Ludhiana, December 8
Led by activists of Punjab Kisan Sabha, a large number of farmers today sat on a dharna at Mini Secretariat here demanding an immediate end to harassment of farmers in Bet area of the district.

Speaking at the occasion, functionaries of the sabha including Mr Surinder Singh Jalaldiwal, Mr Avtar Singh Gill, Mr Kartar Singh Bowani and Mr Bhupinder Sambhar alleged that farmers were being uprooted on large scale in Bet area in the name of afforestation and those opposing the highhanded act of the administration were being booked and detained in jails.

The speakers further demanded that cases registered against farmers be withdrawn, hike in prices of petroleum products be rolled back, prices of farm inputs be kept under control and remunerative prices of farm produce, including cotton, be ensured. The leaders of kisan sabha called upon the government to commence the work of digging of new canals without any further delay to save the state from drought and adequate compensation for crop losses be granted to farmers in the border area.

Other demands raised by agitating farmers included payment of arrears of over Rs 80 crore to sugarcane producers, restoration of free power and water facility to farmers, scrapping the proposed privatisation of the Punjab State Electricity Board and finding a viable solution of stray cattle.

Among other speakers at the dharna were Mr Piara Singh, Mr Jang Singh, Mr Asa Singh, Mr Mehar Singh Badhewal and Mr Nirmal Singh.

Mandi Gobindgarh, December 8
The Punjab Institute of Management and Technology (PIMT) organised "corporate day" on the campus of the institute yesterday. Top executives from reputed organisations interacted with students on various issues.

Those spoke on the occasion included Mr S.J. Raj, MD, Newogen Software Technologies Ltd, New Delhi, Mr Bharat Goel, Vice-President, Hero Cycles Ltd, Ludhiana, Mr M.S. Dhaliwal, GM (HR), Groz Beckert, Chandigarh, Ms Sunita Arora, senior consultant, ABC Consultants, Chandigarh and Prof Manoj Sharma, University Business School, Punjab University, Chandigarh.

Mr Dhaliwal, in his presentation, asked for global vision to see the changing perception of business world.

Mr Bharat Goel told students how Hero Cycles have been able to maintain relations with their vendors for over three generations.

Mr S.J. Raj told the students that the market had reached inflexion point and the time was just ripe because products were stable and market educated.

Ms Sunita Arora replied the volley of queries of the students regarding the scope of IT and management students in the present scenario and how they should prepare themselves to meet the expectation of the industry.

Mr Manoj Sharma gave valuable tips to the students for preparing themselves for getting better placement.

The programme was presided over by Mr R.L. Bhatia, industrialist of Mandi Gobindgarh and the Chairman of the PIMT committee. Mr Pyara Singh Kalsi, Mr N.K. Khanna and Mr Satya Parkash, other members of the trust, were also present.

The valedictory speech was given by Mr S.S. Bagli, secretary of the Gobindgarh Educational and Social Welfare Trust, which runs the PIMT.

The students who were actively involved in organising the day were Inderjot, Ruchika, Sandeep, Parneet, Sandeep Garg, Sonu Bhullar, Renuka, Gurinder Mann, Gaurav Chandi, Nirmal, Gurdev Jassar, Navjit (all MBAs), Mandeep, Raman, Monica Passi, Manish, Harneet, Sikander, Nishta Sood, and Pawanjit (all MCAs).

Ludhiana, December 8
The parents of children taking admission to kindergarten seem to have lost their sleep with the admission forms being available in various schools. The teachers of the playways have already started preparing their students with mock interviews. Going by the stress level and anxiety among the parents, it seems as if it is interview time for parents and not for children.

The closing dates of getting admission forms of some schools have already passed whereas many others are all set to start the admission procedure.

Today was the closing date for getting admission forms at DAV Public School. The forms can be submitted till December 23.

The forms of Sat Pal Mittal School will be available till December 15 and the interviews will be held in the first week of January.

The date of getting admission forms of Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, is December 10. The forms can be submitted on December 17 and 18.

Guru Nanak Public School and Sacred Heart Convent, BRS Nagar, will start giving admission forms in the first week of January. The parents can get the forms of KVM till December 24.

The interview time in schools have made the parents a worried lot. Ms Alka, a homemaker, said both she and her husband were very anxious.

She had made her three-and-a-half-year-old daughter learn more than 20 poems. “Still I am not sure how will she respond. I have not been getting sound sleep for the past many days. I have been advised by my doctor to take sleeping pills”, she added.

Ms Nalini, another worried parent, said she wanted her child to be in one particular school. “I am not going to send her to any other school because all the kids in the family are studying in the same school. She is active and intelligent and should clear the interview”, she said.

Ms Vandita, Principal Sparkles School (a playway), said parents should not force their children to learn everything. Let the child be natural, spontaneous and confident.

Dr Rajiv Gupta, a city-based psychiatrist, said parents were themselves responsible for high anxiety level.

In Ludhiana, the schools had become a status symbol for parents and they had limited options in mind. “Parents should have broader vision. They are putting unnecessary burden on little kids by making them learn so many things. A child has to be active and spontaneous only. Let the child be natural. As parents, one should focus on making the child familiar with the new environment (of the school). If you are panicky, you make your child dumb and confused”, stressed Dr Gupta.