L U D H I A N A

Cricket betting halts, Divali gambling picks up
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — The just-concluded ICC Knockout Cricket Tournament failed to cut much ice with the bookies in the region as organised gambling picks up with Divali just round the corner.

Super-speciality hospital for city
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — The Apollo group of hospitals will soon set up a 300-bedded multi-disciplinary super speciality hospital in the city at a cost of about Rs 75 crore. 

CBI SI booked for making threatening calls
SAHNEWAL, Oct 18 — A case of making threatening calls and using foul language with a girl on a mobile phone has been registered against a CBI sub-inspector and his two brothers.

Mystery shrouds servant’s death
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — There has been no clue to how a person died yesterday in a house at Madhopuri here. Ram, a servant in the house for the past 10 years, was reportedly strangulated to death. It is said that he was suffocated by a pillow and hit on the head with a cricket bat.

12 fresh dengue cases
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — Although the health authorities here have been maintaining that there was no cause for concern over the spread of dengue epidemic, 12 fresh cases were reported from different parts of the city taking the total number to 77. Most of them were said to be responding well to the treatment in various hospitals of the city.

COMMUNITY

Training on zero tillage method
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — It is really a testing time for the agricultural technology generators as well as for those involved in its transfer whether serving in the state agricultural department or the agricultural university. The problem of plenty and the WTO has threatened the present production technology and the need is to develop cost effective resource conservation technologies so as to reduce the cost of production.

Wanderers from the hills
SAHNEWAL, Oct 18 — Ilam Din and Jamila, who belong to the Gujjar tribe, live with their family on the outskirts of Sahnewal. They are Muslims who originally came from Chamba. They used to graze their animals in the forests there, but when the entry of cattle in the forests was banned, they were on the brink of starvation and had to leave their home town.

Jail excursions of Shiv Sena 
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — Mr Jagdish Tangri, chief of the Shiv Sena in Punjab, released a book depicting the hardships faced by Sena workers and leaders during the decade-long era of terrorism in the state, at a function held at the Shiv Sena headquarters in Gur Mandi here on Wednesday.

MAIL BOX

Urban colleges vs rural ones
THE Haryana Chief Minister , some time ago, ordered the transfer of 135 lecturers from urban colleges to rural ones. It is unprecedented in the history of transfers as never before have interests of rural students been taken care of by the chief executive of a state.

WOMAN POWER

A strong will to succeed
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — Age or gender has been no bar for Savita Jain to succeed. At the age of 26, she has already made her mark in training people in fashion and knitwear designing. From a modest beginning about four years ago, her institute has come to be recognised as one of the few best.

CRIME

Murder bid: in-laws booked
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — A woman has accused her husband and in-laws of attempting to kill her and harass her for bringing insufficient dowry. The police has booked the in-laws of the victim and her husband under Sections 307, 406, 498-A, 506 and 120-B of the IPC.

Police claims solving 6 murder cases
SAMRALA, Oct 18 — The Khanna police traced six murders with the arrest of Sher Singh, son of Mahan Singh of Sherpur Mand. Two co-accused are absconding, according to Mr Rajindra Dhoke, Khanna police district chief, here today.

BUSINESS

Forum against proposed sales tax
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 —The Industry and Trade Forum of Punjab has condemned the move of the state government to enforce sales tax at the first stage on the sale of raw material, iron and steel, and to impose an electricity cess of 5 paise per unit on consumers.

‘Online transactions to come under legal framework’
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — With the coming up of a safe script certification centre at Chennai, online transactions will come under legal framework and e-commerce will gain momentum, Mr David Appaswamy, General Manager, Corporate Communications, Satyam Infoway Limited, said while talking to Ludhiana Tribune here today.

EDUCATION

Bandh in boys’ colleges
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — Following the call for bandh in private colleges by the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU), most of the boys’ colleges of the city remained closed today. However, several women’s colleges of the city remained open.

Talent hunt contests
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — Folk songs, ghazals, mono-acting and poetry recitation competition marked Rangla Punjab, a talent hunt competition, at S.D. Government College here today.

Seminar on story book
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — Dr Surinder Singh Narula, eminent Punjabi Novelist, advised the Punjabi writers not to follow the beaten track in literature, but set new trends in order to portray internal emotions of the mankind.

COURTS

Two cases dismissed
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — The District Consumer Redressal Forum, today, dismissed two cases where complainants were seeking compensation from the Punjab Government for failed tubectomy operations.

Finance co. told to pay Rs 1.63 lakh
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — The District Consumers Redressal Forum today issued a conditional direction to the local branch of Lloyds Finance Ltd. and its head office in Mumbai to pay Rs 1,63,582 along with interest at 18 per cent per annum to a Malerkotla-based consumer.

CULTURE

HEALTH

Why workers shun ESI hospitals
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — Workers of industrial units contribute crores of rupees towards the ESI fund. Under the law, workers are entitled to use this fund to get family pension, insurance cover and medical facilities whenever they need these. 

Depression is no slur
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — Ashima was a clever girl. She was preparing for a competitive examination and her parents and friends expected her to do well. To everybody’s surprise, however, Ashima suffered a nervous breakdown while preparing for the examination.

Leprosy is mainly a rural disease
LUDHIANA, Oct 18 — Leprosy is believed to be a rural disease only. The latest research and various studies on the disease have revealed that leprosy was mainly a rural disease and was transmitted much less in the cities than in villages.