L U D H I A N A

Liquor auction venue shifted to Patiala
Ludhiana, March 28
The ongoing confrontation between the Excise and Taxation Minister, Mr Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon, and the Minister for Technical Education, Mr Jagdish Singh Garcha, seems to have reached a flashpoint with the former having decided to shift the venue of the auction of liquor vends from Ludhiana to Patiala despite strong resistance from Mr Garcha.

• Fight is on principle, not prestige: Garcha

CMC trauma unit nearing completion
Ludhiana, March 28
The new trauma unit building of the local Christian Medical College and Hospital is almost complete. Costing Rs 3.5 crore, installation of equipment has begun at the unit, according to Dr Cilas Charles, the director of the institute.

Games doctors play
Ludhiana, March 28
Politics is not the prerogative of politicians alone as doctors of CMC are adept at playing games for power. “The problem of infighting between the two factions started a decade back. Dr Richard Daniel, the then Director, Dr Mohan Verghese, cardiac surgeon and Dr Kim Mammen, urologist and medical superintendent, had formed a group.

Mayor Apinder Singh Grewal and Commissioner S.S. Sandhu; (right) the Municipal Corporation general house in session in Ludhiana on Wednesday. 
— Photos by Inderjit Verma

Civic body chief assumes charge
Samrala, March 28
After a legal struggle of three years, Mr Bhajan Singh today assumed charge as president of the local Nagar Council at a function in which the local MLA, Mr Amrik Singh Dhillon, councillors and Congress workers participated.

BOTTOMLINE
Jumping rail reservation queue
March 28
Is out-of-turn reservation possible at the local railway station? Senior Railway Officials deny it. The following account shows little truth in the denial of the officials.

COMMUNITY

Resentment against untimely power cuts
Ludhiana, March 28
Several industrialists in the city today reacted strongly against the unscheduled and untimely power cuts imposed by the Punjab State Electricity Board. Mr Avtar Singh, general secretary, Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings, in a press statement said that unannounced power cuts had disturbed the furnace units and the engineering industry in the city.

Encroachment mafia’s shadow on Ghanta Ghar
Ludhiana, March 28
What happened to the much-touted plan of the Municipal Corporation to beautify the area around Ghanta Ghar? Was it just one of those plans that was announced for political mileage or is the corporation serious about such a move?
A garbage dump near Ghanta Ghar in Ludhiana.

Choked by generators
Ludhiana, March 28
The onset of summers has not only brought in misery in terms of power cuts, but has also aggravated several health problems in the city owing to aggressive use of generators causing havoc in terms of noise and air pollution. Resultantly there has been a sudden spurt in cases of respiratory ailments such as asthma, breathlessness, fever, chronic cough etc that are generally associated with harvesting, due later next month.

CRIME

Man dies in police custody
Khanna, March 28
A man reportedly died in the police custody at the local Sadar police station here on Tuesday night. According to the information, the deceased, Nahar Singh of Gazipur village, was arrested on March 25 by ASI Banarsi Dass of the Sadar police station and 35 kg of poppy husk was seized from him. He was produced in the court of Mr Munish Arora, Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Khanna, and was remanded to the police custody till March 28.

Two cases of fraud registered
Sahnewal, March 28
The Sahnewal police registered two cases of fraud yesterday. According to an FIR registered on the statement of Ms Gurminder Kaur, daughter of late Baldev Singh of Haibowal Khurd, she was duped by her cousins who illegally got her land registered in their name.

Goods seized
Ludhiana, March 28
A team of the enforcement wing of the Octroi Department of MC, headed by the Joint Commissioner, Mr Harjinder Singh, raided a godown of a local transport company and goods worth several lakhs, brought to the city without payment of octroi, were seized.

Minor girl kidnapped
Ludhiana, March 28
The Focal Point police yesterday registered a case against a Bihari youth, Sat Narain, for kidnapping a minor daughter of another migrant settled in Dhanadari Kalan on Monday.

BUSINESS

Flour millers seek tax relief
Ludhiana, March 28
The Punjab Roller Flour Mills Association has threatened to close down all the mills in Punjab in case the Punjab government did not provide tax relief to them. The association claimed that the millers were already overburdened by various taxes which were far more than those in other states.

New software for dyeing units
Ludhiana, March 28
A new MIS software system has been made available to the dyeing units, passing through a critical phase in view of the restrictions imposed on them by the Punjab Pollution Control Board and increasing competition from the modernised and large-scale dyeing units.

AGRICULTURE

Centre urged to raise duty on imported farm products
Ludhiana, March 28
The Punjab government has impressed upon the Central government to impose maximum market duty on agricultural products imported from other countries. This was stated by Mr C.L. Bains, Financial Commissioner (Development), Punjab, while addressing a large number of gathering of farmers after inaugurating a kisan mela organised by Punjab Agricultural University at the regional centre today.

Scientist honoured
Ludhiana, March 28
Dr Sudesh Kumar Arora, a scientist from the Punjab Agricultural University, has been awarded Hans Raj Pahwa Award for the year 1998 for his outstanding contributions in vegetable breeding.

Rain brings cheer to wheat growers
Ludhiana, March 28
The city and surrounding areas experienced a cool day today owing to cloudy conditions and a brief spell of rain in the afternoon. Lasting not more than 15 minutes, it was accompanied by thunder and hailstorm.

FMD vaccination
Machhiwara, March 28
To protect animals from foot-and-mouth disease in Samrala tehsil, vaccination work is going on speedily and 30,400 animals have been vaccinated. This was stated by Dr Amarjit Singh Machhiwara, senior veterinary officer, here today.

EDUCATION

Seminar on modern teaching ways
Ludhiana, March 28
A five-day seminar-cum-workshop on modern teaching methods and attitude to cope up with the growing expectations of the new generation and their parents began at BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, here today.

NIIT centre
Machhiwara, March 28
A branch of NIIT Computer Education, was inaugurated by Mr Anil Sood, president of the local nagar panchayat, near Miri Piri School here yesterday.

COURTS

Forum quashes PSEB demand of Rs 10,305
Ludhiana, March 28
The District Consumer Disputes and Redressal Forum has quashed the demand of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) of Rs 10,305 from Ms Sunita Goyal, a resident of Upkar Nagar. The forum further directed the board to refund the amount deposited against the said demand along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum.

SPORT

Shooters leave for Badal
Ludhiana, March 28
Badal, the native village of Mr Parkash Singh Badal, is on way to becoming a major centre for shooting, hockey and swimming competitions and coaching camps in these disciplines.

Sportsmen to get scholarships
Ludhiana, March 28
All sports person who had applied for the scholarship for their achievements in the years 1998, 1999 and 2000 through the District Sports department, can collect their scholarships from the District Sports Office, Guru Nanak Stadium on April 3.

ADMINISTRATION

Khanna budget passed
Khanna, March 28
A budget of Rs 1,490 lakh was passed at a special meeting of the local MC here today with some amendments suggested by some Opposition members. According to information, proposed budget of Rs 1,330 lakh was presented at the meeting. The major source of the MC income, octroi, was shown Rs 723 lakh, against the previous income of contact given to private contractors, Rs 736 lakh raising the issue of less proposed income.