Ludhiana, September 1
A 75-year-old priest of a gurdwara, who kept hanging between life and death at a height of 60 ft for nearly five hours after the pulley that elevated the priest atop the Nishan Sahib stuck midway, was rescued late in the evening.

The incident took place in the afternoon when Charanjit Singh, who was working in Singh Sabha Gurdwara, located in Sarabha Nagar, went atop the Nishan Sahib to change its cloth.

But things went horribly wrong when the cloth got entangled in the ropes due to which pulley got stuck, leaving the priest suspended in the air. The incident led to panic in the gurdwara and surrounding areas. The gurdwara authorities immediately informed the police about the incident.

The cops swung into action and further informed the fire department and sought help in lowering the priest.

In no time, the fire fighters reached the spot and tried to bring down the priest. Despite their best efforts, the fire officials showed helplessness as the ladder they were carrying could barely reach 30 feet.

The news of the priest stuck atop 60 feet pole spread like wild fire and residents living in the vicinity gathered at the spot to see the trapped priest. A battery of officials, including ADC SR Kaler, SDM Prem Chand, ACP Raj Kumar and MC Commissioner SK Sinha, reached the spot to take stock of the situation.

The administration then roped in 25 migrant labourers from a private construction site at Focal Point.

The labourers, who were said to be trained in making "emergency ladders", were ferried in a VIP vehicle.

The labourers reached the top of Nishan Sahib and brought down the trapped Charanjit Singh.

Appreciating the migrant labourers’ rescue effort, Davinder Singh, a resident of BRS Nagar, who came to pay obeisance at the gurdwara, said, "The migrants, who are considered outsiders and subjected to all kinds of humiliation, came to the rescue of the trapped priest."

Ludhiana, September 1
"All is well," said the septuagenarian priest to his wife Surjit Kaur while he was trapped on the Nishan Sahib.

The 75-year-old Charanjit Singh was talking to his wife on mobile phone and told her not to panic.

After being rescued, Charanjit Singh said," I would again scale Nishan Sahib for changing the cloth. If the Almighty has employed me for the task, he would also take care of me. Such incidents happen, but it does not mean that I would stop serving the Guru."

Soon after he was brought down, he paid obeisance to Guru Granth Sahib and thanked the Almighty. He thanked the migrant construction labourers for saving his life.

It is learnt that the Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari would soon honour the construction workers for rescuing the life of Charanjit Singh.

Ludhiana, September 1
Major GS Benipal (retd), Tehsildar (executive magistrate, Class-I in Ludhiana), has given a written complaint to the Police Commissioner against SAD councillor and Youth Akali Dal leader Simranjit Singh Bains.

The tehsildar, in his complaint, has levelled allegations against SAD councillor and Youth Akali Dal leader Simranjit Singh Bains for having threatened to kill him as he was performing his duty of "nishandehi" (demarcation) on the border of Gill and Rania village.

Following the incident, the tehsildars convened a meeting wherein they have decided to launch an agitation in case the police fails to initiate action on the complaint given by Major Benipal.

The tehsildars feel that such an act can be detrimental to the working of the revenue officials who have to deal with the land mafias at every step.

Said Kanwar Narinder Singh, district president of the Revenue Officers Association (RVA), "I met the Ludhiana deputy commissioner Rahul Tewari this morning, who has assured me to get the matter investigated thoroughly. The association will wait for the authorities to take action in the matter," said RVA district president.

Major Benipal, who was allegedly stripped and assaulted by Simranjit Singh Bains, Kamaljit Singh Karwal and their associates while working in his office on June 19 last year, is posted in Sub Registrar (Ludhiana-Central) office.

Following the assault on Major Benipal, Bains and Kamaljit Singh Karwal remained in jail for almost 10 months and were bailed out in June this year.

However, Simranjit Singh Bains has denied the allegations saying, "I had asked the kanungo to let Benipal do what he wanted despite the fact that he was interfering in the work assigned to Tehsildar Tarsem Mittal."

Ludhiana, September 1
Court of Additional Sessions Judge JS Chouhan has awarded double-life imprisonment to Shamsher Singh (35) of Gidderwindi village, Jagraon, for killing a woman and attempting to kill the another one.

