Ludhiana, October 21
Hundreds of commuters heaved a sigh of relief when the passenger train for Jakhal left on time, 5.40 pm, on Sunday. The sun was about to set in another 10 minutes or so. Everything was well and fine until the train crossed the Sidhwan canal and entered the open rural territory. Complaining of irritation in their eyes, passengers started downing the window shutters to keep the bitter paddy-stubble smoke out.

Just as the train chugged off from Gill railway station around 6 pm, the sun had gone down but in the fading light of dusk, a thick blanket of smoke, growing thicker with every moment, could be seen floating over the entire countryside. The thick pall of smoke seemed to wilt under the pressure of the unseen dew which starts falling early these days.

Even as some passengers were coughing and rubbing their irritated eyes, bitter, irritating smoke was invading the train. It had grown dark and as the train left Kila Raipur on its onward journey, one could spot a distant harvested paddy field on fire, burning in patches, the circles of fire growing bigger.

Rejecting the advice from soil conservators , environmentalists and PAU experts, the farmers of Punjab, are burning paddy stubble. Admonitions and threats of action from time to time by the district administration too have failed to have the desired effect.

Apart from polluting the general environment for more than a month, the paddy stubble smoke affects the health of thousands of people every paddy season. Particularly hit are the people having respiratory problems.

Thousands of cases involving various allergic diseases of the eye and throat are reported every year. 

Ludhiana, October 21
Students of the Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GNIMT) organised a cultural show to celebrate the success of the institute at the Zonal Youth festival and showcased their performances.

The show began with a welcome to Mr Gunwant Singh Dua, coordinator, GGNIMT, and Mr Gurbir Singh Sarna (general secretary, Gujarkhan, Trust), by Dr (Col) H.S.Singha, Director, GNIMT.

Students presented all the items that brought laurels and trophies to the institute. The items comprised of mime, bhangra, giddha, western songs, folk song, mimicry and one-act play. Participants enthralled the audience with their performances.

Mr Dua congratulated the management, faculty and students for their success. He encouraged the students to work even harder in the future to retain the position gained by them.

Ludhiana, October 21
A quiz contest was held on the premises of Holly Hock Nursery School here today. Children from various sections of Nursery participated in the quiz and enthusiastically answered questions. The questions were pertaining to the syllabus and some general questions included in the quiz to judge the mental ability of the children.

The quiz turned out to be a huge success and it acted as a platform to explore their hidden talent. The results — Nursery section: Section A — Kashsish Dawar 1,Vani Sabharwal 2 and Parth Maini 3; Section B — Simran Puri 1 and Japneet 2 and Shokit Sood 3.Section C —Amisha1, Aryan Mahajan 2, and Janavi 3. Section D — Snehdeep 1 and Deepansh 2 and Rohtansh 3