Ludhiana, May 1
Parking-related violations might cost dear to nine prominent commercial establishments, including shopping malls and hotels, along Ferozepur Road, as the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation that if any parking-related violation is proved, the premises concerned should be sealed.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, during a hearing held yesterday, directed the MC to take necessary action within the next 48 hours.

According to a survey undertaken by the commissioners appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, parking-related violations on nine commercial establishments have been established.

These commercial establishments include Hotel Majestic Park Plaza, Ansal Plaza, Hotel Friends Regency, Khushi Ram and Sons, Olivia, Hotel Batra, Hotel A, KP Complex and Jay Sons, all located along Ferozepur Road.

The MC Commissioner, Rakesh Kumar Verma, confirming these Punjab and Haryana High Court orders, said: “Though we have not received the orders in writing yet, our MC officials, who attended the hearing, told me that the court orders were clear. The court has stated that if these commercial establishments fail to make necessary parking arrangements on their own within 48 hours, their premises should be sealed”.

According to information, a city resident, who lives in a house located opposite the gate number 2 of Punjab Agricultural University, had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding the misuse of the Ferozepur Road service lane in front of his house. It was following this case that the court directed the MC to get the service lane cleared of encroachments.

A senior MC official said the court had directed the traffic police not to allow a prominent hotel park its vehicles outside its premises. “The verbal orders are that if any vehicle is found parked outside the premises of this particular hotel, which is located near the District Courts Complex, an FIR regarding contempt of court be registered against him,” said the official.

Today being a holiday, it is likely that the MC officials will be issuing notices to the owners of these commercial establishments tomorrow and further action will be taken accordingly.

“We have also applied for the court’s orders, which we are likely to get by tomorrow,” said MC Commissioner Rakesh Kumar Verma.

Ludhiana, May 1
The Court of Additional Sessions Judge Paramjit Singh has convicted Sangeeta (wife), her mother Amarjit Kaur, father Ram Lubhaya of Heera Nagar, Kakowal Road, Ludhiana, of Arvinder Kumar's murder.

All the accused were ordered to undergo rigorous life imprisonment. They were also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 each.

They had been accused of forcefully administering some poisonous substance to Arvinder at their home, in order to grab his property.

Though the main witness of the prosecution, Subash Chander, the deceased's brother-in-law, had turned hostile, the court relied on the dying declaration made by Arvinder before the police in a hospital.

Initially, a case under sections 307 and 34 of the IPC was registered on November 22, 2010, against the accused at the Basti Jodhewal police station. After Arvinder's death, section 302 of the IPC was slapped on them.

According to the prosecution, the victim, in his statement, had stated that he was married to Sangeeta six months ago. It was alleged by him that he was made to stay in his in-laws' house. His in-laws used to harass him and demand money.

The victim had stated that on November 22, 2010, in the afternoon, his mother-in-law and father-in-law caught hold of his hands and his wife forcibly put celphos tablets in his mouth. He was also made to drink water. After sometime, he started vomiting. His brother-in-law took him to a hospital.

After appreciating the evidence on record and Additional Public Prosecutor Amarjit Singh Buttar’s submissions, the court found all the accused guilty.

Ludhiana, May 1
A one-and-a-half-year-old boy, Rahul, died after he was run over by a tempo on the premises of a factory on RK Road here last evening. Rahul was the only son of his parents.

According to information, Anil Shah, the boy's father, worked at a steel factory at Dholewal while his wife worked at a hosiery unit near the Electricity Board office on RK Road. The couple hailed from Bihar and have been living in the city for the past eight years. The boy accompanied his mother at her workplace.

Last evening, a tempo came to the factory (where the deceased's mother works) to unload some material. The boy was playing on the premises of the factory. While turning the vehicle in back gear, the tempo driver ran the child over. The child was taken to the Christian Medical College and Hospital where he died.