Pronouncing the verdict, the court held that the prosecution had proved it successfully that the accused mercilessly killed Balwinder Kaur of Gidderwindi and made all effort to kill Surinder Kaur.

Acting on the complaint of Gurjinder Singh, son of the deceased, a case under Sections 302, 452 and 307 of the IPC was registered against the accused on July 27, 2006, at the Sidhwan Bet police station.

The complainant had stated that he was at home and on hearing the cries of his mother, he rushed towards the courtyard of the house.

He said the accused attacked his mother with a sword. When he raised the alarm, the accused fled. The victim died on the spot.

The complainant said the accused also attacked their neighbour Chhinder Kaur. He said they had rented out around 2 killas of land to the accused for cultivation. But he was not paying chakota in time. So they rented out the land to some other person. Following this, the accused started threatening Balwinder Kaur and Chhinder Kaur. But they did not take the threats seriously.

The prosecution examined 10 witnesses to prove their case. Additional Public Prosecutor ML Solanki had sought death penalty for the accused. He said the accused inflicted 17 injuries on Balwinder Kaur.

The Public Prosecutor stressed that the accused committed the crime in his full consciousness. However, the accused pleaded innocence. He examined five witnesses to prove his version. But the court was not convinced with his version.

After appreciating the evidence on record, the court found the accused guilty and awarded double life imprisonment to him.

The court made it clear that the second sentence would start after the completion of the first one.

A fine of Rs 1.05 lakh was imposed on the convict. About 90 per cent of the amount will be delivered to the family of the deceased as compensation.

Whereas a fine of Rs 63,000 was imposed on him for attempting to kill Surinder Kaur. As per the judgement, 90 per cent of the amount will be given to the injured woman.

Ludhiana, September 1
Holding the administration responsible for the 12 gastro deaths in ward numbers 14, 15 and 16 during the last one week, the All India Purvanchal Vikas Parishad demanded compensation, in a memorandum submitted to the SDM (west).

Thirty-two new gastro cases were reported in various hospitals and in the ongoing medical camps in Sherpur Kalan and Dhandari Khurd localities today.

The dead belonged to Prem Nagar, Ishawr Colony, Friends Colony, Dashmesh Market, Laxmi Market, Deep Nagar, Fauji Colony. Some of them were the sole bread earners of their families.

The memorandum further pointed towards the provision of potable water in the above three wards, which the residents feel is a major cause of epidemics.

Taking up the matter of "old sewerage" system in the ward numbers 14, 15 and 16, AN Mishra, president of the All India Purvanchal Vikas Parishad, said, " The administration should take the initiative for making a modern sewerage system followed by regular cleaning of the old and clogged drains."

The parishad also demanded that the officials in charge of the cleanliness in the above wards should be taken to task for showing "negligence" in supervision. "The gastroenteritis outbreak has claimed dozens of lives in the past one decade in the above areas, but the Municipal Corporation officials have failed to ensure clean drinking water, clean environs and good sewerage system," said Bipin Gupta, vice-president of the parishad.

A ban on the "fish and meat markets" in Sherpur, Dhandari and adjoining areas followed by an action against the owners of "vehras" were other two demands mentioned in the memorandum.

Ludhiana, September 1
The 960 gm of cocaine, with a street value of over Rs 5 crore in the international market seized by the city police on Sunday night, was meant to be consumed in Ludhiana.

Highly placed sources told The Tribune that the seizure of the drug had added a new dimension to the trend of drug consumption in the city.

The state, known for its fad for poppy husk and opium, has now graduated to cocaine, an expensive drug, which could only be afforded by the rich.

The police is suspecting that the drug might have been ordered for a rave party to be organised by some affluent people in the city.

However, the police is not divulging any further details about the Ludhiana connection of the contraband drugs.

Assistant commissioner of police Bhupinder Singh said, "The case is still at its preliminary stage and it would not be advisable to comment on anything yet."

Police sources said the city has been used as a transit route to supply drugs like heroin, brown sugar and party drug ecstasy, but the seizure of cocaine has raised eyebrows of the police.

