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18 hurt as employees clash at Avon Cycles Ludhiana, January 16 The agitating employees alleged that the management had arbitrarily sacked their colleagues. They asserted that unless their colleagues were reinstated, they would not allow any work to be done in the factory. Some of the employees also resorted to stone-throwing, forcing the management to seek police aid. A posse of about 50 policemen was deployed at the factory premises to prevent any untoward incident. Most members of the management, including the chairman of the group, Mr Omkar Singh Pahwa, were stuck inside the factory. The legal adviser of the company, Mr B.D. Arora, denied the charges of the agitating employees. He told The Tribune that three employees had voluntarily resigned. They were provided all their dues by the company and their accounts were amicably settled, Mr Arora claimed. He said the company had not forced anyone to resign. Mr Arora said there was no question of taking back employees under compulsion. “Nobody can force us to take back employees who have resigned,” he said. Mr Arora alleged that most of the employees were being instigated by a trade union leader who had a score to settle with the companies. He maintained that the employees were being misled and they had no agenda. “They did not give us any advance notice or a charter of demands,” he said. The legal adviser alleged that the agitating employees had indulged in rioting and damaged property belonging to the company. “They smashed windowpanes, airconditioners and even vehicles of employees,” Mr Arora said. He stated that the company had sought police assistance as the employees were trying to hold the management to ransom. He said members of the management would also meet the Deputy Commissioner and the Senior Superintendent of Police Ludhiana to ensure that “goondaism” was not allowed to go on. The agitating employees refuted the claims of Mr Arora that the employees had voluntarily resigned. They maintained that the three “sacked” employees were working with the company for the past several years. They were forcibly made to resign, the employees claimed. “Had they resigned voluntarily, why would they seek re-employment?,” asked Mr Sarbjit Singh Sarhali, the youth wing president of the state unit of the Indian National Trade Union Congress. Reacting to Mr Arora’s charge that the employees had not served any advance notice or submitted any charter of demands, he said they had been not given any time to do so. “Our only demand is that our colleagues must be reinstated,” he said. Mr Sarhali blamed Mr Arora for the problems and claimed that he was making it a prestige issue. He also alleged that the management had hired goons. He identified Makhan Singh, who, he alleged, had assaulted some employees who refused to join duty. |
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Ex-sarpanch indicted for embezzling funds Ludhiana, January 16 Ms Manso Devi was accused of embezzling the panchayat funds and the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anurag Verma, had ordered an inquiry into the case. The inquiry report indicted her and the Deputy Commissioner today asked the SSP to book her under Sections 409 and 201, IPC. The inquiry was ordered after the present sarpanch, Mr Harbilas, had submitted a complaint against her for not handing over the charge of the panchayat to him and allegedly embezzling the panchayat funds. The inquiry was assigned to the District Development and Panchayat Officer(DDPO) on December 1. The DDPO in his report substantiated the charges and said she had not handed over the panchayat records from 1998 to 2003 after the elections. He said the former sarpanch had also not given the records pertaining to the accounts of the annual auction returns of around 39 acres of panchayat land worth Rs 2.15 lakh. As per the report, Mr Shingara Ram, resident of the village, had alleged that Ms Manso Devi had received Rs 8,000 from him on account of “chakota” of the gram panchayat land but she had not issued any receipt. Mr Nirmal Singh also stated that she had taken Rs 55,000 from him regarding the “chakota” and had not given him a receipt. Gram sewak Manjit Singh said in May the gram panchayat had given some of its land on lease for over Rs 1.35 lakh but it did not auction the remaining land measuring 27 acres and it continued to be in the possession of previous tenants. The accused allegedly collected the rent from the tenants but did not deposit the same with the panchayat or in the account of the panchayat in the bank. Later she deposited Rs 20,000 only. Mr Verma said the legal opinion from the Joint Director, Prosecution and Litigation, Ludhiana, had been taken and he had recommended the registration of a case against her. He had also recommended the initiation of departmental action against the BDPO for dereliction of duty after conducting an inquiry. |
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Advani, Capt to share dais Ludhiana, January 16 Union Agriculture Minister Rajnath Singh, Law and Commerce Minister, Arun Jaitly, Minister for Chemical and Fertilisers Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy will be special guests at the function. Preparations are on in the wake of the DPM’s visit to the city. Mr Advani is learnt to have already confirmed his presence on the launching day of the vernacular in Ludhiana. The function would be held at the Kisan Mela ground of the Punjab Agricultural University here. The Chief Minister has also confirmed his participation in the launching ceremony. The district and police administration has already started preparations for the visit of the VIPs, particularly the DPM and the Chief Minister. Security measures are being finalised. It would be Mr Advani’s second visit to Ludhiana