Ludhiana, December 3
As many as 20 students of Government Primary School, Sahauli village, were taken ill after accidentally consuming “jatropha” seeds in the school here today.

Students started vomiting after consuming the seeds and complained of acute abdominal pain. They were admitted to the primary health centre at Sudhar. Seven students, who were reportedly suffering from acute food poisoning, had to be shifted to Lord Mahavira Civil Hospital. The incident occurred this afternoon when the students were having their midday meal and soon after the break, the students started showing symptoms of food poisoning.

A medical team led by Dr Pradeep Sharma, dental officer at the Civil Hospital, was sent to the school. The team checked the ingredients of the meal and found it to be all right. Some students told the team that the children had consumed “black nuts” growing near the school.

Dr Sharma identified the nuts as “jatropha” seeds that are being grown as a “commercial crop” by some farmers. The plant can be seen amid weed growth.

A student stated that his friends consumed the seeds mistaking them for almonds. Doctors at the Civil Hospital said the children were out of danger as they had been detoxified and were undergoing supportive treatment.

Ludhiana, December 3
After issuing the purchase order for new buses, officials of Ludhiana City Bus Service Pvt Ltd have begun finalizing the routes in the city. The bus service is likely to kick off in the first week of the new year.

According to sources the bus operator as well as the municipal corporation are determined to ensure work on the routes is completed as soon as possible. They said though over 60 bus routes have been identified, in the first phase of the project the buses will ply on only 21 routes. After identifying these 21 routes the bus operator has sent the list to the Punjab government, which will notify them, they added.

The sources said as the operator plans to introduce about 200 buses in the first phase the number of routes could be increased or decreased.

Meanwhile, Ludhiana City Bus Service has also begun the exercise to provide the necessary infrastructure required for operating the buses on the routes identified. It is conducting a survey to ascertain whether more bus shelters needed to be built on the routes along with the traffic management on these routes.

MC Commissioner AK Sinha said: “The bus service will be launched soon and the necessary framework is being put in place”.

Ludhiana, December 3
Taking cognizance of serious lapses in the working of the accounts branch, the Municipal Corporation (MC) authorities have issued a show-cause notice to its head after a contractor produced a file before senior officers for getting payment, despite the fact that the MC Commissioner had banned the handing over of files to contractors.

According to information, after the detection of the fake bill scam in the civic body, Commissioner AK Sinha had issued orders that no file would be given by hand to the contractors for any purpose.

However, ignoring his orders, the officials of the accounts branch handed over a file related to the payment of Rs 1 lakh as maintenance charges of a swimming pool at Rakh Bagh to the contractor concerned.

This despite the fact that Additional Commissioner Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar, who is in charge of the accounts branch, had objected to the issuance of payment to the contractor, saying that prior sanction of the Commissioner should be taken.

However, the officials cleared the file and handed it over to the contractor, who then presented it before the Additional Commissioner for consent to payment.

Sources revealed that a probe was conducted into the matter and the alleged connivance of Deputy Controller Finance and Audit (DCFA) SK Gupta was proved. The Additional Commissioner has issued a notice to him to explain how the file reached the contractor and why it was not presented before the Commissioner.

The sources said Gupta met the Additional Commissioner and feigned ignorance over the matter, but he was told to submit a written reply.

The Additional Commissioner confirmed that a notice had been issued, but refused to divulge details.

Ludhiana, December 3
The ongoing exercise to detonate explosives in the forests around Mattewara has begun showing signs of affecting the wildlife in the area. In the latest incident, a Sambar deer strayed from the forests and entered a shop cum house in the city belonging to a retired Indian Railways employee.

"I was shocked to see an animal the size of a donkey running towards my shop. Before I could react the animal jumped into the shop and entered my house. On seeing the animal my wife and children began screaming. I opened the back door but the animal went upstairs to the roof," said Balbir Singh.

In the meantime his, son Jagmohan Singh, informed the police about the incident. A wildlife activist, Sandeep Jain, arrived at the scene the spot and called up the district forest officer to tell him about the wild animal.