One of the eyewitnesses said the child was taken to the hospital by the tempo driver. When the child was declared dead by the doctors at the hospital, the driver got scared and fled the premises leaving the tempo behind.

Meanwhile, SHO of the Division Number 6 police station Gurdev Singh said the case was being looked into by ASI Ram Singh. "We will nab the driver soon," he said.

Ludhiana, May 1
It seems that the city residents are oblivious to the effects of depleting groundwater, as more than one lakh illegal water supply connections are running here. The MC had even given a chance to residents to get their water supply connections regularised without paying any fine by March 31, but only around 6,250 people have got their connections regularised.

During a survey conducted through GIS mapping, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation had identified around four lakh households in the city, whereas the number of water supply connections in the city is around 2.30 lakh. This shows that there are more than one lakh illegal connections.

When the MC officials started a drive, during which residents were given a chance to get their water supply connections regularised by paying a nominal fee, only around 6,250 residents applied for the same.

This could also be attributed to a lackadaisical approach adopted by some civic officials from the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Cell as the camps were organised with the help of area councillors and very few efforts were actually made by the MC officials to create awareness on the initiative.

Manjit Singh, Additional Commissioner (Technical), O&M Cell, confirmed that only around 6,250 illegal water supply connections had been regularised by March 31.

The officials cite political interference by councillors as the main deterrent behind this illegal water connection menace. “If we issue notices to residents, the councillors as well as other politicians come in their support. That is why we are not able to take action against such violators, who are using water supply without paying for it,” said a senior official of the O&M Cell.

The MC is also mulling over the idea of installing meters on the water supply lines but this proposal is yet to get the approval of the MC General House.

Ludhiana, May 1
With mercury soaring and the paddy season just a few weeks away, the city residents and people elsewhere in the state should brace for drastic power cuts in the days to come. Belying the tall claims of the government functionaries about making Punjab a "power surplus" state, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has given clear indications that it might have to resort to regulatory measures while supplying power to all the categories of consumers to meet the increased demand during the summer as well as the paddy season.

Sources in the PSPCL revealed that the power demand went up steeply with a rise in temperatures and the onset of the paddy-sowing season when the agriculture sector required additional power to run tube-wells.

"The load has already gone up by 10 to 12 per cent, and it will increase further with the release of 25,000-odd new tube-well connections in the near future. Since no new power generation unit has been built, there is no other way to meet the hike in power demand other than to impose power cuts," the sources said.

The PSPCL officials, however, asserted that the present power scenario and that the state was about to witness in the coming days were on anticipated lines, and necessary steps were taken well in time. "The power utility has already singed agreements for the purchase of 12,000 lakh units (LUs) of power from other sources while another 9,500 LUs will be made available through power banking to meet the spurt in the power demand during the summer as well as the paddy season."

But the officials did not completely rule out power cuts in the supply to the domestic sector and regulatory measures on industry and other major power consumers. "Even a minor snag in any of the thermal power plants, which is not uncommon when the plants run to their capacity in the summer, can upset all the calculations and the shortfall in power generation will obviously lead to power cuts of varying durations," the officials stated.

The PSPCL as well as the government were also pinning their hopes on the Monsoon, for which, as of now, there is a favourable forecast. "If the state has timely, sufficient and widespread rains, then the pressure on the power demand will ease and people might not have to bear the brunt of extended power cuts," a top official said.

Ludhiana, May 1
Though District Task Force keeps challaning people for smoking in public and holding awareness lectures on the menace, Ludhiana district is far from getting the tag of “smoke free zone”. The Health Department officials say a shortage of staff and a sizable population of migrants are the main hurdles in getting the “smoke free zone” tag for the district.

The districts Mohali, Ropar, Amritsar and Mansa have been declared “smoke free zones”. Sangrur district will also be declared a smoke-free zone very soon.

