Ludhiana, November 16
After deputy commissioner Sumer Singh Gurjar, MC commissioner G.S. Ghuman is in the midst of a controversy. Congress councillors are up in arms against him and have demanded his transfer.

The councillors, under the leadership of opposition leader Prem Mittal, held a meeting at the house of Congress councillor Hem Raj Aggarwal here today in this regard.

Mittal alleged that there had been no development in the city ever since Ghuman took over. “Every corner of the city is in a pitiable state and he has turned a blind eye to it. Broken roads, heaps of garbage and absence of streetlights are common and the commissioner has failed to initiate any infrastructural development,” he said.

“The tender row is the outcome of his lazy attitude,” he added.

Congress councillors said everybody knew that the mayor was hand in glove with the advertising mafia and the MC commissioner was helping him, due to which the MC was losing a lot of revenue.

Ideally, there should be space for only 240 advertisements, but more than 1,000 advertisements were on display. Even the MC’s move of calling tenders in groups would affect the MC as big contractors would benefit in crores.

Councillor Sanjay Talwar alleged that the rude and uncooperative behaviour of Ghuman had embarrassed the MC. He said the MC commissioner did not attend to any phone calls of the public or the councillors.

The opposition (Congress) has only 17 councillors in the 75-member house of the MC.

Ludhiana, November 16
Polyester worth lakhs of rupees was reduced to ashes in a major fire that broke out at a hosiery mill situated at Dhandri Kalan here this afternoon.

The fire broke out at a store of the mill at around 12.45 pm. The owner, Satyadev Norya, said the fire was caused due to a short-circuit. “I was in my office when the servant told me about the fire in the storeroom where the polyester had been kept.

We rushed to the spot and tried to douse the fire with a fire extinguisher. We also informed the fire department,” he said.

More than 20 fire engines were pressed into service. The fire engines from Samrala and Khanna failed to douse the fire. More help was sought from nearby districts.

Suraj, a security guard at the mill, sustained injuries on his hands while he was trying to douse the fire which engulfed his room.

The owner alleged that the fire took alarming shape due to the negligence of the fire department that reached nearly an hour after the fire broke out.

He further alleged that there was poor coordination between the fire department as after using five fire engines, the supply of water was discontinued for nearly half an hour.

The owner said the loss would have been much more if the fire had reached the factory area where imported machines had been kept.

A fire officer on the condition of anonymity said as the one fire engine was travelling with the CM’s cavalcade and others had been deputed at the sangat darshan site, it was difficult for the fire department to provide immediate help.

Ludhiana, November 16
For the past seven years staff of a fire brigade at the Mata Rani Chowk is performing their duty from a room with a hope that their new complex, which is under construction near Laxmi Cinema, will soon be completed.

But, it seems the municipal corporation has turned a blind eye to their department, which is one of its integral parts. The construction of the fire brigade, which started in 2001, had been going on at a snail's pace and was once again halted just a week ago.

Reason: The contractor had employed just one mason for completing such a big building. Earlier, the station was located near the Mata Rani Chowk, but since the space was to be used for constructing a parking lot, the corporation allotted another site adjacent to Laxmi Cinema to the unit.

Though the work has been stalled, labourers still live in the under-construction building, while at least 20 staff members are doing their day today duties from the small room allotted to them. Besides them, about eight fire tenders are parked in an open space.

Fire Brigade Union president Kishan Kumar Gogna said:” Despite this, shortage of staff has also crippled our functioning. There were about 150 staff on the roll, now we are left to work with only 58 personnel, including officers, for the entire city."

He added that due to the staff crunch, the employees had to work overtime, though their shift was of eight hours only. "Each one of use is working for 12 hours in a shift. The government has, even, promised to pay overtime allowance to us," he said. But, none of use has received overtime allowance since August 2007.

Joint commissioner Kuldeep Singh, who is also in charge of the fire department, said he was not aware of the matter.

Ludhiana, November 16
Punjab has surplus power and is giving it to southern states due to which the state is reeling under power cuts, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said while addressing mediapersons during sangat darshan here today.

