Ludhiana, June 14
Ishwinder Singh of R.S Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, topped the district and secured 44th rank in the state in Class X board examination organised by the Punjab school Education Board (PSEB), the results of which were declared today.

Ishwinder Singh aspires to be an entrepreneur and wants to scale his fathers business to newer heights.

Inshwinder Singh is a diehard M.S. Dhoni fan. "Cricket is one thing I cannot miss. It will be a double delight for me if the Indian team registers a win in today’s match," he said.

Ishwinder Singh does not like to be called a bookworm. "I do not believe in studying for hours. I did not opt for tuitions either whatever work was given to me by teacher, I studied it diligently."

Ludhiana, June 14
The Abha Malhotra dowry case in which her in-laws, a well-known trader family of the city, are facing harassment charges, has turned murkier with the accused stating that Abha was living in the same house despite claiming she was being threatened by the in-laws.

Addressing a press conference this afternoon in their house on Malhar road, Gurdev Nagar, the accused said they had been implicated in the case whereas they were actually the victim of the harassment caused by the daughter-in-law.

The accused Inderpal Malhotra and his son Amrik Singh said the inquiry officer ASP Dhanpreet Kaur had given a biased report against them. They said the daughter-in-law had misused the police machinery by making frivolous complaints.

"We were summoned before different officers, the SDM, Civil Lines police, MD cell and SP office, within two days. Our statements were recorded but to our utter shock, we were booked at the report of ASP Dhanpreet Kaur," they said.

Mediapersons tried to take comments of Abha, who lived in the first floor of the same house but to no avail. Her husband said he was living on the ground floor with his parents for the past eight months. "I have not even been able to touch my daughter all these months," he said.

"And the police says we harass and beat her? She has got a car, money everything. She roams freely. She stays upstairs despite claiming that her life was in threat here”, he said.

ASP Dhanpreet Kaur stood by her inquiry report. She told Ludhiana Tribune that she had received complaints from Abha several times. "After I was entrusted the inquiry, I made surprise visits to their house.I observed she was being harassed," she added.

The accused husband Amrik Singh said his wife and in-laws knew about his physical condition before marriage. "They agreed and I have fathered the child. Still, she says I am a handicap. She has been humiliating me in public several times but I never imagined I would be booked for harassing her," he said.

Meanwhile, a local court has allowed interim bail till August 1 for the accused Amrik Singh alias Ashu, father Inderpal Singh, mother Harjeet Kaur, brother Kanwaljit Singh and Gunit alias Manna, wife of Kanwaljit Singh.

The court order said the accused was a handicap man and the police had nothing to recover from him.

Ludhiana, June 14
Prolonged electricity cuts are causing heavy production losses to the local industry. Weekly off apart, power cuts stretching four-five hours a day have hit production by 35-40 per cent, say industrialists.

As industrial units have to give wages in spite of reduction in working hours, continuation of the situation can pose more problems.

Hundreds of tiny, small and medium sector enterprises located in residential areas like Dashmesh Nagar, Janta Nagar, Partap Chowk and Muradpura are the worst hit.

"Power situation is deteriorating. Due to prolonged power cuts, we are left with effectively only five working days a week. It is causing us heavy production losses and will hit competitiveness as most of the industrial units are unlikely to complete their orders in time," rued Charanjit Singh Vishwakarma, president, United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association.

Several industries like engineering require processes that need continuous power supply. In case of a cut, smooth operations get affected.

"Workers have to sit idle due to cuts, while we have to pay them wages. There are other resources used in factories the cost of which has to be incurred. We have urged the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) chairman to ensure a regular power supply to the industry, failing which industry will be in for a major crisis," said Avtar Singh, general secretary of the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings.

Steep rise in steel prices and hike in fuel prices are already giving a tough time to the industry. "The industry is reeling under pressure on account of a large number of factors, including steel prices, raw material price rise and fuel price hike. Poor power situation has added to our woes. The government should take the issue on a priority and assure regular supply to our sector as well."

Connecting industrial units located in the residential areas with industrial feeders may help. "As 70 per cent to 80 per cent of small and medium enterprises are located in these areas, connecting them with industrial feeders will help them function better. The electricity board should consider it," opined Vishwakarma.

Ludhiana, June 14
After months of protest and hardship, the state government has finally agreed to lend an ear to the grievances of visually challenged people.

Representatives of various organisations of the visually challenged have been invited by the authorities for a meeting on June 19. Gurpreet Singh, who is a member of the confederation committee, said the invite came after a meeting with Harjit Singh, secretary, social security department.

