L U D H I A N A

Bicycles in lakhs are produced every month in Ludhiana — Photos by Rajesh Bhambi

This is the nerve-centre of industry in north India LUDHIANA, June 3 — The vast industrial network of this megacity hums with activity all the time.  Goods, worth hundreds of crores are sent all over  India and across the world.

Oh... that craze for phoren 
VCDs, TVs, faxes, cell phones
LUDHIANA, June 3 — Remember the last time you fumed when your neighbour bragged about the latest electronic gadgets, cosmetics or the other household articles which he had picked up on his latest foreign tour. Now, various imported goods that are smuggled into the town are being sold openly in various markets.

Sahir, Randhawa and those perfumes
Civilization has been variously defined, but it should not be confused with culture, though it is linked with it. Material progress is a reliable indicator of the level of civilization of the people of a given area.

Hrithik overshadows Sachin? ‘You bet’
LUDHIANA, June 3 — The humiliating defeat of the Indian cricket team at the hands of the Sri Lankans appears to have added to the aversion of cricket lovers towards the game. The shadow of match-fixing controversy already looming large over the ongoing Asia Cup Cricket Tournament currently in progress in Dhaka appears to have further darkened. 

COMMUNITY

Chaos, congestion in court complex
LUDHIANA, June 3 — The lawyers, the litigants and even the judicial officers in the old district courts complex, located in more than 100-year-old buildings in the city, are a harassed lot.

Drive against drug abuse
LUDHIANA, June 3 — Following the reports of drug abuse rampant in the city, the district administration has decided to create special awareness among youth against drugs, in association with various non-government organisations and educational and medical institutions.

Road widening a source of inconvenience
LUDHIANA, June 3 — The ongoing widening work of the Shaheed Joginder Pal Pandey road towards the Udham Singh Nagar side, also known as the Ferozepur-Habbowal bye-pass road, has become a source of inconvenience and harassment to the residents of the colony.

Ex-servicemen resent govt indifference
LUDHIANA, June 3 — Indian Ex-servicemen League, Punjab and Chandigarh, has resented the delay in providing the benefits of the fifth Pay Commission to pensioners. The league, in a meeting, has regretted that the government is indifferent towards the problems of the ex-servicemen.

CRIME

Informers get man released, hand him over to killers
LUDHIANA, June 3 — The revelations about two police informers getting a man released from a police station and later handing him over to his sworn enemies to be later murdered, has once again raised serious questions about the love-hate relationship between the police and certain petty criminals who serve as police informers.

One hurt in attack
LUDHIANA, June 3 — Bharat Prashar sustained serious injuries when he was attacked by Kamal, Gagan and Sunny with sharp-edged weapons. He has been admitted to a local hospital for treatment and a case under Sections 323, 325, 506 and 34 of the IPC registered at Police Station Division No.4.

EDUCATION

Ish Kumar tops city Class X CBSE exam with 93.4 per cent
LUDHIANA, June 3 — Ish Kumar Garg, a student of BCM Arya Model School, has topped in the Class X CBSE examination in the city by scoring 93.4 per cent marks, while Gurjeet Kaur, a student of Guru Nanak Public School, has come a close second by scoring just 0.2 per cent marks less than him.

Youngsters take to earning while learning
Earn while you learn. This is the new mantra for youngsters today. The advent of the new century saw youngsters, especially girls, becoming more and more career conscious and willing to go that extra yard to achieve their dream, even if it meant sweating it out.

HEALTH

One more dies of gastroenteritis
LUDHIANA, June 3 — With one more person succumbing to the disease, the death toll due to gastroenteritis in Fauji Colony in Sherpur area here has risen to 7.

He survived a shot in the head
LUDHIANA, June 3 — Naresh Dogra, a Punjab police official, accidentally shot himself in the head on the night of January 8. He was bleeding profusely and by the time he was taken to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital here, he was deeply comatosed and gasping. The relatives attending to him could only hope against hope. His condition was deteriorating.

CULTURE

An artist’s commitment to paint Chandigarh
IN the exhibition hall of the Punjab Arts Council, Chandigarh, the portrait of Dr M.S. Randhawa, the first Chief Commissioner of the Union Territory of Chandigarh, appeared to me so impressive for its being the true likeness of him that I couldn’t restrain myself from approaching its portraitist Mehar Singh at his residence in Sector 44.