Ultra modern bus stand for Ludhiana
Project to cost Rs 7 crore; Foundation stone on August 15
From A.S. Prashar
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, June 11 — Ludhiana is set to acquire a new ultra modern bus stand, putting an end to hopelessly chaotic conditions which prevail at one of the most prominent landmarks of the city frequented by thousands of passengers from all over the state every day.

A visit to the bus stand at any time of the day reveals the chaos. The toilets are smelly and cannot be dirtier. Buses are parked haphazardly.

Fans function in fits and starts, adding to the misery of the passengers in the sweltering heat. Eatable stalls charge exorbitant rates and can do with a round of hygiene. Bus bays are dirty. The roads in the bus stand through which buses enter and exit are in disrepair and are full of potholes filled with muddy water.

A meeting held last week at Chandigarh, presided over by the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, decided to give a facelift to all the major bus stands in the prominent cities and towns of the state. Those which will receive special attention are at Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana.

The philosophy underlying the move is that since bus stands are frequented by thousands of persons every day, a bad bus stand is a bad advertisement for the efficiency of the state government. With the assembly elections beginning to loom large on the horizon, the Badal government is keen to make the best possible impression on the electorate. While those at Amritsar and Jalandhar will be constructed by the State Transport Department, the one at Amritsar has been entrusted to the Municipal Corporation.

The foundation stone of the new bus stand at Ludhiana will be laid by the Chief Minister on August 15 and will be completed within a year. “It will be a Rs 7 crore project approximately,” Dr S.S. Sandhu, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, told TNS here today. “We are getting in touch with the architects immediately and we are going ask them to submit their designs within the next two weeks. The architect who has designed the Ludhiana City Centre and is now designing the bus stand at Jalandhar has also been contacted. The design prepared by him for Jalandhar may be acceptable for the Ludhiana bus stand as well,” he added.

The MC will soon invite tenders and allot the works. “We will be looking for someone who can execute the project on a BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis. It is proposed to levy an entry fee of Rs 40 per bus at the new bus stand. Therefore, whosoever wins the contract will be assured of a daily income of Rs 1.5 lakh,” he said. The proposed bus stand will have provision for all sorts of basic modern amenities, including waiting rooms for passengers travelling by ordinary, deluxe and air-conditioned buses.

According to one proposal, smaller bus stands may also be provided on the proposed new outer ring road on all the points it crosses the Ambala, Jalandhar and Ferozepore highways. Passengers headed for destinations along these roads will not have to enter the city to catch a bus. The smaller bus stands will be utilised for this purpose. This will result in a lot for convenience for the passengers, besides saving time and fuel and prevent congestion on the roads of Ludhiana.

Major crackdown on liquor smugglers
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, June 11 — In a major crackdown on liquor smugglers operating in the Dhokkan Mohalla area, the Excise Department conducted a raid on four alleged liquor smugglers and seized more than 10 cases of both countrymade and Indian Made Foreign liquor and a few loose pouches of liquor late last evening.

According to information available from sources in the Excise Department, the residents of the area as well as new liquor contractors had complained about the sudden spurt in activities of the liquor smugglers in this locality after the new liquor contracts were awarded in March earlier this year that had led to the smashing down of the old liquor syndicate.

It is alleged that the sale of smuggled liquor was going on unabated in the colony for the past few months and smuggled liquor at comparitively low prices was being openly sold, allegedly turning the area into a tipplers’ paradise. It is also alleged that the residents of the area had also complained to the district police chief, Mr Kuldip Singh, regarding the unchecked and illegal sale of liquor in their area a few days ago and the harassment it caused to the area residents but to no avail.

Last evening, a team of the Excise Force under the supervision of Excise and Taxation Officer, Mr Mahavir Singh, conducted a raid on the premises of four alleged liquor smugglers. The maximum amount of liquor in cases and open pouches was, however, recovered from the premises of one Jeeta, but the accused managed to flee from the scene. It is also learnt that the Excise Department had supplied a list of names of the alleged liquor smugglers in the area who were not just selling the liquor illegally, but also causing huge losses to the liquor contractors who had taken the vends during auctions, and subsequently loss of revenue to the government.

