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Showers after heatwave
Ludhiana, June 15 In the city, the temperature had crossed the 47 degrees mark and had rendered it one of the hottest city in the state. But the showers brought down the mercury to 26 degree. The rain also brought cheers for farmers, whose parched fields were waiting badly for rain. The signs of rain were visible in the last evening itself and the clouds had started engulfing the sky. Residents came out of their houses to enjoy the pre-monsoon rain. Commuters were seen moving on the roads with umbrellas, while people of the city and children were enjoying the rain. Young children came out in streets of their colonies to enjoy the showers and play in the puddles. For the past many days, there was no relief from the hot and humid weather prevailing all over the state. The power cuts and erratic water supply had made the lives of people more miserable in some areas. The rain have brought cheers to the farmers as they are busy transplanting the paddy. It has become easier for them to transplant it in the pleasant weather instead of the hot sun. Experts of PAU said the rain was good for the crop and it would lower the pressure.
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Gas tanker overturns, traffic hit
Ludhiana, June 15 Rajinder Yadav, driver of the tanker, was injured. He was hospitalised with a suspected shoulder fracture. The tanker blocked the road and it took more than nine hours for rescue workers to remove the blockade. The rescue work had to be carried out carefully as the tanker could have exploded with a minor mistake. The accident caused a huge traffic jam. The crossing at the chowk was blocked for all vehicles entering the city as well as for the heavy rush coming from the Delhi side. The police diverted the traffic to other side of the blocked road in the morning. This helped to some extent as the vehicles had to move at a slow speed, causing huge congestion at the site. Police sources said the tanker had to be handled delicately. Two cranes of the Municipal Corporation turned it back on the wheels.
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Centre City Scam
Ludhiana, June 15 In a statement issued here today, Bibi Khangura, the mother of sitting Congress MLA from Kila Raipur Jassi Khangura, said, "With reference to recent media reports regarding alleged statements made by Manmohan Singh and Dayal Chand Garg, officers of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust, during the Punjab Vigilance Bureau enquiry relating to the Ludhiana scam, I categorically state that neither I nor any member of my family has ever met Manmohan Singh or Dayal Chand Garg". She said no such meeting has ever taken place in the Majestic Park or Plaza Hotel, owned by the family or any other venue. She said, "I have never received a single rupee, let alone Rs 15 lakh from G.K. Ghambir or from any representative of Today Homes or from anybody connected with this project". Khangura maintained that she was not aware under what circumstances the alleged statements were made. She said she had asked her lawyers to seek the remedy unless Manmohan Singh and Dayal Chand Garg either deny the statements or admitted that these were made under duress and were invalid. She said failing this she would file a defamation suit against them.
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MC road work gets jolt
Ludhiana, June 15 The MC had removed part of a hedge lining the parking lot of the hotel yesterday. Following this the management of the hotel moved court against this act. As a result of the court’s orders the work could not restart today. Superintending engineer Dharam Singh said MC had received the orders in the evening today. He said work on the service lane would continue along the rest of the Ferozepore Road but the local body would not touch the Park Plaza stretch. The MC had taken the initiative of constructing a service lane parallel to Ferozepore Road from Bharat Nagar Chowk to Arti Chowk to smoothen the traffic flow on the busy road. It had constructed a similar road on the other side of Ferozepore road passing in front of other hotels a couple of years ago. But the service lane could not be laid on the Park Plaza side of the road The Forest Department also had objections to laying of the service lane as it was to be laid on forest land. But the department had allowed the MC to do so recently. The MC officials had claimed that they had agreed to compensate the Forest Department for the land. Though the city has been in need of a service lane alongside Ferozepore Road considering the traffic scenario, political pressure was said to be behind the MC starting the work suddenly. The residents had also been demanding the lane for the slow vehicles. The MC was to demolish the outer parking lot of the hotel to lay the road. ‘‘Now we are not going to touch this hotel till the stay remains,’’ said Dharam Singh. 
