Ludhiana, April 20
The Information Commission, Punjab, has summoned the public information officer of the local municipal corporation for not providing information to a local resident.

Rakesh Talwar, a local resident, had sought numerous informations from the corporation, including one regarding the upkeep of parks, roads, funds released to a councillor, daily consumption of petrol and diesel besides the water supply problem during the past six months under the RTI Act. But the corporation did not respond to any of his questions.

Talwar then lodged a complaint with the state commission, which later asked the PIO to appear either personally or send a representative, mainly a gazetted officer on May 5. The commission has also sought a reply within 15 days in this case.

In different applications, Talwar had asked the corporation that how much money was released for councillor Rajiv Katna, the amount spent by the corporation on diesel and petrol every month. He had also asked the expenses incurred on the project like strengthening of roads alongside the Budda Nullah.

In yet another application, he had asked about the corporation’s budget for the upkeep of parks.

Ludhiana, April 20
The Punjab and Haryana High Court’s directions for taking strict action against unregistered and unqualified medical practitioners in the state and the government’s resolve to get it implemented, notwithstanding, those living in Punjab and especially in the city will have to live with quackery for the time being.

At last count, though not officially confirmed, the district had at least 8,000 quacks operating in every nook and cranny of the city.

With little or no health department’s enforcement staff to keep a against those carrying out unlawful medical practice quacks operate with impunity offering medicines and even performing minor operations in a system they are not qualified in.

That a large number of patients develop serious complications, or once in a while even die in the course of being treated by these unqualified practitioners, is a different story.

Not that the health department is unaware of the threat posed by the swarming band of quacks to the unsuspecting people, majority of them being illiterate or from economically weaker sections because the authorities have taken half-hearted steps in the past to curb the illegal medical practice in different parts of the district. But for many procedural and legal hurdles, or political patronage provided to the “well-connected” quacks, the initiative has not yielded desired results till date.

President, Indian Medical Association (IMA) local branch Dr Arun Mitra minces no words while commenting on the gravity of the situation. “Providing medicare to the poor has never been among the priorities of successive governments. With the government hospitals in towns and health centres in rural areas being in no position to provide clinical or emergency medical services with specialists being unaffordable, poor people are left with no choice other than going to the neighborhood quack.”

Dr Mitra said, “The government should provide access to modern medicare at affordable cost. Till the time a comprehensive system is in place where people can have access to basic medicare, the quacks can’t be put out of practice.”

Ludhiana, April 20
The local police has arrested three con men who allegedly used to fabricate documents for financing the vehicles and selling it in the market.

Haibowal police station SHO said the accused Harjinder Singh, alias Sodhi, and Malkit Singh, both resident of Bhamia village and Sachin, a resident of Shivpuri, were arrested from their office yesterday evening. Fabricated documents like electricity bill, voter and PAN cards, two motorcycles and a computer were seized from them.

The SHO said the accused had sold at least seven motorcycles and one Alto car on forged papers.

The three accused have been booked under Sections 420, 467, 468,471 and 120- B of the IPC for committing the fraud and forging document. 

Raikot, April 20
Nine months after the mysterious death of Lakhvinder Singh (26), a farmer of Lohatbaddi village, the police is groping in the dark to trace the accused.

Though the cops had on the suspicion of his family members booked a woman of the same village along with a few accomplices of her for allegedly killing Lakhvinder Singh, no one has been arrested till date. Whether Lakhvinder was killed or had committed suicide remains a mystery.

Lakhvinder body was recovered from the Bathinda branch of the Sirhind canal near Jalwana village on July 10, 2007. He had disappeared a few days prior to his body was recovered.

The victim’s family had reported to the police that he (the victim), had left his house to give food to labourers working in his fields on the night of July 7.

When he did not return till morning, friends and relatives started searching for him. They found clothes, shoes and his mobile phone at the end of canal near Kalyan village. Two days later the body was found.

