L U D H I A N A

Omar Abullah's visit fails to enthuse exporters
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — The one-day visit of Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Omar Farooq Abdullah has failed to enthuse the exporters of Ludhiana and its adjoining areas.

Flower girl murder: police gets vital clues
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — The police is learnt to have found some vital clues to nail all the accused in the sensational murder case of Rajni, a flower girl with an orchestra party, on the night of October 3.

MC to shift Sarabha’s statue LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — The ongoing move of the Municipal Corporation here to reduce the circumference of Ghanta Ghar Chowk, where a statue of Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha also stands, and to shift the statue early next year have once again brought to the focus the issue of constant shifting of the statues of war heroes and freedom fighters.

The statue of Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha at Clock Tower Chowk which is to be shifted shortly. — RB

Police accused of bribing Dalit leader
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — The local unit of the Bahujan Samaj party has accused the CIA personnel of trying to bribe its leaders in order to make them withdraw their allegations of police torture on a Dalit youth.

Farmers to gherao officers, ministers
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — The Kirti Kisan Union, along with the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta) and kisan sabhas, while alleging that the government had backed out from its announcement that discoloured grain of paddy, with the quality unaffected, would be treated and purchased as first grade, have decided to send its teams to state mandis and further resort to gherao of ministers and officers of procurement agencies.

SPEAKING OUT
Few support move
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — The plan of the Municipal Corporation to reduce the circumference of Ghanta Ghar Chowk where a statue of Kartar Singh Sarabha is installed has drawn flak from many persons.

A PAGE FROM HISTORY
A Thugee Office gave birth to city police
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — From a Branch Thugee (cheating) Office in 1848 — the first-ever organised police wing — the police services in the district and the city have come a long way.

COMMUNITY

Localities sans civic amenities
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — Residents in various thickly populated colonies on Pakhowal Road have been persistently complaining over the lack of water supply and sewerage facilities without evoking any response from the civic authorities. The localities like Punjab Mata Nagar, Vishal Nagar, Vikas Nagar and Shahid Karnail Singh Nagar have little or no water supply and only a partially laid sewerage net work, with no provision for disposal of water.

Woman alleges harassment by husband, in-laws
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — Tears don't stop from her eyes as she narrates her tale of woes. Deserted by her husband and in-laws, her own family and then her foster family, Jasbir Kaur has now been forced to spend her life on the roads.

‘Corruption holding back India’
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — Mr Justice J.L. Gupta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court said there was a “crisis of character” in the country and urged the people to resolve to build a strong nation.

Neglect of a rare green spot
LUDHIANA: When one thinks of Ludhiana, greenery is the last thing that comes to one’s mind. However, there are a few green spots as well in this industrial city of smoke and smog. Rose Garden is one of these.

Where there is a will, there is a way LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — A positive attitude in life leads a person towards happiness and prosperity. For Satish Chawla, a physically challenged boy, life is as smooth as it is for anyone else leading a normal life. A resident of Moti Nagar area, Satish has an amazing quality of driving different cars and jeeps, including Maruti 800, Zen, Maruti van, Tata Sumo, Esteem and even Tata 407. His disability has never been a hurdle in learning and driving these motor vehicles. Physically handicapped Satish Chawla in his Maruti Omni

Truck stolen from Sherpur Chowk
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — A truck bearing registration No. MP-23B-8175 is alleged to have been stolen from Sherpur Chowk on the night of October 25.

Murder case solved
KHANNA, Oct 30 — The Khanna police claimed to have solved the murder case of an NRI with the arrest of the main accused, Shiv Kumar of Fatehgarh Sahib.

BUSINESS

‘Industrialists should fight for their rights’
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — Industrialists are facing various administrative and policy-related problems, not because of the government’s apathy or anti-industry policies, but because they have failed to assert their identity during the past 50 years. The industrialists, especially those belonging to the small-scale sector, are today suffering at the hands of taxmen, bureaucrats and politicians because of lack of unity and spirit to fight for their rights.

‘Subsidise freight charges for exporters’
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — The small scale industry of the state contributed substantially to the export of engineering products from the northern region of the country. But the export units of the state were suffering on two accounts. First, they had to pay high charges on transport of imports of raw material from other states as well as export of prepared material to ports.

EDUCATION

‘Political pressure behind extension to principal’
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — This could well be another example where the set rules have been flouted or moulded to suit the interests of the rich and the powerful, allegedly under political pressure from the powers that be in the state.

Award for PAU professor
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — Dr G.S. Dhaliwal, Professor of ecology, PAU, has been conferred the “Best Scientist Award” by the National Environmental Science Academy. The award carries a gold medal a, citation and a certificate. Besides this, the academy has nominated him for the NESA fellowship.

2 PAU scientists elected to ISEE 
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — Two scientists of the Department of Extension Education of the PAU, namely, Dr G.S. Saini and Dr D.S. Ladher have been elected unopposed as councillors of the Indian Society of Extension Education for the period 2000-2003 for the first time to represent northern India on the executive committee of the society.

GNPS students win inter-school quiz
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — The District Education Department organised a science fair at Guru Nanak Khalsa High School, Model Town, here today in which inter-school chart-making and quiz contests were held.

Ram — an outstanding play
Oct 30 — After 51 years of continuous staging of the most popular epic, Ram, Shriram Bhartiya Kala Kendra, a pioneer cultural institution promoted by the DCM group has perfected the play into a superlative presentation.

HEALTH

Conference on radiology
LUDHIANA, Oct 30 — The Department of Radiodiagnosis and Imaging of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital organised a state level conference of Indian Radiological and Imaging Association, at the Dumra Auditorium here yesterday.

SPORT

Kuljinder shines in athletics meet
BADDOWAL (Ludhiana), Oct 30 -Government Senior Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar, boys stole the show in the Ludhiana Zone II Inter-School Athletics Meet held at Government Senior Secondary School, Baddowal, today. Kuljinder Singh of GSSS, Jawahar Nagar, remained in the limelight by winning gold medals in 800 m and 5000 m categories.