Ludhiana, October 12
A three-year-old girl was allegedly raped in a private school located the in Hargobind Nagar area here yesterday.

The matter came to light today after the police registered a case and detained a few in this connection. The police also got the girl medically examined to substantiate whether the rape was committed or not, the report of the medical examination is awaited, said investigating officer Sandeep Kapoor.

The incident took place yesterday when the three-year-old- girl, who studies in the primary section of the school, was returning home along with her elder sister. She was crying profusely and complained of pain in the groin. Shocked on seeing the wounds, her mother immediately rushed to the school. She lodged a complaint with the school authorities in this regard. The victim’s elder sister also studies in the same school.

The school authorities on the other hand feigned ignorance. Today, the relatives of the girl entered the school and created ruckus. Fortunately, the police reached on time and saved the situation from turning ugly.

The school authorities said, “ There is no male staff in the school. They have provided one section of the school to the authorities for making UID cards. We suspect that someone might have sneaked inside the school from the UID centre and committed the inhuman act. However, we are cooperating with the police in every manner.”

Investigating officer Sandeep Kapoor said: “A case has been registered against an unidentified person for raping the minor. We have also questioned a few persons in this connection and would nab the criminal soon.”

Ludhiana, October 12
City residents continue to suffer due to the ongoing war between the BSNL and private telecom companies as they have been unable to contact the police or the
fire station in case of an emergency.

Though the police had launched two mobile helpline numbers — 9592917440 and 9815800251 — for the convenience of residents, they have been unable to access these numbers on account of the standoff.

The snapping of emergency services may result in serious implications with the police as well fire fighters unable to give help on time in emergency situations.

The elderly who are not in possession of a mobile phone are the worst hit. They complain that they have been unable to contact their children due to the ongoing telecom war between cellular companies.

“I do not have a mobile phone and once my children are out, I cannot contact them. I cannot contact anyone. The BSNL and private telecom companies should resolve the issue and mitigate the suffering of residents,” said Santosh Rani, septuagenarian.

Ludhiana, October 12
Labour Commissioner’s driver Vipan Sharma was allegedly manhandled by protesting Textile Mazdoor Union workers outside the labour department office here today as the former tried to request the agitating workers to let a peon (a woman) fetch water from a tap.

The driver was manhandled by workers sitting on a dharna outside the department. The police was investigating the matter and no case had been registered till the filing of the report.

According to sources, Varsha Rani, a peon in the labour department, had gone out to fetch water from a tap. However, she was prevented by the agitating workers from fetching the water.

On seeing a woman employee in distress, Vipan Sharma intervened and requested the workers to let her fetch the water.

A worker then pushed Vipan, who fell into a puddle near the tap. Some workers standing nearby started manhandling the driver and injured him.

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Vipan said the workers refused to listen to his plea. It was only after the intervention of some employees that the assault stopped, he claimed.

Area SHO Balwinder Singh said investigations were on and a case would be registered after the recording of victim’s statement.

Meanwhile, Lakhwinder, convener of the Textile Mazdoor Union, claimed that certain department officials in connivance with textile manufacturers had staged the “drama” to defame workers.

“None of the workers had manhandled the driver. They are levelling baseless allegations to defame workers. Our protest entered its 21st day today and it has been a peaceful one all along. Why should we indulge in violence, which will go against us?,” said the union leader.

Ludhiana, October 12
The users of Blackberry mobile phones in the city have been passing through tough time for the past few days. The delay in sending messages and emails along with Internet disruptions have been caused by the core switch failure, according the statement by the Canada-based mobile maker.

BlackBerry users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, Brazil, Chile and Argentina are affected because of the disruption in services.

Ritesh Pillai, working with a private company in the city, not knowing about the problem reinstalled the software only to find about the technical failure later on.

Sarabjit Singh, who is in exports business, said he was doing most of his business through e-mail thus the delay. He carries his laptop along with the data card while travelling.

“I think it is the best and user-friendly device. But, issues like this and constant tussle between the company and the government and other issues, I am considering keeping another phone handy in case any problem arise,” says Gurpreet Singh, who runs a shawl business near Subhani Building.

“I love using Facebook on my Blackberry. I especially bought it for this purpose, but I am getting a bit frustrated because of the delays of messages and Internet not working properly,” said Ananya Chowdhary, a BBA student. “As some of my friends have also bought Blackberry, we are in constant touch with them through Blackberry messenger service. But messages are being sent and received after a few hours,” she added.