Initially, the police treated the case as suicide. Later, it booked woman Davinder Kaur of his village for murder on the complaint of Rulda Singh, brother of the deceased and Jaswinder Kaur, wife of the deceased. They alleged Devinder Kaur and her family had eliminated Lakhvinder suspecting him of illicit relations with Devinder’s daughter.

Jaswinder Kaur later retracted from her statement. The case seems to have been forgotten with the cops yet to give a convincing explanation behind Lakhvinder’s death.

Ludhiana, April 20
Tunics are the latest rage among the fashion savvy women of the city. Be it a small get-together or a formal occasion, not many women are seen wearing regular suits (salwar-kameez) these days. Young girls and women prefer tunics with pencil-shaped jeans and tights.

Be it big shopping arcades or small ones, market is flooded with the latest in vogue — the tunic. Tunics are available in plenty of fabrics, ranging from regular T-shirt material to chiffon, georgette, satin and cotton.

Mukesh Kumar, a salesman at a showroom at Mall Road, said the sale of tunic has been on an all-time high.

“Customers demand these long T-shirts as they give a chic look. They can be worn on occasions like parties and get-together with tight-fitting jeans,” he said, adding that new stuff was being added to the showroom on a regular basis.

Plain and printed tunics start at a price tag of Rs 650. Satin, georgette or lycra tunics go anywhere between Rs 900 and Rs 2,000.

If intricate embroidery, ribbons, bows, straps or silhouettes are attached to the dress, the price is further pushed up to Rs 3,500.

These are available in brands like Madame, Piranha, Rage, Penny-lane, Globus, Westside, Xpressions, etc. Besides, many local manufacturers and boutique owners have come up with designer tunics.

“Ludhianvis have no dearth of money and the women know how to carry themselves well. We try to move with fashion and latest trends. A local designer has introduced tunics with matching accessories like bags and belts, which look very elegant. No doubt they are expensive, starting from Rs 4,000, but they look stylish. If you go to a party in them, you are bound to draw some attention,” claimed Ishita, a college student.

The tunics are available in different cuts and styles. Some are short while others are long with lots of flares, which are worn with tights made of lycra. Renuka Malhotra, a homemaker, feels that much depends on how you carry yourself. 

Ludhiana, April 20
Twenty-four hours after an insurance agent was shot dead in his office at Pink Flats in Sant Ishar Singh Nagar, the police is struggling to find a lead to investigate the case.

Two youths had shot at Lokesh Garg twice from the close range in the inner chamber of his office at 8.30 pm. The youths took away his Swift car also.Lokesh was sitting alone in his office when the incident took place.

The police believes that there might be some personal enmity between the youths and Lokesh as his office wasn’t ransacked. “Personal enmity seems to be the only motive at this juncture,” SP (Detective) Gurpreet Singh said.

The police has only been able to find out that .315 bore pistol was used to kill Lokesh. It is also trying to trace the calls made by Lokesh prior to his death.

All of his employees were thoroughly interrogated by the police to find out the lead. Special focus is on one of Lokesh most-trusted employee Lakhbir Singh. The wounded, Lokesh, had only called Lakhbir from his cell phone after the assailants left.

Lakhbir had taken him to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital where he was declared brought dead. Lokesh Garg worked as a general insurance agent for a few insurance companies. He had opened office in the Sant Ishar Nagar locality about six months ago.

Meanwhile, colony residents have urged the police to allow them to erect gates on both sides of the area. Residents argued that assailants would not have dared to commit the crime if two of three side of the colony were closed.

Residents are shocked over the manner in which the assailants escaped without being noticed.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, April 20
Fifteen months after the foundation stone of a grain market at the Jagera road was laid, farmers of the area have been forced to dump their produce in open. The PVC sheets arranged for saving the produce from rain are being used to protect it from mixing it with the soil. The column, made up of a few hundred bricks, serves as a support for a tent to house handcart of a tea vendor.

Commission agents and farmers of the area have urged higher authorities, including the Chief Minister and Punjab Mandi Board chairman Ajmer Singh Lakhowal to either get the project completed or remove the foundation stone.

SAD’s district general secretary Jagwant Singh Jaggie said he had taken up the issue with MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and he had assured to get all pending demands fulfilled.

