Ludhiana, August 8
It may sound incredible, but sex ratio in higher classes of various colleges breaks the stereotype that Punjabis deprive their daughters from higher education.

The large number of girls enrolled in different postgraduation courses in various city colleges is enough to prove that girls of the city exceed boys in higher education.

SCD Government College is known as boys’ college in the city, but girls are in a majority in higher classes there. Girls of the city prove their capability by occupying top positions in various courses in the perceived boys’ college.

SCD College has seven postgraduation degree courses. The courses, which exclusively qualify to be meant for girls are MCom first year and MA Hindi first year courses.

In MCom first year, out of total 32 seats, only three are boys, whereas in MA Hindi, out of 80 seats, 75 are girls and five are boys.

Story of other courses is also the same. From the total 40 students, only nine boys can be seen in MCom business innovation course. MA economic first year has 127 students, but girls hit the century.

With 102 girl students in English department, only 18 are boys, geography first year has only 15 boys among 40 students.

The proportion of boys and girls is amazing in higher studies. Professional colleges have different trend but the academic colleges almost follow the same trend. Girls, who passed their graduation from all girl colleges, do not find anything different from their previous colleges.

“I passed my graduation from the Government College for Women. I was excited to study in a co-education college but my dream was shattered when I saw only three boys in my classroom,” said Shikha, a MCom first year student.

“Boys are not serious when it comes to studying, on the other hand, girls are hardworking and serious about their career,” said principal Jasbir Kaur Makar.

Ludhiana, August 8
Booking of a few unidentified persons for staging a dharna at the Samrala Chowk following the death of Akhilesh (18), who was mowed down by a truck belonging to the municipal Corporation, has snowballed into a major controversy with the Congress accusing the city police of double standard.

The Congress leaders alleged that the city police has different yardstick for SAD-BJP workers and common man. They were referring to August 4 incident when Mani and Honey Bedi, both sons of a BJP MLA, along with their supporters had staged a dharna at the Jodhewal Chowk and blocked the traffic for nearly 30 minutes after one of their men was challaned by traffic policemen.

An NGO had even taken up the matter with the police and demanded strict action against MLA’s sons for blocking the National Highway No. I. But no action has been taken so far against them. Leader of the Congress (women’s wing) Leena Tapria along with her supporters had also staged a dharna at the Samrala Chowk for demanding strict action against erring truck driver who mowed down Akhilesh on August 6.

But, the police treaded cautiously and booked unidentified persons for blocking the traffic. This had rattled the Congressmen, who alleged that the SAD was deliberately trying to throttle their voice.

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Pawan Dewan said, “ It reflects double standard adopted by the police. While the SAD- BJP men were allowed to stage a protest against earring Municipal Corporation’s driver who mowed down the boy, another person who does so is booked. Leena Tapria was protesting for a cause. She didn’t commit any crime.”

District Youth Congress president Dimple Rana went a step further and said, “It is a murder of democracy. The law and order situation is getting worsening day by day. The police wants to throttle the voice of Congressmen before the election.”

Commissioner of Police Dr SS Chauhan said the police had registered a case against unidentified persons and was investigating the case.

Sources said the Congress leaders might have to eat a humble pie as two SAD councillors were also protesting along with Congress leader Leena Tapria on August 6.

Ludhiana, August 8
The family of Akhilesh (18), who was crushed to death by the tipper belonging to the municipal corporation at Guru Arjan Dev Nagar on Saturday, has refused to accept compensation offered by it.

Slamming reports of civic authorities having compensated the family of the victim, Lokesh, father of Akhilesh, said, “Why do we need compensation for? Our child was priceless. The municipal authorities should keep their money with them and teach their drivers some driving skills to prevent similar incidents.”

Taking a jibe at Additional Municipal Commissioner MS Jaggi, he said “Jaggi is giving statement in the media about compensation, but he did not even bother to meet me following the incident. In fact, none of the municipal authorities visited us after the death of my son to apologies for their mistake that has ruined my life forever.”

The family met Police Commissioner Dr SS Chauhan today and demanded strict action against the tipper driver.

“Look at the system, the killer is roaming freely after furnishing a bail bond in a police station. The municipal corporation washes its hand by announcing compensation. No one took pains to know way the truck driver was plying the vehicle from the route, which is banned by it. No action has been taken against the driver for violating the rules,” he added.

