Ludhiana, August 21
Last night was no less than a "nightmare" for the staff of Lord Mahavir Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, when the Director, Health Services, Punjab, Dr Ashok Nayyar, reached the hospital around midnight for random checking. It was around 11.45 pm when Nayyar arrived at the hospital. He stayed there for about an hour and a half and found many shortcomings. The Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, Dr Subhash Batta, also accompanied him during the checking.

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Nayyar said,"I observed that doctors were not present and were being consulted on the phone. There were a few patients in the Emergency operation theatre, whose investigation reports were pending. The doctor concerned came for a round in the evneing but did not bother about these reports. Patient care and cleanliness were also not up to the mark."

The Director said, "There was no stock of medicines. Patients complained that they had not been getting medicines from the hospital and had to buy these from outside. I issued instructions to the Senior Medical Officer of the hospital, Dr Rajkumar Karkra, to ensure that these shortcomings were removed.

The Director visited the Civil Hospital, Samrala, this morning. He said, "Some shortcomings were found there. Although patients were getting medicines, general cleanliness in wards and toilets was poor." The autoclove (used for sterilisation of equipment) in the operation theatre was not in a hygienic condition. The Director said, "Cleanliness and hygienic conditions need to be improved there. At both civil hospitals, I observed that "record keeping" was poor. Nurses also need to pull up their socks."

The Ludhiana Civil Surgeon, Dr Subhash Batta, said, "This was a routine checking by the Director. He has issued instructions to improve the health services."

Ludhiana, August 21
While building bylaws are being allegedly violated by way of unauthorised construction or change of land use (from residential to commercial) in the mega city, the municipal corporation has reportedly turned a blind eye to it.

Information provided by the building branch of the MC under the RTI Act to Rohit Sabharwal and Arvind Sharma, president and secretary, respectively, of the Council of RTI Activists, indicates that during the nearly year-long tenure of the erstwhile Municipal Town Planner, Raj Kumar, who has since been suspended, no list of buildings checked for violation of building bylaws in all four zones is available.

In response to an application submitted by the Council of RTI Activists, the Assistant Town Planner (Headquarters) of the MC has stated on record that no information regarding buildings inspected by the erstwhile Municipal Town Planner is available with the building branch.

Raj Kumar was placed under suspension by the Local Government Department last month for allegedly sitting over pending cases of change of land use (CLU), and since then the post is lying vacant with the result that there is no supervisory official over at least six ATPs deployed in four zones of the city and at the headquarters of the civic body.

Sources in the MC said unabated construction of residential and commercial buildings in the city without approved building plans and unauthorised change of land use had become a lucrative proposition for officials and field staff of the building branch.

"The field staff descend upon any building that is being constructed in violation of the norms; deals are struck and the go-ahead is given to the owners of the building while the MC suffers a huge loss of revenue by way of fee for approval of building plans and CLU charges," the sources said.

Senior MC officials attribute the poor enforcement of building bylaws more to political interference than laxity on the part of supervisory officials.

"There are endless instances when councillors, legislators or even ministers interfere in the work of enforcement of building bylaws and literally provide protection to those violating the building norms," a civic official said.Municipal Town Planner. 

Ludhiana, August 21
On the eighth day of the strike, students of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) beat canisters outside Thapar Hall. According to office-bearers of the Punjab Agricultural University Students Association (PAUSA), they resorted to beating canisters during the protest as the university authorities have turned a deaf ear to their demands.

The number of students protesting outside the Vice Chancellor's office was less in the morning due to Raksha Bandhan.

The students also organised a rally in the afternoon and raised slogans against the authorities.

Karanvir Singh, vice-president of PAUSA, said, "The authorities wanted that the students should admit that they were drunk on July 22. How can students admit this since they had not taken liquor. We will not call off the strike till the university allows the rusticated students to attend classes." Sharanbir Singh, president of PAUSA, said, "The authorities have been pressuring the students to attend their classes. We also want the classes to resume, but until they respond to our demands, we will continue the strike."

Resume classes, PAU asks students

In a pess note, PAU has justified the rustication of one undergraduate student and the cancellation of admission of two postgraduate students of the College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology stating that they were found lying on the roadside in an inebriated condition in the wee hours of July 22.