District Health Officer Avinash Kumar said: "It is the state government, which prioritises districts to be declared “smoke free zones”. As far as Ludhiana is concerned, the district Health Department has got no deadline for it from the state government. The DHO, Ludhiana, Dr Avinash said: "The reason behind not getting the status of smoke free zone for Ludhiana till now is that we face an acute shortage of staff. One person has to do multiple jobs. Moreover, the population of Ludhiana district is much more than districts like Sangrur and Mansa. Third, there is a large migrant population here. We are doing our best to curb this menace by challaning people and by creating public awareness with the help of other departments."

He said they had issued instructions to all the educational institutions that it was their responsibility to make sure that no tobacco products were sold within the 100 square yards of the institutions.

Ludhiana, May 1
On International Workers’ Day, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) organised a conference at Chatar Singh Park to pay homage to the Chicago martyrs and pledge to fight for the rights of workers

CITU district president Jatinderpal Singh and state general secretary Raghu Nath said the imperialist policies being pursued all over the world had led to a rise in poverty, unemployment and repression, while policies of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation had caused an overall economic slowdown.

Criticising the economic policies of the UPA government, the CITU leaders said the nation had gone bankrupt and the people were being crushed under the burden of malnutrition, rising prices, illiteracy and corruption.

Several other trade unions affiliated to All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), too, held a rally at the bus stand to focus on the exploitation of the working class.

Trade union leaders said the working class had played a glorious role in the freedom struggle and thereafter in building the Modern India. “Workers had waged relentless struggles to get rights they deserved, including an eight-hour duty, job security, right to form unions, minimum wages, provident fund, medical care, retirement benefits and regular revision of wages as per the price index,” said the leaders.

They said it was regrettable that in the past few years all these gains were being reversed causing misery to the toiling masses in the country. This was visible from changes in labour laws in the name of labour reforms which were in fact anti-labour, they said. The speakers demanded that all vacant posts in government, public sector, and in the private sector should be filled on regular basis, and the outsourcing and contract systems should be abolished.

In another May Day conference organised by Karkhana Mazdoor Union, Punjab, and Textile-Hosiery Kamgar Union, Punjab, the Red Flag, symbol of workers’ struggles, was unfurled. The workers took a pledge to continue their battle against exploitation and oppression.

TKMU president Rajwinder, KMU president Lakhwinder and other trade union leaders said the struggle waged in the USA 128 years ago that demanded eight-hour working day played an important role in showing the path to workers at that time. They said presently when only 7 per cent of the workers were getting an eight-hour working day, the message spread by this movement remained relevant.

The Moulder and Steel Workers Union, Northern Railway Mens Union and many other bodies of the workers observed the May Day by expressing solidarity with the struggling working class and taking pledges to safeguard the rights and privileges of the workers.

Ludhiana, May 1
Even as thousands of workers across the city celebrated May Day and took part in rallies and functions organised today, only a few were aware of the significance of the day. For many, still struggling for basic rights, the day held no importance.

Bhushan, a worker at a garment unit said, “It is just another day for us, though it is a holiday. The workers are being made to work for extremely low wages. If workers are unable to meet targets, they are fired and are even denied leaves. There is no job security. Basic facilities like drinking water are like luxuries in our factory.”

A labour union leader, when asked if workers were aware of the importance of the day, candidly admitted that majority of them didn’t.

Another worker, Dina Nath, who was a little aware about the significance of the day, said, “In today’s world, the decision taken by the management is final. The importance of labour unions is almost fading. Workers are exploited, not given proper wages or leaves and also denied increments and dearness allowance. Unions are curbed, and if anybody darer to raise voice is fired from job.”

Ludhiana, May 1
The contractor of the parking lot at the Mini-Secretariat has been asked to thoroughly check vehicles, their registration certificate, chassis number and credentials of the driver, before allowing them inside the lot.

The police reportedly issued a letter in this regard two-three days back, following which the chowki in-charge of the Mini-Secretariat called a meeting with the contractor. The police maintained it was a routine affair and there was nothing to be alarmed about.