Meanwhile, sources in the Excise Department informed that even as the proposal for having a separate police force for checking the various crimes under the Excise Act was being finalised, the Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Patiala Division vide his order dated June 7 had recommended that the force with all the three Excise districts in Ludhiana be stationed in the city itself so as to help curb the crimes under the Excise Act. As a result a total number of 30 police personnel have now been stationed in Ludhiana alone to aid the department officials.

Slump in sale of second-hand cars 
From Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, June 11 — There are cars and cars but a few customers in the two biggest Sunday car bazaars in the city which also happen to be the top markets in the sale and purchase of second-hand four-wheelers in the state.

The recession hit economy and a rapid inflow of the latest models has proven to be the markets’ nightmare. The illegal act of some mischievous sellers to defraud the buyer as well as the car dealer by selling a financed or stolen vehicle has also contributed in bringing the current “bad phase” in the business. Fortunately, the last factor is on the wane, otherwise the bazaars would have suffered further jolts.

The scene at the Feroze Gandhi market on the Ferozepore road and at the Gian Singh Rarewal market, near Preet Cinema, is colourful, attractive but a gloomy one as well. For, even though cars and some other four-wheelers of all colours, designs and models catch one’s attention, the absence of customers provides a deserted look to the overall picture.

“Manda chal reha hai (there is a slump in the business),” declares Mr Baljit Singh President Ludhiana Car Dealers Association. According to him, the recession is because there is a similar trend in the industry of the city as well as the state.” As there is no money to spare in the market, where will the buyers come from?” he wondered.

The arrival of new car models in heaps in The Market has further spoilt the show. The consumer seems to have cleverly adopted a wait-and-watch policy and would loosen the strings of his purse only when the market establishes the best car and at the lowest rates. According to Mr Rajkumar Raja, a car dealer, the wide range of choice offered by the new models has affected the prices of the second-hand car business: “Customers have shunned the old models as the new ones promise much better facilities.”

Mr Avtar Singh, another car dealer, opined that the business of car sale and purchase was always seasonal. Acknowledging the slump in the market, he hoped the sale might pick up during the marriage season after September.

One has to thank the “rich kakas” of the city for whatever small business the car bazar dealers are doing. According to Mr Raja, this effluent class of society, having many prosperous members in the city, jump on any new model.

No law, order in Punjab: Tohra
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, June 11 — The Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal (SHSAD) president, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, has assailed the SAD-BJP government in Punjab for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, which, if unchecked, could once again bring back the dark days of militancy.

Addressing a news conference in Gurdwara Gau Ghat here last evening, he claimed there was no law and order worth its name in Punjab. Robberies, murders, especially of girls and innocent children, had become the order of the day. The police administration, rather than move into action and create a sense of security among the common people, was more busy in serving its ‘political masters’ and taking orders from them. In a veiled threat to the police top brass, he observed, “The police officers caring two hoots for the masses will be held responsible and made to answer in due course.”

The former SGPC president exhorted the SAD legislators to replace the party president and Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, with any suitable person, alleging that the government, during its three years rule, had failed to come up to the aspirations of the masses and if they (the Akali Dal legislators) continued with the present leadership, the electorate would reject them in the next elections.

He ridiculed the Chief Minister’s claim that the Centre was coming out with an anti-dumping duty on dairy, poultry products and foodgrain to protect the farmers in the country.

He claimed that no such duty could be imposed by any nation on freely tradable items under the WTO. Mr Tohra further remarked that it would be wrong to blame only the earlier Congress government and former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao for GATT and WTO agreements. The governments and the prime ministers who succeeded Mr Rao must share the blame for pursuing the same policies.

Commenting on the CBI probe ordered by the Punjab and Haryana High Court into the mysterious death of Ms Harpreet Kaur, the daughter of SGPC president, Bibi Jagir Kaur, Mr Tohra hailed the court orders saying it was expected because the police would not have been able to uncover the truth in view of the involvement of the ‘high and mighty’ in the case.

The SHSAD chief, while welcoming the appeal of Akal Takht head priest Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti for total unity between all Akali Dal factions, maintained that his party would have nothing to do with those who had flouted and challenged the edicts issued from the Takht.

