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MC POLL
Boxes in place, waiting to take in ballots
Security up; remember to bring your I-cards
Ludhiana, May 18
Voting and security arrangement are in place at designated polling booths here for tomorrow’s municipal elections. There are, now, 9.13 lakh voters in the city, meaning that their number is up by about 14 per cent than before.

Political loyalties take a back seat
Ludhiana, May 18
As the city goes to the polls tomorrow for the elections to the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, there is all probability of supporters of one political party voting for a candidate belonging to a different party.

Congressmen hopeful of victory
Ludhiana, May 18
The Congress MP, Mr Gurcharan Singh Ghalib, party legislator Mr Malkiat Singh Dakha, District Congress Committee (Urban) president, Mr Krishan Kumar Bawa and District Congress Committee (Rural) president, Mr Gurdev Singh Lapran, have expressed confidence that the party will score a thumping victory in the municipal elections and that the next City Mayor will be from the Congress party.

Over 100 women in the fray
Ludhiana, May 18
There are over a 100 women candidates in the fray for the tomorrow's elections to the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation. It is not that the political parties have turned too generous towards the women, but only for the reason that they have to give 33 per cent seats to the women compulsorily.

MC poll: BJP expels councillor, 16 others
Ludhiana, May 18
All is not well with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — an alliance partner in the erstwhile ruling combine. In the run-up to the municipal poll, scheduled to be held on May 19, the party leadership is faced with widespread dissidence within the party over allotment of ticket.

Candidates seek godmen’s blessings
Ludhiana, May 18
Not leaving anything to chance, candidates are flocking to astrologers and godmen seeking divine and planetary intervention for their victory in the municipal elections.

Independent candidate alleges vote shifting
Ludhiana, May 18
It has been alleged that the district election officials have put 852 voters of Ward 4 in Ward 68 barely a day before the municipal elections here. The wards are close to each other.

Tough time for poll staff
Ludhiana, May 18
Resentment prevails among the government employees put on Election duty as the basic facilities promised to them by the District Administration under the guidelines of the Election Commission have not been provided.

40 more booked for defacing property 
Ludhiana, May 18
Continuing with the crackdown on candidates contesting local Municipal Council Elections and indulging in defacement of public and government property, the district police has booked 40 more persons, including candidates and their workers under the Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act, 1997.

COMMUNITY

Tribute to Sarabha still unfinished

Sarabha (Ludhiana), May 18 Even as years have passed since the state government first announced that the ancestral house of Kartar Singh Sarabha would be preserved as a memorial, the work on it is still incomplete due to a lack of funds. The work had to be stopped halfway after the administration failed to release the grant for it. The part of the Sarabha memorial where the renovation work has stopped due to a lack of funds. — Photo Pradeep Tewari

Tulu pumps suck Ahmedgarh dry
Ludhiana, May 18
Ahmedgarh, an expanding township known for its grain market and sickle industry all over the country, is facing an acute water crisis, thanks to an inefficient civic administration and the current heat wave in the region.

CRIME

Woman worker commits suicide
Ludhiana, May 18
Paramjit Kaur, a factory labourer, allegedly committed suicide by consuming Celphos tablets at Humbran near here yesterday. Her co-workers rushed her to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital after her condition deteriorated at workplace.

Doctor booked
Ludhiana, May 18
The Khanna police has booked owner of Kamla Nursing Home, Dr Kamla Sunder, for violating the Pre-Natal Act, provisions. She was charged for not registering an ultrasound machine, possessed by her and being used at her nursing home.

BUSINESS

PSEB asked to improve customer services
Ludhiana, May 18
The Federation of Punjab Small Industries Associations (FOPSIA) has sought improvement in the consumer’s services provided by Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB).

AGRICULTURE

Paddy transplation on despite govt appeal

Koom Kalan (Ludhiana),  May 18 An appeal to desist from transplanting paddy before June 10 by the state government and the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) notwithstanding, farmers of many villages in this district are going ahead with the farm operations. A field being prepared for paddy transplantation at Koom Kalan village in Ludhiana on Saturday. —IV

EDUCATION

Restoration of ‘Secretariat pattern’ sought
Ludhiana, May 18
The Universities and Education Board Employees Federation, Punjab and Chandigarh, has demanded the restoration of ‘Secretariat pattern’. Mr Sukhwant Singh Sidhu, president of the federation, who chaired a meeting of federation representatives today at the office of the PAU Employees Union, said the decision to restore the ‘Secretariat pattern’ was taken by the syndicates and administrative boards, but had not implemented so far.

Kids captivate audience with mushaira

Ludhiana, May 18 Lovely Lotus Nursery Play School, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, held a kids’ mushaira here today. The little poets spoke poetry lines on some 60 animals, birds and water animals. Mrs Harpreet Kaur Gill, Principal, performed the ritual of shama roshan or declaring the mushaira open. Students of Lovely Lotus School participate in a function in Ludhiana on Saturday. — IV

Free education till 16 sought
Ludhiana, May 18
All India Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisation, (AIFUCTO) has decided to launch a signature campaign, a copy of which will be presented to the President of India in September 2002.

Action against teachers hailed
Ludhiana, May 18
All India Lawyers Union, Punjab Unit, has appreciated the action of the Vigilance Bureau for apprehending the teachers including the ‘tuition trade’. It would help to curb the vice and provide relief for helpless parents, the union said.

COURTS

Bail for 4 professors
Ludhiana, May 18
Mr V.B. Handa, the Sessions Judge, today granted bail to four professors allegedly held for giving private tuitions, violating the norms laid down by the government by the vigilance officers on May 15.

Fire safety norms reviewed
Ludhiana, May 18
The necessary fire safety measures in industrial and commercial buildings and other public places and the level of preparedness for the prevention and control of fire were reviewed in a high-level meeting by Mr R.L. Kalsia, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, here on Friday.