L U D H I A N A

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TOP STORIES

MC POLL
600 turn up for 70 Cong tickets
Birmi abstains, says he was busy
Ludhiana, May 2
There were 70 vacancies and over 600 applicants — the Circuit House looked like any other interview centre — except that aspirants did not want jobs, but the Congress tickets for the coming municipal elections here.

Aspirants for the Congress ticket for the municipal elections wait outside Circuit House, Ludhiana, on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

BJP yet to finalise candidates
Ludhiana, May 2
The nine-member committee of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the district was not authorised to take any final decision regarding allotment of party tickets for the ensuing civic elections. 

MC imposes tax on signboards
Ludhiana, May 2
Owners of industrial and commercial establishments here will, now, have to pay a tax on illuminated and other signboards. According to Mr Prem Chand, Commissioner of Zone D, the Municipal Corporation has served notices on about 200 businessmen of upmarket commercial areas like Ghumar Mandi, Mall Road, Feroze Gandhi Market and Ferozepore Road for getting the signboard sizes assessed according to the Punjab MC Act for payment of advertisement tax.

Students confused over multiple CET exams 
Ludhiana, May 2
Recent decision taken by the universities of Punjab regarding the conduct of independent entrance tests for engineering courses has caused a lot of confusion among the students here.

Lonely hearts at Senior Citizens’ Home

Ludhiana, May 2 Octogenarian residents of Senior Citizens’ Home, Sarabha Nagar, are spending their golden year at a place which takes care of them and offers them board and lodging subsidised by the local Red Cross. However, the senior citizens are lonely, shattered after being shunted out of their homes by their children, whom they had raised with a lot of affection. Madan Lal Mehra (86) narrates his tale of woes in his room in Senior Citizens’ Home, Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana. — Photo Pradeep Tewari

COMMUNITY

Rs 1 crore encroachment scam

Ludhiana, May 2 While political parties are busy preparing themselves for the Municipal Corporation elections, to be held on May 19, officials of the Corporation have almost stopped the anti-encroachment drive. In fact, in a number of areas in the city, the Mayor, Municipal Commissioner or other officials have never ordered the removal of encroachments during the past many years for reasons best known to them.

A scene at the Gill Road in Ludhiana, where scooter dealers have encroached upon public land, resulting in traffic congestion and frequent accidents. — A Tribune photograph

Mann supports censure motion
Ludhiana, May 2
Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, President of the Akali Dal (Amritsar), was the only Akali member of the Parliament who supported the censure motion in the Lok Sabha against the NDA Government yesterday. Mr Mann said he had persuaded the other Akali MPs to follow the example of Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, Mr Omar Abdullah and TDP MPs but they all backed out as they were under pressure of their party’s support to the BJP Government.

LDA promises free drinking water
Ludhiana, May 2
Having suffered a blow after the City Mayor, Mr Apinder Singh Grewal, along with several councillors owing allegiance to Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal Chief, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) earlier this month, a close supporter of Mr Tohra and a former legislator, Mr Hira Singh Gabria, has formed Ludhiana Development Alliance (LDA) with several like-minded parties to contest the civic elections.

PSEB consumers moved, queues unmoved
Ludhiana, May 2
Officials of the Punjab State Electricity Board ( PSEB), are never tired of paying lip service for improving consumer services, but the fact remains that they have failed to provide even basic services like water or fans to the consumers, who come to deposit electricity bills.

‘Kaam, krodh, moh enemies of man’ Ludhiana, May 2 “Religion teaches us how to achieve real and long-term victory, happiness and peace in life. This is the basic essence of religion. One needs to have strong values to succeed in life. Strength of character is first such ingredient, which provides the necessary momentum to achieve our goals in life.

CRIME

Three booked for fraud
Sahnewal, May 2
Three people have been booked under Sections 420 and 120B, IPC, by the Sahnewal police, yesterday. Sanjeev Malhotra, an advocate of Ludhiana, has lodged a complaint that three persons Dinesh Tak, Vicky Tak and T.R. Tak, Directors of the Primal Complex Limited, Chandigarh road, Ludhiana, have cheated him.

BUSINESS

Imposition of octroi criticised
Ludhiana, May 2
The Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) has criticised the decision of the state government to reimpose octroi. Mr Inderjit Singh Pardhan, president, and Mr Avtar Singh, general secretary, CICU, in a press statement today said that imposing of octroi was not much painful as was its mode of payment which was still based on conventional system of standing in long queues.

AGRICULTURE

Conflicting reports on wheat production
Ludhiana, May 2
Conflicting assessments are being made about the wheat production in Punjab this year. Officials of the Food and Civil Supplies Department say that the state may not hit the target of procuring 1.20 crore tonne of wheat this year, because of a fall in the yield, whereas officials of the State Agriculture Department feel that the overall wheat production will be little over than what it was last year and there would be no fall in the yield.

K.S. Roy
Ludhiana, May 2
Prof K.S. Roy, Head of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Histology, has been appointed fellow of the National Academy of Veterinary Sciences, India, in recognition of significant contributions to the advancement of veterinary sciences.

EDUCATION

Diploma students meet DC
Ludhiana, May 2
Students of diploma in cutting and tailoring from the Industrial Training Institute for Women, Rani Jhansi Road, met the Deputy Commissioner today and demanded rollback of the plan to close a nine-month teacher training course for them at the institute.

COURTS

Forum penalises UTI for issuing cheques wrongly
Ludhiana, May 2
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the Unit Trust of India (UTI) to pay interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum on Rs 57,000 for the period from June 2 to August 23, 2001, to Mr Gurbax Singh Kalra, a resident of Kitchlu Nagar, Civil Lines. The forum has also directed the UTI to pay Rs 500 as cost of litigation to the consumer.

WORLD ASTHMA DAY 
Asthma more prevalent in children: experts
Ludhiana, May 2
The World Asthma Day falls on May 3. According to experts, asthma is a lung disease and can be life-threatening if not treated timely. It is a chronic or long-term disease which can affect the rest of your life.

Team to study drug addiction in 6 states

Ludhiana, May 2 Drug addiction is becoming common among youth and is crippling the society and robbing it of services of able-bodied man and women. Seeing the increase in the numbers of the drug addicts Dr Vivekanand Pandey and his team from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment would conduct a study in six states of Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Rajasthan. A patient being examined in Dr D.N. Kotnis Acupuncture Hospital, Salem Tabri, Ludhiana. — A Tribune photograph

IMA flays guidelines for doctors
Ludhiana, May 2
The Ludhiana chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has condemned the guidelines issued by the Union Health Ministry keeping a check on the working of medical practitioners in private and government sector.

SPORTS

PNB plans  hockey academy
Ludhiana, May 2
Punjab National Bank (PNB) has decided to establish a hockey academy with the aim of helping talented youngsters to become quality players without sacrificing their educational career, this was told by Mr S.S. Kohli, chairman and managing director of Punjab National Bank in a press release issued here today.