An attendant of the parking lot said, "Although it is good to keep a tab on vehicles, it is the duty of the police to check documents as certain visitors refuse to show them to us. Secondly, there is a huge rush of vehicles and if we start checking all the papers, traffic jams would occur outside the parking lot.”

The contractor said they had been asked to keep a record of not only four-wheelers, but two-wheelers as well. “Over 2,000 vehicles come to the Mini-Secretariat everyday, and it is not possible to keep a record of each and every vehicle,” he said.

Police Commissioner Ishwar Singh, however, denied passing any such order. He said random checking of vehicles could be carried out at the Mini-Secretariat.

Ludhiana, May 1
A moderate intensity earthquake rocked the city today. Recorded 5.8 on the Richter scale, tremors were felt at 12.27 pm. It was on April 16 that the city had last felt tremors. On feeling the tremors people moved out in the open.

Anxious parents rushed to schools to bring their children back home, while some enquired over the phone regarding the well-being of their children, said a teacher of a kindergarten school.

“As a safety measure, all the children were taken out of their classrooms,” she said.

“I felt the tremors while at office. The lamp above my desk was shaking. This is for the first time that I have felt an earthquake of such intensity. All the members of our staff rushed out of the office. We were relieved that it caused no harm,” said Ashish Gupta, who works at a bank.

All shopkeepers at the Sarabha Nagar market, too, came out of their shops on feeling the tremors. “It lasted for a few seconds, but was pretty strong. This is for the second time within a month that Punjab has been hit by an earthquake. The last time, tremors were not this strong,” said a shopkeeper.

Mamta, a homemaker from Rajguru Nagar, said she was working in the kitchen when utensils started shaking. “I wasted no time in moving out of the house. It was a terrible experience,” she said. 

Ludhiana, May 1
The Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Gurbachan Singh, on his visit to the city alleged that despite a passage of over 28 years since the 1984 riots, justice had been denied to the Sikh community.

During a press conference here, he said yesterday’s acquittal of Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who he alleged was amongst those responsible for the 1984 incident, had aggravated wounds of Sikhs.

"Rather than assuaging the pain by punishing the guilty, this decision of the Kadkadduma court has aggravated wounds of Sikhs," he said.

He said a meeting of heads of the five Takhts had been called to decide the further course of action for the struggle against this decision, he said.

Meanwhile, members of Youth Akali Dal today burnt Sajjan Kumar’s effigy outside the Mini-Secretariat.

"Victims have been denied justice for all these years. Yet one of the perpetrators of the 1984 massacre, Sajjan Kumar, has been set free," said Ravinderpal Singh, one of the Youth Akali leaders.

Ludhiana, May 1
Harsh Bansal, a 2005-batch IPS officer, has been posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Police here. The orders were issued by the state government today. Gurpreet Singh Toor, meanwhile, was made the new Zonal AIG, CID, Ludhiana.

Bansal had earlier served in the district as the SP, City I, and Additional DCP I from 2008 to 2011. Bansal said he would be joining within a day or two. He said he was hoping to meet expectations of his seniors and residents of Ludhiana. — TNS

Ludhiana, May 1
Second-year students of MSc (Nursing) and Mental Health (Psychiatric nursing), Christian Medical College & Hospital, organised a mental health camp on "promotion of mental health" by putting up a poster exhibition at Government Primary School, Jamalpur.

Dr Tiza Jiwan welcomed the chief guest for the programme, Sunita Aggarwal, Senior Deputy Mayor, Ludhiana, and guest of honour Dr RS Deswal, head of psychiatry department. All the dignitaries in their speech emphasised on Mental Health specially of school children and the importance of early detection and treatment in case of Mental Illnesses.

Poster exhibition was inaugurated by chief guest followed by an educative role play enacted by students. Psychiatric cases such as depression, mental retardation, bipolar disorder, conversion disorder and paranoid behaviour were identified at the camp.