A rescue team was later sent to Balbir’s house and forest department employees took the animal into possession.

District forest officer Daljit Singh Brar said the Sambar deer might have ran towards the city after it got separated from a flock of animals in the forest.

Brar did not ignore the possibility of the animal having left the jungle due to the massive explosions taking place in the forested area. “I had raised apprehensions before the beginning of the explosion detonation drive that it would have a drastic effect on the wildlife of the Mattewara forest range. If the explosions would continue to take place in the forest area then the `wild animals would soon shift their base. It is up to the administration to take swift action to save the wild animals of the forest area”, said Jain. He added the panicked Sambar must have run for nearly 20 kilometres before entering the house for cover.

Ludhiana , December 3
Replacing the word “disabled” with “differently abled”, 41-year-old Baljit Singh has become an inspiration for hundreds of children and adults fighting various handicaps.

Oozing with energy, the man has gone great lengths to plant 3,000 saplings in various parts of the city.

He planted a ‘satpatti’ sapling at the Rose Garden today on the occasion of World Disabled Day to initiate a go-green drive in disabled children.

The man has been conferred the Red and White bravery award for a plantation drive and a campaign against female foeticide on his tricycle.

“The accident that damaged my spinal chord 17 years ago did not deter me from carrying on with life. Fighting against all odds, I made a respectable life for myself by graduating and making a living by giving tuitions to school students,” he says. But weary of the apathetic attitude shown by the governments over the years, Baljit feels, “Things would have improved manifold had the state government extended support to the disabled.”

Speaking in his capacity as a torch-bearer, Baljit states that police has given helpline numbers for senior citizens and women, but nobody from the district administration has bothered to give a helpline number for the physically and mentally challenged.

“A patient hearing, a kind word and a humble gesture will put an end to 90 per cent of the problems of the disabled,” he opines.

Ludhiana, December 3
In an initiative that would help solve the traffic problem at the two important bottlenecks of the city, the railway department has agreed to give the general arrange drawings (GAD) regarding the construction of two railway overbridges (ROB) to be constructed at the Grain Market and the Pakhowal road by December-end.

A meeting in this regard took place between officials of the Railways, Punjab government and the Municipal Corporation (MC) in New Delhi, in which the Municipal Corporation officials raised the matter with Dharam Singh, chief administrative officer of the Railways.

Dharam Singh said the department of railways would be handing over the general arrange drawings to them by the month-end so that work could be completed. After the Municipal Corporation raised the matter of completion of work on the Lakkur Pull railway overbridge, the railway authorities assured it that the work would be completed by the mid of next year.

In another development that is expected to boost the work on the construction of flats under the basic services for urban poor (BSUP) scheme, the union ministry of housing and urban development has given the third installment of ` 8.32 crore to the Municipal Corporation for the construction of more than 4,000 flats in the city.

The grant was given at a meeting held in Delhi, which was attended by Additional Municipal Commissioner Mahinder Pal Gupta and Superintendent Engineer DPS Wadhwa.

Ludhiana, December 3
Keeping in view the meeting of the Industrial Facilitation Committee after a few days, MS Jaggi, Joint Commissioner of the municipal corporation (MC), has held a meeting with officers to review the status of ongoing development works at Focal Point.

The meeting of the committee, which is chaired by the Deputy Commissioner, is due to be held on December 6. The office of the Deputy Commissioner has sent a list of items concerning the MC raised by industrialists of the area that are to be discussed.

In order to prepare a reply to the demands of the industrialists and to review the pace of ongoing development works, the Joint Commissioner held a meeting with the officers of the building and roads wing and operation and maintenance branch.

Jaggi asked the officers to ensure that all queries of industrialists regarding the civic body were answered in an efficient manner with full facts so that no grievance towards the working of the civic body was registered.

He also asked the offices to ensure that pending works in the area were expedited so that those could be completed in the stipulated time frame, adding that no laxity of any sort would be tolerated in the completion of those works.