Ludhiana, August 8
Dance trainers from different parts of the world have picked up some steps of bhangra during their stay here. “Bhangra is fun! It is less technical, but is a lot of fun,” says Janina Takkinan, a dance teacher from Finland. Mention bhangra to Anna Kvelde from Latvia and she would stop and perform a step for you.

Interactions between teachers and students for International Children’s Festival of Performing Arts, starting tomorrow evening at Guru Nanak Bhawan, are giving way to cultural exchange.

Clapping to the tunes of Finnish music, with more than hundred friendship bands on her wrists, Janina Takkinan shouts “1,2,3,4” -- instructing steps as her students follow her passionately. “Listen, you have to be quicker,” she shouts in Finnish accent.

Janina is one of the several dance trainers teaching dance genres to more than 3,000 students from Ryan International School.

Dance trainers from countries like Finland, Austria, Sri Lanka, Germany, Jordan, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Vietnam and the USA have come to the city.

Like Janina most of the dance teachers have their wrists full of friendship bands in the wake of Friendship Day yesterday, speaking volumes about the camaraderie and comfort these students are enjoying with the teachers from different cultures. “They are really warm and friendly. We got so many (friendship) bands,” says Anna showing friendship bands on her wrists. Although the kids are a little shy to begin with, they have really opened up in the week-long dance training, says Mara from Austria.

These dance classes are giving way to cultural exchange and the children are learning about various cultures. “We are learning traditional Finnish dance. We have come to know about several things about Finland from Janina ma’am and also learnt some Finnish words,” says Bhavik Jain of Class VI.

Most of the trainers are girls in their early 20s and have been learning dance for more than 10 years. Mara Losch from Austria is an exponent of contemporary dance. She also teaches hip-hop and jazz. It is the freedom contemporary genre provides that excites her. There is ample scope for improvisation in the form -- the independence to use space and floor gives her the fillip.

Upekha Daniel from Colombo loves the mix of “Kandyan” genre with the contemporary. Although she teaches English and social studies back home, she has been learning dance for the past 10 years from Visha School of Dance in the Sri Lankan capital.

Janina is an expert in traditional Finnish dance forms, but she likes to delve into myriad genres like ballet, classical, salsa and even Bollywood. Apart from the traditional Latvian dance, the element of sensuality and romance of ballroom dances enchants Anna.

The dance gurus admire the diversity and colour in India and are enjoying their stay in India. “People here wear colourful dresses as compared to Europe, where it is mostly grey and black,” says Mara.

They also relish the Indian food. For Upekha the food is less spicy than they eat in Sri Lanka, but she likes the taste.

Talking about the city, Anna says: “Ludhiana is noisy and dirty. But the people are friendly and have a clean soul.”

Comparing life in this region to Europe Anna says, “In Europe, every day is one step in the future, but here people enjoy each day. That is what I love about being here.” Mara also loved her stay in India and she promises to come back.

y Santosh, who works at the sweets shop and earns Rs 2,500 per month, cannot afford to buy a set of anti-rabies vaccine, which costs Rs 1,500. He will have to borrow money from his employer, as the Civil Hospital here refused to vaccinate him free of cost.

Ludhiana, August 8
Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari today asked all heads of the government departments to pull up their socks to prepare for the Right to Services Act (RTS) which is expected to be notified soon.

Once the notification is issued, many government departments will have to deliver several notified services in a time-bound manner.

In a strategic meeting with district officials here, the DC cautioned them that the RTS would make it statutory for officials and employees to complete the services within a stipulated time frame failing which they would be held accountable, made to pay penalty and even be chargesheeted.

Giving details, Tiwari told officials that 67 different kind of services had been brought under the purview of the RTS which relate to departments of revenue, health, transport, food and civil supplies, housing and urban development, improvement trust, rural water supply and sanitation, social security, home affairs and police.

He said a total of 20 public dealing works of police department and 47 of other government departments would be covered under the new Act after the notification was issued. A provision of appellate authority has also been made in the Act to deal with the complaints with an officer of the rank of the DSP or the SP to be the one for works related to police and the SDM for other government departments.

Tiwari said once the RTS comes into force, documents like certified copies of jamabandi, girdawri and mutation would have to be made available to applicants in one working day, the registration certificates of vehicles would have to be issued within seven working days and verification of passport applications would have to be completed within 21 days.

Ludhiana, August 8
Architects from the Indian Institute of Architects, Ludhiana centre, gave some solutions to traffic problems of Ludhiana in a penal discussion held at Gulmohar Hotel.

