Sumeer Singh is a staff correspondent at Ludhiana. He covers industry, transport, district courts and sports.
Articles by Sumeer Singh
Jallikattu effect: Will bullock cart races return to Kila Raipur?
The organisers and participants of Kila Raipur Games, also called Rural Olympics, are upbeat about the prospects of event returning to its old charm in the light of banned bull-taming sport— Jallikattu—in Tamil Nadu taking place on Sunday.
Updated on Jan 23, 2017 11:32 AM IST
Hindustan Times, Ludhiana | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Demonetisation fallout: Sewing machine makers suffer 50% drop in sales, exports
December 2016 had been the worst in terms of monthly sales for sewing machine manufacturer Ravi Arora in his 62 years stint in the industry. From Rs 15 lakh in December 2015, Arora’s medium-scale unit at Lakkar Bazaar in Ludhiana saw a substantial drop in sales to Rs 4 lakh in December 2016.
Updated on Jan 09, 2017 11:51 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Service tax evasion: DRI recovers Rs 3 crore from production firm in Ambala
Cracking on an Ambala-based production company for evading service tax, the directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) recovered around Rs 3 crore after a raid on its premises on Thursday evening. The company has reportedly rendered services to the units of Bollywood movies such as Aamir Khan-starrer ‘Dangal’, Salman Khan’s ‘Sultan’ and comedian Kapil Sharma’s upcoming ‘Firangi’, being shot in Rupnagar.
Updated on Dec 17, 2016 11:17 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Cash crunch: In Ludhiana, factory workers’ payday means little or nothing
“Around 80% of all industry is in the unorganised sector. And 80% of the workers do not have bank accounts,” said Badish Jindal, vice-chairman of the National Productivity Council, “In some cases, workers who are refusing to accept the old notes or cheques are being laid off.” Workers here usually come from villages of UP, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh, and such migrants are 8 lakh of the 12 lakh workers here. Around 4 lakh work in the hosiery industry, while more than 2 lakh in the cycle industry. Other sectors include machine tools, sewing machines and auto parts.
Updated on Dec 07, 2016 09:05 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
My 2,000 workers exchanged Rs 1.2-cr old notes for me: Ludhiana auto dealer to tax sleuths
A day after the income tax department raided an auto-parts dealer and seized Rs 1.2 crore in cash, including Rs 72 lakh in the new notes of Rs 2,000, investigators said he had pressed his workforce of around 2,000 persons who queued up with his old notes at various banks and got him the new notes over the last few days ever since the old notes of Rs 500 and 1,000 were demonetised on November 8.
Updated on Dec 03, 2016 11:49 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Black money hoarders find escape route in dollars, via farms in Punjab
Foreign currency is being bought from farmers in exchange of scrapped notes through moneychangers, who charge up to 30% for striking the deal
Updated on Nov 14, 2016 11:37 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Currency unrest: Chaos rules as banks exchange currency, customers arguments
It was mayhem outside the Punjab National Bank at Shivpuri area where thousands of residents made a beeline to the bank for a currency exchange (Rs 500 and Rs 1,000) and cash deposit. In their bid to force their way inside the bank through the main entrance people were seen indulging in verbal spats and launching physical assault on each other on numerous occasions.
Updated on Nov 13, 2016 02:29 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Ugly turn: Internal rift, politicking sparked Satluj Club controversy
The ongoing rift involving illegal late night gambling at the city’s prestigious Satluj Club has taken an ugly turn with internal politicking amongst members coming out in the open after the controversy
Updated on Nov 04, 2016 03:29 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Administration fails to issue release papers of 650 child labourers
Showing scant regard for protection of child rights, the district administration is sitting on more than 650 release certificates (RCs) of the rescued child labourers who were employed in various commercial and domestic establishments in Ludhiana. As a result, the rehabilitation of these child labourers is in a limbo over a period of 4 years now.
Updated on Oct 28, 2016 12:34 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Improving rural connectivity:Punjab Roadways to get 164 new midibuses
To improve rural connectivity, the state is all set to get 164 new midibuses (medium size). The state transport officials said that tenders have already been floated for the manufacturing of buses and if not marred by any legal or technical glitches, the buses will hit the road by November 20.
Updated on Oct 06, 2016 01:45 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Lion safari at Mattewara in limbo
Conceived three years back, the lion safari at Mattewara forests touted as the most coveted project of the district wildlife department, is yet to see the light of the day.
Updated on Oct 02, 2016 01:48 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Fleecing rampant at Punjab roadways-run parking lot in Ludhiana
Visitors at the parking lot of the city bus stand are being taken for a ride as they are being charged even for brief halts at the spot.
Updated on Sep 22, 2016 12:56 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Born without arms, this cyclist from Ludhiana loves teaching art
“If you wait till you can do everything for everybody, instead of something for somebody, you will end up not doing nothing for nobody,” says 25-year-old Jagwinder Singh, a cyclist and art teacher.
Updated on Sep 20, 2016 06:00 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Trade unions’ strike: Buses stay off roads, cops struggle to manage chaos in Ludhiana
Life came to a standstill for more than two hours as thousands of protesters from around a dozen trade unions thronged the city bus stand and blocked the Link Road on Friday.
Updated on Sep 03, 2016 02:19 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Once a venue for int’l events, cycling velodrome cries for repair at PAU
The cycling velodrome at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) continues to be in a deplorable condition as the district sports department and PAU authorities are busy passing the buck at each other.