According to Davinder Singh Sangowal, president of the Bharat Natarheen Sewak Samaj, the meeting will be organised with the director, social welfare, and director, social security. The demands of the visually challenged people will be further discussed at a meeting with the chief secretary, Ramesh Inder Singh.

The confederation committee demanded that the PWD Act, passed in Parliament in 1995, to reserve 1 per cent quota for the physically and visually challenged people be reinstated.

It demanded the technical upgradation of the only braille press in the state. Besides braille literature should be distributed free to the students over 18 years of age.

The confederation demanded that 14 vacant seats of JBT and ETT teachers should be exchanged with music teacher, according to the roster system.

Mandi Ahmedgarh/Raekot/Payal, June 14
The process of filing of nomination papers for the posts of councillors in the civic bodies of the area picked up on the third day of the commencement of the procedure today.

Despite intermittent rain, a large number of supporters accompanied the candidates. Campuses of the retuning officer remained overcrowded today.

Sunday and Monday being public holidays, the administration expects heavy rush on Tuesday, the last day of accepting nomination papers.

As many as 49 prospective candidates filed their nomination papers for the posts of councillors before Amandeep Singh Bhatti, returning officer, here on the third day today. Manjit Singh, naib tehsildar and assistant returning officer, said the aspirants included 23 candidates from the general category, 10 from Scheduled Castes and five from backward classes. Eleven women filed nominations today.

A few candidates had scheduled submission of papers at a particular time, suggested by astrologers.

Supporters of candidates carried banners and placards in their hands. They raised slogans in favour of their respective candidates. Drummers accompanied more enthusiastic candidates.

However, no candidate turned up to file nomination papers at Payal today. Neeru Katyal, SDM, Payal, said that only one candidate had filed nomination papers for the post of councillor at Payal yesterday. Eight prospective candidates filed their nominations for the civic body at Doraha today. Earlier two candidates had filed nomination papers for the Doraha municipal council.

Interestingly, no candidate had filed nomination papers at Raekot till yesterday. About 20 candidates submitted their documents before SDM Mukand Singh Sandhu today. A jatha of SAD activists, led by Jagjit Singh Talwandi, accompanied seven SAD-backed candidates and their covering applicants. 

Ludhiana, June 14
The railway authorities have debarred an out agency (code name LDH-J), located in Basti Jodhewal here, for alleged irregularities in ticket and parcel booking. The agency has been directed to suspend its work with immediate effect and show cause as to why its registration should not be cancelled.

The action comes after a surprise inspection of the railway station by chief commercial manager (CCM) of Northern Railway Hukam Chand Punia here last evening. During his visit, Punia went round the reservation centre, ticket windows, enquiry counter, railway platforms, waiting rooms, parcel office, refreshment room and stalls of eatables.

He was accompanied by local officers and senior officials from divisional headquarters.

While local officials were tight lipped about the inspection, it was reliably learnt that Punia expressed his dissatisfaction over the maintenance of record, especially by the staff at ticket booking and parcel office.

He is reported to have issued strict instructions to the staff to scrupulously maintain complete record of goods being sent in leased wagons as certain agencies were suspected to be cheating the railways by under-weighing the parcels.

If the idea mooted by the CCM to have central air conditioning at the reservation centres besides making them a bit more spacious is carried out, there will be no more "sweating it out" for the members of public, who have to stand in long queues to get their journey tickets reserved in advance.

Even if the air-conditioning took some time to materialise, the immediate shifting of refreshment stalls inside the complex, ordered by Punia, will make things a lot easier for the public.

In order to provide better services to the rail passengers, the CCM inaugurated two more touch- screen machines on main entry point to the railway station (near inquiry counter) and in the second class waiting room on platform number one.

One such machine was already functional at the reservation centre.

These machines will provide instant information on availability of seats and berths on different trains running on this section.

Ludhiana, June 14
An anthology of Punjabi poems 'Ambar Di Phulkari' authored by California-based Punjabi poet and fiction writer Charanjit Singh Pannu was released today at Centre for Communication and International Linkages.

Speaking on the occasion, additional director of communication Dr Jagtar Singh Dhiman said the book reflected fragrance of the motherland and threw light on the kaleidoscopic spectrum of hues of history, culture and Punjabi vocabulary. He remembered the long association of Pannu with PAU as a progressive farmer.

An activist of literary and cultural activities, Pannu said PAU had made efforts to spread important messages to curb social evils. He appealed to the farming community to be prepared to meet the existing challenges in agriculture and social set up.