"Cocaine, originally a Latin American drug, is popular in America and European countries. There is a strong possibility that the contraband was meant to be sold in the city, but the big question is who was investing such a huge amount of money to buy the pricey drugs," said a senior official.

Interestingly, the city does not have any pubs and resto-bars like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune, which are considered the hot spots, where one can find packets of the banned drugs, including heroin and cocaine.

According to the police, Nigerian nationals were largely involved in the smuggling of cocaine in the country. The police is suspecting that the latest incident of cocaine smuggling might have a Nigerian angle too.

Sources said Nigerians use one of the local dialects to communicate with one another and have built an impressive drug supply chain all across country, especially in big cities.

These drug dealers come to India pretending to be students, and once they're in, become part of an already-existing impressive network of operatives. The city police had nabbed three drug peddlers and seized 1,286 gm of cocaine worth Rs 7 crore in the international market.

The accused, identified as Gurjit Singh of village Awana in Amritsar and Shanker of Riwari in Haryana, were nabbed by the police from Sector 32, Chandigarh road, on Sunday night. The third accused was nabbed from Rewari. The police seized 960 gm of cocaine from Shanker and Gurjit, while 326 gm was recovered from the Rewari-based drug peddler.

Ludhiana, September 1
BAL BHARTI: Keeping up with the festive spirit, students of Bal Bharati Public School celebrated Janamashtmi on school premises. A special assembly was held in the school. The stage was decorated with ‘matkas’ and scenes from Lord Krishna's life took everyone to serene and pious lanes of Vrindavan.

The celebrations began with the scintillating performance by Montessori-II and Nursery kids. Students of Classes VI and VII presented a devotional song. They came dressed as Radha, Krishna and ‘gopis’. Mont-I children presented another dance item showing happiness around the world on the birth of lord Krishna. Kids of Mont-I enacted the scene of Lord Krishna eating "makhan" with his friends. Students from Classes II and III presented "Ras Leela". Students of primary section presented a dance performance. The cradle of Lord Krishna was decorated with flowers. Children also enjoyed swinging Bal Krishna in the cradle. Principal Punam Dogra explained the sanctity of the festival.

MAGIC YEARS: Magic Years Child Development Centre celebrated Janamashtmi with gaiety and fervour. The school campus was beautifully decorated. Children were dressed as Radha and Krishna. Main attractions of the day were "Matki Chor", "Jhoola Jhulao" and Krishna - movie watch.

RAM LAL BHASIN: Students of Ram Lal Bhasin Public School, Phase I, Dugri, celebrated Janamashtami with great zeal and fervour. It was a rejoicing day for students. The school was beautifully decorated to welcome Lord Krishna. Flowers, bells, buntings, balloons and rangoli gave a festive look to the school. Students sang devotional songs in anticipation of the holy birth of the Lord Krishna. A tableaux depicted the life of Lord Krishna in a cradle, his birth, his childhood mischief and his life at Mathura. Students also performed “Garba Raas” on the song "Woh Kisna Hai" and "Radha Kaise Na Jaley". Children dressed as Radha, Krishna and other characters from the life of Lord Krishna were the attraction of the day. The entire festivity culminated with a short function. Various dance items were also presented on the occasion.

DRISHTI RC JAIN: Drishti Dr RC Jain Innovative Public School celebrated Krishna Janamashtmi on Wednesday. Children of Nursery to Class IX depicted the incidents of Lord Krishna's life. The celebrations ended with thought-provoking questions and conversation about Krishna's life.

SDP: Hymns and tableaux of Lord Krishna kept the audience spellbound as Janamashtmi was celebrated on the premises of SDP Senior Secondary School, Basti Jodhewal. Students participated with full zeal in mantra and poetry recitation competition. Principal Teena Gulati explained the importance of the festival and congratulated the participants for their glorious performance. Meanwhile, SDP Senior Secondary School, Hazuri Road, also celebrated Janamashtmi with devotion. The school was bedecked with flowers, colours and buntings. On the festival eve, students presented beautiful choreography depicting the life of Lord Krishna. Children presented a show of Shri Krishna's message and teachings to the humanity. Balraj Bhasin, president SDP Sabha and Institutions, conveyed his best wishes to all.