Manav, who works at a Blackberry store in Shastri Nagar, said they had been getting complaints, but the problem was temporary one. “It would be fixed by the evening.

Jagraon, October 12
The absence of a canteen at the local railway station, one of the oldest in the region, has been a source of discomfort for passengers as well as employees.

The passengers and railway employees feel there is a dire need for starting a canteen at the railway station, which has been lying shut for over three years due to indifference on the part of the higher railway authorities.

In fact, the canteen has been lying closed since 2008 when its last contractor, a woman, left the town and went back to her village. Ever since, no one has turned up to take the canteen on contract.

According to sources, high security fee sought by the railway authorities has been one of the main reasons for people not showing interest in taking the canteen on contract.

The sources say the canteen has been lying closed following a dispute between the railway authorities and the last contractor. The contractor had left the canteen without paying an outstanding amount of Rs 2.5 lakh to the authorities.

“The railway authorities then laid down the condition for those signing the contract for the canteen to first deposit the amount as security fee. This has discouraged people from taking the contract of the canteen,” add the sources.

The Jagraon railway station was built during the British rule and connects the town with places like Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Jaipur and others. The need for a canteen is being felt direly by hundreds of passengers who visit the station daily.

“Things like mineral water, tea, bread, biscuit, cold drink, etc. are readily available at railway stations around the country. However, even mineral water is not available here. The situation got worse some days ago when the water cooler at the station broke down, depriving passengers of cold water,” said Madan Garg, a regular passenger.

And it is not just the passengers who are irked at the absence of a canteen. Railway employees, too, are not happy with the situation.

Over 100 employees working at railway station have expressed displeasure at the absence of a canteen.

In absence of a canteen, the employees have to go out to get things of daily need. The employees are even forced to fetch tea from outside.

“We have been forced to get eatables from outside, which consumes a lot of time. Even tea is arranged from a vendor outside the railway station premises,” said an employee while requesting anonymity.

Station master Jaswinder Kumar admitted that there had been a dispute between the last contractor and the railways.

However, he refused to comment on the reason behind the closure of the canteen, saying he was not aware of the matter as he joined the office after the last contractor had left.

“Any decision on making the canteen functional will be made by the higher authorities,” he added.

Meanwhile, the passengers as well as local railway employees have urged the higher authorities to get the canteen running again the earliest.

Ludhiana, October 12
The inaugural session of the Disaster Management Under Taking Youth aimed at taking up voluntary work for social causes was held today.

The organisation has been formed a team of volunteers to help victims of natural disaster.

As part of the initiative of the organisation, the volunteers will be given special training for assisting the civil authorities in evacuating people affected by floods, providing first aid to victims of accidents, helping firefighting agencies and saving people in all other exigencies and calamities.

The organisation will also train the civilians in assisting the police in controlling the traffic. The volunteers pledged to work towards drug de-addiction.

Ludhiana, October 12
The Punjab Agricultural University's research work on grapes and guava, being conducted in the department of horticulture and at Regional Research Station, Bathinda, has been appreciated at the national level.

Dr P. Murugesa Boopathi, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, presented the Scroll of Appreciation to PAU scientists at XXth Group Workers' Meeting on AICRP-Sub Tropical Fruits, held at Horticultural College and Research Institute, Periyakulam, Theni, Tamil Nadu, from September 29 to October 2.

Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon, PAU Vice-Chancellor, congratulated the horticulturists for the outstanding research work and exhorted them to continue working with zeal and fervour.

Dr PS Aulakh, head, department of horticulture, said that the research on grapes and guava is being carried out under the All-India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Subtropical Fruits. He said that senior horticulturist Dr MIS Gill was the officer In charge of the project whereas Dr NK Arora and Dr Navjot, assistant horticulturists at Ludhiana and Bathinda, respectively, were the co-team members.

Ludhiana, October 12
Dr Baldev Singh Aulakh, professor of urology and transplant surgery, and head of the transplant unit at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) here was named president (elect) of the Urological Society of India (North Zone) at a general body meeting held during the annual conference of the society in Shimla.

The north zone unit of the professional body has about 600 urological surgeons practicing in the states of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Rajasthan.