Mr Tohra called upon the Union Government to return the Sikh reference library, taken away by the armed forces during Operation Bluestar in 1984, to the SGPC and further lamented that both the

Punjab Government and Centre had been persistently neglecting the matter of Sikh youth languishing in jails for long periods.

COMMUNITY

Urban Estates sans civic amenities
From Kuldip Bhatia

LUDHIANA, June 11 — The urban estates (phases I and II) on Dugri road here appear to be nobody's babies and the residents, faced with lack of basic amenities, unsanitary conditions, broken and potholed roads, faulty and inadequate sewerage and drainage systems leading to stagnation of water on the roads and vacant plots, temporary and permanent encroachments and absence of a community centre and other common facilities have been persistently crying for attention but have failed to elicit any response so far from the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) and other government departments concerned.

The development of the urban estates was initiated by the state government way back in 1975 and later taken over by the Punjab housing development board during 1991. The colonies were handed over to PUDA when it came into existence in 1995 for maintenance and carrying out other development works.

A visit to the area revealed that almost the entire stretch of roads was in a pathetic condition with big potholes, broken surface and damaged berms which create problems for vehicle owners, cyclists and pedestrians alike, particularly during the rainy season or where the road and streets are on a lower level from the houses and the water accumulates in puddles. At some places, an inadequate and faulty drainage system inundates the roads and vacant plots which appear like ponds and pose serious health hazard to the residents.

Mr Shiv Gupta, general secretary of the urban estate welfare association (phase I) disclosed that although the roads were repaired in 1999, shabby workmanship and poor quality of material used resulted in the deterioration of road surfaces in no time.

A vegetable market set up in a two-acre plot between phases I and II in the urban estate is another eyesore that irks the residents and other visitors to the colonies.

Mr B.R. Kaushal, president of the urban estate residents welfare society, points out. With garbage, rotten vegetables and fruits are left by the vendors in utter disregard of sanitation and hygiene and dirty water flowing down from the adjacent undeveloped colonies, the place has become a favourite grounds for stray animals, pigs and street dogs.

The people living nearby apprehend outbreak of a host of infectious diseases in the wake of gastroenteritis cases reported in certain localities of the city.

Though sites for community centres and other common facilities were earmarked at the planning stage for these colonies, yet these have failed to come in existence for a variety of reasons. The commercial rates fixed by PUDA for these sites were abnormally high, which the institutions like schools and hospitals could not afford, says Mr Gupta. So far as raising a community centre is concerned, nobody seemed to be prepared to take up the responsibility. The residents were of the view that price land for school and hospital sites needed to be reduced and PUDA should come forward for the construction of a community centre like it did in SAS Nagar.

While, conditions in the urban estate colonies leave much to be desired. The approach to the locality, with a population of more than 50,000, is another problem which ought to be tackled at once. Dugri road, leading to the urban estate from Model Town side, has two canal bridges, facilitating the movement of traffic to the colonies. The old bridge, according to a congress activist and resident of dugri, Mr Sukhwant Singh Dugri, having outlived its term, is a narrow passage and cannot cope with the volume of vehicular traffic. "A new bridge to replace the old one is the only way out to ensure proper movement and avoid traffic jams which have become an everyday affair." asserts Mr Dugri.

There seems to be no end when residents narrate their day-to-day problems, but their main grievances include failure of PUDA to remove encroachments, illegal use of land earmarked for park as cremation ground in phase I, absence of a PUDA sub-office and a bill collection centre of the PSEB and tardy progress of development with respect to green belts and commercial areas and generally unresponsive and indifferent administration.

Mr Kaushal laments: "The urban estate residents welfare society has been taking up the issue of lack of facilities in these colonies with the authorities through memoranda and personal meetings for quite some time now but ironically our repeated efforts have failed to have the desired effect and even after a quarter of a century of coming into existence, these are bereft of all such facilities that are considered essential for a decent modern life."

Training institute for models
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, June 11 — Octopus Multivision will start exclusive training for models contesting for the Miss India and Miss World titles. Octopus Multivison will also carry out shootings in various parts of the country as well as abroad for providing better exposure to the models.

According to Mr Goldy Grewal, director of the institute, modelling is now accepted as a full-time profession and not many institutes are there for imparting such training. To fill this void Octopus Multivision has been launched, he said.

