Ludhiana, August 3
The arrest of an MCA degree-holder Pakistani youth on charges of spying in Punjab has once again brought to the fore how the district was the favourite hunting ground for spies.

The district having an Army ammunition depot and an Air Force Station at Halwara has always beckoned Pak spies as well as trained militants to gather information or to prepare youths for terrorist activities.

With a Pak spy or ISI agent or a militant held from the district every year, Ludhiana remains the centre of spy activities. Though the latest catch, Shahid Iqbal Bhatti had kept his base in Patiala, he had gathered most of the information from Ludhiana.

Shahid is the eldest of seven brothers. SSP Ludhiana-Rural Gurpreet Bhullar, whose team caught the spy from near Halwara on August 1 night, said the Pakistan government and the ISI spent lakhs on his training for specifically getting information from vital installations in the district.

Last year in March, a Pakistan spy, Abdul Hanan Rashid, alias Rajveer Ranwat, was caught for spying. He was a Master in Business Management and used his degree well to spread his web around.

In March, 2003, a terrorist was killed and another was nabbed in an encounter with the city police near Sahnewal. Both were Pak trained. A few days later, a gang of 11 persons, led by Pak resident Chowdhry Akram, was nabbed on the charges of circulating fake currency in the region.

In 2004, two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants were nabbed from the city for their alleged involvement in a train blast case. In November, 2005, three Pak militants were nabbed from Jagraon. They had obtained training from wanted terrorist Wadhawa Singh.

The police had also nabbed two ISI agents gathering information about the Army positioning in 2005. Another ISI agent was caught near Baddowal Ammo depot last year.

The most daring form of spying took place during the terrorism era in Punjab. A colonel-rank officer of the Pakistan army was nabbed. He used to live as a beggar on the footpaths of the city.

Ludhiana, August 3
Even as the enforcement machinery of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) has stepped up its efforts to plug a huge theft of electricity through "kundi connections" and other meter-tempering devices, the anti-power theft police station scheme, launched with much fanfare early last month remains a non-starter.

That these police stations, set up at all zonal headquarters, including Ludhiana, were far from being functional, for the time being at least, was evident when senior officials of the PSEB here wanted cases of power theft against cops and certain other consumers registered at the local anti-power theft police station located in the zonal office of the PSEB.

To their dismay, the officials were informed that as against the sanctioned staff strength of 10 police personnel which included one SHO of inspector or sub-inspector rank, three assistant sub- inspectors and six constables, the police station had just three staff members. Not only this, even the FIR register and the stationery for paper work was not available.

Inquiries revealed that the PSEB top brass had shown undue haste in giving effect to the decision and the process was initiated without making adequate provisions of infrastructure, manpower and other facilities for effective policing against power theft.

The move was necessitated, senior PSEB officials pointed out, not just to curb the menace of power theft which cost the Ludhiana zone alone a staggering Rs 25 crore every year in terms of revenue but also to instill fear among power thieves as well as those who resorted to "kundi connections".

Moreover, the experience of getting cases of power theft registered with the district police was not yielding the desired results simply because the police being burdened with routine policing as also law and order duty could not pursue the cases of power theft properly and take them to logical conclusions.

It was learnt that the PSEB administration here had already taken up the matter of making the anti-power theft police station here fully functional with the deployment of required staff and provision of other facilities with the DGP- level officer of PSEB vigilance wing, who was coordinating the work of these police stations.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 3
News of the death of a large number of devotees in a stampede at the Naina Devi shrine today shocked residents of this part of Malwa.

People remained busy in inquiring the well-being of their friends and relatives who had gone to pay obeisance at the shrine and the volunteers of social and religious organisations organising langars there.

Anxious residents who could not contact members of their families left for the shrine. They were accompanied by activists and office-bearers of social and religious organisations, who besides feeling concerned about safety of devotees of the area, intended contributing in the rescue operations.

According to Bimal Sharma Billu, municipal councillor and patron, Shree Ram Mandir Committee, some people, who could not contact members of their families at the shrine, had asked him to gather information about them.