after the National Democratic Alliance government took over at the centre. Earlier, he visited Ludhiana in 2000 to lay the foundation stone of Apollo Hospital. However, at that time Mr Advani was only the Home Minister and he had not been designated as the DPM. Moreover, Mr Parkash Singh Badal was the Chief Minister of the state at that time. Given the nature of strained relationships between the state and the centre over the trial of Mr Parkash Singh Badal in the alleged corruption cases, the organisers of the function are trying to keep it “absolutely apolitical”. Mr Advani had criticised Capt Amarinder and accused him of resorting to political vendetta against Mr Badal, who happens to be an important leader of the NDA. However, both Mr Advani and Capt Amarinder are known for their sober and mature way of handling situations. People associated with the function maintained that it would simply be a Deputy Prime Minister of the country and the Chief Minister of the state who will share the dais along with other colleagues. There is not going to be any politics at the function. |
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5-year RI for abetting wife to commit suicide Ludhiana, January 16 Delivering the verdict, Mr J.S.Bhatia, Additional Sessions Judge, held that the relations between the accused and his wife were strained and he suspected the fidelity of his wife, which forced her to commit suicide. The accused and his parents had been booked under Section 304-B (dowry death) of the IPC. But the judge held that no offence was made out under the said Section and convicted the accused under Section 306 (abetting to commit suicide) of the IPC. The court acquitted Ms Satish Garg, mother-in-law and Mr Mohinder Partap Garg, father-in-law of the accused, finding no evidence against them. They were booked on June 13, 2001 at the Jagraon police station following a complaint lodged by Mr Sudarshan Kumar, the father of the deceased. The complainant had alleged that he had given sufficient dowry at the time of marriage of his daughter but her in-laws were not satisfied. He said they started harassing and maltreating his daughter on this account. On the other hand, the accused pleaded not guilty and stated that Vandana had not been forced to commit suicide. |
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Dial 131 for no response Ludhiana, January 16 At a time when trains are running behind schedule due to fog in the region, No. 131 is perhaps the most-dialled number. But much to the disappointment of people, it remains either busy or unattended. Over 100 trains pass through the local railway station everyday, with thousands of enquiries being made daily. Residents say that they never expect to get any response from the railway enquiry. “You have to go to the railway station and inquire from there whether the train is on time or behind schedule,” laments Prem Lata, a resident of Gurdev Nagar. Even the computerised railway inquiry number invariably remains “busy” or the information announced through it is never accurate. Mr Gurpreet Singh of Mullanpur was scheduled to go to Uttaranchal. When he inquired from the computerised enquiry, he was “informed” that the train was on time. But when he reached the station, he was told that the train was running late by four hours. When he pointed out that the computerised announcement had said that the train was on time, he was curtly told that the computer was
A senior official of the Railways admitted that No. 131 was not usually answered. “Even when we try it ourselves from outside, there is no response,” he said, adding that “there is shortage of manpower.” For quite some time, there have not been recruitments. Usually, there are two persons at the enquiry — one to answer the phone and other at the counter. But sometimes one is on leave or has his day off. It is learnt that several employees at the enquiry have been asked to explain. In some cases, punitive measures have also been taken. The railway authorities admit that enquiry is the most-complained about section, but they are silent on the remedial measures. |
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Harpreet Sandhu promoted as Addl Advocate General Ludhiana, January 16 Mr Sandhu becomes the youngest member of the
District Bar Association, to be elevated to this prestigious position. He was appointed as Assistant Advocate General by the Punjab
Government after the Congress government came to power. Thereafter, he was promoted to the post of Deputy
Advocate General, Punjab, where he was serving from the past one year. Mr Sandu started practising in the local courts in
the year 1997. Being a law student, he represented the country as Ambassador of Goodwill to France in
group study exchange team (1993). |
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Sops by Cong an eyewash, says BJP Ludhiana, January 16 In a statement here today, the state general secretary of the party, Mr Rajinder Bhandari, while commenting on the recent announcement of a relief package by the Punjab Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh, observed that the government was still to fulfil even a single poll promise and the belated relief measures were, at best, a slight reversal of the anti-people policies of the Congress government. He claimed that the infrastructure development was an ongoing process, which had been initiated by the previous SAD-BJP government and there had been no spectacular achievement on that count under the new regime. Mr Bhandari maintained that much hyped 24 hour power supply to villages had turned out to be a farce and the overall power scenario in the whole state was dismal, to say the least. The economic growth had been stunted and people from all the sections of society were feeling the pinch. "The ruling party has lost its credibility