The PAU administration took a serious note of this act of indiscipline and misconduct as the university is known for its "highest accreditation standards and discipline". The students and their parents met the Vice-Chancellor and requested him to take a lenient view since their career was at stake.

The Vice-Chancellor advised the students to submit a written apology, admitting their fault and assuring that they would not indulge in such activities in the future.

However, the students were adamant and went on a strike.

The PAU administration is in constant touch with the parents and the students to resolve the issue. The agitating students are being advised to call off the strike and resume their classes. 

Ludhiana, August 21
It was an emotional day for prisoners and their sisters, with the latter queuing up to tie the sacred thread on the wrists of their brothers on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.

Since the break of dawn, women from across the state were seen queuing up outside Central Jail on the Tajpur road to tie rakhis on the wrists of their incarcerated brothers.

Prison officials had made elaborate arrangements for the prisoners' family members. Punjab Minister for Jails Swarn Singh Phillaur allowed sisters to tie the "thread of love" on the wrists of their imprisoned brothers. The prisoners were given ample time to sit with their relatives. Teary-eyed prisoners were seen comforting their sobbing sisters while the latter were tying rakhis on their wrists. A majority of the women were reluctant to pose for a photograph for fear of social embarrassment.

"Ever since my brother has been jailed, residents of the locality often make fun of me by calling me a criminal's sister. If a photo is published, the whole town will begin taunting me," said a woman, who was standing with her daughter while waiting for her turn to tie a rakhi.

Inside the prison, brothers were reassuring their teary-eyed sisters that they would celebrate the next Raksha Bandhan with the family at home.

"On festivals such at Raksha Bandhan, I miss my family even more. I regret the moment when I committed the crime and landed in jail. Imprisonment teaches you a lot. You understand the importance of your relatives on occasions such as Raksha Bandhan and Karva Chauth," said a prisoner.

Central Jail Superintendent SP Khanna said: "Special arrangements were made for the occasion and ample time was given to prisoners and thier sisters for interaction." 

Sahnewal, August 21
After every spell of rain, commuters using underpasses here have to suffer for a good number of days. They have been at the receiving end of the apathy of the National Highways Authority of India in maintaining these underpasses, which remain waterlogged for a long time in the rainy season.

Most of the underpasses on the NH-1 are in a pathetic shape. These have big potholes, eroded bitumen layers and uneven surface at most of the places. These become impassable whenever it rains. The commuters' plight have been highlighted in the columns several times, but to no avail.

“We have to go through a real hell. We have been surviving in such sordid conditions for the past many months but no authority has ever tried to address our problem. Leave aside the issue of muddy and uneven roads in these underpasses, every time it rains, these turn into pools. Commuters pass these waterlogged underpasses putting their lives to risk,”said a villager of Kanech.

“There are reports almost daily of two-wheeler drivers or a cyclists getting hurt while crossing these underpasses. Many vehicles get stuck in the potholed roads, block the way for others,” said a villager of Pawa Khagat.

“We simply do not understand what to do and where to go. Nobody is ready to listen to us. The government is entirely oblivious to the difficulties we are facing due to its faulty policies on privatisation of road infrastructure,” said a villager of Jugiana.

Meanwhile, the Director, NHAI, said he had already talked to the contractor about all the problems arising out of the consistent rain in the area. “He is trying his level best to do the needful at the earliest. Since it starts pouring in suddenly, the work of repair and construction often gets delayed,” he added.

Ludhiana, August 21
Raksha Bandhan, the festival of love and respect between brothers and sisters, was celebrated with full enthusiasm in the city today. Sisters tied rakhis on the wrists of their brothers and prayed for their wellbeing, while brothers blessed their sisters with love and gifts.

Residents said this festival was a great way to celebrate love between brothers and sisters.

“There is a special charm about meeting your brothers or sisters on this special day,” said Naina Sehgal, a resident of the city.

“I remain in touch with my brother on phone, or meet him a few times in a year. But on this auspicious occasion, we make it a point to meet and celebrate Raksha Bandhan,” she said.

Some women also tied 'bhabhi rakhi' or 'lumba rakhi' to their sister-in-laws after tying rakhis on their brothers' wrists.

“Sister-in-law is a part of brother’s life, so why not tie rakhi on her wrist as well. Since I got to know about the tradition of “bhabhi rakhi”, I have always tied it on my bhabhi’s wrist,” said another resident.