He said the company will have collaboration with several foreign institutions also. The company will also arrange workshops for new models in catwalk, ramp walk, advertisement and beauty contests for boys and girls.

Medical aid for poor sought
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, June 11 — Deputy Commissioner S. K. Sandhu today called upon the managements of the charitable hospitals to expand their sphere of activities to rural area and provide medical facilities to the poor people.

Speaking after inaugurating the fifth rural branch of Guru Tegh Bahadur Charitable Hospital at Budhewal village, about 25 km from here, he said keeping in view the rising expenditure on treatment for major ailments, the poor people were devoid of these facilities. He said the role of charitable institutions was very important in this regard.

This branch has been set up in memory of Ms Gurdev Kaur Grewal, the mother of NRI Gurdip Singh Grewal, who is presently living in the USA. The village panchayat also provided the panchayat building to the hospital management and Budhewal Sugar Mill has provided residential facilities to the permanent doctors of this branch.

Mr Sandhu said the hospitals in the city should adopt large centrally located villages in the remote areas to provide medical services to the weaker sections. He suggested that the traditional Indian medical system and nature care should also be encouraged along with the allopathic treatment.

The Deputy Commissioner said Budhewal would be further developed and the environment would be improved. He asked the management of Budhewal Sugar Mill to adopt the link road from the Chandigarh road to Budhewal and put up ornamental plants along both side of the roads.

Bakshi Mohinder Singh, president, Guru Tegh Bahadur Charitable Hospital, informed that NRI Gurdip Singh had assured to arrange maximum funds for improving facilities in the hospital, besides hiring the services of the expert doctors. Mr Gurdip Singh hails from this village only.

Walk your way to health

Walking is considered one of the most effective ways of living a healthy and sickness-free life. It is good to see that Ludhianvis have adopted walking as part of their daily routine. At Nehru Rose Garden, Rakh Bagh or PAU campus, you can see a rising number of enthusiastic walkers trying to beat others in speed and duration. A physician of the town says, "Consistent fall in the number of patients in the town is because persons here have become health conscious and take regular walks and yoga seriously."

Walking does wonders to everyone. It improves our metabolism and helps us reduce weight. Regular walk also helps us shed extra body weight. It also strengthens muscles and prevents these from gaining fats, besides preventing osteoporosis. Recent medical studies show that regular walks bring relief from pain to those suffering from arthritis of the knee.

For patients of high blood pressure and diabetes, the benefits of regular walking cannot be underestimated. For those who have mild hypertension, regular walk, diet control and a change in lifestyle can be effective and they need not take any drugs. Walking dilates the small blood vessels which in turn reduces the pressure in these.

For women suffering from premenstrual syndrome, there is nothing like a regular walk. It helps them reduce pelvic congestion. Asthmatic patients also feel better after regular walks. Walking makes the body produce more insulin and helps patients of diabetes metabolise glucose. Diabetics who walk regularly, feel better and rarely complain of leg pains, bodyaches or fatigue. Pregnant women are always advised to take regular walks. Walking is the safest exercise for patients of backache and lumber disc prolapse. It helps patients add strength to their paraspinal muscles.

Regular walk is a great tonic for human mind. It helps us fight tension and depression. Regular walkers remain mentally active and cheerful. Scientists have reported that after a walk, endorphins are released in the body. Their action is like opium which tranquilises the mind.

Medical records show that the elderly who go for regular walks live longer than those who sit in their homes and remain idle.

Half an hour of walking five times a week is sufficient for most of us. If one cannot walk briskly, one may walk at a normal pace. Heart patients should consult their doctors about how long they should walk. A patient of angina should stop walking once he feels congestion or pain in the chest.

Walkers need to be regular throughout the year. If you have the company of your friend or spouse, it will help you to become a regular walker. Many persons find it difficult to walk alone and, gradually, they become irregular.

There is no special technique which one has to learn for walking. One only needs to be committed...to positive health and waking up early in the morning. In a few months only, watch how it does wonders to your mind and body.

— Dr Rajeev Gupta

For the forces
The honour of ex-serviceman is at stake
by Col C. S. Dhillon (retd)

There is an acute requirement that the powers-that-be in the country as a whole have an inward peep and identify the causes which have undermined the social and political rights of veterans of the armed forces who have given so much for the security and integrity of the country for the past fifty years of Independence.