Talking about the minimum support price of paddy, he said he had written letters to the centre, but to no avail. Even the farm commission had recommended higher MSP than decided by the centre.

Badal held three sangat darshan in the rural constituency. During the programme at Giaspura, he announced a grant of Rs 55.59 crore. A sum of Rs 24.02 crore was for Ward No. 14, Rs 8.16 crore for Ward No. 72, Rs 12.72 crore for Ward No. 74 and Rs 10.59 crore for Ward No. 75.

The Chief Minister announced grants of Rs 26.56 crore for development projects in Ward Nos. 69, 70 and 73.

At sangat darshan in a school at Sherpur, Badal announced a grant of Rs 23.64 crore for various development projects in Ward Nos. 15 and 16. He also said special camps would be held by the departments of food and supplies and social security to issue ration cards and pension.

Ludhiana, November 16
Non-availability of forms C, H and F has the industry worried as the last date of submission of the forms is November 30.

Due to the non-availability of forms from various states, industrialists are facing difficulty in collecting them in a short period and submitting the annual statement by November 30, failing which they would have to pay penalty.

The president of the United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association, Charanjit Singh Vishivkarma, said: “Our association has requested the Chief Minister and excise and taxation commissioner of Punjab S.S. Brar to extend the date up to March 31, but so far nothing has been communicated to us. We face this problem every year.”

Pardeep Wadhawan, secretary of the association, said: “We don't understand why the government does not take concrete steps to solve the problem for once and for all. In doing so, there will be no financial loss to the government. The industry has been facing this problem for the past many years.”

The Knitwear Club has also written to the commissioner, excise and income tax, to extend the date. Vinod Thapar, president of the club, said: “We have made efforts to collect the forms from other states, but to no avail.”

Vishivkarma added that if a dealer demanded 100 forms, he was issued 10 from the department.

Meanwhile, the e-filing of quarterly VAT returns on the Internet for dealers and exporters whose turnover exceeds Rs 10 crore as well as where refunds are due, has been made compulsory by the excise department.

Ashok Kumar Juneja, chairman, and B.R. Kaushal, general secretary of the Punjab Tax Bar Association, said the e-filing system of the department required systematic improvement as the current system did not accept the data smoothly, due to which dealers and bar members found it difficult to upload data despite repeated attempts.

Most dealers do not have computer facilities due to the low volume of business. The bar association said the e-filing of returns could be kept optional until the departments’ system improved and dealers became conversant in this regard.

They also sought that the date of filing of statutory central sales tax and form C along with annual returns should be extended.

Ludhiana, November 16
Laxmi, the elephant of Asian Circus, would no longer entertain children as she died at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) hospital here this afternoon.

Laxmi had been ill since November 13 and was being treated at GADVASU. It had fallen due to exhaustion on the bank of the Sidhwan canal three days ago and veterinarians tried to save her. When she started responding to treatment, she was shifted to the hospital.

But suddenly this afternoon, her condition worsened and she died.

Dr Bhajan Singh of the animal husbandry department said they were shocked as the tusker had started responding to medicines.

Dr Sandeep Jain, honorary wildlife warden, said since the elephant was protected under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act, a postmortem would be conducted and it would be buried in a way that its skin, nails and tusks were not misused as these were contraband.

“We have to ensure that the carcass is not misused in any manner. The responsibility lies with the forest department,” he said.

Varinder Pal Chawla, inspector, forest department, said the postmortem would be conducted at GADVASU tomorrow. He said the university had promised to give land to bury it on the campus only. 

Ludhiana, November 16
Hosiery producers and traders of the city are praying to the rain god to shower his blessings on them. With the winter playing hide and seek and temperatures refusing to dip below normal, sales of woollen garments have failed to pick up.

Rajeev Verma, director, Time Option, said: "Delayed onset of winters this year is affecting the sales. Last year, for the corresponding period, we had recorded 35 per cent more sales. This season has not been very good for us till now, primarily due to the global meltdown.”

He added that now, they were looking forward to the season's first rainfall to usher in the chill so that city residents start queuing up to buy the woollens.