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Journalist body asks for rights of Pak media
Ludhiana, June 15 The members handed over a memorandum addressed to Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf in which deep concern was expressed over the increasing dangers faced by journalists in that country and the growing restraints on the functioning of the media in that country. Ashok Singhi and Dr Harjinder Singh Lall said the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) had, in February this year, highlighted four cases of killing of journalists since mid-2006, two cases of journalists’ immediate kin being targeted, not to mention innumerable cases of coercion and intimidation, including kidnapping and torture. The memorandum further stated that vice-president of the Tribal Union of Journalists Dr Noor Hakim Khan was one of the five who died, in the North-Western Bajaur Tribal Agency, in an explosion targeting the vehicle he was travelling in. Newsman Hadayatullah was abducted only a week ago. Similarly, Nasrullah Afredi has been subject to threats from extremist group, Lashkar-e-Islami. Journalists in the tribal regions are the most vulnerable. Many are now forced to give up their profession due to the threats they and their families face. In spite of all these brutalities being perpetrated on the struggling journalists, there is no end to their arrests and persecution on the trumped up charges such as the sedition case against Mukesh Rupeta and Sanjay Kumar, reporter and cameraman for Geo TV. The memorandum asked the Pakistani President to provide a secure environment to journalists. The delegates also called on the Pakistan government to exert more pressure on media owners to immediately implement the Seventh Wage Award that would grant fairer pay to media personnel. “Job insecurity is increasing as a result of the poor and unacceptable pay conditions for Pakistan journalists and in order for the media industry to prosper and inform the public of the news, this must be executed,” read the memorandum. The IMC representatives said similar memorandums had also been handed over to deputy commissioners at all the district headquarters, including Moga, Ferozepur, Amritsar, Nawanshahr, Ropar, Faridkot and Sangrur and also at Khanna and Jagraon sub-divisions.
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Demand to exempt small taxpayers from new form
Ludhiana, June 15 Addressing a seminar on new ITR forms here on Thursday, the TBA president B.R. Kaushal pointed out that a lot more financial details had to be filled in the new ITR forms, which would be beyond the means and resources of small assessees. General secretary of the association, Deepak Chopra, disclosed that the department of income tax had been armed with the powers to send a notice and ask for desired particulars if incomplete information was provided in the new form or if any column was left blank. Echoing similar view point, president of Taxation Young Lawyers Association, Jatinder Khurana said the assessees would have to fill in complete details of profit and loss account as also the balance sheet in the new ITR forms. “In the wake of technical and legal complications in the new forms, the tax payers filing their returns without professional help, may have to face problems with the department.” Guest speakers at the seminar K.R. Jain and Yogesh Jain from Amritsar discussed the technical details of the new ITR forms with the taxation lawyers and participated in an interactive session for filling up these forms in a proper manner. Jagjit Singh, vice-president of TBA, Gulshan Goel, president of District Taxation Bar Association (Sales Tax), Ashok Juneja and O.P. Miglani were also present on the occasion.
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Dry cleaners’ body to hold meeting
tomorrow
Ludhiana, June 15 President of the association, Santokh Singh, said this at a meeting of dry cleaners here today. He said executive members of the association from all over the state are likely to attend the meeting. A forthcoming meeting of the association, electricity tarriffs and VAT and MTO will be on the agenda of the meeting, he said. He said a memorandum about VAT and MTO would be drafted in the meeting for presentation to the Punjab finance minister. The decision relating to a trip to Shimla will also be taken at the meeting to be held on June 17 said the association’s chief.
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Minor girl abducted
Jagraon, June 15 According to information, Raj Kumar of Patlipur (Bihar) abducted Veenu, 16, of Humbran on June 3 from her village. Land usurped Balvir Singh, Bagga Singh, Lakhvir Singh, Swaran Kaur, Santo Bai, Surjit Singh, Boota Singh, Mohinder Kaur all of Kulgehna, Sulakhan Singh and Nihalo Bai of Baghian, Deepa Bai of Malsian Bajan, Bhago Bai of Rattia, Malo Bai and Kao Bai of Ferozepur, along with some unknown persons, illegally occupied the land belonging to Roop Singh of
Kulgehna. They allegedly destroyed the paddy crop. The police has registered a case under Section 447, 427, 506, 511, IPC, against them. No arrest has been made so
far.
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