Foundation stone for the grain market, proposed to be constructed in 40 acres at Rs 25 crore, was laid by then Mandi Board chairman Sukhwinder Singh Sarkaria along with then parliamentary secretary Razia Sultana.

The event had renewed hope among residents of this area, who had been demanding shifting of the old grain market to a more spacious place for over pas three decades.

Though the district administration had forwarded the plan to the colonisation department before lying of the foundation stone nothing had been done after the SAD came to power in the state.

Local leaders, irrespective of political allegiance, had played an important role in convincing plot owners to exchange their land with the government.

Office-bearers of a few political parties, including nominee of SAD secretary general Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, had also participated in final discussion about the project.

The management of the Gaushala Committee had also given their consent to exchange land with the government as pr the needs of the farmers and commission agents.

Ludhiana, April 20
International Punjabi Culture Society in association with the Punjabi Sabhyachar Academy and the Punjabi Sahitya Academy organised a function to release two books by NRI writer Harbhajan Singh Dhillon at Punjabi Bhavan today.

“Rangeen Mehfil”, a collection of Punjabi poems, and “Dard ke Ansoo”, a collection of Urdu poems by US-based Dhillon, were released by Punjab Agricultural University vice chancellor Dr Manjeet Singh Kang.

Manjit Singh Mehram welcomed the guests. The presidium also included two NRI writers Gurjit Singh Kang from the US and Ajit Singh Maan from the UK.

Dr S.N. Sewak, who has written preface for the two books, gave the keynote address.

A few poems and ghazals of Dhillon were sung by Dr Pritpal Kaur Chahal and Sukhjinder Singh.

A discussion on the books was held in which Dr Kulwinder Minhas, Dr Guriqbal Singh, Sardar Panchhi, Dr Gulzar Pandher and other writers participated.

Gurjit Singh Kang and Ajit Singh Maan complimented Dhillon on his literary achievements.

Dr Manjit Singh Kang expressed satisfaction at the performance of NRI writers in the field of literature and culture.

Punjab Sabhyachar Akademy president Gurbhajan Gill highlighted the future programmes of the organisation, involving eminent literary personalities living aboard.

Amongst others present on the occasion were Inderjeet Harsanpur, K. Deep, Ravinder Bhathal, Daljeet Singh Jansal, Amarjit Singh Sidhu, Dr Maninder Pal Singh, Jameja Johl, Dr F.C. Shukla, etc.

Ludhiana, April 20
Tension prevailed at the Baba Ramdev’s regional yoga and pharmacy centre, opposite Preet Palace, when representatives from the national centre at Hardwar raided the premises to confiscate medicines that were not approved by the guru.

Model Town SHO Waryyam Singh said the Hardwar centre had served a notice on the local head that he was selling medicines other than those recommended by Baba Ramdev. He has been given seven day’s notice to take remedial measures.

After heated arguments, the team members and the local staff clashed with each other. In the melee furniture and windowpanes were also damaged.

Both groups, later, attacked mediapersons and manhandled photographers and cameramen. 

City residents have been condemning the local administration and the traffic police for the deteriorating traffic conditions on the roads.

They are not entirely to be blamed for the chaos. No doubt, a lot is needed to be done on part of the authorities to improve the system, but we should also do our bit to help bring some order to the system.

Every day, we flout traffic rules with impunity. We should imbibe traffic sense amongst ourselves. Vehicles should be fully documented and traffic rules honestly adhered to. We need to learn some lessons from Chandigarh. Solution lies within us.

Ludhiana, April 20
Sajan stood first in the inter-house fancy dress contest organised by the middle and senior sections of Kundan Vidya Mandir.

Vice-principal Navita Puri and in-charge (middle section) Sonia Verma welcomed principal S.C. Saxena and judges Anjali Avasthi, president, and Dr Surabhi Mahajan, administrative officer of Sportking Institute of Fashion Technology (SIFT), respectively.

The contestants donned different costumes. Saxena complimented the work put in by the participants.

The 12 entries from each section showcased emblematic costumes putting across a unique message in their presentation.