A good response was observed. Public also urged to hold such types of camps frequently on different health problems. — TNS

Sahnewal, May 1
The students and teachers were in for another shock when it was found that the Compulsory Punjabi (Paper-B) of BA-III was the same as last year and that the paper setter did not even bother to change a comma, a semicolon or a full stop, not to talk of changing the grammar portion.

Prof Prabhjit Kaur of AS College, Khanna, said: “We are shocked to find that the same paper as last year has been repeated. The paper setter seemed to be so short of time that he or she did not even bother to go through the syllabi and included Kissa Kavi Damodar in it, though we do not have Kissa Kavis in our syllabus. We have Suffi Kavis.”

“It is the height of callousness. Can a teacher, who is acting as a paper setter, be so casual while setting the paper for the BA final year? The paper of last year has been given in one of the guides and the paper setter took it as it is and sent it to the university to be considered for examinations.”

While the students were on the cloud nine, the teachers were shocked. They had no words to respond to students’ enquiry as to how it happened. Sharuti, a BA final-year student, who took this paper, said: “I have a habit of consulting the ten-year question bank of papers while preparing for my final exams. I had done the same in the case of this paper as well. On the exam day, when I got the paper in my hands, I began to readquestions. On reading one question after the other and realising that the paper had been repeated, my joy simply knew no bounds. What a luck! The same paper which I had solved last night was in front of my eyes.”

“This is really shocking. It shows irreponsible behavior of the paper setter. However, as the paper setter belongs to our fraternity, we had no words to say to students who kept asking as to how did it happen, and if it could happen again in the case of other papers as well,” said a Punjabi teachers.

Earlier, too, it has been learnt that the mathematics paper-II of BA-II was the same as of the previous year, and like this time the paper setter had not bothered to change any of the statements.

“Resultantly, the paper is being re-conducted on May 11 and the university has mentioned the reason for the same to be an ‘administrative’ one,” shared a mathematics teacher.

“The students should submit a written representation countersigned by their teacher in-charges to the Controller Examinations. He will then forward the representation to the department. Before charging the paper setter, we have to ascertain that at what point was this blunder committed. For this, we shall immediately hold s meeting of the undergraduate board of studies and look into the matter closely,” said Dr Sukhdev Singh Sirsa, Chairman, Department of Punjabi, Panjab University, Chandigarh. 

St GDS Convent School

Ludhiana: Labour Day was celebrated with full zeal and vigor on the premises of St GDS Convent School. In the morning assembly, the students praised the almighty with shabad gayan. Speeches were delivered to make the students aware about the importance of Labour Day. Students recited the poems on hard work. Principal deliver a speech and informed the students to respect the helping hands of our school without them one can't do anything in a proper manner.

Guru Nanak International Public School

In order to celebrate the dignity of labour, students of Guru Nanak International Public School, Model Town, presented a small cultural programme on Labour Day on the school campus. The morning assembly was dedicated to the service staff. To make the students aware of the spirit of service with devotion, students were made an important part of the celebrations. Gifts were given among the service staff. School principal applauded the untiring efforts put in by labourers. The celebrations ended up with joyous memories.

Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School

Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, BRS Nagar, Ludhiana, presented a gala function on the occasion of the Labour Day here on Wednesday with floral greetings to the workers. The function kicked off with a speech welcoming the workers and acknowledging their hard work. A prayer dance marked the beginning of the programme followed by entertainment programme specially prepared for the workers of the school. In order to regale the workers, a fun filled game was organised and prizes were given to the workers. The workers were simply overwhelmed and expressed their gratitude towards the school management, teachers and students for their noble endeavour. Sr Christo the principal of the school in her speech focused on the contribution of workers for the successful functioning of the school. She also lauded the commendable efforts of the workers who are indispensable for any institution. The curtain came down with recital of the school anthem.

Bal Bharati Public School

Bal Bharati Public School celebrated Labour Day, an important event in the school calendar, here on Wednesday. The school has always acknowledged and appreciated the contribution of its real workforce, the ancillary staff. The event was designed to forge a better understanding of the primary role and importance of the labour community among students who must learn to respect and appreciate their efforts.