Khamano, August 21
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will lay the foundation stone of the Khamano Administrative Complex next month. The new complex would be constructed at a cost of Rs 9.5 crore.

Giving other details, Justice Nirmal Singh (retd), MLA, Bassi Pathana, said the tendering process for this project was completed. He said the work of the Judicial-cum-Residential Complex being established with a cost of Rs 13 crore at Khamano was 60 per cent complete.

The MLA said the Khamano Civil Hospital had been upgraded and vacant post of doctors had been filled. He also promised to give a grant of Rs 1 lakh each to the 24 unanimously elected panchayats of his constituency by the end of this month.

He called upon women to form “Mahila Mandals” at the village level, which would be provided financial assistance by the government for their works. Earlier addressing a function organised to facilitate newly appointed chairperson Kulwinder Kaur Raipur and vice-chairperson Dashan Singh Billa Manelly of the Khamano Block Samiti, Charanjit Singh Atwal, Speaker, Punjab Legislative Assembly, announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for the development of villages from his discretionary quota. The grant will be given to the chairperson. — OC

Ludhiana, August 21
Automotive body repair and automotive paint trades and Toyota technical programme would be incorporated in ITI Ludhiana. The Technical Education and Industrial Training Department today signed an MoU with Toyota Kirloskar Motor in Chandigarh.

An official spokesperson for the Technical Education and Industrial Training Department said the department had earlier also signed an MoU with Toyota Kirloskar Motor for starting motor mechanic vehicle trade in ITI Ludhiana.

He said under this agreement, all students doing a course in motor mechanics were being imparted up-to-date training in the field. The students had been offered jobs by the dealers of Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

He said in the first phase, the training would commence in ITI Ludhiana and Lalru. In the second phase, it would start in the entire state.

B. Purushartha, Director, Technical Education and Industrial Training, Najubudeen, Deputy Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Manish Kansal, Senior Officer, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Daljit Kaur Sidhu, Additional Director, Technical Education and Industrial Training, Rupinder Singh, Deputy Director, Manoj Kumar, Deputy Director, Jasvir Singh, Deputy Director, Amarjit Singh, Assistant Director, Baljinder Singh, Principal, ITI Ludhiana, and Jaswant Singh, Principal, ITI Lalru, were present on the occasion.

Ludhiana, August 21
“I eagerly wait for the release of postage stamps on the day mentioned on the philately calendar released by the Postal Department. However, it is very frustrating when the stamps are not released as per the schedule,” says Mukesh a philately enthusiast.

In the past few months, most of the postage stamps that find a mention in the philately calendar have not seen the light of the day.

“Whenever I ask officials at the post office, I am told that the philately bureau has not sent the postage stamp,” he said.

The release of most of the postage stamps is often postponed. “I was waiting for postage stamps on Headgears of India that was to be released a couple of months ago, but its release has been postponed. Similar is the case with stamps on Stepwells of India and Gaiety Heritage Cultural Complex,” said Sanjeev, another city-based philatelist.

“Another postage stamp on musicians is awaited. But, I have no idea when it will be released,” said another city-based philately enthusiast.

“It is disappointing for philatelists. Not only for the hobbyists, but also the delay in the release of postage stamps affects those who make a living out of trading and exchanging these,” he said.

“India Post is a government department. The philately calendar released by the department should be reliable,” says Rohit, another philately enthusiast.

“The department should not mention the date or the month of the release. And if it is mentioned, then stamps must be released as per the schedule,” he said.

“The department must ensure that postage stamps reach the post office on or before the date of the release,” said Mukesh. 

Ludhiana, August 21
The Additional Deputy Commissioner (D), Ludhiana, has warned the officials of private banks that if they do not meet the targets fixed for the government-sponsored schemes for the disbursement of credit to the poor and the downtrodden, appropriate action will be taken against them and the matter will also be taken up with the RBI.

The ADC (D), Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar, while presiding over a meeting of the District Level Review Committee/District Credit Consultative attended by the district coordinators of the banks and officials of the other departments/agencies, disclosed that the banks of the district had disbursed Rs 4,662 crore to the agriculture and other priority sectors against a target of Rs 3,259 crore during the quarter ending June 30, 2013. She also said for agriculture and allied activities, Rs 2,278 crore was disbursed against a target of Rs 1,557 crore.

