Ludhiana, November 14
A 40-year-old property dealer was killed in a head-on collision between an SUV and a tractor-trailer on Canal Road near Raghunath Enclave late last night.

The deceased has been identified as Chintu Khurana, a resident of South City. Chintu, along with his family, had gone to meet his brother Arvinderpal Singh at the latter's residence on Pakhowal Road. While he was returning along with his wife and two daughters at around 1 am, their SUV collided with a sand-laden tractor-trailer near Raghunath Enclave. The tractor was coming from the Barewal side.

According to the police, Chintu was seriously injured in the mishap. His brother Arvinderpal Singh, who was following Chintu in a separate car, took Chintu to a private hospital on Ferozepur Road, where doctors declared him dead.

Chintu's wife and daughters escaped with minor injuries. On Arvinderpal Singh's complaint, the police has registered a case against the tractor driver, who is yet to be identified. The police has impounded the tractor-trailer.

Harinderpal Singh, in charge of the Raghunath Enclave police post, said, "The tractor driver managed to escape from the spot. A case has been registered against him and efforts are on to nab him."

Ludhiana, November 14
A 32-year-old man was found murdered in the fields near the Gill bypass this morning. The deceased has been identified as Parmod Kumar, a resident of Bille Da Vehra in the Partap Chowk area.

According to police sources, a passerby noticed the body lying in the fields this morning. The police was informed, which reached the spot.

Amandeep Singh, SHO of the Sadar police station, said it appeared the person was murdered last night and his body dumped in the fields. The victim was killed with sharp weapons.

A native of Mahendergarh in Uttar Pradesh, Parmod had been residing in the city for the past few years. He used to work in a scooter parts manufacturing factory.

Parmod's body bore several injury marks. The police has sent the body to the Civil Hospital for a postmortem.

"Our team visited Bille Da Vehra, where Parmod used to live. We are investigating the case from all angles. A case has been registered under Section 302 of the IPC," the Station House Officer said.

Ludhiana, November 14
A team of the Health Department today seized 58 quintals of vanaspati ghee after its due date of expiry from JSM Distributors at Hussainpura village. The firm is a distributor of JMD Oil Private Company Limited, Gujarat, which manufactures vansapati ghee in the name of Good Health Brand.

Disclosing this, Food Safety Officer Manoj Khosla said, "The distributor used to sell vanaspati ghee after its expiry date by pasting new labels of JMD Oil Private Company Limited, Gujarat. We have seized 58 quintals of vanaspati ghee along with several labels."

He said Anoop Singh and Inderjeet Singh, who were present at the firm, had been handed over to the Lahowal police. A written complaint had been sent to the police for registering an FIR against the distributor.

The Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, Dr Subhash Batta, said, "The team included food safety officers Harpreet Kaur and Manoj Khosla, and the District Health Officer, Dr Abnash Kumar.''

Kanwaljeet Singh, SHO, Ladhowal, said, "I have received a complaint from and the police is investigating the matter. An FIR is yet to be registered."

Ludhiana, November 14
A college girl attempted suicide at the Dugri bridge on the Sidhwan canal here today. The incident took place at 10.30 am when the girl, a resident of Baba Deep Singh Nagar, came to the Dugri bridge.

The girl was reportedly upset and stressed due the ongoing examinations in the college.

As she entered the canal waters in a bid to commit suicide, some shanty dwellers, who were washing clothes on the banks of the canal, saw her and raised the alarm. One of the shanty dwellers jumped into the canal and rescued her.

The police came to the spot and helped the girl. It then informed the girl's parents about the incident.

According to officials at the Dugri police station, the girl is a student of BCom at a college on Rani Jhansi Road, Civil Lines.

Jagtar Singh of the Dugri police station, who is the investigating officer in the case, said, "We called the girl's parents to the spot and handed her over to them. The girl's parents said she was under stress due to the ongoing examinations in the college."

Ludhiana, November 14
Thirty-three fresh cases of dengue were reported from various hospitals in the city today. Of these, 18 are from Ludhiana district -- 12 from the city and six from rural areas; 12 cases are from other districts -- two each from Sangrur, Bathinda, Jalandhar and Pathankot and one each from Kapurthala, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur and Fatehgarh Sahib. Three cases are from other states, two from Jammu and Kashmir and one from Haryana.

A team of the Health Department, along with anti-larvae teams, visited Shimlapuri and Bhaghwan Nagar and held six group meetings. The team checked 66 coolers and 139 containers. No larva was found. — TNS

Ludhiana, Novermber 14
The police booked a man for allegedly firing into the air in an inebriated condition at Jain Colony in the Bhamian Khurd area late this evening.