Green Land Sr Sec Public School

Labour Day was observed enthusiastically by the students of Green Land Sr Sec Pubic School. A fancy dress show was put up by the students of grade Class pre-nursery to Class I wherein they came dressed up as different helpers. The main motive was to make them realise that no work should be deemed as high or low and due respect should be given to every profession. It was stressed upon that no great achievement is possible without persistent work. The confidence of the students with which they put forth the significance of each and every profession was worth appreciation.

GMT Public School

World Labour Day was celebrated on here on Wednesday in the premises of GMT Public School. The students displayed their kind gestures by showing their reverence to the helping hands. In the morning assembly, the students were informed about the importance of the Labour Day and the hard work and efforts they put in every walks of life. Morning till evening, the labour class whether gardener, sweeper, watchman or domestic staff work toiling hard. The sweets and other eatables were distributed to the helping hands of the school and they were kindly thanked for their relentless services.

Bhartiya Vidya Mandir

The perky celebrations marked the Labour Day in Bhartiya Vidya Mandir (Udham Singh Nagar branch). The candid efforts of the industrious Bhartiyan care-takers were appreciated. The commendable role played by them in creating the required ambience for the smooth teaching learning process was highly lauded by everyone. The block in charges felicitated them with florid bouquets and prepared enchanting cards for them as a token of gratitude. The students also assisted in arranging the desk and cleaning the classrooms. It was a day of extreme felicity as the fruit of their labour was acknowledged. All were found cheerful and ecstatic while relishing the refreshment.

Green Land Convent School

On the occasion of the Labour Day, an inter-house skit and debate competition was organised at Green Land Convent School. The skits were based on the theme to make the students aware of the importance of "Our Helpers" in routine life. In debate, the students from primary and secondary section expressed their views on the various current topics. Even the tiny-tots from kindergarten showcased the role-play attired as cobbler, driver, doctor, teacher, barber, tailor, milkman, fireman and postman. The competition marked the alliance of elegance and excellence. The school principal, Jyoti Sachdev Pujara expressed her sincere appreciation for the students who worked untiringly and eulogised the teachers for their genuine guidance and cheering efforts. She announced Jyoti House as the winner of inter-house skit competition and Kirti House as the winner of inter-house debate competition.

Sat Paul Mittal School

"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing, for work isn't to make money; you work to justify life." In consonance with the saying, Sat Paul Mittal School acknowledged the great work done by the support staff on 1st May as a part of the Labour Day celebrations. A special assembly was organised to appreciate and honour the commitment and dedication of the support staff, who are an indispensable part of the school community. Through the emphatic speeches and poems in English, Hindi and Punjabi by Saloni Rani Kumar of Class VIII, Manav of Class VII and Aastha of Class IX, the students were apprised with the importance of Labour Day that stirred the soul of one and all present. The management, the staff and the students felicitated the support staff with gifts as a token of appreciation. A tea party was hosted in their honour by the school management. The support staff was overwhelmed by the warm hospitality of the school organisation. The function ended on a pleasant note.

DRV DAV Centenary Public School

Phillaur: DRV DAV Centenary Public School, Phillaur, celebrated Labour Day here on Wednesday. Students of kids’ block enacted a play on the life of class IV employees and transporters to show the importance of their role in the society. Yogesh Gambhir, Principal of the School addressed the students and said we should have dignity of labour every employee has the right to get the respect in his/her department. He thanked all supporting staff for their work in the school and praised the efforts of the students and teachersto present such a wonderful program.

Ryan International School

Dugri: Ryan International School, Dugri, celebrated May Day i.e. Labour day. The day is celebrated all over the world on May 1 to commemorate the social and economic achievement of the labour movement. This day has a historic background of struggle, efforts and achievements of the labour movement that took root in Europe and North America. Students and teachers have organised various fun games for the helpers of the school. Games like book balancing, bouncing ball and basketball activities were organised. Prizes were distributed to all the winners and headmistress distributed gifts among all the helpers.