Meanwhile, a team from the department of cooperation, Government of Punjab, led by Kusumjit Sidhu, financial commissioner, cooperation, visited College of Home Science recently to chalk out a plan for undertaking activities oriented towards empowerment of rural women through formation of self-help groups (SHGs).

Giving details of the meeting, Dr Neelam Grewal, dean, College of Home Science, said areas of mutual interest were being identified where the two organisations could work synergistically adding that College of Home Science had the expertise in mobilising rural women for creating SHGs as well as conducting training for undertaking income generating activities.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 14
The Sudhar police has booked seven activists of SAD under Sections 452, 323, 506, 148 and 149 for allegedly assaulting and threatening Gurdeep Singh of Tuggal village after entering his house forcibly three weeks ago.

Political rivalry was reported to be the reason behind the attack.

Gurdeep Singh of Tuggal village alleged that about seven activists of SAD (1920) led by Gurbax Singh, former sarpanch, had assaulted him and other members of his family after forcibly entering his house on the night of May 25. When other villagers came to their rescue, the assaulters ran away threatening the complainant of dire consequences.

Investigations by the police revealed that Gurbax Singh, his son Sukhraj Singh, Inderjit Singh, Avtar Singh, Devinder Singh and Sikander Singh, along with some persons, had assaulted the complainant and his wife at about 9 pm on May 25.

The complainant and the suspects had earlier scuffled during the recent panchayat poll and threatened each other of dire consequences.

The matter was brought into notice of the police when efforts of some social leaders failed yesterday.

Ludhiana, June 14
The Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) awarded 66 export companies from northern region for their good export performance for 2005-06. The awards were presented by minister of industry and commerce Manoranjan Kalia here this evening.

Among the top exporters for 2005-06 were Jindal Stainless, Uniparts India, SAIL, IRCON, PEC, Magppie International and Lohia Starlinger. MMTC, Hero Exports, Honda Siel, H.R. International, Deepak International and several medium and small-scale enterprises were also awarded.

Congratulating the award winners, Rakesh Shah, chairman, EEPC India, said: "Without the impressive performance of our members in the northern region, it would have been virtually impossible to achieve this export figure during the year and today's ceremony is a small effort on behalf of EEPC to recognise the contribution made by our members belonging to this region during this year."

Speaking on the occasion, S. C. Ralhan, regional chairman, EEPC, highlighted issues like sharp escalation in steel and fuel prices, shortage of electricity, freight subsidy, poor infrastructure and change of land use charges hindering the growth of exports from the region.

Among others present on the occasion were Harish Rai Dhanda, chief parliamentary secretary, Punjab; and V. K. Janjua, secretary and director, industries and commerce, Punjab.

Ludhiana, June 14
The lack of necessary infrastructure with the education department has made the students perform below average, especially in maths stream, in the Class X PSEB board examination, the result of which was announced today. The results have also proved how serious the education department towards this subject is. In Government High school, Basiya, out of 73 students 32 students have failed in the Class X examination, while 29 students have a compartment. Similarly, in GHS, Dehlon, out of 57 students 31 students have failed, while 14 have a compartment in the examination. 

In GHS, Bhaini Rayian, out of 53 students appeared and 24 could clear the examination while 17 students fail in the examination and 12 students have a compartment. The result of GHS, Bhaini sahib, was no better as out of total 58 students 24 failed while 17 have a compartment.

Students of Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS), Bija, too failed to do well. Out of 57 students 17 failed in the examination while other 19 have compartment in certain subjects.

In GHS, Chakhmari, out of 53 students 22 failed.

In GHS, Chhajewal, out of 29 students 17 failed to clear the examination while 16 have compartment in different subjects.

Doraha, June 14
A 15-day workshop on bhangra and other folk dances of Punjab commenced at Saraswati Model Senior Secondary School, Doraha, today. Principal D.S. Gosain said students as well as non-students of the school were showing great enthusiasm in joining this workshop. 

“This workshop is held every year to teach the kids as well as grown ups the importance of Punjabi folk dances and at the same time discourage the increasing attraction of students for western dances under the influence of which they are adopting artificial living standards and moving away from their roots,” Gosain said. Anish Bhanot, bhangra coach, said many such workshops were simultaneously being conducted in various schools and colleges to acquaint students with the abandoned form of folk dances. “Apart from developing self-confidence, these budding youngsters get a platform to exhibit their talent,” the coach added.