The entrants were adjudged on the basis of their presentation, dialogue, costume and theme.

Shivam Malhotra of class XI proposed the vote of thanks. The competition ended with the singing of the National Anthem.

Ludhiana, April 20
More than 1,150 patients were examined at a polio surgery and multi-specialty medical camp organised at the viklang sahayta kendra in Rishi Nagar by the Bhagwan Mahavir Sewa Sansthan here today. Hundred polio patients were selected for the corrective surgery, five physically-challenged persons were given tricycles and another 15 were provided prostheses during the camp.

The camp was inaugurated by Punjab minister for jails, tourism and cultural affairs Hira Singh Gabria. He lauded the efforts made by the organisation to alleviate the suffering of sick and poor with proper medicare.

Prominent among those present on the occasion were Ram Kumar Jain, Rakesh Jain, Prem Sagar Jain, Subhash Jain, Kulwant Bhalla, Bhagwan Singh, Tarun Bawa, Kashmiri Lal Jain, Ramesh Jain, Puneet Jain, Suresh Jain, Satish Jain, Atul Jain, Neelam Jain, Rama Jain, Sneh Aggarwal and Dr Sandeep Jain.

Ludhiana, April 20
Over 500 patients were examined at a free multi-speciality medical check-up camp at the OPD block of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) here today.

A team of doctors, comprising Dr Naveen Mittal and Dr Jasmine (endocrinology), Dr Sumeet Chopra and Dr Harpreet Kaur (ophthalmology), Dr Kapil Dua and Dr Suneet (ENT), Dr Sunil K. Gupta, Dr Chetna and Dr Rishu Sarangal (skin and VD), Dr Namita Budhiraja, Dr Vineet Galhotra, Dr Vivek Babbar and Dr Jasneet (dentistry) examined the patients in their respective areas of specialisation.

Inaugurating the camp, DMCH principal Dr Daljit Singh said the aim of the camp was to help early diagnostics, create awareness about various ailments and encourage regular check-ups.

Hospital medical superintendent Dr Rajoo Singh Chhina said besides free medical check-up, medicines were distributed free of cost to patients and basic diagnostic tests like urine routine and blood sugar were also carried out.

The patients who got themselves examined during the camp would be entitled to 20 per cent concession on OPD investigation and in-door treatment in general ward, excluding usage of medical equipment, said Dr Chhina.

Interacting with patients, the consultants advised them to follow preventive measures to keep diseases at bay.

Diabetic patients were advised to adopt a balanced lifestyle. Tips on dietary schedule were given by consultants.

Ludhiana, April 20
Karatekas from Ludhiana dominated the proceedings and bagged most of the medals at stake during the two-day Open Punjab Karate Championship that concluded at Saraswati Modern School, Partap Singh Wala, Hambran Road, today.

The results: 15-18 kg: 1-Naman Sharma (Ludhiana) and 2-Chirag Shammi (Ludhiana); 18-21 kg: 1-Dev Sagar (Ludhiana), 2-Tushar (Ludhiana) and 3-Suraj Nayak (Ludhiana); 21 to 25 kg: 1-Ankush (Ludhiana), 2-Aman Chopra and 3-Aditya (Ludhiana); 25 to 30 kg: 1-Abhay Sahader (Ludhiana), 2-Manik Dogra (Amritsar) and 3-Harsh (Ludhiana); 30 to 35 kg: 1-Paras Sood (Ludhiana), 2-Sachin (Ludhiana) and 3-Anshveer (Ludhiana); 35 to 40 kg: 1-Sahil Gupta, 2-Subhan Gupta (Ludhiana) and 3-Anmol (Ludhiana); above 40 kg: 1-Pritpal Singh (Gurdaspur), 2-Manrajdeep Singh (Ludhiana) and 3-Sumit 
(Ludhiana).