BCM, Dugri

Labour Day was celebrated in BCM, Dugri with the message, “Labour is the only prayer that nature answers without labour nothing prospers”. The house on duty addressed a highly prosperous assembly to give due respect to the dutiful labourers of the campus who always continue to remain at the back and the call of everybody. A role-play was enacted by the students. The interactive assembly ignited frenzy among the workers and eliminated the feeling of alienation among them.

Fresher’s party

Jagraon: ABC Montessori pre-school, Jagraon, organised a fresher's party to familiarise new students with the old students as well as with new environment. All the students came dressed in beautiful attire. School was decorated well to host the event. Tiny-tots were looking gorgeous while walking on the ramp. In this event, principal crowned Alaina Singh as Miss fresher, Riyanshi Gupta as first runners-up and Guntaniya kaur as second runners-up.

Oath taking ceremony

Mandi Ahmedgarh: Gurpreet Singh, Harpreet Kaur, Pargat Singh, Manmeet Kaur, Jashanpreet Kaur, Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Kaur, Gurnoor Kaur, Ravinder Singh and Kamalpreet Kaur; heads of various houses and teams of Nankana Sahib Senior Secondary School Kilaraipur led students of the organisations during oath taking ceremony held on the school premises here on Wednesday. 
— Tribune Reporters

Ludhiana, May 1
Gurbir Singh, president of Guru Nanak Girls College Trust, Dr Mahal, husband of Dr Charanjit Mahal, Principal of GNG College, and one of the contractors of the college, Deepak, were summoned by the ADCP II, Bhupinder Singh Sidhu, yesterday in connection with the recent controversy generated at the institution. Though two more persons, Vijay Pratap and Surjit Singh, were also summoned by the police, they could not make it.

According to information, certain important documents of the Institution had been taken in its custody by the police to "study" the matter in detail. The police has summoned the persons again on May 2 and told them to get documents pertaining to admissions.

Talking to The Tribune, Bhupinder Singh Sidhu said they had called Gurbir Singh, Deepak and Dr Mahal and recorded their statements. On being asked if the Secretary Prithipal Singh, too, had been summoned, the ADCP II said he was called separately and his statements, too, were recorded.

It may be mentioned here that GNG College courted a controversy recently when the secretary of the Trust, Prithipal Singh Grewal, levelled allegations that a major "admission-scam" worth over Rs 35 crores had been perpetrated at the institution in connivance with the President, Principal and certain staff of Guru Nanak Girls College. Following these allegations, the President of the Trust, Gurbir Singh, had held an interaction with the media. He had said the allegations were baseless and instead the Secretary was "intimidating" the women staff members and compelling them to sign affidavits against the Principal/President and others. The President, Principal, staff and students of the college had submitted a memorandum to the Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh, following which a three-member special investigation team was constituted to look into the matter. Headed by Nilambri Jagdale, the SIT members include Bhupinder Singh Sidhu and Deepak Hilori, SHO Sarabha Nagar.

Ludhiana, May 1
The Rural Veterinary Officers' Association (RVOA), Punjab, celebrated the World Veterinary Day (WVD) here today in form of a technical session. The theme of the WVD for this year was "Vaccination to protect and prevent". Dr Naresh Rakha, senior scientist, LLR University, Hissar, delivered the special lecture on the theme. He called upon vets and medicos to unite for one health campaign.

Dr Aroma Oberoi, HoD, Department of Microbiology, CMC, described in detail the prevalence and diagnosis of the zoonotic diseases. The zoonotic diseases are the diseases that are transmitted from animals to human beings. Dr SNS Randhawa, Director Research, GADVASU, Ludhiana, was the chief guest on this occasion. Earlier, Dr Navdeep Singh Khinda, president, RVOA, while welcoming the guests and delegates, congratulated the RVOs on the WVD and completion of their two years in regular service.