NCC CAMP ENDS: The 10-day NCC summer camp organised at Malwa College, Bondli-Samrala, by 19 Punjab Bn NCC, Ludhiana, concluded here today. According to commanding officer Lt Col R.P. Singh of 19 Punjab Bn NCC, 380 cadets, including 49 female cadets from 32 institution of Punjab, participated in this camp. During the camp, the cadets were imparted practice in rifle shooting, drill, PT and yoga. Specialised lectures on character building, leadership qualities and importance of discipline in life were also given. The concluding day function was presided over by Harish Rai Dhanda, chief parliamentary secretary, Punjab, while the ceremonial guard of honour was inspected by Samrala SDM Sukhdev Singh Mahal. A colourful function was presented by the cadets on the occasion. Lt Col Singh persuaded the cadets to take a collective oath to plant two trees each, to abstain from drugs and not to give or take dowry. Dhanda lamented that the whole society had been corrupted and youth was the only ray of hope for a better tomorrow. Principal of the college Jagmohan Singh praised the cadets for the exemplary discipline shown during the camp. Mahal complimented Lt Col Singh and his team for the successful camp.

RESULT: Kamaldeep Kaur of Government College for Women has bagged the third position in the university and first position in the city in BCom, the results of which were declared by Panjab University recently. Kamaldeep scored 1541 out of 1800 marks. Another student Preetika Goyal of Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management has scored 583 out of 650 marks in BCom III. Her overall aggregate for BCom is 1484 out of a total of 1800 marks. With this, she stands 7th in Panjab University in BCom.

Mandi Gobindgarh, June 14
The department of mechnical engineering successfully organised a two-day AICTE-sponsored national conference on latest developments in mechanical and production engineering ‘LDMPE 08’ that concluded here today.

Eminent persons and research scholars from various fields actively participated in the conference and enlightened the faculty and students about various upcoming areas for research.— OC 

Ludhiana, June 14
A fast-track court headed by an additional sessions judge yesterday adjourned the Chahal case till July 4. He dismissed the application filed by an accused, Kartar Singh Grewal, seeking permission to place on record the copies of certain judgements.

It was claimed that they had previous enmity with the complainant of the present case. But the court disagreed with the contentions raised by the counsel of Kartar Singh. 

Patiala, June 14
Niranjan Singh, Gurdev Singh and Laj Kaur, all residents of Lubana village who were accused in a murder case, were yesterday acquitted by the Additional Session Court. The case was registered against them on a complaint of Jasbir Kaur, wife of the deceased, Gurbax Singh, at Sadar Police Station.

The defence counsel Manoj Kumar and Navdeep Verma told that the prosecution had failed to bring material and cogent evidence.

Ludhiana, June 14
The department of transfusion medicine at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) organised a blood donation camp in which all the staff of transfusion medicine, including doctors, technicians, nurses, helpers and safai workers donated blood. As many as 100 units of blood were collected at the camp.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Amarjit Kaur stressed the need for making voluntary blood donation a mass movement.

She said in the wake of a huge gap between the voluntary donations and the requirement of blood for critically ill persons as well as those afflicted from different blood diseases, each and every person with normal health ought to donate blood on a regular basis.

To commemorate the day, Dr G.S. Wander, cardiologist, cut the cake to celebrate the birth anniversary of great scientist and nobel laureate Karl Landsteiner.

Rich tributes were paid to Karl Landsteiner, who had discovered the ABO blood group antigens, at World Blood Donation Day at Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH). J.G. Jolly, acclaimed as the "Father of Transfusion Medicine in Punjab," presented a short lecture on the life and contribution of the Nobel Laureate Karl Landsteiner.

He remarked that donating blood on World Blood Donors Day was the best way to pay homage to Landsteiner, a man who continued to be regarded as the father of the blood banking across the globe.

S. Das, head of the blood bank and vice-principal of CMC, in her opening remarks, stated that the day was devoted to the theme "Blood Saves Lives - Safe Blood Starts With Me". It was unfortunate that a majority of the people were not aware that there was a significant need for blood donation.

As many as 97 units of blood were collected through voluntary donations on World Blood Donation Day at SPS Apollo Hospitals here today.

Ludhiana, June 14
Trials to select the Punjab senior men’s and women’s softball teams for the upcoming Senior National Softball Championship will be conducted on June 17 (boys) and 18 (girls) at Ramgarhia Educational Complex, Miller Ganj.

According to honorary secretary of the Punjab Softball Association P.N. Passi, it is not possible to hold the Punjab championship prior to the national tournament the dates of which have already been announced. The national championship is slated to be held from June 25 to 30 at Chandigarh.

“If inclement weather does not permit to hold trials at Ramgarhia Educational Complex, then the venue will be the multi-purpose indoor hall near Guru Nanak Stadium,” Passi added. Players have been advised to report at 9 am on the scheduled dates.