BCM: The eve of Krishna Janamashtmi was celebrated with fervour in BCM, Dugri. Kids presented attractive “jhankis” on various phases of Lord Krishna's life like his birth, makhan chori, episode of Govardhan Parvat and “ras leela” with his “gopis”. Tiny tots dressed up as Lord Krishna, Radha, Sudhama, gopis, Vasudev and Yashoda enacted the scenes from Lord Krishna's life.

GMT: The festival of Janmashthmi was celebrated with fervour and zeal on the campus of GMT Public School on Wednesday. A function was organised in the morning assembly in which Krishna leela was presented by the students of Kindergarten. Tiny tots were attired beautifully as little Krishnas, Radha and Vasudev. Speeches were delivered on the occasion related to the birth of Shri Krishna. Devotional songs and dances were also a part of the event. A fancy dress competition was also held in which the students came dressed as Lord Krishna, Vasudev, Sudama, Yashoda and left the audience spell bound. principal Amarjit Dhaliwal congratulated the students and teachers on the occasion of Janamashtmi and after Krishna puja, prasad was distributed.

KIDS' ZONE: Janamashtmi was celebrated at Kids' Zone Play Way School, New Chander Nagar, Haibowal Kalan, with great enthusiasm. The school was decorated with frills, balloons and colourful buntings. On display board of the school Lord Krishna's pictures were put up. The children came dressed as Lord Krishna, Radha, Yashoda, gwalas, Gopis etc. They danced to the tunes of bhajans. A jhoola for Lord Krishna was decorated principal Poonam Sethi narrated the importance of the day to children. They were also given sweets, chocolates and toffees.

GREEN LAND: Janamashtmi was celebrated with great religious fervour was celebrated at Green Land Senior Secondary Public School. The campus wore a festive look. Bhajans and kirtan brought alive the immortal love story of Radha-Krishna. Kids dressed as Lord Krishna, Radha, Yashoda, Devki and Vasudeva and gopis. They mesmerized everyone with their beautiful dance performances. A beautifully decorated jhoola for Lord Krishna was also put up. Chairman-cum-director of Chain of Green Land School Rajesh Rudra, Usha Rudra and principal Baldeep Pandher congratulated the staff and students.

EVEREST: The birthday of Lord Krishna was jointly celebrated by tiny tots of Everest Play Way and Nursery School, and Everest Public Senior Secondary School, Moti Nagar, with religious fervor on the premises of Everest Public Senior Secondary School, Moti Nagar, on Wednesday. Tiny tots dressed in beautiful attires presented a mesmerising show on different aspects of the life of Lord Krishna. Children dressed as Radha and Krishan presented Ras Lila enamoured everybody. Shashi Sharma, in-charge, cultural activities, encouraged the children and told them about the ancient Indian culture. Principal Asha Sharma distributed sweets and fruits among the children.

DANCE COMPETITION: Children of the KG section of Kundan Vidya Mandir enthralled one and all with their mesmerising dance performances. The swaying numbers captivated the audience. The performances varied from Rajasthani folk songs, Punjabi folk songs to those from different states. Ishita Garg of UKG D and Ameen Arora UKG F bagged the first prize in the UKG category. In the LKG category, Angel of LKG B and Nitish Aggarwal of LKG F shared the first prize. Classes UKG E gave their presentation on "stories" and UKG F gave their presentation on "my country". Incharge of the KG section Ranjana Dhanda gave away prizes to the winners. She appreciated the efforts made by all.

POEM RECITATION: A Hindi poem recitation contest was organised by the Sub-Junior Humanities Forum for the students of Classes I and II at Kundan Vidya Mandir, Civil Lines, today to make them learn the use of language in an expressive way. The participants were divided into two groups - Class I and Class II. Twelve participants in each group expressed their feelings and ideas by reciting poems as 'Samay', 'Nirman', 'Pyari Maa', 'Himmat', 'Mera Vatan' etc. The contest was judged by Preeti and Reena Manchanda. The function was presided over by school principal Rajiv Nagalia and Annu Sehra, incharge, primary section. A story based on Lord Krishna was narrated by Rashmi Dhir to apprise the students of the importance of celebrating Janmashatmi. Solo dance performances were given by tiny tots.