The Joint Commissioner gave directions for the initiation of work on roads that had been pending for quite some time. When contacted, he termed the meeting routine, adding that the officers had been asked to submit replies to the queries received.

Ludhiana, December 3
Piqued at the alleged misbehaviour of senior divisional commercial manager of Northern Railway Dharmendra Kumar with chief inspector ticket Hakam Singh in the Jammu Tawi-Indore Malwa Express on December 1, railway employees protested in front of the station superintendent’s office at the railway station here today.

With a large number of employees joining the protest, work at the railway station was affected during the time the rally continued. Led by Northern Railwaymen’s Union divisional secretary Daljit Singh, slogan-shouting railwaymen said they would continue the protest till Dharmendra Kumar tendered an unconditional apology to Hakam Singh.

Addressing the employees, Daljit Singh charged the official with behaving in a dictatorial manner with the subordinate staff and humiliating employees without reason. He said parcel clerk Karnail Singh had fallen victim to the arrogant officer a few days back. Karnail Singh, who had fallen sick and was advised complete rest by doctors at Jalandhar, was served a charge sheet at his residence.

As the protesting employees refused to budge till an apology was tendered by the official, the divisional traffic manager of Northern Railway Parminder Singh made an appearance at the rally and apologised to the employees on behalf of Dharmendra Kumar, who was said to be away to New Delhi. After Parminder Singh assured them that there would be no witch-hunt or vindictive action, the union called off the protest and work was restored.

Ludhiana, December 3
The anti-encroachment drive of the Municipal Corporation at the Gill Road landed into rough weather after shopkeepers and leaders of the ruling alliance resisted the move and levelled serious allegations on civic body staff.

A team of the Tehbazaari and the building branches, on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, reached the spot for removing 50 kiosks that were illegally constructed near the ITI College on the Gill Road. However, the shopkeepers levelled serious allegations of corruption against the municipal officials. Meanwhile, a ruling SAD councillor and a member of the high-powered finance and contract committee (F&CC) Simarjeet Singh Bains also reached the spot and supported the shopkeepers.

The shopkeepers led by Bains argued that they had been paying the fee to the civic body. They also objected to the Municipal Corporation’s proposal to shift kiosks’ owners to new market to be constructed below the Cheema Chowk overbridge. The shopkeepers asserted that most of the kiosks’ owners had sublet their units to them for more then a decade so they should be allotted the new shops. Supporting them, Bains also said the landlords who had been allotted the kiosks had sublet it to the poor people who earn their bread and butter from here. He added that only those who were working here had the right to get the shops.

However hours after arguments a final agreement was reached between shopkeepers and the Municipal staff after Municipal Joint Commissioner MS Jaggi visited the area and after pacifying the agitating shopkeepers gave one more day for submitting the application fee for getting the new shops. However, he asserted that if anybody fails to submit the money the shops would be razed. Meanwhile, the Municipal staff finally razed about 30 abandoned kiosks in the evening.

Ludhiana, December 3
Manmohan Waris, Punjabi singer, turned out to be a crowed puller for the organisers of the Kisan Swaraj Yatra, who had pegged their tents outside the Punjab Agriculture University Gate No 2 to spit fire against the university authorities.

The venue, which saw negligible presence of farmers and youths during long speeches of environmentalists, suddenly witnessed a huge rush at the parking lot of Le Baron Hotel.

The singer’s presence also caused minor accident in front of the venue. The car driver, who was looking at the singer, forgot about the traffic lights and rammed his car into three stationary vehicles. Fortunately, no one sustained injuries.

Even PAU students had gathered at the spot after farmers’ told them about the live concert. But, the excitement was short-lived as the singer made a quick exit after singing five songs.

Ludhiana, December 3
Due to the stiff opposition of residents being faced by the Municipal Corporation (MC) staff in marking roads of the city, the civic body authorities have decided to deploy the police along with the staff to ensure their security.

In an endeavour to regulate traffic, the MC and the police authorities have joined hands. The police had asked the MC authorities to ensure lanes for parking vehicles on both sides of the roads to check haphazard parking.

