Ludhiana: In a good news for city residents, especially businessmen, more than 10 trains that remained cancelled for a long time will start operations from this week. The list includes some of the most popular trains on New Delhi-Ludhiana-Amritsar route: 02013 Shatabdi Express will start from Thursday and 02029 Shatabdi Express from Friday.
Besides these, on New Delhi-Ludhiana-Jammu route, 02461 Shri Shakti Express and 02265 Duronto Express will resume operations as well. Several special unreserved trains will also start from Thursday. Majority of the trains were cancelled from May 1 owing to low occupancy and surge in Covid-19 cases.
Rajesh Aggarwal, divisional railway manager (DRM), Ferozepur Division, said, “On demand of passengers and local administration of areas under our jurisdiction, we will start the operations of 10 pairs of special unreserved trains from July 1. Decision has been taken to resume several mail express trains as well, mainly on routes of New Delhi to Amr
Ludhiana: With coronavirus cases not slowing down and fatalities rising in the district, business associations have come forward to help the administration and the government.
Several businessmen are already providing oxygen free of cost in huge quantities and during the past few days they have also deposited with the administration hundreds of cylinders lying in their factories. Besides, many vaccination camps have been organised by the industry in which not only workers and businessmen, but the public was also immunised.
To overcome shortage of beds in hospitals, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) has pledged to support the initiative of the administration to set up a 50-bed makeshift hospital at the Meritorious School in Civil Lines. Upkar Singh Ahuja, CICU president, said, “Recently, a meeting was held with DC Varinder Sharma, councillor Mamta Ashu, Dr Bishav Mohan and other senior officials of the district administration to help the community by settin
Ludhiana: Alarmed over shortage of empty cylinders with suppliers, distributors and manufacturers of oxygen, the industries department has started making desperate appeals to industrialists and others who have them. The deputy commissioner has also ordered that all the empty and filled oxygen cylinders lying with factories be returned to bottling plants at the earliest.
DC Varinder Kumar Sharma in a video message said, “There is a dire need for empty cylinders. As the district magistrate I order the industry and non-Covid hospitals to immediately return all empty and filled cylinders to the bottling plants from where these were sourced. I have also formed a team of officials to conduct checks in factories, non-Covid hospitals and other establishments. In case cylinders are found, strict action will be taken.”
Ludhiana: Ahead of the state budget to be announced by finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Monday, city businessmen have sent their demands and suggestions to him for consideration.
Businessmen say the state government needs to take measures for Punjab’s industry that is passing through a very tough time, besides Centre’s budget announced last month had failed to address their concerns.
Expediting GST refunds, establishing new focal points, technology upgrade schemes and introducing one-time settlement policies in all departments related to industry are the major demands of the businessmen.
For some, industry modernisation is key to development. Gurmeet Singh Kular, president of Federation of Industrial and Commercial Organisations (FICO), says, “We have sent several suggestions to the finance minister to help industry bounce back. The Centre has failed to give us relief. Bicycle and hosiery are the mother industries in Punjab that give employment to lakhs of people,