Suresh Manchanda, a hosiery goods retailer, said: "Sales will pick up when the chill sets in. Around Diwali, we had felt that winters had come in a bit early and sales will pick up. But now, it seems like temperatures will not fall till it rains."

He added that this year, although there was a nip in the air during mornings and evenings, day temperatures were yet to fall. "Residents shop for woollens when winter is in full swing as they feel that is the time when they would get the latest designs and stocks," he said. This, he said, had been a year-old pattern among the city residents.

A hosiery manufacturer added, "We have suffered huge losses due to the slump in the international market as well as due to delayed winters. Although, both domestic as well as overseas export consignments have been dispatched about a couple of months ago, retail sale in the local market is yet to pick up. Besides, situation in the international market is also conducive with export orders being cancelled or consignments being held up mid way." 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 16
Balwant Singh Bhandher, a close associate of Ripudaman Singh Malik, the main accused in bombing case of Kanishka aircraft in 1985, had been instrumental in making people adopt ideologies of Babbar Khalsa International through a number of educational institutes of the area, some of which have since been closed, said Naudh Singh Thind of Rachhin village, who was quizzed by a team of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Thind, who has served one such school for over three years, was also threatened of dire consequences when he refused to bow before the wishes of the radicals.

Investigations revealed that Thind, a postgraduate in science, used to teach as a science teacher at Harkrishan Public School, Jalwana, in Sangrur district, which had reportedly been funded by Bhandher. He was also known to have funded some more schools, one at Lohatbaddi village near here. As the staff in these schools was appointed by sympathisers of Bhandher, they had no option than to preach the radical ideologies.

Thind had turned hostile to the management of the school after it refused to pay his arrears amounting near Rs 35,000. "When I insisted for the payment, they threatened me to get eliminated by Bhandher's men," Thind told the RCMP.

Sources said the RCMP had come to know about Thind's links with Bhandher from publication of his statement before the Ludhiana police last year.

Thind, during investigation on the complaint lodged by the principal of the school, had stated that Bhandher, along with his 5-6 associates, was involved in Kanishka bombing case. He had allegedly felicitated transport of the bomb from his residence to the airport in his car then.

The RCMP corroborated the information provided by Thind with that provided by some witnesses in Canada, and found substance in his allegations.

Perusal of records available on certain official websites also revealed that a woman, marked Ms D, had deposed before the court that she had been warned by some relatives of Bhandher to be careful because Malik, Bhandher and Uppal would shut her up permanently.

The RCMP was also informed that certain activists of Babbar Khalsa International had now joined another radical outfit being run under the banner of a kirtani jatha.

The Mounties are re-investigating the Kanishka bombing case to arrive at a fresh evidence to nail the suspects acquitted in the case.

The RCMP team, comprises police officials James Stewart, Bart Balchford, Dan Bond, Dan Sandhar and Tuckey Shane.

The RCMP has reopened the investigation in the flight bombing even after a March 2005 verdict by the Supreme Court of British Columbia, acquitting two suspects, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri. The court had observed that the evidence against them had fallen short of conclusive proof.

The Air India flight named Kanishka was bombed down near Irish coast on June 23, 1985, killing all 329 people on board. The Sikh militant was allegedly involved in the incident planting bomb in its luggage.

Statement made by Thind, after being reiterated in relevant court of British Columbia, will be sufficient to nail Bhandher and his associates in the case.

Ludhiana, November 16
Taking up the cause of the welfare of the girl child and to discourage female foeticide, the Ludhiana Bhalai Manch, an NGO, has found a novel way to promote and celebrate the birth of girls.

Working since the past nine years towards saving the girl child, the NGO has been giving Rs 2,100 to the mother of every newborn girl they come across. The manch also contributes towards the marriage ceremony of the needy girls who seek the NGO’s help.

Nirmal Kaira, general secretary, Ludhiana Bhalai Manch, says, “There are about 55 members of the manch and we all contribute Rs 200 every month towards the manch’s fund. This is our only source of income.”

He added that with the help of the municipal corporation and hospital records they locate the birthplace of girl children and then hand over a cheque of Rs 2,100 to the mother of the child. “We do not consider the financial or social status of the family before giving away the money. It is our way to promote and honour the parents who have given birth to girls,” said Kaira.

