Ludhiana November 13
The Punjab Agriculture University Vice-Chancellor, Dr K.S. Aulakh, has said agriculture in Punjab has received a serious blow in the productivity of rice and wheat during the past few years. Ever rising cost of cultivation has greatly lowered the profits of farmers. “A large number of tractors, tube wells and good lifestyle of farmers are all deceptive”, he said. “The fact is that Punjab farmers are under debt. The need of the hour, therefore, is to bring a drastic change in farming in order to raise the income of the farmers”.

Dr Aulakh was addressing the officers of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) during its two-day fourth business meet, which began at the PAU today. The meet is being organised to make the district development officers of Nabard aware of the latest technology developed by the university for the betterment of farming.

Dr Aulakh added that the food security of the country was of prime importance but agriculture in Punjab had to be reviewed with a new perspective. “Paddy is not a suitable crop for Punjab, as it has adversely affected our water resources”, he observed. “We must diversify to other crops that save on water and at the same time give more income to farmers". He urged Nabard to invest in research and development to evolve new farm technologies to increase farmers’ income.

The Chief General Manager of Nabard, Dr S.R. Aluru, said Rs 921 crore had been allocated as credit investment in Punjab. Nabard was keen to help farmers in their proper credit planning. “We feel farmers should get short term crop loan at 7 per cent rate of interest and for this, we are negotiating with co-operatives banks”, he said. “Investments from these banks will flow to help the farmers in better management of their farms and increasing their incomes”.

The General Manager of Nabard, Dr P. Renganathan, said Nabard would identify the possible areas of cooperation with the PAU to provide funds for research and development. “Since the Punjab Government has focused on diversification, we are identifying the possible areas of diversification, which can help increase farmers’ income”, he disclosed.

The Director of Extension Education, Dr S.S. Gill, while proposing a vote of thanks.

Ludhiana, November 13
As many as 492 Nehru scholarships were given to students at a function held at Nehru Sidhant Kender here today.

The Sat Paul Mittal National Award was presented to Ms Ela R. Bhatt for outstanding services to humanity, while Guru Nanak Girls College , Model Town, bagged the Nehru Trophy in inter-college debate-2006.

The Nehru Sidhant Kender Trust celebrated the 117th birth anniversary of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru.

Students from various schools and colleges and eminent citizens participated with great enthusiasm in the function.

General S. F Rodrigues (retd) , Governor of Punjab, was the chief guest and Mr Ashok Gupta, Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, was the guest of honour.

Floral tributes were paid to Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru by the trustees.

Mr Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice -president of the trust, welcomed the chief guest, and other distinguished guests and students.

The Sat Paul Mittal National Award for outstanding service to humanity for 2006 was presented to Ms Ela R Bhatt. Ms Bhatt is widely recognised as one of the world's most entrepreneurial forces in grassroots development, known as the "gentle revolutionary".

She has dedicated her life to improving the lives of India's poorest and most oppressed women workers. She founded the Self-Employed Women Association '(SEWA), a trade union with more than 7,00,000 members.

The amount of Rs 2 lakh ,a citation, medal and biography of late Sat Paul Mittal was received by Ms Namrata Bali on her behalf.

In his welcome address, Mr Rakesh Bharti Mittal highlighted the contribution made by the trust in various fields for the upliftment of people. He said that he was proud of the fact that India was marching ahead and was now the fastest growing economy in the world.

Mr Mittal made a mention of Sat Paul Mittal School , a unit of the Nehru trust. He said that in a short span of two years, Sat Paul Mittal School had become the preferred choice of the people of Ludhiana.

General S. F. Rodrigues (retd), Governor of Punjab, in his address greeted the distinguished guests and students present on this occasion. He extended his heartiest felicitations to Ms Ela R Bhatt for winning the prestigious Sat Paul Mittal National Award.

Guru Nanak Girls College, Ludhiana, received the Nehru Trophy for the Annual Inter-College Debate organised by the trust and individual prizes were presented to students in the individual category.

Nehru Scholarship (meritorious) and Mittal- Panday Scholarship (Girls) were also presented to students from various schools and colleges.

In all, a total 492 scholarships were given amounting to over Rs 5 lakh.

Doraha, November 13
An inter-college and inter-school fine arts competition, "Roshni-2006", was organised with pomp and show at the Doraha Institute of Management and Technology, Doraha.

On the first day, nearly 250 participants from 16 reputed degree colleges of the area participated in the colourful show while on the second day, 250 participants from 15 reputed schools of the area participated in the categories of rangoli, cartoon-making, collage-making, clay modeling, mehndi, face painting and laughter challenge.

The festival included a variety of cultural, literary and management events. The audience included noted professionals from Oswal Spinning, Sportking, ICICI Prudential, Kashmir Apiaries, Sobhageya Sales etc., heads and faculty members of colleges and prominent people of the area like Mr D.S. Gusain, Principal, Sarawati Model Senior Secondary School, Doraha.

Noted writers Surinder Rampuri, S. Gurdial Dalal and Jhajj, artist Harnek Rampuri, sarpanches and panches of various villages were also present.

The audience also enjoyed the non-competitive items presented by the students of the host institute.

The programme was inaugurated by Mr Sukhpal Singh, Chairman, DIMT, by lighting the ceremonial lamp. He appreciated efforts of the DIMT for organising such a big show.

Students of Shri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Doraha, also recited shabad on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, Dr R. K. Lekhi, said such programmes would go a long way in developing overall personality of the students. These provide a chance to interact with fellow students of the region.

He also announced that the institute would start new courses from the next session.

The chief guest, Dr H.S. Gurm, former VC of the PTU, Jalandhar, graced the occasion on the first day by giving away prizes to the winning teams.