It was observed that wrong location of bus stand in the congested area of the city was the cause of many problems. The experts said that many flyovers were being constructed to decongest the roads. “The bus stand must be set up at two to three places the way it has been done in Chandigarh region, branching out two bus stands in Chandigarh, one in Panchkula and another in Mohali,” they added.

Movement of buses in and out of the city bus stand was creating a lot of traffic problems, noise pollution and air pollution.

It was observed that travelling to neighbouring cities in buses took lesser time than travelling within the city. The present bus stand could be converted into local bus stand for local buses, due to its centralised location. The panel observed that the government was responsible for delay in local bus service, which could easily be started to solve traffic problems.

Many unplanned projects going on at the same time without any fix completion time frame are causing maximum troubles to heavy, medium and light vehicles. It was observed that all the ongoing road projects must be completed at the earliest for the convenience of public and new projects of roads must be started in a planned and phased manner after consulting senior town planners, traffic experts, architects etc.

Trees, electrical and telephone poles in the middle of roads are the cause of traffic chaos. Due to the lack of coordination among the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, Traffic Police, Forest Department, Electricity Board, BSNL, PWSSB, PWD (B&R), GLADA, LIT, PSIEC, NHAI, India Railways etc, and ever increasing interference of politicians, city residents were facing maximum traffic problems.

Flyovers must be constructed immediately at railway crossings at the Pakhowal road and Shastri Nagar to save valuable time and traffic congestion. The panel observed that construction of elevated roads above roads at many places was unnecessary.

It was observed that the Metro train project must be planned properly in advance at a fast pace. Entry of heavy vehicles must be banned strictly in the city during peak hours.

There should not be any open manholes and stray animals in the city. The panel observed that the strength of the Traffic Police must be increased and there should be strict implementation of traffic rules the way it was in Chandigarh and Delhi.

Khanna, August 8
Aadhar Foundation, Mission Club and Trans Services have jointly decided to hold a cultural function “Sham-e-Jashan” here on August 20.

The main aim of the function is to make people aware about female foeticide and to collect money for hearing and speaking impaired children.

Stating this in a press conference, representatives of these organisations informed that Punjabi-Bollywood singer Labh Janjua will enthrall audience on the occasion. The entry will be free for all.

Ludhiana, August 8
A day after a city resident died and a local councillor's husband was found unconscious after consuming poison-laced liquor allegedly offered by some unidentified women at a pub in Bangkok, the councillor of Ward No. 37, Poonam Ratra, claimed her husband was robbed by a man and not by a women.

However, her husband Om Parkash showed signs of recovery and regained consciousness today. The deceased, Jaspreet Singh, aka Raju, a resident of Amar Pura, is a close relative of president of a gurdwara.

“The robbers were not woman," said Poonam Ratra. The family maintained that Om Parkash was still on life support system and could record his statement to the police. The post-mortem of Jaspreet Singh Raju was conducted today, but police has not yet received the reports.

Councillor Gurdeep Singh Nittu said four persons had flown to Bangkok to quicken the legal process so the body of Jaspreet Singh Raju could be brought back to India.

"We have established contact with the Punjabi community in Bangkok. We have requested them to help us in nabbing the suspect. The entire story would be clear after recording the statement of Om Parkash," said Nittu.

Harminder Singh and Paramjit Singh, both relatives of Raju have not yet divulged any details about the incident. They have stated that they were sleeping in a different room, while Raju and Om Parkash were in another room.

The group of four left for Bangkok on July 30 to meet their friends in Pratunam and was scheduled to return on August 9.

Om Parkash and Raju entered a pub where they reportedly met a group of young women who befriended them and allegedly offered them liquor laced with poison. Both fell unconscious and were robbed.

BJP councillor Gurdeep Singh Nittu said a Bangkok-based NRI, Gurmeet Singh, broke the news to the family. 

Mandi Gobindgarh, August 8
Girl students of the Desh Bhagat Institute of Management and Computer Sciences have bagged top positions in the college in BBA final year result, declared by Punjabi University, Patiala.

Kirti Sharma bagged the first position by securing 82.65 per cent marks; the second position was grabbed by Tushmit Kaur with 82.03 per cent marks the third position was cornered by Mandeep Kaur with 81.75 per cent marks. The overall result of the college is 100 per cent.

Desh Bhagat Group chairman, Dr Zora Singh, vice-chairperson Tejinder Kaur and director general Dr Shalini Gupta while congratulating meritorious students conveyed best wishes for their bright future. The students said they had been able to make this achievement due to the hard work and right guidance of their teachers. They hoped that they would work harder in the future and bring glory to their parents and their institution.