BVM SCHOOL: Janamashtmi was celebrated with traditional gaiety and fervour at BVM School. Students of four houses of the school enacted various events depicting the life of Lord Krishna. Swami Vivekananda House depicted the birth scene of Lord Krishna, Shree Aurobindo House depicted the “virat roop” of Lord Krishna, Bhagat Singh House depicted Govardhan pooja and Lok Manya Tilak House depicted the young age of Lord Krishna. The epic of Lord Krishna's eventful life was animated in aesthetic style. Children danced to the tunes of "Shree Krishna govind hare".

PENGUIN CASTLE: Penguin Castle pre-school at Udham Singh Nagar celebrated Janmashtami on school premises with great zeal and enthusiasm. Children were dressed as Krishna, Radha and gopis. The school was decorated with flowers and traditional ‘matkis’. A scene was enacted from “ras leela” to tell the importance of Krishna's birth. Teachers narrated the story of Janmashtami to the children and told them the significance of good over evil. The function gained momentum as the children participated in the “matki foad” show. 

Winners of the Ludhiana region of Surtarang, a national-level singing talent hunt, include Aryan in the sub-junior film category and Arshpreet in sub-junior non-film category. In the junior film category, Davinder Singh was first while Jasmine Kaur stood first in junior non-film category. Intejar Hussain was the winner of senior non-film category while Renu Jaotra stood first in senior film category.

Ludhiana, September 1
The Guru Nanak Institute of Design and Technology organised a fashion show to showcase the project work of the final year students of fashion technology.The project work was inspired by a few of the traditions of different states and the focus was on designing and translating the same on the garments using the traditional techniques of the fabric ornamentation used in these states.

The designing was done on five states and five countries. The creativity of students was displayed with the help of PowerPoint presentations. Students were divided in 10 different groups and each group was allotted one state and country.

Students submitted their thesis work made on the same. The way these students presented their designs was further enhanced with the ravishing catwalk. The red and white collection inspired from the countries of Canada and England were the main attraction of the day.

Fashion expert Hina Gupta who had shortly in a seminar at fashion forecast 2010-11 enhanced the knowledge of the students was also present. Centre head Sukhpal Kaur praised the efforts of the students and at the same time congratulated them for their hard work and for successfully completing the degree.

Ludhiana, September 1
The Ludhiana Sikh Migrants’ Welfare Board has levelled serious charges of corruption and high handedness against Surjit Singh, president of the Sikh Danga Peerit Society, charging him with standing in the way of disbursement of one-time resettlement central grant of Rs 2 lakh for more than 3,000 families of Sikh migrants.

In a statement here today, Kartar Singh Patna, chairman of the board, said that Surjit Singh, a member of the three-member committee set up by the state government for review of some 3,000 rejected applications of Sikh migrants, had been putting undue pressure on other members of the committee and officials entrusted with the task to approve applications of bogus persons for payment of relief from whom he had taken huge sums as bribe.

After the complaint of Surjit Singh having pocketed Rs 1 lakh each from a few applicants with the assurance of payment of central grant was referred to the Vigilance Bureau, two senior officials had resigned from the committee and the entire process for review and approval of applications of Sikh migrants was scuttled.

Patna said the Vigilance Bureau was apparently going slow on the investigation in the case in which a clerk in the office of the SDM (East) was caught taking bribe from a Sikh migrant for clearing his case for payment of relief. "Police officials had scrutinised a large number of files after the arrest of the said clerk, and had stumbled upon serious irregularities involving certain influential leaders and middlemen,” he said.

Ludhiana, September 1
The Punjab Kisan Sabha has urged the district authorities to hold a special "girdawri" to assess the loss due to floods and announce a compensation for the affected farmers.

A deputation of the sabha led by district president Tarlochan Singh met Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari here today to plead the case of the flood-affected farmers.