A disbursement of Rs 1,486 crore was made against a target of Rs 1,082 crore to the industrial sector, comprising MSME segments and large-scale industries. Brar instructed the officials to give priority to sanctioning and disbursing DRI loans for the uplift of the poor and the downtrodden.

The Punjab and Sind Bank is running the Rural Self-Employment Training Institute at Master Tara Singh College Complex to impart training to children below the poverty line, said the ADC (D).

Brar said training for dairy farming, computer (hardware and software), stitching and tailoring, electrical repair, motor winding and boutique is imparted free of cost. The training institute has imparted training to 1351 beneficiaries, of whom 792 beneficiaries have got employment. She also stated that the Punjab and Sind Bank is running the financial literacy and credit counselling centres for the benefit of the public.

The ADC (D) appealed to the people to ensure that their Aadhaar cards were linked with their bank accounts, so that the subsidy on LPG cylinders and other government schemes can be credited to their bank accounts. She directed the bank officials to give due publicity to this scheme by organising camps.

Brar said under the Swaranjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), different departments have constituted 1,335 self-help groups, of which 763 groups have taken loans from banks. She said the Dairy Development Department has financed 52 small dairy units and 18 commercial dairy units with a loan of Rs 607 lakh. The meeting was attended among others by Jagjit Singh Bhalla, Zonal Manager, Punjab and Sind Bank, Ludhiana; and LK Jojra, representative of the RBI.

Ludhiana, August 21
Two social organisations have slammed the city police for its failure to crack the blind rape and murder case of an eight-year-old girl.

Varinder Gagat, president of Dr BR Ambedkar Jan Kalyan Morcha, said it had been over four months since the girl was abducted from New Shastri Nagar and later on May 11 her mutilated body was found from a vacant plot in New Shakti Nagar near Jodhewal Basti. However, the police has failed to crack the case.

Chanderkant Chadha, president of the Action Against Corruption, said the victim's family had been kept in the dark and they had not been informed abut the development in the case.

Varinder Gagat said they would stage a protest if the police did not speed up the probe.

Ludhiana, August 21
"Give us some more pamphlets, we will distribute these among our acquaintances," pleaded a villager to one of the volunteers of an NGO, Plan India, which has started an awareness campaign in collaboration with National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in rural areas in the district.

The campaign, which was kicked off on August 16 in some blocks of the district, is turning out to be a big hit, according to Sanjay Kaul, district resource person of Plan India. "Today, we exhausted all the pamphlets and have ordered for more. Female sex workers are making full use of the campaign. Although the campaign was formally launched on August 16, we had started our person-to-person interaction in April this year. During the past five months, we came across 100 suspected HIV positive cases in Ludhiana district. We asked them to visit the Integrated Centre for Testing and Counselling (ICTC) centres for testing and counselling. However, none of them was found HIV positive except two, who got themselves tested privately. We are convincing them to get themselves tested at an ICTC centre also."

"Suspected HIV positive patients used to complain that counsellors at ICTC centres did not entertain them properly. I brought this to the notice of the District AIDS Preventive and Care Unit In charge, Dr US Sooch, who sent an email to all 20 ICTC centres in this regard and got the issue resolved," said Kaul.

He said people belonging to the high risk group (people who take drugs with injections) usually shied away while discussing the issue. We came across some persons in Sidhwan Bet, Payal, Sudhar and Manopur blocks who were not aware that treatment is provided free of cost at ART (anti-retroviral therapy) centres.

The campaign aimed at making the rural public aware about AIDS and its preventive measures. Kaul said rural people were being made aware about AIDS through village-based link workers and supervisors of the NGO.

Ludhiana and Amritsar are the first two districts in the state where this campaign has been launched by this NGO and NACO.

Ludhiana, August 21
Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, IPS, has been posted as DIG/Ludhiana Range with additional charge of Cyber Crime, Punjab Chandigarh. He has replaced MF Farooqui, who is now DIG BSF. 

Ludhiana, August 21
Mystery shrouds the death of a 14-year-old maid, whose body was found hanging from a ceiling fan at a house in Punjab Mata Nagar near Pakhowal Road here today. The victim has been identified as Kanchan.

The house, where the incident took place, belongs to Kiranjit Kaur, a clerk in the district transport office. Manjinder Singh, Kiranjit Kaur's husband, said the incident came to light when the family returned home after visiting relatives in Noormahal near Nakodar. He informed the girl's parents and the police.

