L U D H I A N A

Land scam worth crores detected, 2 suspended
LUDHIANA, Jan 11 — After the Tajpur Road land scam in the city, another such scam involving crores of rupees has come to light here. There have been irregularities in the allotment of plots of the Adarash Colony Cooperative Society Ltd. An inspector of the Cooperative Societies Department has been placed under suspension for his alleged involvement in the scam.

School kids worst hit due to cold
LUDHIANA, Jan 11 — Life was disrupted in Ludhiana and its adjoining areas with the mercury hovering around 3°C and fog enveloping the region. It was dark till even noon today, as the overnight fog had not disappeared.

Dense fog on Thursday morning in Ludhiana forces drivers to switch on the headlights of their vehicles. — Photos by Rajesh Bhambi

Pinki’s gunman surrenders, gets police remand
LUDHIANA, Jan 11 — Bittu Gill, one of the four accused persons in the Sunday night shootout incident in Maya Nagar, was remanded in police custody till January 17 by Mr B.K. Mehta, Senior Sub-Judge, here today. Bittu Gill had surrendered before the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Kuldip Singh, at his residence late last night.

Railways and ST Department lock horns on checkpost issue
LUDHIANA, Jan 11 — The local Sales Tax Department and Railways have one again locked horns, with the Railways writing to the ST Department asking it not to set up a check post inside the precincts of the railway station. The development comes in the wake of losses suffered by the Railways due to the raids conducted by the ST Department to check tax evasion by hosiery traders some time ago.

GOVERNMENT SCHEME BREATHING ITS LAST
88 mechanical handling units lie unutilised
KHAMANO, Jan 11— Although the Punjab Government claims to work for the development of the agricultural sector and for the welfare of the farmers in the state, some of its earlier schemes were breathing their last in the midway. One such scheme was the mechanical handling unit scheme introduced in 1980.

Traffic police short of personnel 
LUDHIANA, Jan 11 — Acute shortage of staff is hitting the functioning of the traffic police in Ludhiana. The problem is getting complicated with the ever-increasing traffic on roads. On an average, there are six traffic policemen in the city for 10,000 vehicles that ply every day here, making the job difficult for them.

Octroi post cash looted
KHAMANO, Jan 11 — A sun of Rs 600 was looted from an octroi post here yesterday by two unidentified persons travelling in a Tata Sumo.

Woman sarpanch, kin beaten up
Khanna, Jan 11 — An incident of firing at the house and beating up of a woman sarpanch and her kin over selection of a teacher by the village panchayat was reported here yesterday. A case has been registered by the Khanna police against three persons.

COMMUNITY

AT THE CROSS ROADS
Relevance of irrelevance
Someone remarked jokingly the other day that poets became irrelevant just after a kavi darbar. They also need liquor, sumptuous dinner and a comfortable night’s stay. This casual remark in good humour set me thinking about when does a person become irrelevant in life.

Experts discuss farming problems
LUDHIANA, Jan 11 — Scientists of Punjab Agricultural University, namely Dr M.S. Bajwa, Director, Research and Dr G.S. Dhaliwal, Professor of Ecology, have cautioned farmers and agricultural scientists against the dangers which agriculture in Punjab is facing today.

‘People fed up with govt policies’
Ludhiana, Jan 11 — “People of Punjab are fed up with the wrong and anti-people policies of the SAD-BJP government and are looking towards Congress for providing a better government. But to stage a come back, Congress will have to work hard and mobilise the masses on the basis of their programmes and policies.,” said Mr Sushil Parashar, chief organiser of Punjab Pradesh Congress Sewa Dal, while addressing a meeting in Shimla Puri locality here last evening. He said in order to regain power, the party rank and file will have to work unitedly and in a dedicated manner.

Controversy dogs government school
LUDHIANA, Jan 11 — A personal grudge has triggered a controversy between the principal and teachers of the Government Senior Secondary School at Lalton Kalan village. Not only the staff, but also the panchayat, politicians of the area, residents and the officers in the District Education Department find themselves embroiled in the episode.

SPORT

Athletics meet at SHCS
LUDHIANA, Jan 11 — The Tagore House lifted the title of best house in the 18th annual athletics meet of Sacred Heart Convent School, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar. In the tug-of-war competition students outclassed the teachers.