Besides, the manch also gives out cheques of Rs 2,100 at the marriage ceremony of needy girls who approach them.

Recently, the NGO has ventured into education as well with liberal donations in the form of uniforms, shoes and books to needy students. “We asked the school principal for a list of those students who did not have proper uniforms, shoes and books and provided them with the same,” said Kaira.

He added that the manch never looked towards the government or any other organisation or individual for financial help. However, during the Bhagwan Balmikiji Pargat Diwas function held here yesterday, minister for tourism and jails Hira Singh Gabria announced a grant of Rs 51,000 for the manch. “This is the first time ever a minister has donated towards our NGO in recognition of our efforts,” said Kaira.

“The NGO is doing a great job of celebrating the birth of the girl child. We had a baby girl last year and were surprised when the manch representatives handed over a cheque of Rs 2,100 to my wife. For people like us with meagre incomes, such encouragement is welcome. We have deposited the money in a bank in the name our child,” said Raj Kumar, a migrant labourer.

Ludhiana, November 16
An annual function was organised at Golden Time Playway here today. Punam Dogra, principal, Bal Bharati Public School, was the chief guest. A cultural programme was organised, including musical items, followed by the prize distribution function.

Jaswinder Kaur welcomed the chief guest and others.

Doraha, November 16
The Golden Jubilee Inter-Zonal Youth and Heritage Festival of Panjab University, Chandigarh, commenced today at the Dr Ishwar Singh Memorial Hall of Guru Nanak National College, Doraha.

A formal welcome was accorded to the chief guest, Harish Rai Dhanda, chief parliamentary secretary, and other dignitaries by the college principal Dr Narinder Singh Sidhu.

Apart from congratulating the college authorities, he asked the students to initiate a drive to clean the society of the social evils that are posing a threat to our socio-cultural values. He exhorted them to be career-conscious and be firmly directed towards their goals. Dhanda announced a grant of Rs.5 Lakh to the college.

S.M.Kant, director of the youth welfare department, Punjab University, Chandigarh, said, 'The basic motive of organising these festivals, apart from talent exposition, is an effort to revive the elapsed cultural heritage, especially, among the youth.'

140 colleges of 12 zones, including Muktsar, Ludhiana-A, Educational Colleges-A, Hoshiarpur-A, Chandigarh-A, Hoshiarpur-B, Chandigarh-B, Moga-Ferozpur (girls zone), Ludhiana- B, Educational Colleges-B, Educational-C, Moga-Ferozpur (boys zone) participated in the festival.

3000 artistes will be participating in around 43 items in this four-day festival. On the opening day today, punjabi dance, bhangra and group dances along with ladies traditional songs will be presented.

Various other events like musical items, poster making, collage making, embroidery competitions, mehndi application ,quiz contests, drama, histrionics, orchestra, debate, elocution, short story writing, recitation, essay writing and group folk dances will mark the celebration.

Mandi Gobindgarh, November 16
CETPA Infotech Pvt. Ltd, a leading IT company dealing in software development, web development, embedded products development and engineer training programmes, having its head office at Roorkee and branches in Greater Noida, Jaipur, Lucknow etc, conducted the recruitment drive for the final year MCA students for selection in six months project semester trainings from January to June, 2009. Dr Zora Singh, chairman, Desh Bhagat Group of Institutes, welcomed the guests. In his message has said on a global level, the people with expertise in IT were required by the companies.

HR manager Anuj Rai started the recruitment drive with an interactive session with students and informed about the CETPA philosophy in providing the open platform for the development of various computer software in today’s world. The session was attended by all students and faculty members of MCA. Various queries put forward by the students were cleared by the CETPA team.

Thereafter, the written tests, along with personal interviews, were conducted whereby students were screened for their analytical, technical and interpersonal skills.

As per the final results, 25 students have been selected for six months project semester training by the company. Later, Prof Shalini Gupta of Desh Bhagat Group of Institutes, thanked the CETPA team.

Doraha, November 16
Ludhiana College of Engineering and Technology, Katani Kalan, Ludhiana, celebrated National Education day on the birth anniversary of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first education minister of India. Various heads of the educational institutions were honoured for their contributions towards the filed of education.

