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TOP STORIES

Slum hinders city centre project
Ludhiana, April 9
Even as the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) is all set to finally take up the Rs 100-crore city centre project on 25 acres in the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar area, it is faced with a daunting task of removing hundreds of jhuggis sprung up near the site earmarked for the project.

A view of the slum area in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Ludhiana. — Photo by Inderjit Verma

Exporter, cop booked for stealing revenue case file 
Ludhiana, April 9
The Sarabha Nagar police has booked a local exporter and a constable of the Directorate Revenue Intelligence (DRI) along with two other persons on the charges of stealing and tampering with a case file of the DRI related to a Rs 13 crore excise duty fraud allegedly committed by the exporter.

To beat the heat, a tiger rests on the gutter to cool himself at Tiger Safari in Ludhiana. — Tribune photo by Sayeed Ahmed

5 held in fake certificate racket
Mandi Ahmedgarh, April 9
The police has unearthed a fake certificate racket and arrested five members of the gang allegedly involved in the printing and selling of certificates of various academic and professional degrees and diplomas by boards and universities of repute.

Hotels inspected for star ratings
Ludhiana, April 9
Mr Jagjit Puri, Managing Director, Punjab Tourism Development Corporation and Chairman, Classification Committee, along with Mr K.L. Dass, Regional Director, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, New Delhi, Mr Harmeet Singh from IATA, Chandigarh, and Mr Narinder Singh, Punjab Tourism, Chandigarh, inspected some of the hotels here and approved them under the star category.

Passing Thru

COMMUNITY

Fresh stocks of scrap arrive
Explosives found yet to be disposed of 
Ludhiana, April 9
The container freight station (CFS) of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation at the industrial focal point, Dhandari, has started receiving fresh stocks of imported iron scrap for induction furnaces as the authorities have failed to destroy a huge quantity of shells recovered from scarp almost six months ago.

‘India, Pak must end hostility’
Ludhiana, April 9
Human rights activist and journalist Praful Bidwai said here today that India and Pakistan needed to sit together and seriously discuss the issue of demilitarisation for ending hostility.

More time sought to complete VAT documents
Ludhiana, April 9
Tax practitioners here have demanded one month relaxation for traders from checks conducted on barriers regarding taxpayers identification numbers (TIN) for VAT and other formalities. The District Taxation Bar Association (Sales Tax) said since there were several traders who were yet to get TIN, the department should give them a month’s time to get accustomed to the new system.

BKU opposes VAT on farm sector
Ludhiana, April 9
Reacting to the imposition of VAT on farm machinery, chemical fertilisers and pesticides by the Punjab Government, the BKU has decided to launch an agitation.

International Sikh Confederation formed
Ludhiana, April 9
A group of Sikh intellectuals has formed International Sikh Confederation. The body will work directly under Akal Takht and the SGPC. The decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of intellectuals. The confederation would support and cooperate in all panthic work taken up by the two supreme bodies.

Meeting on acarology
Ludhiana, April 9
A group meeting of All-India Network Project on Agricultural Acarology will be held at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana from April 11 and 12, 2005. Disclosing this, Dr G.S. Deol, Head of the Department of Entomology, PAU, said the meeting would be attended by more than 40 eminent acarologists from all over India and strategies to manage major mite problems of vegetables, fruit trees, fibre crops rice, pulses and ornamental plants would be discussed.

Wheat crop gutted
Khamano, April 9
Standing wheat crop on about six acres was gutted in a fire that broke out in Raipur Raian village here allegedly due to short circuit from a transformer. The fire spread in minutes.

Lecture on Indian banking
Ludhiana April 9
Rotary Club members of Ludhiana heard the views of Mr Hemant Contractor, Chief General Manager, SBI, Chandigarh head office, “Indian Banking-the changing scenario”.

Dr Sandhu honoured
Ludhiana, April 9
The Bee-keepers Association honoured Dr Amrik Singh Sandhu, Director of Extension Education, for his services for the farming community at its meeting held at the Centre for Training, Kairon Kisan Ghar, PAU, here today.

CRIME

Man held with smack
Amloh, April 9
In response to a campaign launched by Mr Varinder Kumar, district police chief, against anti-social elements, the Amloh police led by Mr Hemant Kumar, ASI, on Friday evening arrested a youth from Majri Kishna Wali village on the Amloh-Khanna road near here. The police has allegedly seized 16 gm of smack from his possession. The accused was identified as Raj Kumar, resident of ward no. 2 here.