The accused has been identified as Amrik Singh Grewal, a resident of Jain Colony. Grewal fired two gunshots into the air to terrify a group of persons standing in a street in the area. The police has registered a case. — TNS

Ludhiana, November 14
Several Congress leaders from Ludhiana today asked the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal not to bask in the borrowed glory by launching and inaugurating the projects which have been funded and financed by the Congress led United Progressive Alliance government at the centre.

Addressing a function to mark the birth anniversary of the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru here today, the Congress leaders including former ministers Rakesh Pandey, Milkiat Singh Birmi, Milkiat Singh Dakha, district president Pawan Dewan, Gurmail Pahalan and Pappi Prashar today asked the Deputy Chief Minister to show some grace and acknowledge his gratitude to the central government for all the schemes he was going to launch and inaugurate tomorrow.

It needs to be mentioned here that Sukhbir will lay foundation stone of more than half of dozen developmental projects including 8-laning of Ferozepur Road from Jagraon Bridge to Sidhwan Canal, expansion of fleet of city bus service, water supply project to provide missing links, repair work of major city roads and development works in wards like pavement of streets, drains and beautification. During his Ludhiana visit he will also deliver allotment letters of flats for the urban poor to 1,100 allottees out of the total 4,800 such flats being constructed in Giaspura, Dhandari and Sherpur under the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNURM).

The Congress leaders pointed out, the flats he was going to inaugurate tomorrow were constructed with the central funds provided under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and so were the buses he was going to add to the city bus service. Besides, the four laning of the Ferozepur Road was also being done by the central funds, they added.

The party leaders said, while they had no objection to Sukhbir inaugurating these projects as he was the Deputy Chief Minister, but at least he should show some grace and acknowledge the source of funding and finances of these projects. “But shamefully the state government is trying to claim everything of its own,” they regretted, While adding the state government cannot befool people as they know it did not have any money of its own and it was all being provided by the central government. The Congress leaders said it was unprecedented that a government did not have any money to pay even pensions and salaries was trying to make mega-claims and in the process trying to steal the credit from the central government.

Ludhiana, November 14
Government's proposal to categorise traders for issuing VAT refunds has baffled the industry. According to the proposal, VAT refunds will be issued to best tax payers within 15 days and second, third and fourth categories of tax payers will get their refunds within 25, 35 and 45 days.

"There is no criterion for dividing the traders into different categories. How will one prove that one is a best tax payer and other is not? Instead of issuing VAT refunds on time, government is making the things complex," said Satnam Singh, a trader.

Condemning the proposal of the government, another garment manufacturer, Satish Khanna said government promised to put an end to inspector raaj in the state but with this move it will once again come to fore.

"It will be on the will of the department to include traders in category A, B. C or D. When everybody is paying tax and paying it at equal rate then why this discrimination? Industry in the state is already passing through a rough patch and introduction of this system will ruin the industry completely," said Khanna.

Meanwhile Ashok Juneja, Zonal member of CII and president of Punjab Tax Bar Association appreciated that VAT refunds will be issued to top best tax payers within 15 days by virtue of which the huge capital amount will not be stuck or withheld with the department.

Ludhiana, November 14
On the one side shortage of sand is giving tough time to the brick-kiln owners while on the other side Supreme Court's ruling to take environmental clearance before mining is making things hard for them. Work in the brick kilns has come to a standstill due to the above sited two reasons. Committee formed by the Central Government gives environmental clearance to the brick kilns but one committee is falling short for the entire state and now state government has sent a proposal to the central government for formation of more such committees to speed up the work.

According to the sources, only 37 files for the environmental clearance have been cleared by the committee while hundreds are pending. "It takes nearly six months to get environmental clearance. One cannot start work till the clearance. Work of giving clearances is going very slow as there is only one committee for carrying in work in the entire state," said Sarabhjeet Singh, general secretary, Brick Kiln Association, Ludhiana. Another brick kiln owner Rajinder Singh said: "The slump is in the sales due to ban on mining. The procedure of getting environmental clearance is also very time consuming. Work at my brick kiln is shut as I am yet to receive the clearance and the worst part is that I am unable to clear the pending stock as there is no demand," he said.

Members of the Brick Kiln Association said they have also written to the government in this regard and demanded that the work for giving environmental clearance should speed up by forming more committees.

"Earlier brick-kiln industry was operational on mining less than five hectares which did not required environment clearance. But now according to the new notification, environment clearance is required even in less than five hectares of land which has proved death knell for the industry," saidSuresh Kapoor, another brick kiln owner from Pakhowal Road.