It was also proposed to demarcate the no-parking zones and the tow-away zones on roads. Subsequently, the MC had asked it staff to conduct the demarcation with immediate effect.

However, the MC staff had met with stiff resistance in some localities where shopkeepers and even residents opposed the drive. At some places, the MC staff had heated arguments with the residents, after which the MC employees had complained about it to their seniors.

Ludhiana, December 3
Continuing with the recovery of pending arrears of water supply and sewerage, officers of the operation and maintenance branch of the municipal corporation (MC) collected about Rs 8 lakh and disconnected 13 sewerage and four water supply connections today.

All four zones of the civic body continued the drive, but the substantial recovery was by zones D and B, which recovered Rs 4.23 lakh and Rs 2.20 lakh, respectively. In zone D, a team led by executive engineer Manjeet Singh disconnected 13 sewerage and four water supply connections.

In zone B, a team led by executive engineer Kamlesh Bansal collected Rs 1.50 lakh as arrears. In zone A, a team led by executive engineer Raman Shankar Sahai collected Rs 1.75 lakh. In zone C, a team led by executive engineer Balwinder Singh issued notices to 80 defaulters.

Ludhiana, December 3
The Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) intends to make yet another bid to offer for sale its 2.22-acre commercial complex in the upmarket residential and commercial area of Maharani Jhansi road, albeit in separate units after the local bodies department gives it a go ahead.

A meeting of the LIT convened here today by Madan Mohan Vyas, chairman of the Trust, adopted a resolution that the commercial complex be auctioned in separate units.

An earlier attempt to sell the complex with a reserve price tag of ` 197 crore in December last year had failed to attract a single bidder, and the auction had to be put off. The freehold commercial complex constructed at a cost of ` 20 crore was put under the hammer as a single unit and intending buyers were required to deposit 1 per cent of the reserve price before the auction.

The LIT, on an earlier occasion also, made a move with the Local Government department to sell the property in separate units like shops, offices, showrooms, food marts and penthouses, with an expected yield of ` 105 crore, but the government shot down the proposal and asked the LIT to sell the property as a single unit.

The LIT chairman said as the complex could find no buyers as a single unit during the auction in December 2009, it seemed prudent to sell it in units.

Proposals for development works like construction and recarpeting of roads, development of parks and maintenance works worth about ` 2.25 crore in different colonies carved out by the LIT were also made.

Ludhiana, December 3
The three-day strike by the joint action committee of the associations/unions of the BSNL executives and non-executives was deferred last night after meetings between R Chandrasekhar, secretary, department of telecom, and Gopal Dass, CMD, and the representatives of the joint action committee leaders. They reached an agreement that BSNL would procure equipment for 55 lakh GSM lines this year and another 1.5 crore lines by the next year.

It was agreed upon that there no retrenchment of the staff in BSNL and the issue of the remaining IDA merger of 9.4 would be again taken up at the board of directors meeting. The process of absorption of ITS officials in BSNL will be speeded up.

Case of pension revision for those who retied prior to January1, 2007, will be referred to the cabinet committee immediately.

Balwinder Singh, convener, joint action committee, said they would keep a watch for the implementation of the agreement and if needed they may resume strike.

Ludhiana, December 3
Meena Devi (28), a resident of Himachal Pradesh, Varinder (15), a resident of Ferozepur border, Nidhi, a resident of Jagraon, Naresh (25), a resident of Patiala are among the few who have undergone surgery for correcting their hearing problems at Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana.

However, Daljit Kaur, a resident of Phillaur, was not so lucky as she landed with a paralysis of the face muscles secondary to a discharging ear followed by Paramjit from Bathinda, who had severe vertigo due to her ears.

The long list of patients who had come with the “neglected discharging ear”, that further resulted in complications, which when ignored for long turns fatal.

Prof Dr Manish Munjal of the department of ear, nose, throat, head and neck surgery at DMCH undertook a three-year study in the management of draining ears, including those who already had been operated upon earlier and noticed that discharge profuse or scanty was usually accompanied by difficulty in hearing the speech of your near ones and the melodious sounds of nature, necessitating a visit to your ENT specialist.