ASI Joginder Singh of the Sarabha Nagar police station said the police had sent the body to the Civil Hospital for a postmortem.

It is learnt that Kanchan had returned to Kiranjit Kaur's house early in the morning after celebrating Raksha Bandhan with her family. Varinder and Sunita, Kanchan's parents, alleged that their daughter was murdered by her employers and her body hanged from a ceiling fan to make it appear like a suicide. 

Ludhiana, August 21
Narinder Singh, in charge of the Raghunath Enclave Chowki, and a Head Constable were arrested today, while the SHO, PAU, Paramdeep Singh, was transferred after the SIT formed to probe the case of custodial torture and illegal confinement of a nine-year-old boy submitted an action-taken report in the matter.

A case was registered against ASI Narinder Singh and Head Constable Harnek Singh. The police arrested the duo and produced it before court, which remanded them in police custody for a day today.

SHO, PAU, Paramdeep Singh also faced action and was transferred as additional SHO, Kotwali.

Sub-Inspector Gurveer Singh has been appointed as the SHO, PAU. Head Constable Harnek Singh had illegally detained the nine-year-old boy on August 17 and had tortured him to "accept that he had stolen money from his friend's house". 

Ludhiana, August 21
Taking advantage of rumours about the Kala Kachha gang, an adopted son allegedly killed his parents with a sword at Chakar village in Jagraon and concocted a robbery story to hoodwink the police. The victims have been identified as Avtar Singh (45) and Veerpal Kaur (40).

The incident came to light last night when Palwinder Singh, the adopted son of the duo, raised the alarm that members of the Kala Kachha gang had struck at the house.

Villagers rushed to the house and were shocked to find Avtar Singh and Veerpal Kaur's bodies lying in a pool of blood.

Soon, the police also reached the spot. Palwinder Singh told the police that members of the Kala Kachha gang had killed his parents.

However, the police found loopholes in his version and arrested him. According to an official, the house was locked from inside, while Palwinder claimed that the robbers entered the house from the main door.

During a search of the house, the police found Palwinder's blood-stained night suit. A sword was also recovered from the house. Since Avtar Singh and Veerpal Kaur had no child, the couple had adopted Palwinder, Avtar Singh's sister's son.

Residents of the village said Palwinder was provided with the best of education and other facilities by Avtar Singh and Veerpal Kaur.

However, of late Avtar Singh and Palwinder were at loggerheads over several issues.

Sources said Palwinder wanted to marry his cousin, a mother of two children, but Avtar Singh was against it. Palwinder wanted a division of property, but Avtar Singh had made it clear that until he was alive, there would be no division of the property.

The police suspects that last night Palwinder had a heated argument with Avtar Singh and Veerpal Kaur. In a fit of rage, he pulled out a sword lying in the cupboard and attacked Avtar Singh and Veerpal Kaur.

SSP (Rural) Ashish Choudhary said a murder case under Section 302 of the IPC had been registered against Palwinder. 

Couple was planning a child through IVF

Jagraon, August 21
The Jagraon police has booked seven persons, including a bank manger, a commission agent and a field officer, for getting loan by submitting forged documents to a bank. The accused have been identified as commission agent Gurjit Singh, bank manger Gurbachan Singh, field officer Jaipal Yadav, Balvir Singh, alias Lucky, Ranjit Singh, a resident of Malak village, Binder Singh, a resident of Kothe Parmesher, and lambardar Budh Singh.

According to Sandip Vadera, SHO, NRI Police Station, Jagraon, the case has been registered on the complaint of an NRI, Santokh Singh. According to the complainant, Harjeet Singh, a local resident, had been cultivating his 47 kanal 13 marla agricultural land on a contract basis. The complainant alleged that the accused persons got the loan sanctioned by submitting the papers of his land.

Sandip Vadera said during investigation, the police found that Gurjeet Singh, a commission agent, got the loan of Rs 25 lakh by fraudulently showing Balvir Singh Mulanpuri as NRI Santokh Singh at Oriental Bank, Jagraon. Earlier, Balvir Singh opened an account in the same bank by posing himself as Santokh Singh and the commission agent gave his assurance in the bank for the new account.

According to the police, the accused, Gurjeet Singh, made a fake driving licence and a voter identification card on the name of Balvir Singh with the help of Balvir Singh Lucky, Binder Singh and Ranjit Singh.