The sabha has also demanded strict action against officials concerned who had failed to take timely preventive measures against floods, besides seeking Rs 30,000 per acre compensation for crop loss, Rs 10 lakh for loss of human life and financial assistance for the loss of cattle, farm machinery and houses.

After submitting a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, a meeting was convened in which it was decided to form village-level debt-relief committees to conduct a survey of farmers settled along Sutlej river.

Ludhiana, September 1
Qila Raipur MLA Jassi Khangura today took to task Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on his dream project of Ludhiana Metro, which he had promised to the people of the city before and after coming to the power.

The Congress MLA reminded junior Badal that he had promised to turn Ludhiana into Paris. “Paris remains a dream too far but Ludhiana has not remained even what it was before Sukhbir’s party came into power,” he said, adding that potholed roads and streets, garbage dumps, choked roads and drains with dark nights had become the order of the day for the people of Ludhiana.

“What to speak of the metro rail in Ludhiana, we are yet to hear anything about the city bus service despite the Centre having provided special grant for the purpose under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission,” Khangura said, adding that Sukhbir had gone back on all his promises regarding the development and only thing he had scored on 
was victimising his 
political opponents.

Referring to a flurry of activities Sukhbir had been projecting to be doing about development, particularly in Ludhiana, Khangura said it was for the second time that the foundation stone had been laid for the passenger underpass in Aggar Nagar. He said his father had laid down a foundation stone for the same project during his earlier tenure as the Chief Minister between 1997 and 2002. This, Khangura said, is just an example as how Sukhbir was trying to befool the people in the name of development. He said most of the development projects he was claiming to have started or executed were funded by the Central government or had been started by the previous Congress government.

The Qila Raipur MLA suggested to Sukhbir that instead of selling pipe dreams to the people, he should draw a balance sheet about what he did during the last three-and-half years. “Introspection is the best course available for self correction and Sukhbir needs it badly”, Khangura said.

Ludhiana, September 1
A major tragedy was averted when an over-speeding truck rammed into the railing of the flyover near Sabzi Mandi on Tuesday night.

The impact was so strong that the boundary wall of the flyover came apart and debris fell on vehicles under the bridge.

According to the police, the driver reportedly lost control over the vehicle and rammed it into the railing.

“Things could had been worse if the vehicle had rolled over the fence and had fallen over the vehicles under the bridge,” said a traffic cop. 

Ludhiana, September 1
Respite from the four-hour scheduled power cuts in the industrial capital of the state seems to be short-lived, as now it’s frequent breakdowns, load shedding and shut downs that have turned nights into a nightmare.

The power failure, especially during night or early hours of morning, with restoration taking hours together depending on the kind of technical snag, spells misery for the affected people who either have sleepless nights during extremely hot and humid weather, or have their morning routine disrupted due to the irregular water supply.

Scores of city localities complained of power breakdown on Tuesday. Restoration took hours and that, too, after affected people approached senior officials of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).

Power supply was disrupted in at least half a dozen colonies in old city around Division no 3, Chandigarh road, Tajpur road and Jalandhar bypass during the daytime. Similarly, residents of Dugri Urban Estate, residential areas along Ferozepur road (Near West End Mall) and Haibowal also had to sweat it out due to power failure which lasted for three to four hours.

In some areas, the rectification of faults could be made only around midnight as the harassed residents kept calling the complaint centres and other officials of the PSPCL for restoration of the power supply.

Kirpal Singh, a resident of Dugri, said, “Even though no power cuts are being imposed in the locality for quite some time now, frequent breakdowns have become a bane of our life.” Complaint registration and disposal mechanism of the PSPCL is also not consumer-friendly. Our complaints are never attended to.”

Officials of the PSPCL said the power distribution network in the mega city needed to be strengthened and upgraded in the wake of ever increasing demand for power and manifold increase in connectivity.

“An ambitious project is already under way for this purpose and the entire distribution network in the city will be revamped at a cost of Rs 484 crore, part of which will come from the Centre as one-time grant and the rest from the Power Finance Corporation as long-term loan. Under the project, existing sub-stations will be upgraded, new sub-stations erected, cables replaced and distribution system streamlined. Efforts are also being made to cut down time taken for booking and disposal of complaints,” the officials said.