Doraha, November 14
In order to increase awareness about traffic rules and driving ethics among truck drivers, the police officials of Payal arranged a meeting today under the Community Policing Week at the Suvidha Centre of Payal.

The truck owners and drivers, especially gathered to listen to the police officials, who guided them about the rules and regulations to be adopted and followed at the time of driving as said, "Safety and security is a must."

DSP Payal Balwinder Singh sharing his views with the truckers said: "Safety on road is the first and foremost essentiality that each and every individual needs to maintain on the basis of priority. The truck drivers, who are most of the times on the road and generally at odd times, need to keep a number of basic things at the back of their minds. The first most important thing is abstaining from all types of drugs during driving and otherwise. Drinking and driving are two things which are diametrically opposite to each other. A drunken driver not only endangers his own life but becomes a cause of danger to others as well. Also, while on road the traffic rules, which are equal for everybody, should be obeyed, the absence of which, may invite trouble."

Ludhiana, November 14
With an objective to promote competitiveness and productivity in Punjab based SMEs, using latest Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) organised a Seminar on Empowering SME through ICT Intervention. Speakers from companies like Microsoft India, Airtel and IMRB joined the session.

The objective of this seminar was to spread awareness on the use of latest ICT tools to enhance competitiveness and productivity of business. As SMEs are the major contributor in country’s economy and Punjab is a hub of SMEs from various industrial segments, the session was designed to update industry on latest global IT trends, which can help businesses to improve their competitiveness and increase their productivity. As per a recent survey on Indian SMEs, if they adopt latest IT tools, there is a potential for growth of overall revenue by Rs. 3 lakh crores and 11 lakh new jobs can be created. Over the past three years, revenues of the IT-enabled SMEs grew 15 percent faster and created twice as many jobs, when compared to the SMEs which donot used latest ICT technology.

While addressing the house, Rahul Ahuja, chairman, CII Ludhiana said ,”The MSMEs contribute 9 per cent to the GDP of the country and 45 per cent of the total manufacturing output arises from the MSMEs. Thirty six percent of the India’s total exports are from the MSMEs. He also mentioned the MSME sector contributes to 100 million employment opportunities through its 46 million units across the country. He mentioned about Punjab that, MSME’s have been the cradle of our Industrial progress. With advent of economic liberalisation no doubt our MSME sector has been able showcase its manufacturing capabilities on the global business map, however to enhance our business shares at global stage and sustain there in wake of tough business environment both at the domestic and international level. It is imperative for us enhance our levels of competitiveness and also give due importance to technology and innovation.

Ludhiana, November 14
A city-based NGO, Zindagi Live, celebrated Children's Day with thalassaemic children here today by showing them a movie, Krrish-3, at a local cinema house. After watching the movie, the children vowed to lead fear-free life.

A 14-year-old Arshdeep said, "Now I will never feel frightened due to my health problem." Interestingly, some children were acting like actors of the movie after the show was over. Yogesh Bansal, general secretary of the NGO, said: "We were also trying to gift these kids Krrish-3 special wrist bands but could not but we are happy that children really enjoyed their day." — TNS

Ludhiana November 14
The Young Writers Association of PAU gave a treat to children working in different canteens of the PAU.

Members of the Young Writers’ Association celebrate the day with children who work in canteens at the PAU in Ludhiana. Tribune Photo: Himanshu Mahajan

A number of children, who work in the canteens of the PAU and children of workers residing inside the campus gathered to celebrate the occasion. Jaspreet Singh, student in charge, Young Writers Association said, “These children, who work at canteens in our campus serves us throughout the year. So we are honouring them today by giving them a special treat. Of course through this function we also recalled our childhood days.”

Kritika Gupta, a student, said: “We enjoyed the time with these children. We had organised several activities to make the time memorable.”

Jessica Dhaliwal, another student, said: “This is the first time in my life that I have celebrated Children's Day this way. It was totally different experience for me. These children were very enthusiastic and took part in the programme with full zeal.”

Students, including Sunil, Arman Kataria, Gagandeep Sandhu, Swaranjit Singh Ishani Naagpal, Parabjot Kaur were present on the occasion.

Ludhiana, November 14
A postage stamp was released by the postal department to mark Children’s Day today.

The postal department organises a 'Design a Stamp' contest and the winning entries are selected for depiction on stamp, first day cover and information brochure. The theme of the competition this year was 'A Holiday'. This year the stamp is based on a painting made by Mayouri Sarma and the first day cover and information brochure are based on the paintings by Rupsa Sen Gupta and Salvya S Raj, respectively.