Junior boys: below 30 kg: 1-Swapnil (Ludhiana), 2-Simranpreet Singh (Sunam); 30- 35 kg: 1-Prince (Ludhiana), 2-Vimal Kumar (Ludhiana), 3 Rohit Verma (Khanna); 35-40 kg: 1-Vidhu Anand (Ludhiana), 2-Bhanu (Ludhiana) and Rohan Wassan (Ludhiana); 40-45 kg: 1-Deepak (Ludhiana), 2-Shivam Makhija (Ludhiana), 3-Pulkit (Ludhiana); 45-50 kg: 1-Dishu Diwan (Ludhiana), 2-Puru Mittal (Ludhiana) and 3-Tarun Sharma (Ludhiana); 50-55 kg: 1-Manav Sood (Ludhiana), 2-Vishal Chouhan (Ludhiana) and 3-Bikramjeet Singh (Gurdaspur); 55-60 kg: 1-Manav Puri (Ludhiana) and 2 Abhishek (Ludhiana); above 60 kg: 1-Vivek Talwar (Jalandhar).

Senior boys: 45-50 kg: 1-Ram Singh (Ludhiana) and 2-Harjinder Singh (Gurdaspur); 50-55 kg: 1-Raman Kumar (Ludhiana) and 2-Subash Kumar (Ludhiana); 55-60 kg: 1-Deepak, 2-Lakhwinder Singh and 3-Sanjay; 60-65 kg: 1-Jasbir Singh, 2-Sunil Kumar and 3-Balwinder Singh; 65-70 kg: 1-Parminder Singh and 2-Raman Sharma.

Ludhiana, April 20
Namdhari XI of Bhaini Sahib will take on Ludhiana XI in the inaugural match of the 6th All-India Jagtar Memorial Hockey Tournament (u-19) at the Prithipal Singh Memorial Astro Turf Stadium of Punjab Agricultural University from April 21 to 25. The match will begin at 10 am.

The tournament is being organised by the Jagtar Singh Memorial Hockey Society in association with the Punjab Lawyers Forum and the PAU Sports Association.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, society general secretary Gurinder Preet Singh said eight teams would vie for top honours during the five-day tournament.

Besides Namdhari XI and Ludhiana XI, Pakistan XI, SAI-Patiala, SAI-Lucknow, Surjit Academy of Jalandhar, Amritsar XI and Jarkhar Academy will be seen in action, he said.

On the opening day, three other matches are slated to be played.

In the second match of the day, SAI-Patiala will clash with SAI-Lucknow at 12 noon, while the third match will be conducted between Surjit Academy of Jalandhar and Amritsar XI at 2 pm.

The last match of the day is slated between Pakistan XI and Jarkhar Academy at 4 pm, Gurinder Singh added.

Though the tournament begins in the morning, Punjab minister Hira Singh Gabria will formally inaugurate it at 4 pm.

PAU vice-chancellor Dr Manjit Singh Kang will preside over the opening ceremony.

Ludhiana, April 20
Abhinav Bhatia (5 for 18) and Gaurav (3 for 40) bowled National Club to seven run win over Mahajan Club in the cricket tournament being organised by the Ludhiana District Cricket Association at the Satish Chander Dhawan Government College ground here today.

Opting to bat first, National Club was all out for 187 runs in 46 overs. The main contributors were Gaurav Sharma (40), Neeraj (28), Kunal Partap (22 n.o) and Vishnu (12). Abhinav Bhatia scored 9 runs while Pawan Kumar and Saurav Bedi chipped in with five runs each.

For Mahajan Club, Lucky was the most successful bowler taking four wickets for 24 runs while Rohit, Ashish and Sunny scalped one wicket each.

Needing 188 runs in 50 overs, Mahajan Club could make only 180 runs for the loss of eight wickets. Their innings revolved around Paras Mehndiratta and Sunny Pandey who scored 52 and 45 runs, respectively.

Nitish Malhotra made 27 runs and Davinder Singh scored 22 while Viren Kumar contributed 14 runs.

For National Club, Abhinav Bhatia and Gaurav were the most successful bowlers. Abhinav took five wickets for 18 runs while Gaurav accounted for 3 wickets after conceding 40 runs to enable their team to wrap up the issue by seven runs.