Phillaur, September 1
A migrant labourer from Bihar, Rakesh Kumar, was electrocuted in Ghurrka village near Goraya yesterday.

He was going to fields on a bicycle when he suddenly came in contact with a live wire. The body has been sent to the Phillaur civil hospital for post-mortem.

In another incident, a teenaged girl, Shammi (name changed), reportedly committed suicide by hanging herself at her house in Barrapind village near Goraya yesterday.

In a separate incident, three armed assailants attacked and seriously wounded a schoolteacher, Raj Kumar, near Cheema Kalan village in Phillaur sub-division last night. The injured was admitted in local civil hospital in serious condition. The police has registered a case.

For migrants to the UK from India and elsewhere, the grass might not be greener on the other side, a new study from the University of Leicester has found.Economic migrants travelling to different shores for greater income could be set for disappointment - because the pursuit of wealth does not equate with happiness.

The study, carried out by sociologist David Bartram, is titled ‘Economic Migration and Happiness: Comparing Immigrants' and Natives' Happiness Gains from Income’. He sought to establish whether those people who were motivated by higher incomes in a wealthy country actually gain greater happiness via migration. He examined whether these economic migrants might have exaggerated expectations about what they will achieve and experience, such that there is some significant disappointment.

Bartram, of the Department of Sociology, said: "The study of happiness tells us that people generally do not gain greater happiness from earning higher incomes - which suggests that migrants might be mistaken in believing that they will be better off if they can move to a wealthy country". "The results suggest that economic migrants might well experience disappointment," the sociologist said. "Migrants do gain happiness from higher incomes, to a greater extent than natives - but the relationship is weak even for migrants. In fact, it also works out that migrants are less happy than natives," Bartram said.

The probable reason is that they expect to be happier by virtue of earning the greater incomes available in a wealthy country - but they end up wanting even more after they get there: aspirations probably increase at least as much as incomes. "In short, even after an increase migrants find it difficult to feel satisfied with their incomes - just like the rest of us," Bartram underlined.

"Many of us are guilty of believing that money is more important for happiness than it is - and this research suggests that migrants are not terribly different in this regard," he said, adding life as an immigrant in a wealthy country can be very hard.

The research examined responses from 1,400 people in the World Values Survey (existing survey data). — PTI 

Ludhiana, September 1
The city police is in no mood to let off the youth, who took the police for a ride by concocting a snatching story.It was on August 27 that a city youth Shanker Kalra told the police that some unidentified assailants snatched Rs 1 lakh cash from his possession.

He told the police that the incident took place when he came outside a bank after withdrawing money in Sunder Nagar.

Later Shanker changed his statement and told the police that the snatcher had applied some poisonous substance on the handkerchief and muffled his face with it, due to which he fell unconscious.

This raised suspicion and cops started investigating the matter. Next day the police again asked the youth about the sequence of events. This time the youth again changed his statement and told the cops that the snatcher even inflicted injury on him while snatching the money.

Cops smelt a rat when the youth refused to file a written complaint. Later when the youth was questioned, he reportedly confessed before the police that he concocted the entire snatching story to usurp the cash belonging to his maternal uncle.

The cops also recovered the cash, which the youth had hidden in the factory unit of the uncle.

Inder Dang, the maternal - uncle of the youth, refused to file any complaint against his nephew.

Now the police is in a tizzy, as in the absence of the complainant they could not book the youth.

It is learnt that the police has sought the opinion of District Attorney Legal so that such people, who take the police for a ride could be dealt with an iron hand.

"We are seriously pursing this case and looking for legalities so that action could be taken against the youth. Filing fake cases would not be tolerated," said ACP Bhupinder Singh.

Ludhiana, September 1
PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr Manjit Singh Kang has appealed to farmers and farmwomen to participate in the kisan melas with enthusiasm as the events are being organised for them.As per past practise, the PAU will hold a series of five kisan melas in September.