"After coming to know about their difficulties, we asked volunteers of the Durga Dal, the Bhartiya Mahavir Dal and the Shree Ram Mandir to collect and pass on information about the devotees of this area. We have established inquiry counter at Ram Mandir dharamshala and Jagera Bridge for convenience of anxious families," informed Billu, adding that a large number of devotees of the area were stranded at Kaula Wala Toba, but they were safe.

Khanna, August 3
A suspected case of dengue in Nandi Colony has created panic among local residents. The residents alleged that unscheduled power cuts and garbage in various colonies had led to the spread of viral fever.

Two suspected dengue cases were reported from the city yesterday.Thirty-year- old Krishan Kohli from Nandi Colony and nine-year-old Vishal are said to be undergoing treatment at a local hospital.While Krishan was shifted to Apollo Hospital, Ludhiana, two days ago, Vishal is undergoing treatment at a local private hospital. According to the doctors, the platelet count of both victims fell drastically during the past few days, which is one of the symptoms of dengue.

The residents said that due to lack of electricity, they could not use fans which led to a spurt in cases of mosquito bite leading to fever.

"My children always complain of inundated streets in the area. Their shoes also get soiled.", said Sunita, a resident of the colony. She alleged that due to power cuts most of the families had to spend nights in the open.

The residents alleged that the situation was bad not only in Nandi Colony but also in Preet Nagar on the Amloh road and Lalheri road. The senior medical officer at the Khanna Civil Hospital failed to give a satisfactory reply and said the report about the suspected dengue cases was yet to be verified. "We will send a team of doctors to the colony to take samples", he said. 

Ludhiana, August 3
Dr Alka Dogra, Professor and Head of the Department of Skin and VD in a statement issued this evening cautioned the people against common skin diseases prevalent during rainy season followed by preventive measures .

The dirty water touching the feet leads to fungal infections. The web space between the toes has white debris in the form of candid fungus. This leads to burning and itching at the site. To avoid this, one should clean the feet properly and apply antifungal dusting powder.

The doctor advised against staying in wet shoes for a long time and wearing nylon socks, stating that use of cotton socks and open footwear is a better option. People with allergies should avoid using rubber and plastic footwear.

Staying in wet clothes for a long time can lead to skin infections like fungal or bacterial infections. It is best to dry the body folds and put talcum antifungal powder on sides of the neck, the underarms and in between the legs.

For hair care, the skin specialist asked to avoid frequent use of hair dryer and use a dry or steamed towel instead.

Excessive use of oil or hair gels on the scalp, if you have oily skin,leads to acne or eruptions on the face.

Boils are quite common around the hair follicle thus shampoos with anti-bacterial agents can be used in this season.

Prefer wearing loose fitting cotton clothes covering the exposed parts. In case of itching, apply calamine lotion and take some anti-allergic cetrizine 10 mg once a day, further advised the doctor. 

Rajgarh (Mandi Ahmedgarh), August 3
Residents of this area are sad after the demise of CPI (M) general secretary Harkrishan Singh Surjit. Surjit, as elder brother of a son-in-law of this village, had helped many poor families by raising voice for their demands.

Appreciating his straightforward nature, residents claimed that nobody minded his denial to support “illegitimate” demands of rich families.

Surjit had started visiting this village after his younger brother Jujhar Singh got married in a peasant family here. As a Kisan Sabha leader, he used to persuade small and marginal farmers of the area to fight for their rights instead of succumbing to pressure of members of higher sections of society.

According to Baldev Singh Latala, a state committee member of the party, Surjit's association with the family of the area had acted as booster for growth of the Leftist movement in this part of Malwa. After 1992, when he was made general secretary of the party, he played a stellar role at the Centre and more people of the area started approaching him for getting their tough jobs done.

According to Harchand Singh, a brother-in-law of Jujhar Singh, Surjit, unlike majority of politicians, had done little for his own family or relatives. He did not bother to do something for his two sons and daughters. Had Jujhar Singh not felicitated the emigration of two of his children to England, economic position of the family could have been thinner," said Harchand Singh.