On the second day, Mr Susheel Kumar, SP (D), Khanna, and Mr Kuldeep Singh, DSP, Payal, were the chief guests and they gave away prizes to the winners.

Mr Susheel Kumar said students should work hard for the fulfillment of their dreams.

The overall trophy for the inter-college competition was won by Government College for Women, Ludhiana. On the second day of inter-school competition, the overall trophy was won by BCM Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh Road, Ludhiana.

The results of various events are as under:

Rangoli: Rupinder Kaur of Mata Ganga Khalsa College for Girls, Kottan, (first), ), Jyoti of Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town, Ludhiana, (second) and Navneet Kaur of AS College, Khanna (third).

Creative writing: Ruchika of DD Jain Memorial College for Women, Ludhiana, (first), Harikiran Kaur of Government College for Women, Ludhiana (second) and Rumil Preet Grewal of Government College for Women, Ludhiana (third).

Matka decoration: Gurpreet of Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town Ludhiana (first), Sunita Rani of AS College for Women, Khanna, (second) and Rajvir of GTB College, Doraha (third).

Poster-making: Gurpreet Kaur of AS College for Women, Khanna, (first), Harmeet of Government College for Women (second) and Varinderjit Kaur of Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management , Ludhiana (third). Clay modelling: Nitika of Government College (first), Anvinder Kaur of AS College for Women, Khanna, (second) and Kiranjeet Kaur of AS College for Women, Khanna (third).

Cartoon-making: Ravneet of Government College for Women, Ludhiana, (first), Sandeep of Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town Ludhiana, (second) and Harman Preet Kaur of Ramgariha Girls College, Ludhiana, (third).

Collage-making: Palvi Sharma of SDP College (first), Prabhbjot Kaur of Ramgarhia Girls College, Ludhiana (second) and Ratinder of Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town Ludhiana (third).

Mehndi: Amanpreet of Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town, Ludhiana, (first), Harleen Kaur of GTB College for Girls, Doraha, (second) and Amarjot of Mai Bhago College for Women, Ramgarh (third).

Face painting: Richa of Government College for Women, Ludhiana (first), Pardeep of AS College for Women, Khanna (second) and Amandeep of Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town, Ludhiana (third).

Laughter challenge: Darshpreet Singh and Amrit Singh of Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management, Ludhiana, (first) and Chandan and Varun of Gobindgarh Public College, Alour, Khanna (second)

The results of second day competitions are as follows :

Rangoli: Sakshi of Hindi Putri Pathshala, Khanna (first), Simran Sohal of Himalaya Senior Secondary School, Khanna (second) and Ramneet Kaur of Saraswati Model Senior Secondary School, Doraha (third).

Creative writing: Sonali of BCM Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana (first), Tarandeep Singh of DAV Model Senior Secondary School, Khanna (second) and Komal Rani of Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Doraha (third). Matka Decoration : Chandni Bhanot of BCM Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana (First), Kavita Sharma of Saraswati Model Senior Secondary School, Doraha (Second) and Rajpreet Kaur of BCM Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana (third).

Poster making: Saloni of BCM Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana (first), Karmjeet of Hindi Putri Pathshala, Khanna (second) and Ranjit Kaur of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Sahnewal (third).

Clay modelling: Ramandeep Kaur of Government Senior Secondary School, Bhaini Sahib (first), Nidhi Garg of BCM Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana (second) and Arpit of Tagore International School, Sahnwal (third).

Cartoon-making: Nitin Gogna of BCM Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana (first), Harpreet Kaur of Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Doraha, (second) and Sukhchain of Government Senior Secondary School, Sahnewal (third).

Collage -making: Gurpreet Singh of Himalaya Senior Secondary School, Khanna (first), Sukhdev Singh of the same school second.

Mehndi: Iran Johan of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Sahnewal (first), Harleen of GMT Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana (second), Gagandeep Kaur of Tagore International School, Sahnewal (third).

Face painting: Gunjan of GMT Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana (first), Jasleen Kaur of Tagore International School, Sahnewal (second) and Kavita Sharma of Sarswati Model Senior Secondary School, Doraha (third).

Laughter challenge: Abhinay Kaushal of Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Doraha (first) and Sourav Sharma of Saraswati Model Senior Secondary School, Doraha (second). 

Ludhiana, November 13
Maple Bear Canadian Play way and Nursery School celebrated the Children’s Day here today. Kids came dressed up as Chacha Nehru, Saheed Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi and other martyrs. The Principal of the school, Ms Veena Aggarwal, explained to the kids the significance of the day.

Home and Heaven Nursery School students celebrated Children’s Day with a lot of fun. Children participated in games and took part in a fancy dress competition. Dr Navneet Bhinder and Dr Sukhminder Gill were the judges for the fancy dress competition. While Charanjit stood first, Anureet Kaur and Arjun Singh stood second and third, respectively.

Students of Jain Public Senior Secondary School celebrated the day by staging skits, action songs and dances, both solo and group. Khushi, Uttam, Pranav, Kartike and Gautam excelled in their performances.

Children presented a cultural programme at Blooming Dale Nursery School here on the occasion. The programme included Sammi dance, mehndi, giddha and bhangra performances. Aviyn was adjudged the best dancer followed by Simar Babra and Harishta. A fancy dress competition was also held. Saaransh, Yatin and Prabhleen were declared winners of the fancy dress contest.

Lovely Lotus children celebrated Chacha Nehru’s Birthday. Since rose flower was very dear to Pandit Nehru, girls adorned themselves with roses in their headgear. The teachers explained to the children about the greatness of Pandit Nehru and urged them to follow in his footsteps. Children sang and danced and enjoyed the occasion.