Dr Munjal stated that it was advisable to immediately see an expert in the above conditions as it could be “unsafe” situation, with stagnant infected tissues and secretions, which if untreated, can break out of the bony confines of the ear leading to a total irreversible loss of hearing and inability to maintain the body balance. The nerve of the face and muscles of the involved side may become paralysed and give one a grotesque look. Moreover, in advanced stages progression towards the brain leads to excruciating headaches, vomiting, paralysis of the body and drowsiness, unconsciousness and sometimes even death, the doctor observed.

Timely surgical intervention in the second group aims to drain out the secretions and remove all broken or precisely bacteria eaten bone, in the vicinity of the ear, before it becomes irreversible and enters the brain.

The doctor emphasised that discharging ear was not a problem to be neglected and needs an examination by a specialist for reasons threefold, if possible to attain a dry ear, regain your hearing and prevent late term complications, lest you may land up at the neurosurgeon’s operating table.

Ludhiana, December 3
An attraction towards opulent clothes since early childhood lured NIFT graduate Ashie Sudhansh into entering the fashion industry. However, for his life and business partner, Parul, it was a love of another kind that brought her into fashion designing. The pretty woman was drawn to the trade as it offered her a rare chance to work with her beloved husband.

"Moreover, the idea of being surrounded by beautiful clothes really excites me. And I feel for a woman it’s instinctual to have a keen design sense, which is why I’m here," says Paul.

For the charming young designer couple, hailing from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, designing clothes is a passion. They have their own designer label - ‘Parul & Ashie’ - under which it creates high-end prêt line women's wear consisting of “mystic” and romantic styles depicting the rich culture of the city of nawabs.

"We specialize in surface texture, a unique combination of appliqué with silk hand ‘zardozi’ on soft sheer fabric like silk organza. Our silhouettes are clean and straight," informs Ashie. "We’ve been into this for the past five years now and have loved every moment of it”.

Parul chips in: "As Marwaris we’ve been surrounded by beautiful, rich clothes since childhood. We’ve grown up seeing our mothers draped in such beauties that our career choice was quite obvious”.

Not keen on dressing Bollywood beauties, Ashie prefers to be known for his clothes rather than the celebs who endorse them. "For a designer it’s important that his or her clothes are recognized than the face wearing them," he says matter-of-factly.

Ashie rues today fashion shows are focused more on celebrities walking down the ramp rather than the designers who slog it out to make them look good. "I wish more attention is paid to the face behind the beautiful clothes," he avers.

Parul agrees but differs when it comes to Bollywood. "Oh! I’m a complete Bollywood person and would love to dress up (actresses) Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone," she chuckles.

Having been a part of a couple of fashion weeks, the couple is looking forward to the Dubai Fashion Week early next year.

The duo is in town to participate in the three-day Wedding Asia exhibition slated to start on Saturday. "We’re very excited to come to Punjab and are really looking forward to interact with its lively people," says Parul.

Ashie adds: "We’re a special collection of bright-hued ethnic wear in organza with heavy ‘zardozi’ and ‘mukaish’ work on display for the people of Ludhiana.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 3
Activists and office-bearers of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union and the Coordination Committee of teachers’ units of institutes governed by the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha, Punjab, have launched a phased agitation to get their demands implemented.

Activists of the units at various private colleges located at Raikot, Moga, Ludhiana and Jagraon wore black badges and staged dharnas at their respective institutes yesterday. The protest continued today as well.

Defending the position of the parent governing body and managing committees of the respective institutes, office-bearers of colleges alleged that a few employees with tainted record had misguided senior functionaries of the union, thus creating a situation that was detrimental to the studies of students.

Activists of the PCCTU units of colleges governed by the Arya Pratinidhi Sabha had organised protests against alleged dictatorial attitude of office-bearers of management committees of their respective institutes.

Office-bearers of the outfit led by Vinay Sofat said the coordination committee had taken the decision to launch agitation after being thwarted by the alleged callous and adamant attitude of the management committees of the private aided colleges.

