killed in a road accident near Machhiwara today. The deceased was identified as Sanjiv Kumar (45), a resident of Balachaur.

As per the information, Sanjiv Kumar was posted as junior engineer at Nagar Council, Doraha. The incident took place today morning, when the deceased was going to Doraha in his Swift car. When he reached near Lakhowal Kalan village on the Machhiwara-Rahon road, suddenly he lost control over his car and collided with a truck. After the first collision, his car again struck with a Bolero. The deceased was badly injured and his car was damaged. Sanjiv was evacuated from the car with great difficulty by a nearby petrol pump owner with the help of some passerbys. He was then rushed to Civil Hospital, Machhiwara, where he succumbed to his injuries.

As the news of his death spread, several employees of Nagar Council reached the spot and expressed shock over his death.

When contacted, Machhiwara staion house officer (SHO) said no case was registered against anyone in this regard as the accident took place all of a sudden. The SHO added that the body of the deceased was handed over to his guardians after conducting a postmortem. He is survived by his wife and two minor children.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 9
A week ahead of the Independence Day, a wave of patriotism and nationalism has swept the social networking sites. Besides, people have started greeting each other in a nationalistic manner.

People from all walks of life and strata of society have started adopting national symbols and songs in their verbal or written conversation. NRIs are no exception to the tendency who have been impressing upon their friends and relatives to perpetuate nationalism among their circles ahead of the day India got freedom 67 years ago.

Observations revealed that residents of the region had started exhibiting national spirit as the month of August rang in. Not only did they change their mobile phone dial tones to patriotic songs and couplets, they also started disseminating their ideas about the significance of Independence Day on the social media.

Jatinder Sharma Laddi, a social activist from Sihar village, said a few days ago, his sons persuaded him to change the profile picture on all his IDs on social networking sites and the ringtone on his mobile phone. “My sons asked me to adopt national symbols and salutations during conversation and communication. They did not settle for this only as they insisted that I should impress upon my friends and relatives follow suit,” said Sharma, maintaining that he had also decided to hoist the Tricolor at his office on August 15.

Lakhvir Kaur and Anpurna Arora, officers in a nationalised bank, were among those who have changed the profile picture of their accounts on social networking sites. Acknowledging the gesture shown by their friends, who liked their profiles and registered nationalistic comments, Kaur and Arora claimed that a large number of subscribers had also shared the pictures posted by them.

Jasmine Punj and Vikram Joshi, NRIs from the local town, were among those who not only displayed pictures of the National Flag on their social media IDs but also prompted their parents and relatives to perpetuate the ideology among their clients and friends.

“Please make the National flag your profile picture and appeal your friends to do the same, at least till August 15. You will feel proud on seeing all the pictures in your contact list exhibiting the Tricolour, thereby forming a chain of identical flags,” read the message sent by Punj and Joshi to their kin and parents. 

Ludhiana, August 9
The hunger strike by seven activists of Namdhari Panthak Ekta Action Committee entered its ninth day here today.

The incumbent faction at the Namdhari sect’s headquarters in Bhaini Sahib did not respond on the issue till date. The calm of the incumbent group irked the members of the action committee and now they are planning to intensify the protest.

According to the spokesperson of the action committee, despite physically weakness, seven devotees who sat on a hunger strike, namely Mahinder Singh, Malkit Singh, Manjit Kaur, Hardeep Singh Bullath, Manmohan Singh, Rajwinder Kaur and Tarlochan Singh, were in high sprits.

Suba Darshan Singh, the president of Namdhari Panthak Ekta Action Committee, said they were not demanding the possession of the Namdhari sect’s property. They just want fearless entry of devotees to Bhaini Sahib and other shrines of the sect, he added.

On the issue of the successor of the sect, Dr Sukhdev Singh said, “We are demanding unity in the Namdhari Panth. The decision on the successor of the sect should be decided by the family members of the departed head of the sect, Jagjit Singh. They have to sit together and announce the successor. Devotees will accept the decision.”

The spokesperson of the action committee said the hunger strike would continue till the incumbent group at Bhaini Sahib responded on the unity of the sect.

Ludhiana, August 9
The World Breastfeeding Week observed at the Fortis Hospital to create awareness on breastfeeding children up to the age of six months concluded here today.

The hospital felicitated 35 lactating mothers for breastfeeding their infants. The week-long celebrations were marked with activities such as poster-making competition, talk to nurses, skit, etc.

Dr Ashwani Singhal, Senior Consultant and Head, Neonatology, unveiled a brochure on breastfeeding. He said breastfeed was the biggest lifelong gift a mother could give to her child, as it ensured good health throughout the baby’s life.

“Further, it also helps mothers get back into shape after putting on weight over the gestation period,” he said, adding that breastfeeding lowered the chances of wheat allergy and inflammatory bowel disease, a serious condition in children affecting the intestines.

Dr Singhal advocated feeding babies only mother’s milk for the first six months as it reduced the risk of diabetes, maintained weight of children even in adulthood, reduced the risk of developing blood cancer and provided immunity that no formula milk or bottled milk could do.

Ludhiana, August 9
Justice V Gopala Gowda, a judge of the Supreme Court of India, today flagged off an anti-drug rally by students, lawyers and volunteers of different NGOs at the Satluj Club here this evening.

Justice Gowda said, “The young generation is the wealth of the nation. We cannot allow the drug mafia to ruin their lives.” He urged youth to say no to drugs.

Former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Vijender Jain said the Asia Pacific Jurists Association (APJA) has started the drive against drug menace on August 9, the day of the launch of Quit India Movement in 1942. Expressing concern over the increasing menace of drug addiction, he appealed to the masses, particularly the youth, to stay away from drugs.

Justice Rajesh Bindal, Justice RK Garg, Justice RK Jain, Justice HS Bhalla, Ishwar Singh, director of the Narcotics Cell, Punjab, Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal and DCP Nilambri were present.

Meanwhile, a seminar on drug abuse was organised at Guru Nanak Bhawan.

Ludhiana, August 9
A four-day exhibition, ‘Udaan 2014’, began at Dr MS Randhawa Art Gallery on the premises of Punjabi Bhawan here today.

Paintings made by female painters from various cities of the state have been put on display at the exhibition. The paintings are based on various themes such as women and their place in society, the nature, Punjabi culture etc.

Paintings by Amarjeet Gill depicts the ‘dance’ of a woman as she survives and thrives in the highs and lows of her life despite pressures and suppression by society.

The evil of female foeticide was depicted in several works on display.

Mohinder Singh from the Noor Divine Foundation, which organised the exhibition, said they aimed at showcasing women empowerment and providing a platform to budding female artists from the state.

Ludhiana, August 9
The Mohalla Sanitation Committee and the representatives of some other organisations protested against the recently passed Bill on personal will.

The leaders said the bill was not in favour of general public. The protesters raised slogans and burnt effigies of the state and Union Government.