L U D H I A N A

Revenue records show dead man tilling land
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — Can a dead man till a piece of land? Yes, if the revenue records of the Kulliwal area in the city is to be believed. A piece of 10 acres of land is shown in the name of Banta Singh, who incidentally died way back in October, 1990.

Court restrains Improvement Trust
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — The Ludhiana Improvement Trust has landed itself in a piquant situation over the 1.4 acre site in the Model Town Extension area, earlier earmarked for a community centre, which was now being converted in to a commercial-cum-residential complex. 

A thalassemic mother fights it with courage
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — Mrs Usha Malhotra, proud mother of a son may be one of the very few thalassemic women in the country to have borne a child.
Usha Malhotra with her son Rohit.

Another Dalit family moves minority panel
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — Close on the heels of the suspension of a police officer in an alleged torture case of a local Dalit youth, another writ petition of harassment of a minority caste family at the hands of the city police has been admitted by the National Minority Commission of India.

Probe ordered into torture case, SHO suspended
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — On the recommendation of the National Minority Commission, the Director-General of Police, Punjab, has ordered an inquiry by a senior police officer into the sensational custodial death case of a Dalit youth allegedly at the hands of the city’s CIA police in October this year.

Replace defective set, TV dealer told
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum here has directed a local television dealer to replace a defective colour Television set sold by it to a complainant. The dealer has also been directed to pay Rs 1,000 as costs to the complainant.

MC contractor debarred from tendering
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — The Commissioner of Municipal Corporation, Dr S.S. Sandhu has debarred MC contractor, Mr S. S. Singla from further tendering for MC works till further orders.

FLAVOUR OF THE WEEK
THE mid-week was a sad reminder of the fragility of human life. Innocent lives were lost in the train accident near Rajpura. For some Ludhianvis, it was a close call and the memory of the horrifying incident would remain etched in their memory.

CITY SCAN

A city groaning under its own weight
LUDHIANA is going the Delhi way in expansion, population and pollution. All this can be attributed to bad planning. From industrial planning to family planning, everything is in chaos. A demon is staring us in the face. Do we, also see him? He shouts and pierces our ears.

COMMUNITY

Govt ‘indifferent’ to human rights
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — As the world celebrates Human Rights Day tomorrow, there is a common feeling among the masses that the issue need a proper interpretation. At the same time most people feel that government is not doing much in this regard, and it is mainly the non-governmental organisations which have taken a lead on the issue.

Verka dominates flower show
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — Verka Milk Plant, today, dominated the annual flower show organised by the Municipal Corporation at the Rose Garden.

Christmas fever catching up
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — Though Christmas is a fortnight away, Christmas trees have come up for sale in selected stores of the city, especially in the CMC hospital area, which has the largest concentration of Christians in the town.

CRIME

MC clerk booked for cheating
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — The city police, today, booked a clerk of the Municipal Corporation here on charges of cheating which caused a loss of as much as Rs 64640 to the corporation.

Convict booked for escape attempt
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — The police, yesterday, registered a case against a convict, Sachin Kumar, who tried to run away last evening from the court of Mr B.S. Mehndiratta after he was sentenced to 10 years of rigoruous imprisonment in a poppy husk smuggling case.

EDUCATION

MTS College row: teachers’ body seeks CM’s intervention
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — The Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union has sent a telegram to the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, seeking his immediate intervention into the on-going controversy over extension to the Principal of Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women.

Read for 2001 programme
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — The Read for 2001 Worldwide Programme was organised for the students of classes I to IV of GRD Academy, Humbran Road, here yesterday.

CULTURE

Global outlook for Punjabi literature stressed
LUDHIANA, Dec 9 — A two-day seminar on Punjabi literature — future, challenges and possibilities, organised by Punjabi Sahit Academy, began at Punjabi Bhawan here, with the inaugural address by Dr S.S. Joshi, professor and Head, Department of Languages, Punjabi University, Patiala.