Avtar Singh of Andloo village said the demise of the veteran leader had distressed residents in general and activists of CPI(M) in particular as they had lost a leader whom they could depend for redressal of their problems.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 3
Joint efforts by the Dehlon police and social activists saved the life of an octogenarian, who had become unconscious after being hit by some unknown vehicle at local Dhulkot road a few days ago.

He was shifted to an orphanage at Amritsar and doctors have now declared him out of danger.

The old man, identified as Banarsi Singh of Dhaul Kalan village in Payal subdivision, was found lying unconscious near Mehtabgarh village at the local Dhulkot road on the night of July 17. Though a large number of passersby had noticed the old man bleeding profusely, none of them rescued him. Some social activists of the town led by Veerpal Singh Dhillon and Vikram Joshi shifted Banarsi Singh to Hind Hospital where he was operated upon for multiple fractures. Coordinated efforts by the doctors and the social activists saved his life and he has now been declared out of danger.

Investigations by the police revealed that the victim belonged to a Dalit family of Dhaul Kalan village. As all members of his family had shifted from the village, there was nobody to look after him.

Ludhiana, August 3
The rains that lashed the city for more than two-hours today, dampened the spirits of youngsters, who had made prior plans to celebrate Friendship Day with friends. Following continuous rains, majority of city roads flooded with water, seemed to have forced the youngsters to remain indoors. As soon as the rains stopped, the markets, malls and coffee-shops started witnessing rush of the young crowds. Besides, “friends” were seen going on a geri route in their cars to avoid muddy roads.

“Friendship Day is celebrated in a big way in India these days. This is the day to honour friends and friendship. The day has really caught on the youth here and students celebrate it in an enthusiastic way,” said Nancy Sharma, a medical student from Canada who went to watch "Kismat Konnection" with her friends at PVR today.

Many youngsters were seen sending messages (SMS) to their dearest friends on this occasion. They felt that sending SMS was a better option than expressing feelings straight to the person. Navpreet Singh, manager, Spice Telecom, Ludhiana region, said earlier company did not charge anything for a message. "On such occasions, thousands of subscribers send messages. Keeping this in mind, the company is also charging Re 1 per SMS this time" he said, adding that lines remained jammed due to network congestion for a while.

The gift shops were flooded with a variety of gift items like cards, chocolates, friendship bands, perfumes, wallets, costume jewellery and crystal couples etc. Gurvinder Singh of Archies Gallery at Sarabha Nagar said people had already made their purchases for the day. “Rains have played a spoilsport so there is not much rush today,” he added.

Lot many friends were seen sipping coffee at shops like Barista, Coffee-Costa and OHB. “I like to spend the entire day in the loving company of my dear friends. Recollecting sweet memories of the time spent together and catching up over a cup of coffee is my idea of an ideal Friendship Day,” said a young college going girl who did not wish to be quoted.

For Sehaj, a student of VII standard, exchanging friendship bands is the most prominent feature of Friendship Day celebrations. “All my friends vie with each other as to who gets the most stylish band or the maximum number of bands,” she said.

Ludhiana, August 3
Activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the local branch of Sri Amar Nath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti today held an angry demonstration at the Clock Tower Chowk here to lodge protest against repression let loose by the Jammu and Kashmir government to crush the agitation over land allotment to the Amar Nath Shrine Board.

Speaking at the occasion speakers, including, Swami Surya Pratap Singh, Swami Atul Krishan, Swami Chadra Shekhar Giri, Mahant Narayan Das Puri and Ran Singh Chauhan said that at the instance of central government, the army was using force against peaceful agitators. Leaders like Uma Bharti, Ritambhra and national convener of Bajrang Dal Dr Prakash Sharma were either being unlawfully detained or made to return from the airport.