The function was organised at Tagore Public School, Aggar Nagar, Ludhiana. Dr J.S. Sohal welcomed the gathering and highlighted the importance of education in the overall economic progress of the nation.

The resource persons, Gurpreet Singh Ghai and Preeti Sethi, gave a presentation on the present scenario of professional education. They focussed on the quality of skilled manpower produced and the necessary strategies required to uplift the same.

Vijay Gupta, chairman of the college, congratulated the principals present there for honing up the technical temper among the students. He also remarked the professional education was the need of the hour in order to make India, a developed nation, in its true sense.

Dr Pawan Kumar, principal of the college, stressed upon the need to inculcate moral education along with the practical knowledge to cope with the challenges of the present day world. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 16
Eleven students of Guru Har Gobind Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Bahadurgarh, who had bagged prizes in the district-level science exhibition that was organised by the state education department recently, were felicitated by the management committee on 
Saturday.

Principal Hardev Singh Sekhon said projects and model depicting themes, ‘combating climate change, disaster management, conservation of natural resources and mathematical modeling’, had fetched prizes at the exhibition that concluded at BCM Arya Senior Secondary School recently.

While Japjot Kaur was selected for a state-level competition, Kismat Kaur, Navjot Singh and Jashan Deep Singh Sekhon were awarded second and third prizes in their respective categories. 

Doraha, November 16
The quiz team of Green Grove Public School bagged second position in the Sahodaya (East) Inter-School Quiz Competition organised at B.C.M Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, recently.

The team that comprised of Sakshi, Ravinder Singh and Sandeep Singh of class XI initially qualified the written test for the final selection. The quiz was based on general science, music and movies, sports, current affairs, social science, general ability and mythology.

President of the school, J.P.S. Jolly, and the principal, S. George, apart from congratulating the winners, said such competitions were necessary for a childs exposure and overall development. — OC

Ludhiana, November 16
The 26th Dr L.H. Lobo Memorial function was held yesterday in an auditorium of CMC Hospital. D. K. Taneja, a renowned orthopedic surgeon, Arihant Hospital and Research Centre, Indore, delivered the annual lecture.

Welcoming the guests M.K. Mam, vice-principal, CMC, who is also the honorary secretary of the trust said the lecture was being organised for the past 25 years in the memory of Dr. L.H.Lobo, a renowned orthopedic surgeon, former principal, CMC.

President of the trust S.Wadehra also spoke on the occasion. S.S.Gill, vice-chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, was the guest of honour. A.G.Thomas, CMC director, spoke about the hospital’s role in providing excellent health care and medical education.

Sunil Singh, CMC principal, spoke about hospital activities and the importance of having regular updates for medical doctors. More than 200 doctors, including postgraduate students in orthopedics from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir took part in the programme. 

Doraha, November 16
A two-day free obesity check-up and awareness programme at Sidhu Hospital, Doraha, concluded here today.

Jasbir Singh Grewal, a renowned scholar and social worker from Vancouver, Canada, inaugurated the camp yesterday. In his inaugural speech, Grewal expressed his concerns about rising childhood obesity, which he said had not only reached at an alarming proportion in western countries, but was now spreading to developing countries like India. He said there was growing concern in the western governments in this regard because one day it would become almost impossible for the health systems to control obesity related diseases. He blamed the excessive indulgence in junk food and lack of physical exercise as the reason behind rising obesity.

He added that the people of Asian origin, especially Indian, are the worst sufferers from obesity and its related diseases.

Dr Gurdip Singh Sidhu, chief of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery of Sidhu Hospital, said with approximately 2 billion people suffering from obesity, the WHO has declared epidemic of obesity in the world. He said adoption of western food habits and physical activity pattern was the root cause of spread of this unexpected disease in poor Asian countries as well.

According to the latest “Family health survey” conducted by Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), 38 per cent women and 30 per cent men are obese in Punjab.

Dr Sidhu said Sidhu Hospital regularly organises such awareness programmes to educate people about the health hazards of obesity.

