L U D H I A N A

PPCC gearing up for mid-term poll
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee appears to be all set to face the mid-term assembly elections in the state and despite repeated assertions by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to the contrary, is carrying out hectic political activities to finalise its poll manifesto. 

Rs 2 crore sanctioned for Jagraon development
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The Centre Government has cleared a special development project of Rs 2 crore for Jagraon town in this district. The project would provide sewerage facilities, repair of roads and construction of a shopping complex in the town.

Fake licence racket busted: 2 arrested
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The police today claimed to have busted a fake licence racket operating in the state with the arrest of two persons — Rakesh Kumar, alias Bobby, and Rakesh Bansal. The two accused are also alleged to have stolen all stationery required for the purpose from the various District Transport offices.

COMMUNITY

Mentally challenged boy for national trials
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — Kulwinder Singh is 18. He is mentally challenged with an intelligence quotient (IQ) almost half of a normal person. Yet, this student of Nirdosh, a school for mentally challenged, will participate in the national floor hockey camp to be held at Bangalore from August 21 to 30.

Sikh League for a confederal India
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The Sikh League has suggested to the Constitutional Review Commission that the nation should be restructured on confederal lines so that its people could feel the glow of freedom in practice, because the stark choice for India was between confederal polity and disintegration. “It now seems difficult to keep India orderly and prosperous in a usurped unitary polity that we have today.”

Club structures demolished
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — Staff of the building branch of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation raided the Lakshmi Ladies Club and demolished several structures built in violation of building bylaws.

Youth Congress factions trade charges
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — Fierce factionalism between supporters of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Captain Amarinder Singh and former Punjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and between groups led by Punjab Youth Congress chief Mr Devinder Singh Babbu and former PYC president Mr Jasbir Singh Dimpa has percolated down to the district level, with the two groups openly trading charges and blaming each other for organisational crisis.

Fitness craze can be hazardous
Macho film stars like Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt and Hrithik Roshan flex their muscles. The girls go crazy and the boys turn green with jealousy.

The winds of change
SOMEONE has said very aptly that the city stopped growing a long time ago; it has merely expanded in the recent years. Now so much is happening at the same time, and that too at such a fast space, that one feels bamboozled. The best course is to fall in line with others and to “Do in Rome as the Romans do”. Still there is a great need to pause and think and plan. This is a passing phase as all phases are.

‘Beautify focal point’
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The Focal Point Industrial Sheds Association of the city have urged the Municipal Corporation to beautify the Focal Point area besides providing basic amenities to it.

The Noble Dr Brown
These “seven sisters” of Ludhiana are not siblings in the biological sense. Their devotion to work in their respective fields made them different from the ordinary run of people and is a matter of pride for the city. They never assumed an air of superiority. Even the most ordinary of tasks were done by them with distinction. None of these noble women is alive today, but one can have an idea about their greatness from an outline of their work.

Janamashtmi date confusion
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — Even as the city is gearing up to celebrate the first Janamashtmi of the new millennium, uncertainty prevails regarding the final date of celebration.

CRIME

Fraud of 18 lakh detected
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — A fraud of over Rs 18 lakh in the Punjab Mandi Board has come to light with the civil engineer of the Board registering a case against a Jagraon based transport company for allegedly lifting goods from the Mathura Oil Refinery and not depositing these goods at the local office here.

1 held for embezzling Rs 23 lakh

Bus taken away at gun point
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The police has booked 10 persons for taking away a bus at gunpoint from the Jalandhar by pass on August 13.

‘My father, brother held illegally’
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The continued illegal detention of a father-son duo by the local police has recently come to light. This is in spite of the fact that a warrant officer of the high court has already raided the police post where they were detained and has recovered one of the three family members originally detained.

Woman alleges assault
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — A woman has accused her mother, two brothers and sisters-in-law of beating, threatening and keeping her in illegal confinement.

BUSINESS

Hot profits in readymade trousers
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — Almost three years after their appearance in the market of this megacity, readymade cotton trousers are still in great demand and the sales are soaring higher and higher.

Federation’s plea to PM
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The Federation of Tiny and Small Industries of India today urged the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to convene and chair a meeting with the “real representatives” of the tiny and small scale sector at the earliest before declaring the proposed policy for village and small scale industries on August 30.

Country Club in city soon
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — Ludhiana is among the major cities identified by Country Club (India) Ltd., a part of the Hyderabad-based Amrutha group of companies, for setting up franchise clubs in different parts of the country within the next one year.

EDUCATION

Computer colleges oppose private help
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The Punjab Technical University has approved in principle to increase seats for the BCA course in four management colleges in the city from the current academic session.

PAU abuzz with election activity
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 —The Punjab Agricultural University is abuzz with political activity these days in preparation for the forthcoming elections of the Teachers’ Association.

No hike in fee, students relieved
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The news that the Punjab government has dropped the proposal to hike fee in colleges and universities has brought a sigh of relief to all the students and their parents here.

HEALTH

DMC holds health awareness camp
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The Department of Community Medicine, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, today organised a health awareness camp at Rurka village in Dehlon block.

SPORT

Stadium under renovation
LUDHIANA, Aug 19 — The renovation work at Guru Nanak Dev Stadium here is in full swing these days as part of the ongoing preparations for the National Games. The district Sports Department and the Municipal Corporation are working together to make the stadium uniform to international standards.