The agitating activists claimed that the entire nation was feeling hurt at the reversal of the government move to allot land to the shrine board while the state government was bent upon stifling the sentiments of the masses. “The government ought to realise that Kashmir belongs to India and a handful of Pakistan supported groups can not hold the country to ransom.”

The samiti also demanded that the issue must be resolved through negotiations while at the same time article 370 of the constitution must be revoked to curb the activities of separatist groups and anti-national forces.

Ludhiana, August 3
A nine-member delegation of the All-India Human Rights Association met DC Sumer Singh Gurjar to discuss the problems of residents. The delegation led by the district chief Anil Sharma said the problem of pollution was of grave concern and strict action should be taken against autorickshaws and mini-buses polluting the environment. He said the method of garbage disposal also needed to be looked into. “Proper filling sites should be identified and garbage must be burnt to avoid foul smell,” he suggested.

The school vans and three-wheelers carrying children to school should be properly licensed, demanded the association members. “It should be a matter of concern as to why the traffic of Ludhiana cannot be controlled like Chandigarh and Delhi? The one-way system proposed by the administration is not being strictly implemented in the city,” complained the activists.

Ludhiana, August 3
The body of a youth who had jumped in the Neelon Canal on July 31 to escape the wrath of the relatives of a girl, whom he was dating, was recovered today. The youth Sarabjeet Singh Cheena of Neelon village used to meet the girl of the same village secretly. On that fateful day, relatives of the girl saw them. They chased him at which he jumped in the canal but could not swim across.

The Machiwara police have already arrested five persons, including, Gurpal Singh, father of the girl. Others arrested were Sukhbir Singh, Harpreet Singh, Sukhchain Singh and Kuldip Singh.

Ludhiana, August 3
With anganwari workers continuing to raise their voice against the state government for not acceding to their demands, the ongoing strike of the anganwari workers entered its 26th day yesterday.

The workers are demanding a hike in their salaries and permanent recruitment.

District general secretary Harjit Kaur and finance secretary Subhash Rani in a joint statement said in spite of holding a number of meetings followed by reassurances, the government had failed to meet the demands of anganwari workers.

“We will continue our dharna and hunger strike till our demands are accepted,” said Subhash Rani.

Ludhiana, August 3
A Jagraon-based man, who along with his wife and four daughters had sought the intervention of the Prime Minister’s office in an issue pertaining to some of his relatives having allegedly grabbed his land, is running from pillar to post claiming that the relatives kidnapped his wife a few days ago.

He even alleged that the Jagraon cops were not registering a case against them.

The man, Mohinder Singh of Katcha Malik road, Jagraon, said his wife, Sukhwinder Kaur, had been missing since July 26. She had gone to the market to buy flour. An FIR was lodged the next day.

While Mohinder maintains that the police has not done anything other than registering the FIR, the police is not sure whether the woman has been kidnapped or not. Mohinder has failed to provide his wife’s photograph. “We have prepared posters of the missing woman but whenever we seek her photo, Mohinder is not very helpful,” said SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar.

The SSP claimed the role of his relatives, who had been accused of kidnapping, had been verified but they did not seem to be involved. “Still, we have not closed the case and investigation is on,” he said, adding that the police was also probing if the woman had gone somewhere on her own or there was a foul play on the part of the husband.

With cops and the complainant maintaining different lines, the police may go in for the narco-analysis test of the complainant and the relatives. SSP Bhullar said if no headway was made in the next few days, the narco-analysis test of the relatives as well as the complainant would be conducted.

Mohinder Singh said had lost a court case against his relatives regarding ancestral property. 

Ludhiana, August 3
The Central Institute of Post- Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), an apex institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, is planning to develop post-harvest technologies for the agro and food processing industries.

Under this direction, CIPHET organised the “technology transfer meet” here yesterday where four innovative technologies were released to prospective industrial houses.Dr Matthew Prasad, who is heading the technology transfer division at the centre, said the scientists had developed “mustard extract-based B jo-insecticides”, “mustard dehulling plant” and “mustard pre-grinder”.