Amardip Grewal, chief nutritionist of the hospital, said about 100 patients were examined in these two days. Proper dietary and health advice was given to the patients. 

Mullanpur Dakha, November 16
The local police today recovered the body of a man from the Link Road. The identity of the deceased could not be ascertained. He was reportedly living in the verandah of an abandoned shop for the past more that 15 days. He is stated to be an astrologer by profession. A few shopkeepers had got him admitted to a local private hospital for treatment.

Cops believe that he might have slept in open and died due to the cold weather and weakness. The body has been sent for a postmortem examination.

Ludhiana, November 16
The 13the generation exponent of the Sikh maryada, Bhai Baldeep Singh, feels that people who don’t preserve the 'guru’s maryada' should be jailed. Taking a strong note of such people he said, "Do we expect the Pope of Vatican city to come and become the custodian of our traditions? It is we who have to come up and act as guardians of our traditions. It is pity that today we have to pass rules to ask the raagi jathas to sing hymns in the raags as prescribed by the Guru". Bhai Baldeep Singh is the city for a concert organised by Media Artists for peace and understanding

He was a top aero modeler and got into the IAF as well. However, he decided to dedicate his life in preserving the traditon. Getting enrolled in the defence forces is a call of duty towards the nation. But I instead choose to attend the call of my religion. "Today I am happy for the decision I took a few years ago," he adds with a smile.

Bhai Baldeep is responsible for reviving the traditional instrument. In the late 1980s all instrument had disappeared. I travelled throughout the country but was unable to find any makers or players of traditional instrument.

All these instrument had disappeared from the gurdawaras around 1945. Finally my search bore fruit and found Giani Harbhajan Singh of village Dhandian in Hoshiarpur who had the knowledge about the instruments and I learnt the art from him.

"I studied the instrument for years and then made one in 1995. In addition to this I also spent time learning the Sikh style of playing the Pakawaj, another part of our culture that we had almost lost. To learn and master each aspect of Sikh kirtan I studied under different ustads for over a decade," he adds. He has carved by hand the nomadic rabab, saranda, taus and dilruba and a new designed tanpura. He is also credited with reviving the jori and pakhwaj-mirdang of Punjab.

He is also committed to documenting the musical heritage of many cultures, not just Sikhs.

Mandi Gobindgarh, November 16
A blast occurred at the furnace unit of J.S. Khalsa Steels Private Limited in Mandi Gobindgarh wherein one migrant labourer was killed and three others were seriously injured.

The blast took place at around 5 pm when Bhola Shah, an employee at the unit, was putting scrap in the open furnace. “The blast occurred when Bhola put a piece of metal in the furnace, where scrap was being melted at a high melting point,” said the onlookers.

They said the workers were mixing the scrap in the furnace when the incident took place. Bhola was adjoining the furnace and was the closest person who came in contact with the burning metals, they added.

Fatehgarh Sahib SSP and other senior officials, including the DSP and the SHO, reached the spot and took stock of the situation. The SSP while talking to TNS said, “It should not be termed as blast as the metals put in the furnace at a temperature of around 1,000° C got over boiled.”

The SSP further added that preliminary enquiries revealed that the scrap put in the furnace unit was not purchased from outside and no explosive material was put on fire.

He pointed out that the electric furnace was open and Bahri, one who mixes scrap in furnace with long iron rod, came in contact with the burning scrap. He was rushed to the local civil hospital and was declared dead on arrival. The three helpers, Mukesh Kumar, Suresh Shah and Lal Dev, all residents of UP, also received burns in the incident and were undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital here.

The injured received 30 per cent burns and one of them was stated to be critical. 

Jagraon, November 16
Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, G. K. Rai, conducted a seminar on mega lok adalat at Jagraon courts. Judges Mandeep Kaur Bedi and Rajeev Kumar Vashist of the sub-divisional courts and members of the Bar Association, Jagraon, attended the seminar.

Rai said the litigants should be made aware of the benefits of lok adalats. He exhorted advocates to support the cause and expected to settle at least 15,000 cases in the lok adalat.