But for them the secular fabric of the Indian society would have been torn to shreds by the self centered and manipulative tendencies of politicians of all hues. The morality of politics has touched the nadir and there is no indication of any corrective action. The rank and file of veterans all over India is over 26 lakhs, their families and dependents excluded, who also share their travails. A million or more troops on active service are engaged in securing our frontiers, though a bulk of them are deployed in aid of border security forces.

In most of the places, if initial causes for political or social unrest are probed, the blame would certainly be placed at the door of one or the other political party because of their parachoial and narrow politics, the aim of which has been to grab power by hook or crook. The unfortunate thing is that basic causes for non-attraction of youth towards the Army are swept under the carpet .

In spite of the propaganda blitz by the Army over the past two years, the deficiency in the armed forces, particularly officer cadre, is persisting. The question is as to why the Army service is treated as a curse rather than a blessing by the budding youth. A shortage of 1200 officers for the past many years has compelled the AHQ to cut short the training period into half, thus sacrificing quality for quantity.

The reasons for the scenario are not far to seek. Scant attention has been paid to the welfare of veterans and their dependents. In the zeal for centralisation, all welfare channels have been clogged. The interaction between powers-that-be and veterans and their families is almost nil except payment of doles and charities. The latter has also been centralised and the beneficiaries are made to travel to state or district headquarters, not realising the high cost of travel which are involved nowadays.

The fast changes occurring in the socio-political millieu of society are not being attended to in which the veterans feel beaten at every step in the aggressive politics. Even reasonable respect and honour for veterans is painfully missing. Politicians usually pay lip service towards these brave and hardy people who are mentally and physically fit and are well disciplined than any other man on street or public place.

Tele films and movies, although glorify their courage and dedication, also send a veiled message projecting them as machos belonging to a straight or unthinking lot. This undercuts the very pride of a veteran who is living as also the one who has died for the country or those moving around on crutches because of war injuries.

After release from the Army the veterans feel abandoned and out of place in the highly corrupted society. The role of NGOs i.e. the league, which is contributory to the welfare channels, has been willy-nilly stalled. The nomination of dedicated and active workers of the league has been usurped by political cronies of one political party or the other, with the result that the positive feedback to the Rajya Sainik boards, state Sainik board, grievances and development committees etc is almost nil or very rare.

One can imagine as to how a solitary welfare worker can cover roughly seventy to eighty villages when he visits the tehsil HQ only once a week. Earlier this job was accomplished with the joint efforts of the league workers, whose positive feedback is not now welcomed and labelled as criticism.

The element of social justice and political rights of veterans and their dependents is totally missing. The result is that the ex-servicemen feel bitter to the core. In this situation, with no clout with politicians, being dispersed, their honour is at stake. Naturally he must be nursing a deep grudge within. He would never consider himself a fallen man. The chances are that he might go wayward. This warrants urgent attention of the powers-that-be.

What does adolescence mean to adolescents?
From Surbhi Bhalla

LUDHIANA, June 11 — While all periods in our lifespan are important, adolescence has certain characteristics that distinguish it from the periods that precede and follow it. This transition period is the threshold of adulthood. Adolescence, the spring time of life is a period of change. A child puts away childish things and tries to imitate adults.

At the same time, it's the age of struggle, time of unrealism and a search for identity. We can also call it the most dreaded age, where some individuals are inclined towards destructiveness and anti-social behaviour.

Let us see what some adolescents have to say about their adolescence.

Adolescence is a testing age in which, we have to tackle big problems with lesser experience. It is the age of struggle, a period of great stress and strain. An adolescent lacks the mental and social maturity needed to be called grown-up. Adolescents try to becomes self-independent and its trait creates many problems. Lack of stability and adjustment might lead to serious repercussions.

It is like the overflow of a great river which irrigates and fertilises great tracts of life. An adolescent tries to find his place in the world and all he needs is some mental satisfaction with the support of his family and friends. All he needs is some adequacy to think and work.

