The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, March 31, 2001,
Chandigarh, India

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS

50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

L U D H I A N A

Rain discolours farmers’ hopes
Lalton (Ludhiana), March 30
Two days of rains and strong winds have caused about 20 per cent damage to standing wheat crop in several villages of this district. Farmers and experts are worried that another spell of similar rains accompanied by winds or hailstorms can spell doom for them.

Rain brought wheat crop to the ground at Lalton village in Ludhiana district. — Photo Rajesh Bhambi

Confrontation led to postponement
Ludhiana, March 30
Senior officials of the Excise and Taxation Department are blaming the local administration, including the police, for ‘non-cooperation, in the preparations for the auction of liquor vends here on March 26.

EARLIER STORIES

	Rs 137.79 crore PAU budget passed March 30, 2001
	Liquor auction venue shifted to Patiala March 29, 2001
	Who will win the liquor war? March 28, 2001
	Wheat worth Rs 500 cr rotting in the open March 27, 2001
	Liquor contractors keep fingers crossed March 26, 2001
	Sops on cards to woo voters March 25, 2001
	FIR amended; murder case registered March 24, 2001
	Tikait threatens nationwide stir from April 14 March 23, 2001
	MC men, councillors on war-path March 22, 2001
	MC approves Rs 5 crore for development works March 21, 2001

3 school employees allege police torture
Jagraon (Ludhiana), March 30
Close on the heels of the alleged custodial death in Khanna, another case of police torture has come to light in a village near this town. Three employees of a school in Sidhwan Khurd were allegedly tortured and illegally detained by the Chowki Maan police.

Death due to police torture, says rights body
Khanna, March 30
The death case of Nahar Singh of Gazipur village, who died in police custody on March 27, took a new turn when a team of a human rights organisation, named National Human Rights Watch, claimed that it was a case of police torture.

Improvement trust budget passed
Ludhiana, March 30
The Ludhiana Improvement Trust has approved its annual budget of Rs 36.50 crore for the next financial year. With the expected expenditure standing at Rs 37.36 crore, the budget will have a deficit of Rs 0.86 crore, provided the income targets were realised fully.

Student held for beating up teacher
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 30
The district police has registered a case against two students of Government Senior Secondary School, Balhari Kalan, and arrested one of them for beating up a teacher of the school.

BOTTOMLINE
Pathological labs mushroom
March 30
Mushrooming of pathology laboratories has not really improved the quality of medical tests, as many cases of wrong diagnosis have come to light. Though, many a diagnosis may not be harmful, but some like in the case of Shanti could prove fatal.

COMMUNITY

Transport Nagar, Mata Rani areas to get phones
Ludhiana, March 30
Good news for the residents who are living in area marked “technically non-feasible by the telecommunications department. They can now look forward to the wireless local loop facility which is going to be introduced by the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.

Will the bridge over Sutlej materialise?
Machhiwara, March 30
A bridge across the Sutlej whose foundation stone is going to be laid down on April 8, at the nearby Ghumana village, by the Chief Minister, Punjab, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, was also built for a while in 1974.

SBI employees’ strike on April 4
Ludhiana, March 30
The banking operations in the country may come to a halt if the negotiations between the State Bank of India’s employee unions and the management fail, currently going on in Mumbai.

Postman to collect phone bills
Ludhiana, March 30
The postman will now not just deliver the telephone bill at your doorstep, but also collect the payment and give the receipt in a day or two. The receipt would be issued on the Chandigarh pattern.

Fire-prevention rules being ignored
Ludhiana, March 30
The citizens of this mega city seem indifferent to the safety of their property and lives from fire. After the Dabwali fire tragedy, the then District Magistrate had made certain rules to avoid such tragedies here.

Ex-sarpanch acquitted of embezzlement charge
Ludhiana, March 30
It is a typical case of a person being found guilty of embezzlement by a senior officer and managing to get away with the help of junior-rung officials.

Injured in road accident
Doraha, March 30
Two persons were injured in an accident on GT Road in the morning today. They were hospitalised at Sidhu Hospital.

Sainik board for raise in allowances
Ludhiana, March 30
The district Sainik Board has decided to recommend a raise in travel allowance of ex-servicemen and widows of ex-servicemen from the Rs 100 to Rs 200 and medical allowance to Rs 250 per month as was being given to the pensioners of the Punjab government.

MC move a poll stunt?
Ludhiana, March 30
The decision of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation to supply free water and provide free sewerage facility in the town for a year in view of its ensuing elections will have serious economic repercussions on the development of the town.

Akali Dal (A) honours party workers
Khamano, March 30
The Akali Dal (A), Khamano circle, has demanded more electricity for the poor, Dalits and farmers in the coming season. At a meeting held today under the chairmanship of Mr Mohinder Singh Meneli, circle president, it also decided to fight against the alleged atrocities being committed on the poor in villages and cities.

Under the shadow of alms
Ludhiana, March 30
Dressed in typical head gear called Shivji’s mukut with a sheshnaag and strands of thread symbolic of Shiv jatas, Shiv jangans can be seen begging for alms. They also adorn their ears with Parvati Karanphool and sport a big brass round bindi called Parvati’s bindi.

CRIME

Man booked for killing father
Ludhiana, March 30
The division number five police has registered a case under Section 304 of the IPC against a youth, Vinod Kumar, for allegedly killing his father on Wednesday night. The police registered the case on the complaint of Ms Sudambri, wife of Satia Singh, a migrant from Pauri Garhwal in Uttar Pradesh, now living in the ESI Complex near Bharat Nagar Chowk.

Cop manhandled

Liquor seized

Vehicles stolen

Arms recovered

BUSINESS

LSE brokers boycott trading, allege harassment
Ludhiana, March 30
The trading operations at the Ludhiana Stock Exchange came to a halt as the stock brokers boycotted trading to register their protest against the what they termed as “harassment and high-handedness of the income tax officials” who had conducted raids at the LSE on Thursday.

Kheel ke ladoo dearer
Ludhiana, March 30
The nine days of Navratras have a lot of religious significance for a large number of people. Every year, the number of people fasting during these days is on the rise. Maybe people are getting more religious or want a change of diet, or want to lose weight. But, anyway, it means big business for many people.

EDUCATION

School building project in rough weather
Ludhiana, March 30
A project to renovate the building of Government Middle School, Dholewal, with financial help from the parents of the students, seems to have come to a halt. The parent-teacher association of the school had launched a project in the first week of December to renovate the school building at a cost of Rs 3 crore collected through donations.

COURTS

Phone consumer to get Rs 4,000
Ludhiana, March 30
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the telecom department to pay Rs 4,000 on account of deficiency in services to Mr Suresh Kumar Jain, a resident of the Civil Lines area.

CULTURE

Badal releases Choorian
Ludhiana, March 30
Choorian, an audio album by folk singers Mander Brothers was released by the Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal, at a simple ceremony last evening. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Badal appealed folk singers to sing the songs based on the rich cultural heritage of state and desist from singing vulgar songs.

HEALTH

For neurosurgery dial 98140-21111
Ludhiana March 30
Head injury is a common cause of disability and death in India. Most of these head injuries occur on highways in towns, village and cities. Head injury should be treated immediately by a neurosurgeon. Unfortunately, in India, there are only 400 neurosurgeons for a population of 1.02 billion people, and the time required for a head injury patient to reach a neurosurgeon is approximately 4 hours.