Students win laurels
Ludhiana: The students of Gujranwala Guru Nanak Institute of Vocational Studies (GGNIVS) have once again proved their excellence and have brought laurels to the institute by coming out with flying colours and securing top positions in the university examinations.

Prina Jain, a student of MBA, has secured first position in the university by securing 82.68 per cent marks.

Neha and Kamalpreet Singh Arora have bagged first and second position, respectively, in MSc in mass communications, advertising and journalism in the university. Kuldip Singh, director of the institute, congratulated the staff and students for their outstanding performance and wished them good luck for their future. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 8
The Tara Group of Industries and the Pioneer Group of Educational Institutes, Gajjan Majra, have launched a unique scheme for the welfare of poor families and sportspersons of 107 villages and towns in Amargarh assembly segment.

While each girl of these localities, irrespective of her caste and creed, would be given Rs 5,100 as “shagun” on her marriage, sportspersons enrolled with village-level units would be given sports kits, including cricket kits.

In comparison to complicated system of claiming funds under the government “shagun” scheme, parents of the girl will have to submit a simple application with the unit of their village only.

Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra, an SAD leader and the chairman of the groups, said his family had earmarked an endowment fund for the welfare of members of weaker sections of society, including general category poor families.

‘Rain expected in 2 days’LUDHIANA: The meteorological data recorded in the PAU observatory indicated that a rain of 7.6 mm was received on Monday. The total rainfall received since August 1 was 66 mm, which is below normal. PAU meteorologist, Dr KK Gill said in July, the rainfall was 114 mm as against the normal of 232 mm. However, in June, the rainfall was 351 mm, much above the normal 66 mm. Discussing about temperature, she said the minimum temperature was 27.6 degrees Celsius, which was slightly above a normal of 25 degrees Celsius, while the maximum being 31 degrees Celsius, as against the normal of 33 degrees Celsius. The weather indicates that light to moderate rainfall can be expected in the coming two days. The conditions are good for crops, including paddy, vegetables, cotton, etc. The expert said in the nursery and basins of fruit trees excessive water should not be allowed to stagnate.

Doraha, August 8
Even as the Punjab government, in order to keep a tab on the school drop-out rate of girls, has decided to provide free education to all girl students studying in Classes IX to XII in all government and state-aided schools, the principals and staff of the government girls schools and some of the co-eds are feeling ill at ease -- the reason being financial crunch.

“As we have been directed not to charge any fee or fund, including the admission fee, re-admission fee, amalgamated fund, PTA fund, sports fund, information and computer technology fund, geography, fine arts, physics, chemistry and biology fee from any girl student, we are in a fix,” said the principal of a local government school, refusing to be named.

“We strongly support the government’s decision to make education free for girls as this would enable the parents, especially of the lower economic strata, to send their daughters to acquire education. As the society is becoming more and more demanding, the education of girls has become all the more significant,” said the principal.

“The girls have to be professionally equipped to face the competitive world boldly. In majority of the cases, especially the rural girls, either due to lack of awareness or due to economic reasons, continue to remain aloof from education. This policy of the government shall surely come to the rescue of many such girls. But before making such a declaration the government should have thought twice,” the principal added.

“Had it not been for the funds and fees collected from the girl students from time to time, many of the girls schools would have closed down. The day-to-day expenditure and expenses of the school are met with the fees collected from the girl students. How will the strength of more than a hundred students in a class study without electricity? How will the computer labs run and how can students do without the supply of clean drinking water? We pay the electricity and water bills out of the PTA fund. When a post is vacated, it takes months and sometimes years to reappoint a teacher. At such times the PTA fund comes to our rescue. A number of teachers have been appointed from the PTA fund. Even gardeners and clerks are appointed from the PTA fund,” said another head of a government girl’s school.

“The fee collected from the girl students is a nominal one and the parents also never complain about it. The school, on the other hand, is able to manage its day-to-day expenses with the help of this fee. But with such a declaration the government has literally bound our hands,” opined a senior faculty member.

“Admissions generally suffer in our schools as the building and infrastructures are in a dilapidated state. Students have to sit in the open and tolerate all sorts of inclement weather. In such a situation, whatever meagre funds we are collecting from the girl students, in the form of fees, if stopped, shall put us surely in a tight spot” expressed a school head.