— Aseem

Adolescence is marked by a flux of ideas in one's mind stamped with recognition and self pride. An adolescent tries to position himself in his social circle. He becomes more career savvy stage and feels like adding more and more feathers to his cap. He imitates the style of role models as he develops a flair for movies in this age. But, ill feelings and bad habits are also picked up in this age of transition.

The rate of change in attitudes and behaviour during adolescence parallels the rate of physical change. With heightened emotionality, changed roles in social group and sexual maturity, most adolescents are ambivalent about changes. While they want and demand independence, they often read the responsibilities that go with independence and question their ability to cope with these responsibilities.

— Hitesh Bathla

This age is the age of personality development when one starts thinking of one's career and future and develops the ability to differentiate between good and bad. When a person touches this age, he tries to secure his future in every respect. But there are some problems which crop up during this age as sometimes a person gets involved with anti— social elements. So teenagers who are inclined towards such behaviour, need the guidance and supervision of some senior citizens.

— Jatin

As adolescents approach legal maturity, they are anxious to shed the stereotype of teenagers and create the impression that they are near adults. Dressing and acting like adults, they discover, are not always enough. So they begin to concentrate on behaviour that is associated with adult status — smoking, drinking, using drugs for example. They believe that this behaviour will create the image they desire.

Adolescents have a tendency to look at life through rose— tinted glasses.

— Aman

Adolescents see themselves and others as they would like them rather than as they are true of adolescent aspirations. The more unrealistic their aspirations are, the more angry, hurt and disappointed they will be when they feel that others have let them down or that they have not lived up to the goals they set for them.

Feeling that this period of their lives is happier than what they will face in adulthood, with its demands and responsibilities, there is a tendency to glamorise adolescence and to feel that a happy, carefree age is in.

— Saakshi

Throughout this age, conformity to group standards is an important factor. Any deviation from the standard is likely to be a threat to group belonging. In later stages of adolescence, everybody begins to crave identity and are no longer satisfied to be like their peers.

Adolescence is something different, something special. The identity the adolescent seeks to clarify is who he is, what his role in society is to be, is he a child or is he an adult?.......Overall, will he be success or a failure?

One of the ways adolescents try to establish themselves as individuals is by the use of status symbols in the form of cars, clothes and other readily observable material possessions. They hope in this way they can attract other's attention and to be recognised as individuals while maintaining their peer group identity.

— Harshpreet

It's a passage from one stage of development to another. This means that what has happened before will leave its mark on what happens now and in the future.

During this period, the individual's status is vague and there is confusion about the roles the individuals are expected to play. So, I would like to say that enjoy your adolescence to the fullest and do not bother about what the others say about you. This is the secret to happiness.

— Sukriti

Police harassing tenant: Thapar
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, June 11 — Dr Malti Thapar, General Secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, yesterday criticised the local police for harassment and intimidation of the Shahnai TV Centre in order to force them out of their rented premises.

In a talk with newsmen, she alleged that the police was acting hand-in-glove with the owner of the building and the Senior Superintendent of Police had been personally summoning the lawful tenants to his office to force them out. She alleged that the SHO, Division No 5 Mr Santokh Singh, had also been visiting Shahnai TV Centre to ask them to vacate, despite the fact that the tenants had obtained a stay order from the court.

She warned that her party would not allow “jungleraj” to prevail in the city and asked the police not to involve itself in private property disputes. 

Communists flay power tariff hike
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, June 11 — A joint meeting of representatives of the state unit of the MCPI, CPI, ML (Liberation) and CPI, ML (New Democracy) was held here today.

The meeting condemned the increase in the power tariff for all types of consumers by the Punjab Government and Punjab State Electricity Board and described it as a burden on the consumers.

The meeting was of the view that instead of checking the high level of corruption in the board, which is mainly responsible for the huge deficit, the people of the state were being unnecessarily burdened.

The meeting urged the Punjab Government not to increase the power rates as the rates have been already revised upward many times recently.

It further decided to hold a state-level convention on July 9 here to enlighten the people of Punjab against the imperialist onslaught on the lives of Indian people under the garb of WTO, globalisation and economic reforms.

CRIME

Woman caught smuggling poppy husk
Tribune News Service

Knife recovered
The police has recovered a knife from Nirmal Singh of Sangrur district. A case under Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered at Police Station Division No. 4.