As per the country's need for developing indigenous knowledge in PHT, the scientists have been able to make a breakthrough in many novel areas of food engineering. Recognising the outstanding contribution of CIPHET scientists, ICAR has given ICAR team award to Dr S.K. Tyagi, Dr Mridula Devi and Dr V. R. Bhagwat for their contributions.

Dr Matthew urged industrial houses to come forward and collaborate with the CIPHET scientists, with a view to develop innovative technologies having commercial applications. He further added that the institute had received Rs. 2.21 lakh from the industry as licence fee for the technologies released. 

Doraha, August 3
The investiture ceremony of Mehta Gurukul Public School was organised on the school campus yesterday.

Officiating principal Sandeep Jaryal was the chief guest. Himani Galhotra was elected head girl and Sukhpal Singh head boy of the school.

Harman Mehta was made the school sports captain for the session.

Baldesh Kaur, Shivani Bector and Seema Chauhan will be house captains in the girl’s category and Amritpal Singh, Jagjot Singh, Abinav Rattan, Rahul Sharma and Mohinderpreet Singh will be house captains among boys.

Similarly, girl house prefects for 2008-09 session are Deepika Sharma, Ranju Chauhan, Sukhmandeep Kaur and Prabhjot Kaur. Varinder Singh, Ajaypal Singh, Gunjot Singh and Prateek Saini will be house prefects among boys.

Ludhiana, August 3
John Deere Farm Equipment and John Deere Technology Centre India, Pune, subsidiaries of Global Corporate John Deere, visited the college of agricultural engineering at the PAU recently to hold on-campus interviews.

The companies deal in tractors, farm equipment and earthmoving equipment worldwide.

Giving details, college dean P.K. Gupta said a panel of three executives representing the companies conducted a day-long recruitment process comprising a written test, group discussion and personal interviews.

They hired six students - Jasmeet Singh, Kapil Sharma, Saket Goyal, Sudhanshu, Udit Narula and Vikas Garg - will complete their degree in July, 2009.

Dr Gupta valued the commitment of members of the training & placement committee of the college for coordinating with leading companies to visit the campus for the recruitment of farm engineers.

The selected candidates were overwhelmed on getting the career opportunity.

Interacting with the visiting panel, Dr Dulcha Singh Brar, director, students welfare and chairman, PAU counselling & placement cell, appreciated the professional skills among agricultural engineers and also discussed the various career openings for the graduate and postgraduate students of PAU.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 3
Balbir Kaur Bajaj, principal, Government College, Karamsar (Rara Sahib), called upon residents of the area to persuade their wards to make maximum use of online education programme launched in association with the Union Government.

Bajaj was interacting with parents of students of her college after a function organised to inaugurate recently launched Eduset programme and students’ canteen at the institute. Giani Jarnail Singh, head granthi, Gurdwara Karamsar, presided over the function.

"As up-to-date knowledge in all subjects is necessary for the students, aspiring to appear in competitive exams at the national level, formal coaching is not enough. They should boost their capability by consulting experts in various subjects through integrated system of Edusat," said Bajaj.

Bajaj claimed that the availability of data and illustrations regarding sophisticated scientific equipments would enable students in the stream grasp fundamentals of subjects.

She thanked Sant Teja Singh, chief of the gurdwara, for his contributions towards providing facilities for students and staff of the college.

Earlier, Jarnail Singh and Parminder Singh called upon the students to adopt teachings of Guru Granth Sahib as their lifestyle and respect their teachers and parents. Nirmal Singh, Parkash Singh and Harmesh Lal also spoke on the occasion. 

Ludhiana, August 3
Efforts are on to organise a Star Nite in the memory of Ishmeet, following the announcement by the Chief Minister Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, to organise a state function on Ishmeet's birth anniversary on September 2.

Abhijeet, during his visit to Ludhiana to attend the memorial service of Ishmeet, had proposed to organise a Star Nite to raise funds for his family.

Ashim Nagpal, the coordinator of musical group 'Symphony', said he along with other supporters of Ishmeet had talked to Abhijeet about the star nite as they could now hope to get tax exemption which, would enable them to raise a good corpus amount for the young artist's family.