and consistency as none of the commitments made to the people have seen the light of the day." Taking a dig at the ruling Congress for the intense infighting and the threat being posed by the dissidents to the leadership, the BJP functionary said the extended rumblings had crippled the working of the government to the extent of uncertainty. How could a government function effectively if its leader was uncertain about his own future, he wondered. Mr Bhandari asserted that the future of the Punjab state laid only in the exit of Congress party and earlier the people got rid of the present government, the better it would be for the state and the people. Meanwhile, the district president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, Mr Sanjay Kapoor, has announced the nomination of office- bearers and executive committee of the party. Among the three vice- presidents were Mr Bharat Bhushan Sharma, Mr Ramesh Bangar and Mr Sanjeev Malhotra while Mr Kewal Gupta would be the general secretary. The other office-bearers are:Mr Rajneesh Dhiman (organising secretary), Mr Vikram Datt Kapoor, Mr Satish Nagar, Mr Rakesh Kumar (secretaries), Mr Rajesh Sharma Mintu (treasurer) and Mr Sanjeev Malhotra (media incharge). Mr Rajiv Sharma, Mr Hira Lal Chauhan, Mr Gulshan Kumar Titoo, Mr Vipin Jain, Mr Lalit Sharma, Mr Ashok Sachdeva, Mr Ramesh Khurana, Mr Avinash Sharma, Mr Balwinder Singh, Mr Pardeep Parikh, Mr Ravinder Verma, Mr Rohit Wadhera and Mr Karnail Singh would be the members of executive committee. |
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Traders welcome
sops Ludhiana, January 16 Mr Jaitwani said that the introduction of exim forms was unnecessary and the same had not resulted in any increase in the revenue. He also hailed the decision of the Chief Minister in raising the limit of self-assessment of salestax to Rs 75 lakh and said that this would provide great relief to the traders. Mr Jaitwani called upon the Chief Minister to discard the idea of implementing VAT as the same would not help in checking the evasion and raising the revenue. |
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Akali factions gear up for elections Ludhiana, January 16 Mr Tohra was the one who pointed out that the BJP was inappropriately demanding five lok sabha seats out of the 13 seats from the akali dal. He knew that the alliance between the SAD and the BJP would continue but he tried to avoid pressure on the akali dal by the BJP leadership. He made the BJP understand that the Akali Dal was a regional party and primarily represented the sikh community. the BJP reconciled to three seats in Punjab. Political observers are of the view that the utterances by Mr Tohra were meant to favour Mr Badal and he should not have rushed to give clarifications over the statement of the SGPC chief. For Mr Badal, the lok sabha elections are a do or die affair since the Badals are involved in a direct confrontation with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh over the registration of cases against them. Mr Badal has strengthened his position in the party with the support of Mr Tohra and other leaders during the detention of the Badals. The “jabar virodhi” morcha received the support of the rank and file of the party. Since Capt Amarinder Singh has got a breather with the help of the Congress high command, he will not leave any stone unturned to keep the Badals busy in the cases. For Capt Amarinder Singh too, the elections would be fight for political survival. the akali dal does not have any major issue against the Punjab Government and will have to come up with a poll plank. Mr Badal has to understand the influence of the various akali factions. Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, president of the Akali Dal (Amritsar) has repeatedly said he was prepared to have an adjustment of seats with the SAD. However, Mr Badal is not open to the idea. Members belonging to the SAD in the lok sabha have accepted Mr Mann as their leader on certain issues and he has represented Akali factions on several occasions. Mr Ravi Inder Singh's faction is also drawing supporters in various parts of Punjab. He is a close relative of Mr Badal and remained loyal to the Akali Dal. |
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Icy winds sweep city Ludhiana, January 16 Heat convectors were again in operation in homes and offices. However, weather observers were optimistic of having a short rainfall and a clear and sunny weather thereafter. |
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Most trains running late Ludhiana, January 16 Some of the affected trains that have caused a lot of hardship to Ludhiana residents are Howrah Mail that has been delayed indefinitely. Kissan Mail between Ferozepore and Dhanbad suffers the same fate. Shan-e-Punjab between Delhi to Amritsar and Sheed Express were running seven hours late. Passengers at the railway station said that they were not being attended to by the railway authorities who were not giving them any information about the arrival and departure of the trains. However, railway booking clerk said that Duplicate Howrah Mail had been cancelled and the Jan Nayak Express was running seven hours late. The Jan Sewa Express running between Barauni and Amritsar was four hours late. The Flying Mail, known for its speed in the days of yore, was running 27 hours late. Mr Atul Kanojia, a passenger waiting for relatives from Calcutta, said that he was totally ignorant about the arrival of his relatives at Ludhiana who had started from Calcutta two days ago. Similarly, Master Suneet, who had come to the station with his mother to receive his father returning from overseas, was disappointed. His mother, Mrs Kusum, said that they were unhappy with the manner in which the railway authorities were divulging information after the trains.
