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TOP STORIES

Stage set for kisan mela
Four farmers to get Punjab CM prize
Ludhiana, March 1
The stage is set for the kisan mela to be held on March 2 and 3 where four farmers will be presented with the Punjab Chief Minister’s coveted prize for showing enterprise in agriculture and allied fields.

Stalls being set up on the eve of a kisan mela at the PAU in Ludhiana. — Tribune photo by Sayeed Ahmed

City bus stand set for makeover Ludhiana, March 1 Considered a pockmark on the city, the Ludhiana bus stand is all set to get a new look with the construction company, which has been allotted the project, starting work on it. Preparations afoot for the new bus stand in Ludhiana. — A Tribune photograph

Dalit woman found dead; family suspects foul play
Raikot, March 1
Mystery shrouds the death of a married Dalit woman of Jalaldiwal village whose body was found on the outskirts of the village yesterday. While the police has registered a report under Section 174 of the Cr PC and insisted that further action would be taken after receiving the viscera report, a number of kisan political organisations apprehended rape and murder of the victim and threatened to launch an agitation if the culprits were not booked.

Milk plant challaned
Ludhiana, March 1
The local milk plant has been challaned by the Weights and Measures Department for providing lesser quantity of milk in half litre pouches marketed by the former. This follows an inquiry ordered into the matter by Deputy Commissioner Anurag Verma a few days ago.

Cop booked
Ludhiana, March 1
The Sarabha Nagar police has booked a constable for extorting money from a couple. He was caught by some persons while harassing a couple in a park in Maharaj Nagar. He reportedly took Rs 1600 as bribe to release them on February 27.

COMMUNITY

Budget to uplift farmers: experts
Ludhiana, March 1
The fact that Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has underlined the importance of the agriculture sector in giving a push to the economic growth rate is evident from the focus he has put on the expansion of irrigation potential, institutional agricultural credit and food processing.

CAs, catering in service tax net
Ludhiana, March 1
All services provided by chartered accountants, company secretaries and cost accountants, catering services provided in academic institutions and hospitals, call centres and medical transcription centres have been brought under the service tax net in the Budget 2006.

Budget disappoints industry
Ludhiana, March 1
Terming the Union Budget as disappointing for the small-scale industrial sector, the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association said the Finance Minister did not take any initiatives to boost the growth of this sector that has a significant contribution to the economy.

Anti-worker, says Left party
Doraha, March 1
The Marxist Communist Party of India (United) has termed the Budget as anti-people, anti-worker and anti-peasant. Mr Lakhwinder Singh Buani, district secretary of the party, and Mr Pawan Kumar Kaushal, committee member, in a press note today expressed concern over the “meagre facilities” in the Budget.

Villagers to form NRI sabha Ludhiana, March 1 A meeting of residents and other dignitaries, including NRIs, which was held at Gurdwara Sri Guru Har Gobind Sahib at Rakba village in this district yesterday, decided to form an NRI sabha to strengthen cultural bonds and mutual relationship with the expatriates. Baba Joginder Singh, along with Mr K.K. Bawa, felicitates NRIs to mark the formation of an NRI society at Rakba village, near Ludhiana, on Tuesday. — A Tribune photograph

Don’t indulge in petty politics, DC tells club members
Ludhiana, March 1
The Deputy Commissioner and the President of the Sutlej Club, Mr Anurag Verma, has warned the club members not to indulge in dirty politics during the coming elections.

Pensioners to hold protest on March 10
Ludhiana, March 1
The Punjab Government Pensioners Joint Front in association with the Punjab Pensioners Confederation, the Punjab Government Pensioners Maha Sangh and the Punjab Government Pensioners Association, will hold a state-level massive protest on March 10 at Chandigarh, against the non-fulfillment of recommendations made by the Punjab Fourth Pay Commission for the benefit of pensioners.

Panel discussion on female foeticide
Ludhiana, March 1
On the occasion of International Women Day, Directorate of Social Empowerment and Economic Development, Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle, in collaboration with the Punjab Women Commission will organise a panel discussion on "female foeticide" at Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women, Ludhiana, on March 2 from 10.30 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

Probe ordered against cop
Jagraon, March 1
Kulwinder Singh Dang, a reporter of Talwandi Khurd, was allegedly manhandled by a policeman posted at Chowkiman. The reporter has lodged a complaint against the erring cop to the SSP who has deputed the SP(Headquarters) to inquire into the matter within three days.