Aulakh said his main objective would be to promote high standards in the practice of urology and to associate together in one corporate body all the scientific personnel interested in the practice of urology. He stressed upon promoting research in urology so that new therapeutic options could be made available to the patient.

"Another aim is to regulate and raise standard of training and teaching of doctors entering the field of urology by collaborating with national and international urologists and organising continuing urological education programmes," he said.

Ludhiana, October 12
"Seeing Jupiter with three moons on one side another one on the other was a breathtaking experience," said Ishana Jain a class XII student from Kundan Vidya Mandir School, Civil Lines.

Kundan Vidya Mandir in association with Pushpa Gujral Science City, Kapurthala, has organised a four-day night sky watching programme from October 10 in which about 500 students are set to see the moon and the Jupiter up close.

Atam Shroff studying in class XII said that he was excited to see the Moon and Jupiter with a telescope. "It is a great experience," he said.

Munish felt that seeing the stars like that was a celestial experience. "I have read that many astronomers spend days together watching the stars. It felt nice to experience this feeling. The universe is extraordinary. No wonder they spent such long hours," he said.

Another student said that seeing the moon like this has kindled his experience in astronomy, and he might pursue this as a career. Vikram Aditya, studying in class XI was a little disappointed as he expected bigger images and more magnified images. But despite that it was a nice experience he said.

“Because of pollution in Ludhiana, it is difficult to see all the stars even with a telescope”, said Manpreet Singh from the science city. "You can see the Andromeda Galaxy only after 2 am at night, because of the pollution," he said.

He informed that one of the telescopes was classical and the other one being used for seeing the Jupiter was an electronic telescope. These telescopes have 80X magnification," he said.

Students were seen discussing about the galaxies stars and big-bang theory and other facts about the universe.

Ludhiana, October 12
A training workshop for MBA and MCA final year students was organised at Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GNIMT) on psychology of interview and selection. Asit Ghosh, Founder Director of Tuff Trak International, from Kolkata conducted the workshop. He has been conducting such training on confidence building and various other training programmes in the city for a long time. He has conducted training programmes in many sectors including corporate, education, hospitals in various parts of the country.

After the training he said that he is disappointed to see students in the city taking a casual approach towards their careers. "During the workshop, I have found that there are many girls who can be a brilliant aspect to the industry. But I was pained to learn that many of of them are pursuing MBA just to increase their matrimonial values," he said. He added that this attitude is particularly prevelant in the girls in Ludhiana as even in Chandigarh, girls are career oriented.

Ludhiana, October 12
To mark the World Arthritis Day, the Punjab Rheumatology Clinic, in association with the local branch of Indian Medical Association (IMA), today organised a public awareness lecture on arthritis, which was followed by a free check-up camp. IMA president Dr Kulwant Singh inaugurated the camp while Dr Karamvir Goyal, secretary released a booklet on arthritis.

Dr Parshant Aggarwal (immunologist) and Dr Bharti Aggarwal, consultant rheumatologist at Punjab Rheumatology Clinic, examined patients suffering from arthritis.

Parshant Aggarwal said there are misconceptions regarding various rheumatological disorders due to lack of awareness among the common people as well as the medical fraternity. Despite the significant recent advances in the management of arthritic illnesses, a majority of patients suffering from rheumatic disorders fail to get adequate healthcare.

"An analysis of more than a thousand patients suffering from arthritiswas done and more than 90 per cent were receiving only symptomatic treatment in the form of various unlabelled medicines. Alarge number of patients were not under the care of a qualified doctor, posing a significant threat to their health," he pointed out.

Dr Bharti Aggarwal stated that arthritic illnesses consists of much more than pain, and hence optimal management focuses not only on pain relief but basic cause of the disease. With the currently available treatment modalities, most of the patients are able to maintain an active, independent, and near normal lifestyle.

Ludhiana, October 12
Five students from the local Green Land Senior Secondary Public School have been selected for the XVIth National Cluster CBSE Table Tennis Meet to be held at Varanasi from October 13 to 18.

Ramanpreet Kaur, Dilpreet Kaur, Ashima Mehra, Anmol Grewal in the girls’ under-16 category and Jasmeen Kaur in the under-19 section will take part in this championship.

The girls were given a warm send-off at a function on the school premises today.

Rajesh Rudra, chairman-cum-director, chain of Green Land Schools, and Baldeep Pandher, principal of the school, gave their best wishes to the students.