Dr Anil Sethi and Dr Harmanpreet Singh spoke on the work done by the RVOs in Punjab during the session 2012-13 and also discussed the demands of the RVO association. The RVO association also honoured Dr Amit Mahajan, Asst. Commissioner (G) Barnala. He is one of the veterinarians to have recently joined the PCS executive. Dr Indereet Singh, Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry, Ludhiana; Dr Sarabjit Singh Sikka, HoD, Department of Animal Nutrition, GADVASU, Ludhiana; Dr Jeevan Gupta and Dr Abdul Majid were prominent among those present.

Ludhiana May 1
It may surprise you that contract farmers are offering more money than the estimated profit to hire per acre land for one season of each wheat and paddy. It has been observed that farmers have been paying Rs 40,000 to 45,000 to hire one-acre land for one year.

As per the data obtained from the economics department of Punjab Agricultural University, a farmer can get approximately Rs 29,500 gross income from one acre wheat crop in a season. After paying approximately Rs 11,880 on seeds, fertilisers, plant protection, irrigation, human Labour, harvesting and threshing charges, transportation and marketing costs, tractor hours and interest on variable costs farmers get net profit of approximately 17,620.

Same in paddy cultivation, in which one can earn Rs 37,120 as gross income. But after spending money on seeds, manure, pesticides, weedicides and fungicides, irrigation, human labour, harvesting, transportation and market charges farmer can get Rs 24,797.

As per the statistics, one can earn approximately Rs 42,000 from one-acre land for one year.

Dr Amarjit Singh Bhullar, a senior economist at Punjab Agriculture University, said, "As the statistics reveal, farmers have to work for 135 hours to grow the paddy which costs Rs 4,050 and one have to labour for 42 hours for wheat crop which costs Rs 1,050. Farmer of Punjab are hardworking so they work in the fields on by own and save the labour charges.

Dr Jagroop Singh Sidhu, a market expert at the PAU said, "Farming by hiring the land is profitable for those who are hard working and having all the machines and tools for the cultivation. This practice also ruins the farmers who do this without having vision." Dr Mann Singh Toor, another economist said, "Farmers feel proud by cultivating huge land. It helps their matrimonial and other social issues."

Ludhiana, May 1
A postage stamp on Hari Singh Nalwa was released by the postal department. The residents are appreciating the move as Nalwa was a towering personality and instrumental in the spread of Sikh empire in early 19th century. He is known for his conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Multan, Kashmir, Attock, Peshawar and Jamrud.

Nalwa is said to have been a brave soldier. He was born in Gujrawala, now in Pakistan in 1791. He died in 1837. He was the commander in chief of the Khalsa, army of the Sikh empire.

Nalwa was responsible for expanding the front of Sikh empire to beyond the Indus River right up to the mouth of the Khyber Pass.

"It is good that a postage stamp of someone from Punjab and that of a brilliant soldier who expanded the boundaries of Sikh empire," said Vijaypreet, a philately enthusiast.

"Postage stamp on personalities from Punjab are always heartening. Though I am not much into philately yet I make it a point to collect stamps on Punjab and personalities from the state," said Rohit, a resident.

"The stamp would be part of my collection on the theme of Sikh personalities. I have been collecting postage stamps on the theme of Sikhism and Sikh Personalities for months," said another philately enthusiast. — TNS

Ludhiana, May 1
Eight kgs of poppy husk was recovered from Surjit Kaur, alias Seeto, wife of Babu Singh, a resident of Passi Nagar, Phillanwal, police station, Dugri.

The police has registered a case under Sections 15-61-85 of the NDPS Act against the accused.

The police sources said while patrolling at Chhabra Colony, Daad village, Surjit was stopped and 8 kgs of poppy husk was recovered from her possession.

The police has started the investigation expects to make more recovery.