BUSINESS

Chemists’ body seeks action against ‘erring’ member
Ludhiana, April 9
The Ludhiana District Chemists Association (LDCA) while condemning the alleged attack on certain functionaries of the association and disturbance created by some disgruntled elements in a meeting, has urged the police to take appropriate action against the accused.

Govt going all out for IT units, says minister
Ludhiana, April 9
Local Bodies, Labour and Employment Minister Jagjit Singh today said that the government had formulated a plan for the fast industrialisation of the state to create substantial job opportunities under which 27 mega industrial projects amounting to Rs 7,500 crore had already been sanctioned. Besides this, a special economic zone (SEZ) for information technology in Mohali and for a multi-product facility in Amritsar are also being set up.

AGRICULTURE

Land-to-lab approach to solve farmers’ problems
Ludhiana, April 9
A cross section of agricultural scientists, while categorically confessing that as they have been facing a challenge from multinational companies (MNC) that have jumped into the field of agricultural operations, have said that they have been left with no other option but to change the style of their interaction with the farmers to become more relevant for them.

EDUCATION

BJP condemns move to privatise education
Ludhiana, April 9
Punjab BJP’s spokesman and state general secretary Prof Rajender Bhandari has condemned the reported move of the state government to privatise educational institutions run by it. He alleged that the state government had miserably failed to provide better education through the institutions run by it.

South Asian academicians come together
Ludhiana, April 9
Dr Anwar Hossain, Dean, American International University, Bangladesh, Dr Nasir Ahmad, Chairman, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, and Dr Fazeela Ahsan, Senior Professor, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, agreed that the PCTE should coordinate research on a common currency in South Asia during their address to academicians in the field of business management from India and other South Asian nations at international conference on the dynamic role of management on the PCTE campus today.

From Schools
Programme for parents
Ludhiana, April 9
Kundan Vidya Mandir organised an orientation programme, Together We Brighten Kundanites, for the parents of the KG section here today. Mr S.C. Saxena, Principal, requested the parents to support the school in its endeavours to shape the little buds into useful citizens of the country. He explained how the inputs of the school would be incomplete without the support of the parents.

Jobless teachers want vacant posts filled
Samrala, April 9
As many as 115 posts of primary teacher have been lying vacant for long. Unemployed Teachers Front has demanded early recruitment, failing which they will start an agitation, Mr Jwala Singh Thind, spokesman for the front, said here today.

COURTS

Biggest ever Lok Adalat today
Ludhiana, April 9
The city is going to witness the biggest ever Lok Adalat of India to be held on April 10 in the local district courts complex in which judges belonging to the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court will participate to deal with about 13,000 cases on the spot in a single day.

DC draws up plan to check water-borne diseases
Ludhiana, April 9
The district administration has directed the officers of the Health Department and Municipal Corporation as well as municipal committees to gear up for preventing the outbreak and spread of water-borne diseases.

Latest pain management technique at DMCH
Ludhiana, April9
Pain management has seen a lot of progress over the years. Now the maximum efforts of doctors in general and anaesthesiologists in particular are to minimise if not eliminate pain fully. The procedures have become more and more painfree.

Pulse polio drive today
Ludhiana, April 9
The district health administration has made elaborate arrangements for the administration of polio drops to all children in the age group of 0-5 years in the district on tomorrow under the national immunisation programme.

SPORTS

Sartaj, Amandeep adjudged best athletes

Ludhiana, April 9 Sartaj Singh of electrical engineering and Amandeep Kaur of CSE were adjudged the best athletes among boys and girls, respectively, in the two-day 45th annual athletics meet of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College here today. Winners with Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal during the annual athletics meet of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College in Ludhiana on Saturday. — Photo by I.V.

Deepak guides MC XI to victory
Ludhiana, April 9
Deepak Kapoor’s excellent performance ( 53 and 3 for 33 ) enabled Municipal Corporation XI to register 42 run win over Oshan Club in a cricket match played at Satish Chander Dhawan Government College ground here today.

Cricket trials today
Ludhiana, April 9
Trials to select the Ludhiana district cricket team (under 15) will be conducted here at the Arya College ground on April 10. According to Mr Pawan Pandey, honorary secretary, Ludhiana District Cricket Association (LDCA), boys born on or after September 1, 1990 are eligible for the trials.