The first mela in the series will be held at regional station, Ballowal Saunkhri, on September 7 followed by others at Rauni (Patiala) on September 10, at the PAU campus, Ludhiana, on September 14 and 15, at regional station Gurdaspur on September 21 and at regional station Bathinda on September 24. The theme for the Kisan Mela will be "conserve natural resources for the prosperity of all".

The director of extension education, Dr MS Gill, said during all these kisan melas the technologies and new innovations on the theme of the melas will be showcased. There will be several attractions for the farmers and farmwomen in these melas, he said adding that in the melas will also have agro-industrial exhibitions, crop produce competition, display of new technological innovations, etc. The question answer sessions will provide opportunities to farmers to put forth their farming related queries before the experts.

Ludhiana, September 1
The Vigilance Bureau nabbed a section officer (SO) of the education department red-handed for accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from mini-secretariat here today.The accused has been identified as Sham Sunder. According to VB officials, the accused was harassing a teacher demanded a bribe for releasing his pending payment.

VB officials laid a trap and nabbed the accused with the bribe.

Ludhiana, September 1
In the wake of the first semester examinations for Classes X and XII to be conducted by the Punjab School Education Board from September 6, District Magistrate Rahul Tiwari has imposed a ban on assembly of five or more persons around the examination centres in the entire district (except for areas under Ludhiana Police Commissionerate).

The orders to this effect issued under Section 144 CrPC say that the due to emergent nature, the restrictions are being issued ex-parte and these will remain in force for a period of one month with effect from September 6, 2010. 

Ludhiana, September 1
The Punjab Softball Association will hold trials (men and women) at the ground in front of the multipurpose hall of Guru Nanak Sports Complex on September 4 at 9 am.

Ludhiana, September 1
Khalsa College for Women, Sidhwan Khurd, pipped Government Senior Secondary School, Latala, to romp home as champions in kabaddi in the Ludhiana District Women Games organised by the Punjab sports department here at Guru Nanak Stadium.

In swimming (200m individual medley), Kawalpreet Kaur finished ahead of others, while Suhapanpreet Kaur secured the second position. In the 100m free style, Kawalpreet Kaur and Shubhkaraman Dhaliwal bagged the first and second positions, respectively.

In 100m back stroke, Swapanpreet Kaur got the better of her opponents to bag top honours, followed by Anjalpreet Kaur who finished as runner-up.

In 100m breast stroke, Kawalpret Kaur and Money Mehtab secured the first and second positions, respectively.

In basketball, Government College for Women, Ludhiana, emerged victorious, while Khalsa Girls Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, got the second position.

In hockey, Government College for Women, Ludhiana, and Khalsa College for Women, Ludhiana, got the first and second positions, respectively, while Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar, Ludhiana, stood third.

In kho-kho, Khalsa College for Women Club, Sidhwan Khurd, came out as winners. Government College for Women Club, Ludhiana, finished at second place, while Coaching Centre-B, Bharat Nagar School, Ludhiana, got the third position.

Hockey Olympian Ramandeep Singh Grewal, deputy director, sports, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, was the chief guest at the prize distribution function. Ludhiana District Sports Officer Sat Pal Singh, along with coaches of the sports department, was also present on the occasion.

Ludhiana, September 1
Hosts BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar branch, bagged title in the boys U-17 and BCM School, Chadnigarh road branch, emerged champions in the U-19 category while Sutluj Public School, Rahon road, and DAV School, Pakhowal road, came out triumphant in the girls U-19 and girl's U-17 years groups, respectively, in the Ludhiana Sahodaya Schools Complex Badminton Tournament for the CBSE-affiliated schools held here today.

In the girls U-17 category, BCM Arya Model School, Shastri Nagar secured second position while BCM School, Chandigarh road branch finished at third place.

Similarly, in the girl's U-19 section, the second and third positions were bagged by NS Public School, Gill road, and BCM Arya Model School, Shastri Nagar, respectively.

In the boys U-17 years group, BCM Arya School, Shastri Nagar, finished runner-up while Sacred Heart School, BRS Nagar, had to content at the third place.

DAV Public School, BRS Nagar, and KVM, Civil Lines, secured second and third positions, respectively, in the boys U-19 group.