In the lok adalat held on September 13, more than 21,000 cases worth more than Rs 16 crore were settled in the entire district. He also revealed that looking at the overwhelming response of the litigants, the reconciliation-cum-mediation centre had been opened in the district headquarters of Punjab.

A panel of advocates would manage these centres.

Ludhiana, November 16
Fine batting performance by Akhil Arora and Gagan fashioned Dynamites XI’s 5-wicket win against Warriors XI in the final of the two-day sports meet organised by the Sportking Institute of Fashion and Technology (SIFT) that concluded at the Satish Chander Dhawan Government College ground, here today.

Warriors XI won the toss and opted to bat first. They were shot out for 126 runs in 19.5 overs. The main run-getters were Nitish Garg (24), Gurpreet Singh (23), Anubhav (20) and Himanshu (15).

Ankit Kochhar of Dynamites XI sent down four overs and chipped in three wickets after conceding just 16 runs, while Hitesh grabbed two wickets for 30 runs in his quota of four overs.

Umesh and Akhil Arora, too, took one wicket each.

Needing 127 runs to win, Dynamites XI began its chase on a sedate note as they lost five wickets with 57 runs on the board. Then, Akhil and Gagan rose to the occasion, steadied the innings and added 70 runs in the process for the 
sixth wicket.

They remained unconquered on 34 and 30 runs, respectively, which saw Dynamites XI to score 127 runs and overhaul Warrirors XI’s total to romp home champions. Bhupesh and Hitesh contributed 19 and 11 runs, respectively. For the losers, Karan Bedi and Nitin Rana accounted for one wicket each.

Akhil Arora of Dynamites XI for his fine allround contribution (34 n.o. and 1 for 12) was declared the man of the match, whereas Himanshu Kalra of Warriors XI was adjudged the player of the tournament.

In the 100m sprint, Harminder Kaur proved too fast for her opponents to win the race. Sonali Mangla finished the runners-up while Sonali Jain secured third position.

In 200m race, Harminder Kaur once again proved her mettle to bag the top honours, while Manishdeep secured second position and Amandeep finished at third place.

A 200m race for the faculty members was also organised, in which Abhishek came out triumphant, followed by Nirbhay Kumar and Sukhwinder Singh who secured second and third positions, respectively.

Chairman of Sportking Institute of Fashion Technology, Raj Avasthi, distributed the trophies to the winners. 

Ludhiana, November 16
Fatehgarh Sahib lads survived a scare against Bathinda before squeezing past by a whisker 4-3 in the under-14 years section in the ongoing Punjab State Inter-District Weekend Hockey League for Boys. It is being organised by the sports department, Punjab, at the Prithipal Singh Memorial AstroTurf Stadium of the Punjab Agricultural University campus here today.

Fatehgarh Sahib surged ahead in the 12th minute through a field goal scored by Daljeet Singh. In the next minute, he again struck to consolidate the lead (2-0).

Down by two goals, Bathinda players pulled up their socks and unleashed a series of attacks on the rival’s citadel. Eventually, they managed to reduce the margin in the 22nd minute when Karampal Singh scored a field goal (2-1).

Undettered at this, Fatehgarh Sahib continued to swarm Bathinda repeatedly and forced a penalty corner in the 23rd minute. Jaskaran Singh successfully translated it to make it 3-1. Ranbir Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib was on the target in the 24th minute that made it 4-1.

Bathinda lads pumped in a goal in the 38th minute through a penalty corner conversion by Vishal Sharma to read it 4-2. Two minutes later, he again sounded the board to reduce the margin 4-3. Bathinda players pressed hard to score the equaliser but luck eluded them and the score remained 4-3 in favour of Fatehgarh Sahib.

Earlier, in the first match of the day (u-14) in group 'B', Khaira XI defeated Amloh XI 2-0 after leading by one goal at the breather.

Khaira lads opened the account in the 16th minute through a field goal scored by Gurtej Singh and the second goal came off Mandeep Singh’s stick in the 42nd minute, which sealed Amloh XI lad’s fate 2-0.

Yesterday, in a group B encounter (u-14), Roomi and Moga 'B' played 1-1 draw. Roomi lads surged ahead in the 22nd minute through Jaspreet Singh to gain the lead, while Moga B players scored the equaliser in the 48th minute when Ram Pal sounded the board.