Updated on Aug 30, 2016 12:48 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Long-pending demand of exhibition centre in Ludhiana finally bears fruit
A long-pending demand of industrialists in Ludhiana to establish an exhibition centre has finally bore fruit on Friday when deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal announced that he would lay the foundation stone for it on November 1 during an interaction with traders of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME).
Updated on Aug 27, 2016 11:41 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
JNU student union leader Umar Khalid condemns J&K killings
In a convention organised by the Association For Democratic Rights (AFDR) Punjab and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Vichar Manch, Umar Khalid, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student union leader expressed concerns over the prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), on Sunday.
Updated on Aug 08, 2016 01:34 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Online portal brings cheer to ailing Punjab steel industry
The domestic steel manufacturing industry, which witnessed shutdown of over 100 units in Mandi Gobindgarh and Ludhiana in the last three years, is now hoping to revive with the Metal Scrap Trade Corporation (MSTC) introducing an online shopping portal ‘MSTC Metal Mandi’ for selling and purchasing iron and steel scrap at one platform on Thursday.
Updated on Aug 05, 2016 08:56 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Security takes a backseat: No guards in 50% PNB branches in Ludhiana
The Punjab National Bank branches in the district are not secure enough to prevent robberies of the kind that took place at one of their branches in Kochar Market where four men walked away with `15 lakh in broad daylight on Monday. Around 50% of all 103 branches have no security guards deployed in the premises.
Updated on Aug 04, 2016 03:12 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Ludhiana dist comes to a halt as all filling stations remain closed; strike called off in evening
Residents faced a harrowing time on Sunday as all 334 fuel-filling stations in the district remained shut due to a strike by the petrol pump owners.
Updated on Jul 11, 2016 03:26 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Rains, strong winds uproot trees, poles in Ludhiana, locals harried
Strong winds followed by rains uprooted electricity poles and trees in the wee hours of Tuesday, leaving residents a harried lot.
Updated on Jul 07, 2016 02:10 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
New HC directive on liquor vend policy; relief for retailers
With the Punjab and Haryana high court directing the state excise department to amend the liquor vend policy against procuring alcohol from only a select group of licensees, liquor contractors in the district operating at medium and small scale have breathed a great sigh of relief.
Updated on Jun 11, 2016 02:21 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Artists, industry veterans to ‘Udta Punjab’s’ defence
The controversy over the release of ‘Udta Punjab’, a movie which reportedly highlights drug menace in Punjab, do not seem to end. With Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) suggesting major cuts and change in the title of ‘Udta Punjab’, filmmakers, literary and theatre personalities lent their support for the release of the movie.
Updated on Jun 10, 2016 04:06 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Two months on, 25 dyeing firms yet to install pollution control devices in Ludhiana
Of total 50 ‘polluting’ dyeing firms at Tajpur road and the industrial area that were issued notices by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) in its bid to contain deteriorating air-pollution levels in the city in March, only 25 companies have installed the latest FBC (Fluidised Bed Combustion) technology in furnaces, while others have failed to incorporate the recommended changes.
Updated on Jun 09, 2016 02:19 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Copyright violation: Avon says design doesn’t belong to Hero, already popular abroad
Dragged to court by its arch-rival Hero Cycles over alleged copyright violation, Avon Cycles, in its reply on Tuesday, said the bicycle design in question was already popular in the United States and China. The firm had earlier maintained that it has made requisite changes in the design of the bicycle model in question.
Updated on Jun 01, 2016 09:05 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Ludhiana’s ‘vehra’ dwellings, where daily life is an ordeal
Every morning is an ordeal for 28-year-old Guddu Kumar, who lives in a small dingy room at a ‘vehra’ in Bahadur Ke village with his family of six.
Updated on May 17, 2016 05:10 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Design changed, says Avon, Hero not convinced
In a legal battle to protect its design, bicycle maker Hero on Monday refuted the claims of business rival Avon that it had made the required changes to its model.
Updated on May 17, 2016 10:16 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Hero Cycles sues Avon for ‘copying’ design
Leading bicycle manufacturer Avon Cycles Ltd has been dragged into court over alleged violations of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) by rival Hero Cycles Ltd.
Updated on May 16, 2016 02:11 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Ludhiana residents inhaling ‘venom’, activists flay PPCB neglect
In the absence of any checks by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), the city residents are literally inhaling ‘venom’ everyday. No doubt, Ludhiana has climbed up three notches to be ranked 12th in the World Health Organisation (WHO) ranking on the most polluted cities in the world. Environmentalists in the city flay improper monitoring of industrial units, including hosiery, steel, tyres, brick kilns and dyeing which emit harmful gases, increased vehicular congestion, burning of paddy/wheat straw and city residents’ increased dependence on air-conditioned homes and increased vehicular congestion for the hazard.
Updated on May 14, 2016 12:49 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana
Toxic waste belies PPCB claims of dip in pollution level
The big claims made by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) on the reduction in the pollution levels, during the past five years, at industrial hub Ludhiana by as much as 50% have taken a serious beating as around 18 manufacturing firms at Focal Point Phase 5, 6 and 7 have been found discharging hazardous toxic liquid and solid waste in open.
Updated on May 09, 2016 03:54 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Sumeer Singh, Ludhiana