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Residents’ pleas fall on deaf ears Ludhiana, January 16 Mr Jagdev Singh Grewal, a resident of the area, said repeated pleas made by a deputation of residents through representations and personal meetings with senior MC officials, had failed to evoke any response. On June 27, 2002, the Commissioner (D-Zone) had passed an order for the removal of encroachments vide a letter but no action had been taken. The MC employees had also cut some trees in a park here causing resentment among the residents. Building material like sand kept in the open flew with the wind to houses. The transport company, located in the area use open spaces, foot-paths and even part of the main road for the purpose. Mr Grewal was critical of the management of Gurdwara Singh Sabha for having failed to make proper arrangements for the disposal of dirty water which flooded the nearby streets and lanes. “We have respect for the place of worship but at the same time, the management is duty-bound to be responsible,” he said. According to the local Welfare Society, the officials of the MC have been visiting the locality but no follow-up action had been taken.
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Indians have attitude problem, feels NRI “It was a wonderful experience. There were live performances by Bollywood personalities like Sonu Nigam, Anu Malik, Hariharan and Sunidhi Chauhan. Shringar, a cultural programme, was the best in which 26 best singers and dancers from Karnataka performed, said Dr Sharma. When asked about the motive of the conference, Dr Sharma said the Indian Government wanted them to come back and invest in the country. “It was nice when the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said the government not only wanted our riches but also our rich experiences,” expressed Dr Sharma. The NRI said: “There is a need to understand the emotions of the younger generation in the country because they are the future. It is time for action and not for theoretical work. Today, the youth are abusing drugs, cases of AIDS are increasing and endless unemployment is there. Who is at fault? At least not the youth. They are frustrated and sufferers. We need look through their vision”. |
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Delegates
to participate in world forum Ludhiana, January 16 The delegation includes Mr Pardeep Sharma, Mr Gulzar Singh, Mr Darshan Singh and youth leader Mr Kuldip Singh Binder. They will make presentations on the concept of innovative and integrated farming based on the experiments of an ordinary farmer Darshan Singh from Hyatpura village, near Machhiwara which can be the basis of agriculture developmental needs of a poor country like India instead of market-oriented agriculture as propagated by the multinational corporations, onslaught on national culture by the West in the name of
globalisation and the devaluation of our literature by the imperialist culture. |
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Flowers showered on temple Ludhiana, January 16 The main attraction was the showering of flowers by a helicopter above the temple premises and the residential area. Other programmes included “Chenda Melam” and “Amman Kudam,” performed by artistes from Kerala. “Thalapolic” was performed by women which was followed by an elephant tableau.
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Nabard workshop
for self-help groups Amloh, January 16 The workshop was attended by branch managers of various banks, besides representatives and members of NGOs and SHGs. The training workshop was conducted by Mr Ashwani Kumar, Assistant General Manager, Nabard (Fatehgarh Sahib), Mr M.L. Guru, Lead District Manager, and Mr Satish Kumar, CDPO, Amloh. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Ashwani Kumar said the district had taken the lead in the state with the formation of 540 groups and credit linkage of 300 groups. The loans are being utilised for various income-generating activities, like the purchase of machines for stitching of clothes. Mr Satish Kumar and Mr Guru also addressed the workshop. |
Case against firm for selling substandard oil Ludhiana, January 16 Sources said the DC forwarded the compliant to SDM (E) Prem Chand, who got the matter probed by through the Inspector, Legal Metrology (Weight and Measures), Ludhiana II and established that the allegations were true. Following this, a case under Sections 39 (2) 1, 2 and 33/51 of the Standard Weights and Measures Act, 1985, was registered against Supertek Agro Oils Private Ltd., Rural Focal Point, Jandali, Mr Anurag Verma, Deputy Commissioner, said a complaint was received from Mr Vivek Bakshi of Phullanwal, Pakhowal road, in which he stated that he had purchased a one-litre pack (910 gm) of Savera refined oil manufactured by the company. He alleged that on weighing the packet it was found that it weighed only 800 gms and emitted a bad odour. The manufacturing date on the packet was February 27, 2002.