“The manger of the bank, Gurbachan Singh, and the field officer, Jaipal Singh, were also involved in this fraud,” said Sandip Vadera. 

Ludhiana, August 21
Bikramjit Singh, a trainee at the training centre of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), is going to participate in the long jump event in the Asian School Athletics Championship, which is scheduled to be held in Malaysia from September 17 to 24.

It's the first international event for Bikramjit. A student of plus two at Nav Bharti Public School, Bikramjit has been practising hard for the last four years.

In the last three years, he had practised under the guidance of his Coach Sukhdev Singh Pannu at the SAI centre. He had won gold medal in Nation School Games 2012-13 by leaping a distance of 7.31 metres. Earlier, he also leaped a distance of 7.33m in state school games and won gold medal. Bikramjit has also participated in Junior National Athletic Championship in Lucknow last year and won silver medal by jumping a distance of 6.95 metres.

This year, he won another gold medal in North Zone Athletic Championship by jumping 7.21 metres.

Sukdev Singh Pannu said: "He is a very committed player and has good potential. We hope that he will achieve name and fame in the future. He is in a good form and we are expecting a medal in the Asian School Athletics Championship from him".

"I have evaluated my performance in the previous competitions, which is good and satisfactory. I am expecting gold medal in this championship in Malaysia," said Bikram. 

Ludhiana, August 21
In a first for Punjab and the country, a prize money of nearly Rs 10 lakh will be awarded for an inter-school championship to be organised by the Punjab Rifle Shooting Association (PRSA) at Gobind College, Narangwal, Ludhiana district, from August 23 to 25.

A cash prize of Rs 21,000 will be given to the winners while the second and third places would have a prize of Rs 15,000 and Rs 11,000 respectively, besides medals.

Around 200 students representing 90 schools are expected to participate in this championship. The board and lodging arrangements would be made by the government.

Disclosing this here today, a spokesman for the government said rifle shooting as a sport would be given due importance and world-class infrastructure would be created for this sports in the state.

"The PRSA would set up shooting ranges in Amritsar, Bathinda, SAS Nagar Mohali and Ludhiana and similar infrastructure would be created at other places also," added the spokesperson.

Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, PWD Minister, Punjab, will inaugurate the championship while Bikram Singh Majithia, Revenue Minister and president of the PRSA, along with Punjab Education Minister Sikhandar Singh Maluka would be the chief guests on the concluding day.

Renowned shooter, Ronjan Sodhi, Arjuna Award recipient, would interact with the participants on the concluding day. 

Ludhiana, August 21
Bharatiya Vidya Mandir (BVM) Senior Secondary School, Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, and the hosts Amrit Indo-Canadian Academy began their campaign with hard-fought victories in the Inter-School Zonal Football Tournament (boys u-19), PAU Zone, being organised by the district Education Department at Ladhian village, near here, today.

In the inaugural match, the BVM lads outperformed SDP Om Parkash Senior Secondary School 3-1. The match was decided in a tiebreaker as the two sides had remained goalless in the stipulated period.

In the tiebreaker, the BVM players kept their composure and found the target thrice while SDP Om Parkash School struck once.

Deepanshu Prashar, Sawan and Saurav scored for the winning side while Harish reduced the margin for SDP OM Parkash School.

In other matches, Amrit Indo Canadian Academy fought it tooth and nail to overpower GGN Public School, Rose Garden, Ludhiana, 3-2; Government Model Senior Secondary School, PAU, 1-0 while Kundan Vidya Mandir blanked Eving Christian School 2-0 to advance into the next round.

Ludhiana, August 21
Fortysix aspirants turned up for the selection trials conducted by the Ludhiana District Cricket Association at Arya College here today.

These trials were held to select the Ludhiana senior team for the Punjab State Inter-District Cricket Tournament for the Katoch Shield, which will start on August 26 at different venues across the state.

Vinod Chitkara, honorary general secretary of the association, said the selection committee, headed by Chaman Lal Malhotra, has Sham Lal Gupta, Ankur Kakkar, Dinesh Puri and Pawan Pandey as members. "The names of selected probables will be released tomorrow," he added.

The selected boys have been advised to report to former Punjab Ranji player, Ankur Kakkar, at the Arya College ground at 4 pm on August 23.