"We are just waiting for the final date as it would be right to have a function on the eve of Ishmeet's birth anniversary which is on September 1,” said Nagpal.

Altruistic in their efforts, the coordinators are making arrangements for the performances of all the favourite songs of Ishmeet.

Abhijeet, while speaking to The Tribune said, "I am still under a state of shock, however, I want to do my best for Ishmeet's family. It is my idea to organise a Star Nite on September 1 on the eve of Ishmeet's birthday so that we can raise some money for his family. I am already on the job. I would rope in some good stars from Bollywood to ensure the success of this programme as this is the least I can do for the boy who touched my soul in a short span."

Hans Raj Hans, the Punjabi singer, was another enthusiast who specially called up The Tribune to say that he was more than willing to contribute in every way for the success of the programme. 

Ludhiana, August 3
With the regular gynaecologist being absent and no permanent post of an orthopaedician, eye specialist and paediatrician at the Civil Hospital, Raikot, the hospital is inept to provide quality services to patients of the town. The patients have to rush to private hospitals in case of emergencies.

Sources at the hospital said the gynaecologist posted at the Civil Hospital was on leave till December, 2007. She approached the department to extend her leave, which the department has rejected.

The doctor did not join the duty and has been absent since December. Ironically, the health department, instead of making a permanent arrangement, has made makeshift arrangement wherein a gynaecologist is coming to the hospital only twice a week.

The story is no different in case of other specialised doctors as they too are visiting the hospital for twice or thrice a week adding to the number of unattended patients at the hospital.

A senior doctor working at the hospital said even the doctors posted in the Civil Hospital, Raikot, are going to other hospitals on deputation.

Spreading over six acres, the hospital has poor infrastructure as the operation theatre at the hospital does not even have an operation table and a light. The general surgeon posted at the hospital had to make temporary arrangement to go ahead with the operations. Even he has proceeded on leave in wake of poor working conditions.

In absence of proper funds from the department, the hospital has an outstanding electricity bill of Rs 2 lakh which has not been cleared for the past two years.

So much so, that the patients have to shell out money to put diesel in generator during power failure to make the operation theatre functional for emergency operations.

Following a representation from the people, the department made an arrangement for a smaller genset to deal with the emergencies.

Lakhwinder Singh, a resident of Raikot, said, “There is no drug store in this 30-beded hospital and my attendants had to travel miles to get a simple bandage when I came to the hospital with some injuries."

Dr Uggar Singh Sooch, SMO, Civil Hospital, said infrastructure and location of the hospital was the main problem which caused inconvenience to the patients . "But as far as services are concerned, despite all shortcomings and with just three regular doctors we have managed to bring the hospital on number three among all civil hospitals in Punjab," the doctor went on to add.

Ludhiana, August 3
Ludhiana began their campaign in a style by drubbing Barnala 6-0 in the knock out stage of the Punjab Hockey League for senior men's match being organised by the District Hockey Association, Ludhiana, under the aegis of the Punjab Hockey Association at the Prithipal Singh Memorial AstroTurf Stadium on Punjab Agricultural University campus here today. The winners were leading by five goals at half time.

Ludhiana gained an early lead when Taranjit Singh scored off a penalty corner rebound in the second minute of the encounter. They increased the lead in the 15th minute through a field goal scored by Jhujjar Singh.

Two minutes later, Harinderjit Singh sounded the board to read it 3-0 and Jhujjar Singh again struck in the 22nd minute to consolidate the lead 4-0.

In the 28th minute, they further cemented the lead (5-0) when Taranjit Singh scored his second goal and after changing ends, Ludhiana added another goal which came off Jaspreet Singh's stick in the 51st minute which sealed Barnala's fate.

In other matches, Taran Tarn beat Amritsar 3-1; Jalandhar defeated Hoshiarpur in a tie-breaker at Jalandhar and Ropar outnumbered Mohali at Mohali through a tie-breaker.