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Couple injured Ludhiana, January 16 Held for
over speeding:
Knife seized:
Khanna According to information Harnam Kaur had gone to the house of her daughter, a staff nurse in Civil Hospital. After four days when she returned she found that the grill of the house was broken and cash totalling Rs 55,000 and gold rings lying in the house were missing. A report has been registered under Sections 380 and 457 at the city police station. Three booked:
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Cable firms, operators at loggerheads Ludhiana, January 16 Taking the plea that all pay channels of satellite networks had raised their monthly charges per cable connection, cable network companies have been prevailing upon operators to hike the monthly payment proportionately and collect a higher subscription from users. However, in the wake of stiff opposition from cable subscribers, the operators had taken a policy decision to bring into effect any further increase in the monthly charges with the approval of the district administration. The cable operators being fed by two local cable networks, Win Cable and Siti Cable, at their meetings held on January 14 and January 12, respectively, had decided that the monthly charges or any revision would be finalised only after the meeting to be convened by the SDM Mr Kuldip Singh, on January 20 on the directions of the Deputy Commissioner. Most of the cable operators had deferred the collection of the monthly charges for the current month even at the prevailing rates, fearing that they would not be able to recover the difference if any increase in the charges was allowed at a later date. A large number of cable users in the city, however, strongly felt that no further increase in the monthly charges was called for because these were already on the higher side. On the contrary, the authorities and the TRAI should effectively intervene to slash monthly subscription for cable connections to a reasonable level and bring about uniformity in cable charges. Mr Kamlesh Bhardwaj, chairman, and Mr Raman Maini, president of the New Ludhiana Cable Operators Association, taking exception to the alleged high-handedness of cable network companies, made it clear that the operators would not put any more burden on the users. If the situation demanded, they might even resort to boycott of pay channels for an indefinite period, they said. They refuted the allegation of cable network companies that a majority of the cable operators were paying only about 20 per cent of their total connectivity by fudging records. |
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Parliamentary panel invites SSI team Ludhiana, January 16 Mr P.D. Sharma, president of the APEX Chamber of Commerce and Indiustry, said besides himself, six other persons have been invited to come to Delhi on January 21. They are Mr K.K. Seth, vice president of the chanmber, Mr Rajneesh Ahuja and Mr G.P.S. Sambhi, president and general secretary, Focal Point Sheds Association, Mr S.P. Sharma and Mr Manohar Dhawan from the All India Valves and Cocks Manufacturing Association, Jalandhar, and Mr Sukhdev Raj, president, Focal Point Hand Tool Manufacturing Association. He said apart from the above, two representatives from the Tamil Nadu tiny industries and Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking of Ludhiana have also been invited. The chamber will lay stress on the reduction of prices of pig iron and steel and explain to the committee how the steel producers are fleecing the steel consumers through
cartelisation. The high cost of bank credit to small scale industry and restricted flow of credit to this sector will also be taken up. The steel industry will press for banning steel export on the one hand and to reduce custom duty on steel to the maximum of 10 per cent on the other. The SSI sector meets its steel requirements from secondary producers of steel. This sector is highly handicapped due to shortage of sponge iron and steel scrap. Export of sponge iron should be totally banned and import duty on steel scrap should be
scrapped in the prevailing emergent situation. It will also be pointed out that many items enjoy zero custom duty in view of their importance. The Minister for small scale industry had declared in December last year that banks will charge rate of interest from small scale industry sector at PLR level from January, 2004. Despite this specific declaration by the minister, banks are still charging at old rates, he added. |
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Ludhiana, January 16 Mr N.S. Nanda, president of the association, said he requested Mr Virbhadra Singh to take up the issue with his counterpart and emphasis should be laid on certain areas listed by them. Mr Virbhadra Singh was informed that a ropeway linking Anandpur Sahib-Naina Devi should be jointly set up in order to boost tourist inflow. “A joint pilgrimage package between Anandpur Sahib, Chintpurni, Jawalaji, Naina Devi and Baba Balak Nath should be introduced. A new tourist circuit linking Amritsar, Pathankot, Dalhousie, Chamba, McLeodganj, and Dharamsala may be created and joint marketing of all festivals and cuisines may be highlighted”. Mr Nanda said Himachal Pradesh should be promoted as an adventure sports state. He also presented a copy of Punjab Tourist Guide to Mr Virbhadra Singh. A delegation of the association also met the Tourism Minister. TNS
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Octroi on finished goods resented Mandi Gobindgarh, January 16 This tradition of not charging octroi on such goods had been there for the past 50 years. But the present private contractor had started charging octroi on the finished goods brought to this town. |
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Bank profit up
by 210 pc Ludhiana, January 16 Mr Bhaskar Ghose, Managing Director of the bank, said the net profit for the first nine months of this financial year had shot up to Rs 177.96 crore as compared to Rs 67.69 crore for the corresponding period last year.
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Ludhiana, January 16