Ludhiana, November 14
While the nation celebrated Children's Day today and the students were made to feel "special" by their respective schools by organising colourful functions for their entertainment, a few parents gathered here to fight for the rights of the girl child.

Under the banner, "Parents Association Ludhiana", the parents held a rally and rued that in a blatant violation of the orders by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and Ministry of Human Resource and Development, New Delhi, the CBSE-affiliated schools in the district were not providing free education to the single girl child between classes IX-XII (as prescribed in the CBSE notification since 2005). The parents handed over a memorandum to Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Neeru Katyal and asked the authorities to intervene.

The president of the association, Rajinder Ghai, said the rally was organised to make the parents aware about the rights of the single girl child. "It is clearly mentioned by the CBSE that the education of single girl child should be free and the parents having two daughters will be able to get their wards admitted by paying half fees in the schools. But no school is ready to adhere to the instructions and they continue to mint money. Besides, parents are being fleeced by the school managements, which ask for various funds throughout the year," said Ghai.

One of the Principal of a CBSE-affiliated school said that majority of the schools were aware about the instructions of the CBSE that the education of the single girl child was free but in the absence of stern action, none of the schools were ready to implement the orders. 

Ludhiana, November 14
The city police nabbed a bhangra coach with 40gm heroin at GT road here yesterday.

The accused has been identified as Kuldeep Sharma, resident of Basti Jodhewal.

Ludhiana, November 14
Today, when Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar appeared at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on the opening day of the second test match against West Indies to play his last test match, millions of cricket fans across the globe were left somewhat awed as they would soon be deprived off an opportunity of enjoying the game of this great player.

As Team India restricted the Carribeans to a modest total of 182 runs in their first innings, cricket lovers here were seen glued to the television sets hoping that Sachin would be in the middle to bat in his last test match. Their wish was fulfilled as Sachin had to descend on to the field following two quick dismissals.

Sachin did not disappoint his fans as well since he was holding his forte at draw of stumps with 38 runs against his name. Talking to The Tribune, sports lovers, particularly cricket fans termed Sachin's contribution to the game an unparallel. They felt honoured that Sachin played for India and that too, he achieved all the milestones during his two and a half decade long 'illustrious career'.

Rajinder Nath Mahajan, an avid follower of the game and president of Ludhiana District Cricket Association (LDCA) opined that there would be a vacuum after the departure of the legend. "Sachin faced all the bowlers successfully and carved a niche for himself which put him above others. He was one of the most regarded cricketers in the world," said Mahajan.

Another sports lover, Kulwant Singh Sohal said there is no second opinion about the caliber of this player. "Even, his opponents such as Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram from arch rivals, Pakistan and Brian Lara of West Indies had showered heaps of praise on Sachin Tendulkar. Lara had compared Sachin with all time great cricketer, Sir Don Bradman," added Sohal.

Vinod Chitkara, honorary secretary, LDCA who was appointed local manager of team India in 2008 in a test match against South Africa, shared a hotel room with Sachin Tendulkar in Chandigarh, revealed that he was a good player as well as a very good human being. "I found Sachin a great person, caring for others' concerns," recalled Chitkara.

Ludhiana, November 14
A deadly spell of spin bowling by Gurjot Singh, with a hat-trick, steered Baba Isher Singh School, BRS Nagar, to an easy 9-wicket victory over Guru Gobind Singh Public School, Daad, during the Ludhiana Sahodaya School Complex Cricket Tournament being organised at Green Land Convent School Stadium, GT Road, Manj Phagowal on the Ludhiana-Jalandhar road here today.

Guru Gobind Public School won the toss and chose to bat first. However, they failed to survive their full quota of 20 overs as the innings folded at 48 runs after 10.2 overs. Only, Dilpreet could reach double figure. He scored 11 runs off 21 runs. Right arm leg spinner, Gurjot Singh was wrecker in chief. He sent down 3.2 overs, conceded 12 runs and grabbed six wickets including a hat-trick which restricted the opponents to a meager total of 48 runs. Raman claimed two wickets after giving away 12 runs in two overs.

Baba Isher Singh School made the required runs in just 9.2 overs after losing one wicket. In the second match, Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, beat HVM Public School by 55 runs.

Batting first, Sacred Heart Convent School posted a score of 143 runs in 20 overs.

For HVM Public School, Varun chipped in with three wickets for 12 runs while Naman took two for 19.

Chasing the target, HVM Public School's innings culminated at 88 runs with three overs to spare.