The committee took serous note of the alleged victimisation of a few activists posted at SGGG College, Raikot, and DM College, Moga, and decided to launch an agitation in a phased manner.

Non-implementation of new pay scales, revised HRA and medical as per the Punjab government’s notification and the CPF deduction in salary of staff at the colleges affiliated with GND University, Amritsar, were cited as major issues.

The protesters announced to participate in two-hour dharnas to be staged against the alleged anti-education attitude of the Vice-Chancellor of GND University on December 13 and 17.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 3
At least 200 students of the Government Senior Secondary School at Dehlon have been felicitated for their performance in academics, sports and co-curricular activities.

The function was presided over by Balwinder Singh Grewal. Darshan Singh Shivalik, Dakha MLA, was the chief guest. A cultural programme was also presented by the students.

Shivalik inaugurated a new hall and announced a grant of ` 5 lakh for expansion and repairs. He said he would continue to support student welfare programmes. — OC

Ludhiana, December 3
Prizes worth `10 lakh will be given to the position holders in this year’s edition of the annual sports to be held from December 16 to 19 at Jarkhar village, about 15 kms from here. Over 100 cycles will also be given as prizes by Avon Cycles Limited, Ludhiana.

Narinder Pal Singh Sidhu, chairman, Mata Sahib Kaur Sports Club, Jarkhar, told The Tribune that arrangements to conduct this mega sports event successfully were going on and the main stadium was being spruced up for this extravaganza.

Competition in 15 disciplines like hockey, handball, basketball, volleyball (smashing and shooting), kabaddi (academies), kabaddi (one village open), wrestling and others will be the 25th edition of the meet.

Though the games will start on December 16, former Punjab cabinet minister will formally inaugurate it, Bikramjit Singh Majithia, on December 17 when the games torch, brought from Olympian Surjit Singh Randhawa Stadium, Jalandhar and Polo Ground, Patiala, would be lit in the stadium, added Sidhu.

The Deputy Chief Minister, who also holds the sports portfolio, will be the chief guest on the concluding day (December 19). Film stars Dharminder along with Sunny Deol, Dalip Singh Rana- great Khali, comedy king, Mehar Mittal, popular Punjabi singers- Harbhajan Maan and Jazzy B will be the main attraction of the sports festival.

The organisers will honour former hockey star, Pargat Singh, Sandeep Singh, Gurbaaz Singh, Balbir Singh Sechewal, Jagdev Singh Jassowal, Rajdeep Singh Gill, president, Basketball Federation of India, and writer Baldev Singh for their contribution in different fields.

Ludhiana, December 3
Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, and CFC School tasted victories in their respective matches to enter into the quarterfinals of the Central Ludhiana Sahodaya Schools Complex Cricket Tournament (u-19) being held at MGM Public School, Dugri, here today.

In the pre-quarter final encounter between CFC School and Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, the former came out triumphant by 34 runs.

Batting first, CFC School made 118 runs after losing four wickets in the allotted 12 overs. The main scorers were Jagdeep, Shubham and Rajat. Jagdeep made 42 off 29 balls while Shubham and Rajat contributed 25 runs each.

Anand and Mayank took one wicket each for Sacred Heart Convent School giving away 21 and 26 runs, respectively.

Chasing the target, Sacred Heart Convent School could muster 84 runs for the loss of five wickets.

In the second match, Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, BRS Nagar, beat Saraswati Modern School by 23 runs. Saraswati Modern School won the toss and opted to bat. In the stipulated 12 overs, they made 125 runs by losing three wickets in which Vipul and Piyush contributed 55 and 33 runs, respectively.

In reply, Saraswati Modern School’s innings folded at 102 runs. Tejas Taneja made 33 runs and Gaurav contributed 20 runs. For Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Nischal took three wickets while Piyush took two wickets to contain their rivals to 102 runs.

Green Land Public School, Sector 32, Chandigarh road branch, got walk over against Delhi Public School as the latter failed to turn up.