In the second match of the day in group B (u-16), after trailing by two goals, Roomi made a comeback to hold Moga B to a 3-3 draw.

Roomi lads drew the first blood as Jasjot Singh found the target in the fifth minute. Moga levelled the score in the 17th minute through a field goal scored by Sukhdeep Singh.

Moga players gained lead in the 23rd minute through Manpreet Singh and enhanced the lead (3-1) in the 35th minute. Stung at this, Roomi lads re-organised themselves, weaved good moves and exerted pressure on the rival’s territory. These tactics paid dividends in the 37th minute when Jasjot Singh managed to reduce the margin. They scored the equaliser in the 44th minute through Jaswant Singh (3-3).

In another match (u-14) in group C, Barnala prevailed over Sangrur B by a solitary goal. The important goal came off Inderjeet Singh, who converted a penalty corner in the third minute of the encounter.

The last match of the day played between Sangrur and Patiala turned out to be a one-sided affair, in which the former came out winners without being challenged 12-0. Mandeep Singh scored four goal, Shaifali Ali accounted for three goals while Khushdeep Singh and Karandeep Singh scored a brace each and Sukhmandeep Singh struck once to complete the route 12-0.

Ludhiana, November 16
Yashi and Jashandeep overpowered their opponents to emerge champions in the cadets section in the girls and boys categories, respectively, in the Ludhiana District Table Tennis Tournament being organised by the Ludhiana District Table Tennis Association at the Shastri Hall near Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

In the girl’s section, Yashi (7), a second class student of Bhartiya Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Kitchlu Nagar, recorded a victory over her senior rival, Amol from DAV Public School, Ludhiana. She won the verdict 3-1 to surprise everyone present there to witness the final match.

In the boy’s section, Jashandeep, a student of Sat Paul Mittal School, Dugri, scored an identical win (3-1) against Harnoor Singh of DAV School to win the title.

In the sub-junior girl’s singles final, Himani of Sat Paul Mittal School quelled a strong challenge from her rival, Tauram Priya, also from the same school, before managing to scrape past 3-2 to bag the title.

However, in the sub-junior boy’s final, Shung Ming, a student of Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, faced a challenge from Abhaydeep of the same school, whom he blanked 3-0 to lift the title.

Kritika of Alpine International School got the better of Kirti Aggarwal of Bhartiya Vidya mandir Senior Secondary School 3-2 to bag the top honours in the junior girl’s section, while Karanvir outplayed Himanshu Batra to win the title in the junior boy’s section.

Meanwhile, in the women’s finals, Nirdosh Sood beat Kirti 3-1 to emerge a champion and in the men’s section, Sahil outnumbered Dharminder 4-0 to rome home winner.

Additional commissioner, central excise, Suvir Mishra, gave away prizes to the winners. Office-bearers of the Ludhiana District Table Tennis Association were present at the concluding ceremony.

Ludhiana, November 16
The stage is set for the 16th IBSA National Sports Meet for the Blind that will be organised jointly by the Vocational Rehabilitation and Training Centre, Ludhiana, and the 
Blind Relief Association here at the Guru Nanak Stadium from November 17 to 20.

Gurpreet Singh Machhiwara and K C Pande, president and honorary general secretary of the Punjab Sports Association for the Blinds, respectively, said, around 450 sportspersons from about 15 states of the country were expected to compete in this event.

The meet will have two sections, namely junior (u-18 years) and seniors (above 18 years), in which participants will participate in the track and field events (100m, 200m, 400m, 800 and 1500m race besides long jump, javelin throw, discus throw and shot put) in the men as well as women’s sections.

These athletes are further divided into three visual classifications- B 1- totally blind; B 2- partially blind with visual acuity of 2/60; and B 3- partially blind with visual acuity of 2/60 upto 6/60.

“A unique feature of this meet will be the participation by athletes from Mauritius and Pakistan that will add an international flavour to the event,” Machhiwara said.

The Chief Minister, Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, will inaugurate the meet on Monday at 10.30 am.