Patwaris protest against SDM’s remarks
Jagraon, March 1
Patwaris of Jagraon circle today held a dharna in front of the office of the SDM in protest against the remarks by the Raikot SDM in connection with the circle allocation to Gurpreet Singh, Rajinder Singh and Satwant Singh and registration of a case by the Vigilance against Bhinderpal, Ludhiana patwari.

CRIME

Man booked for obscene SMS
Ludhiana, March 1
The division No. 5 police has registered a case against a person who was allegedly harassing a city-based doctor by sending him obscene messages. The police was in the process of identifying the man by taking the record from a mobile phone company.

BUSINESS

Prices of cycles set to rise
Ludhiana, March 1
The Indian bicycle industry today hinted at a marginal increase of 1.5-2 per cent in the prices of bicycles following reimposition of 5 per cent customs duty on melting steel scrap.

AGRICULTURE

Farmers have a field day
Samrala, March 1
The Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Samrala, organised a field day on oilseeds at Kakrala Khurd, 15 km from here, today. Mr Satpal Singh, Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Samrala, was the chief guest. About 80 farmers participated.

EDUCATION

Colleges await UGC nod for add-on courses
Ludhiana, March 1
Several city colleges have asked for UGC’s add-on courses at a recently held meeting in Chandigarh. Many of them are hopeful of getting the nod by the UGC as the courses were helpful for students in getting jobs while pursuing their BA/BCom degrees simultaneously.

Grant: PAU plans thrust areas
Ludhiana, March 1
Punjab Agricultural University intends to divert the Rs-100 crore grant towards biotechnology, post-harvesting measures, animal improvement and natural resources conservation.

PAU honorary degree for Ohio varsity chief
Ludhiana, March 1
Punjab Agricultural University will confer honorary doctorate degree upon the President of Ohio State University, Dr (Ms) Karen A. Holbrook, at a convocation here on March 8.

From Colleges
Students discuss social issues
Ludhiana, March 1
The NSS unit of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College organised a seminar on different social issues on the college premises here yesterday. Ms Jaspreet Kaur of Computer Science and Engineering, who presented papers on AIDS, was declared first while second and third positions were bagged by Mr Prabhjot Singh and Ms Manpreet Kaur, respectively, for the topics on Dowry System.

Class VIII exam peaceful
Mandi Ahmedgarh, March 1
Dr Maghar Singh, circle education officer, Nabha, claimed that the class VIII examination being conducted by the Punjab School Education Board went off peacefully at 1,076 centres in Sangrur, Ludhiana, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib and Ropar districts on the first day today.

Danish dancers enthral
Ludhiana, March 1
The National Danish Performance Team gave a presentation at the Punjab International Sports and Cultural Festival — 2006 at the Partap College of Education here yesterday being organised by the Punjab Cultural Promotion Council in collaboration with the college.

HEALTH

DMCH doctor wins first prize at national meet
Ludhiana, March 1
A doctor from the ENT Department at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital here, Dr Manish Munjal, has being awarded the first prize for his presentation on his endoscopic technique of surgery on newborns and children as young as one and a half-years old at the annual conference of the Association of Paediatrics ENT Surgeons of India.

Stem cells hold hope for heart patients: experts
Ludhiana, March 1
Stem cells or cells which can be made to grow into any type of body organ have emerged as a new hope for heart patients. This was the opinion expressed at the 52nd annual conference of the Indian Association of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons held in Bangalore earlier this week.

Chickenpox vaccination must
Ludhiana, March 1
Most cases of chickenpox occur in children less than 15 years of age. The incidence of the disease peaks in the first six months of each year, according to a city paediatrician, Dr Niraj Thapar.

IMA to hold workshop on child health
Ludhiana, March 1
The Ludhiana branch of the Indian Medical Association has been awarded one 'Capacity Building Workshop on the Contraceptive, Update Anemia and Adolescent Health'. The Union Government, under its Reproductive Child Health project, has awarded 12 such workshops to be held in 15 different states all over the country.