L U D H I A N A

Holiday resort takes people for a ride
LUDHIANA, March 5 — Gold Crest Holidays Pvt Ltd, a company claiming to take people on holiday trips abroad, has allegedly duped several persons in the city after promising them trips to countries like England and Canada for amount as less than Rs 2 lakh.

Board exams: ever too late
LUDHIANA, March 5 — With no intimation regarding duties of examiners having reached the District Education Department, examination centres or school teachers directly, seems the Punjab School Education Board is too late at accomplishing their tasks at the proper time.

Jubilant devotees await Id
LUDHIANA, March 5 — Thousands of Muslim devotees are buying ‘dumbas’ - the sacrificial goats. The city’s warming up to celebrate Id-ul-Zuha, the festival of brotherhood, love and peace, which falls on March 6.

Goats on sale in Ludhiana on the eve of Id and (right) children form a group while donning traditional Muslim caps. 
— Photos by Inderjeet Verma

Row over road project continues
LUDHIANA, March 5 — The project of building an elevated road over the Old GT Road here from Jagraon Bridge to Chand Cinema continues to be controversial. Various political parties and municipal councillors are divided over the issue.

Pay challan or attend meeting
LUDHIANA, March 5 — The traffic police has introduced a new way to educate the public about the traffic rules. Under the programme chalked out by Mr Arun Paul Singh, SP (Traffic), violators of traffic rules will be given two options — receive a challan or attend a meeting where locals are educated about the traffic rules.

Satta operators held
KHANNA, March 5 — The Khanna police claimed to have arrested one smuggler and three satta operators here today.

SPEAKING OUT
It should be a simple, solemn Holi this year
LUDHIANA, March 5 — Reacting to the decision of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, not to celebrate Holi because of the catastrophic tragedy that claimed thousands of lives in Gujarat, people in Ludhiana today favoured a simple and solemn Holi this year.

COMMUNITY

‘Extend registration date of tenants, servants’
LUDHIANA, March 5 — The members of the Public Cause (a forum for voicing common problems of the people and to focus public attention on various ills plaguing the society) have demanded that the date for giving information regarding the tenants and domestic servants, as directed by the district administration, should be extended to March 31.

Congress leaders rap government
LUDHIANA, March 5 — Senior Congress leaders have criticised the Akali-BJP government for its alleged failure to come up to the expectations of the people of the state. Speaking at a public meeting several Congress leaders including Mr K. K.

IHRO flays Arjun’s statement
LUDHIANA, March 5 — The International Human Rights Organisation (IHRO) today strongly refuted the Congress Leader and former Punjab Governor Arjun Singh’s view that Rajiv-Longowal Accord was still relevant and existing and that, if implemented, it would give a new direction to the state.

PAU kisan mela at Patiala
LUDHIANA, March 5 — Thousands of farmers thronged the kisan mela organised by Punjab Agricultural University at Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Patiala today.

Favouritism charges at PAU function
LUDHIANA, March 5 — In what may be termed as a case of prize piracy at anjuman, a cultural extravaganza, organised by the Department of Business Management, Punjab Agricultural University here yesterday, the director of a participating institute alleged that they were denied two prizes which the judges had awarded them and the prizes were presented to someone else.

Versatility is their hallmark
LUDHIANA, March 5 — One would associate medical students with studies and not with composing verses or performing dances or being versatile in spite of being toppers. But some students of Christian Medical College and Christian Dental College, besides being good in academics, have shown proficiency in other fields too.

Bittu to revive SSF
LUDHIANA, March 5 — A former activist of the then All-India Sikh Students Federation, Daljit Singh ‘Bittu’, who remained underground for several years during the militancy in Punjab, has expressed his intention to revive the Sikh Students Federation (SSF) in order “to make a determined intervention and to give a positive and new turn to Sikh politics.”

COURTS

Special Lok Adalat
FATEHGARH SAHIB, March 5 — A special state-level Lok Adalat was organised here yesterday to settle bank loan cases. Addressing a press conference on the occasion Mr Justice H.S. Bedi the concept of lok adalat to settle bank loan cases is a new experience and first of its kind in the state.

HERBS AND HEALTH
Bansa — the expectorant
BANSA (Sanskrit — Adusa, Vasaka; botanical name — Adhatoda Vasica) is about two to four feet tall, much-branched dense shrub that grows wildly throughout the plains and the foothill regions of India. It has white flowers and opposite ascending branches with long and dark green leaves. Bansa is found in abundance in the Shivaliks where it is commonly known as basuti.