Kids wait on the roadside for their parents following the closure of schools in Ludhiana from Thursday. — Photo by Inderjit Verma

Clerk indicted for saying husband riot victim
Ludhiana, May 11
A clerk of the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner’s office has been caught seeking cash relief by falsely claiming that her husband was a victim of the 1984 riots. Paramjit Kaur not only prepared a fake red card of her husband Jaipal Singh, but also signed as a witness on his affidavit claiming himself to be a riot victim along with an application seeking card. The case came to light after she submitted another application for compensation of Rs 2 lakh.

Liquor shops causing traffic problems
Ludhiana, May 11
With the opening of a large number of liquor shops on the highways and in the interior parts of the town, the boozers are, no doubt, having a good time, but it is causing a lot of problems for the authorities particularly the police administration.

Farmers surrender encroached land

Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 11 Roads joining the local town with nearby villages will be widened substantially as per the initial phase of the process of surrendering of encroached land by the farmers. Dr Indu, SDM, Malerkotla, supervises the filling work on a land surrendered by a farmer along a link road connecting Mandi Ahmedgarh with Baurhai Kalan village. — Photo by Mahesh Sharma

Daughter’s trauma took her life
Ludhiana, May 11
Unable to cope up with the trauma faced by her daughter, cheated by a youth who got engaged to her but refused to marry over dowry, Amrit Kaur, wife of Prof K.B.S. Sodhi, breathed her last here on May 8 following a mental illness.

Telecom firm told to pay relief
Ludhiana, May 11
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has asked HFCL Infotel Limited to refund Rs 1,137 deposited by a consumer along with pay the compensation of Rs 2,000, as it failed to provide the telephone connection to the consumer after the lapse of more than one and a half year.

COMMUNITY

Cong workers celebrate Sonia’s victory

Ludhiana, May 11 It was a period of celebration for Congress workers here following the victory of party president Sonia Gandhi in the Rae Bareli parliamentary election. The activists of the District Congress Committee and its youth wing took out a procession and distributed laddoos to celebrate the victory. Activists of the District Youth Congress celebrate the victory of Ms Sonia Gandhi in the Rae Bareli parliamentary byelection, in Ludhiana on Thursday. — Photo by I.V.

NRI Sabha elections on May 31
Ludhiana, May 11
An election meeting of the general body of the NRI Sabha (Ludhiana district) will be held on May-31 at Bachat Bhavan, to elect the new president of the Sabha.

RIL:Brar points finger at CM
Jagraon, May 11
“Capt Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister, Punjab, has struck a deal with Mr Anil Ambani of Reliance Industry Ltd by offering him 20 acres of precious land in Mohali at throwaway price, which we will not allow him to do so,” said Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar, member of the All-India Congress Working Committee, while addressing gathering at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Community Hall on the Jagraon Raikot road.

CRIME

Burglars’ gang busted Ludhiana, May 11 The CIA wing-II of the city police remains a poor cousin of the CIA wing-I even after five years of its institution. While even small achievements of the CIA wing-I, with its headquarters in the mini secretariat are highlighted by senior officials, staff of wing-II are left on their own to publicise their feats. Not a single achievement of wing-II has been projected by the detective wing of the police. The three burglars who were arrested by the CIA-II on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Two held with poppy husk
Jagraon, May 11
The Sidhwan Bet police has arrested two persons from different places and seized poppy husk from them. Mr Mukhtiar Singh, in charge, Galib Kalan, police station, arrested Sohan Singh of Galib Kalan from his village and seized 20 kg of poppy husk.

BUSINESS

Pact for handling hazardous waste
Ludhiana, May 11
Nimbuan Greenfield and Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited have entered into an agreement to create special infrastructure for handling hazardous waste in Punjab.

Cafe Coffee Day to open 500 cafes
Ludhiana, May 11
Café Coffee Day has opened its 300th cafe in the country. Mr Naresh Malhotra, Director, Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company Ltd., the parent company of Café Coffee Day, said in a press note issued here today that the company planned to open 500 cafes by year 2007 and has special growth plans for Punjab.

AGRICULTURE

Right time to sow paddy
Ludhiana, May 11
This is the right time to sow paddy nursery. Farmers have been advised to go in for only the varieties recommended by Punjab Agricultural University. These include PR 118, PR 116, PR 117, PR 115, PR 113, PR 111, PR 108 and PR 106. Sowing of nursery must be completed by May 20.

EDUCATION

Unemployed ETT teachers hold protest

Ludhiana, May 11 Unemployed ETT teachers held a protest rally in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here this afternoon. District president, Paramjit Singh Mann, general secretary Inderjit Sidhu, senior vice- president Jagdish Khanpur and Mandeep Kaur of the Un-employed Elementary Teachers Union , Punjab, said they would continue their struggle against the Punjab Education Department till their demands were fulfilled.

Unemployed ETT teachers protest in front of the Mini Secretariat on Thursday against the Punjab Education Department for not fulfilling their demands. — Photo by Inderjit Verma

PAU staff hold rally against non-payment of salaries

Ludhiana, May 11 The protesters regretted that their salaries had not been disbursed on time with the result they were forced to stage a protest demonstration. The employees and teachers expressed their resentment raising slogans during the rally. PAU employees hold a dharna in protest against the non-payment of salaries on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Cultural events mark Nurses Week celebrations

Ludhiana, May 11 Nursing students of Dr B.L. Kapur Memorial Hospital presented a colourful cultural programme as part of the ongoing Nurses Week celebrations being held at the hospital auditorium here today. Nursing students of Dr B.L. Kapoor Memorial Hospital present a dance at a cultural function organised during the Nurses Week celebrations in Ludhiana on Thursday.

From Colleges
Hectic activity by NSS volunteers
Ludhiana, May 11
A 10-day NSS camp which started on May 8, at DD Jain Memorial College for Women, Kidwai Nagar, entered its fourth day on Thursday. About 110 volunteers are attending the camp under the guidance of Programme Officers Lotika Gupta and Seema Soni.

From Schools
Pool party at BCM School

Ludhiana, May 11 A pool party was organised at BCM School, Dugri. All the students from the kindergarten section participated in it. Big splash pools were kept in the lawns of the school and children jumped and romped in water. They splashed water on each other’s faces and had fun time. The fun-filled activity seemed to be the right thing to beat the heat. Students of BCM School, Dugri, have a ball in a pool during school hours on Thursday. — Photo by Inderjit Verma

Metal piece removed from base of skull through nose
Ludhiana, May 11
A 26- year- old worker in a steel furnace unit in the city received a massive eye injury due to a blast. He was brought to SPS Apollo Hospitals here and immediate eye surgery was performed by Dr Harpreet C. Singh, consultant eye surgeon.

5.39 lakh children to be immunised against polio
Ludhiana, May 11
The Health Department here has made all preparations for the second round of pulse polio immunisation campaign to be carried out on May 21. Nearly 5.39 lakh children in the age group 0-5 years in the district will be covered under the drive, according to Dr S.P. Sharma, Civil Surgeon.

Neuro-surgeon attends global conference
Ludhiana, May 11
Dr Manoj K. Sobti, senior consultant neuro surgeon, recently attended an international conference on neuro protection and neuro repair in Germany. The conference was attended by more than 300 neuro surgeons from different parts of the world.