Ludhiana, August 3
Fine all-round performance by Geetansh Khera (49 and 2 for 25) guided Kundan Vidya Mandir (KVM) , Civil Lines, to 11-run victory against SDP Senior Secondary School, Hazoori road and enter the final in the Ludhiana PAU Zone Cricket Tournament (u-19) being organised by the education department at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agricultural University ground, here today.

KVM scored 123 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. The main architects of the innings were Geetansh Khera and Sanchit Gosain who contributed 49 and 23 runs, respectively, while Shivam Sharma made 13.

For SDP Senior Secondary School, Vinay chipped in with three wickets for 25 runs while Sarabjit Singh scalped two victims for 28 runs.

Chasing the target, SDP School were all out for 112 runs with two balls to spare, thus falling short of 12 runs. Deepak Bhandari's innings of 43 runs went in vain. Naresh made 25 runs.

For the winners, the wicket takers were Gunish (2 for 15), Gagan (2 for 20), Geetansh Khera (2 for 25) and Akhil Aggarwal (2 for 28).

The second match (semi final u-14), played between Kundan Vidya Mandir School and Government Senior Secondary School, Haibowal Khurd at Sarpnach Bachan Singh Academy ground, Balloke, was stopped midway due to rain.

When the play was stopped, Kudnan Vidya Mandir, chasing the target of 92 runs in 16 overs, were struggling at 16 for three after six overs. The match will resume tomorrow at 2 pm.

Batting first, Government Senior Secondary School, Haibowal Khurd scored 91 runs for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 16 overs in which Luv Trivedi contributed 28 runs while Vishwanath Balaji scored 25.

For Kundan Vidya Mandir School, Nikhil Choudhary was the pick of the bowlers claiming four wickets for 16 runs while Rishav Maria and Gautam captured one wicket each after conceding 15 and seven runs, respectively.

In the semi final match (u-16) played at SDP College ground, Circular road, between Government Model Senior Secondary School, PAU and SDP Gupta Model Senior Secondary School, the former came out triumphant and secured a berth in the title clash match.

In reply to the Government Model Senior Secondary School's score of 82 for eight in 16 overs, SDP Gupta Model School were bowled out for 70 runs in 14.4 overs.

Ludhiana, August 3
The duo of trainer Jawahar Bhandari and his trainee, Bhuvan have won titles in the table tennis tournaments.

Bhuvan, student of class II of DAV Public Senior Secondary School, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Ludhiana and a trainee of the Ping Pong Table Tennis academy gave a good performance in the Shimla Open Table Tennis Meet. He came out triumphant in the U-8 and finished runner up in the U-12 category.

In the U-18 category final, Bhuvan overpowered Rana from Shimla. He wrapped up the first set easily 11-5, however in the next one, Bhuvan had to toil hard which he eventually won 14-12 that fetched him the title.

Meanwhile, his trainer, Jawahar Bhandari, currently India ranked third in the plus 50 years clinched title in the Masters' Table Tennis Tournament at Patiala, recently. In the final, Jawahar defeated RS Phul of PSEB, Patiala. He won the verdict in straight sets 11-5 and 11-6.

Ludhiana, August 3
The district administration has shifted sub-registrar (E) office from Ferozepore Road to Transport Nagar.

The office will function from Transport Nagar fire office from tomorrow.

Employees of the administration shifted the goods of office last night only so as to avoid any controversy.

The SR (West) office will, however, function from the same building on Ferozepore Road.

Earlier also, the office functioned from Transport Nagar for a year. Residents continued to protest as the office was without civic amenities. They contested the administration decision on the grounds that the office was situated far away from mini secretariat. If a resident had to get a sale deed registered, he had to make rounds of the office a number of times.

The deed writers, stamp vendors and advocates were available in mini secretariat and the office was far away in Transport Nagar.

The issue was taken up by a local MLA also after he was elected to the seat. Shifting of office was a part of his election manifesto also. He had then managed to get the office shifted to Ferozepore Road.