Ludhiana, August 6
The 174-year-old historical but unsafe building of the city Kotwali is soon going to give way to the first-ever “corporate look” building of the Punjab Police.

The building plan, approved by the Punjab Government at a recent meeting after it was proposed and planned by IG Sanjeev Gupta and SSP R K Jaiswal, would give competition to malls by its modern architecture.

Though the city will lose a link to the heritage when the building will be demolished, the changeover seems inevitable. The major portion of the building has already crumbled, with only the façade and the imposing gate remaining.

Declared Unsafe in 1994, the police station can come down anytime and cause some major mishap.

The Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) will be constructing the approved building plan (see picture) for the police. In return, the GLADA will be able to sell about 4 acres of land in a portion where the present building is located.

The three-storey building with a basement will have adequate parking and lush green lawns. It will have the office of the DSP City-I and the SHO Kotwali on the ground floor along with visitor's room. It will have barracks on the first floor and a gym cum recreation room for cops on the second. It will also have room for Malkhanna, records and weapons.

The police station building was in a shambles even though it technically qualifies for being preserved as a protected monument. Any building of historical importance has to be preserved as a heritage monument if it is over 100-year-old.

Almost half portion of the building is closed with wild vegetation growing there. The dilapidated building was never on the priority list for repair and renovation.

An inscription 1834 on its huge entrance door is the only indication that it was built in this year. The Ludhiana Gazetteer states that the first police king of office that had come up in Ludhiana was a “Branch Thugee Office” in 1848. It was probably housed in this building.

In the absence of proper historical evidence, many theories about the building are heard. It is said the building was actually a stable built by the Britishers to keep army horses.

Police sources said they could not renovate the building because of lack of funds.

Ludhiana, August 6
The mysterious death of a 60-year-old woman, Lata, who was found charred to death at her house in Baba Deep Singh Nagar, Dugri, on August 1, is turning out be a murder.

The latest police investigation reveals that the woman was murdered before she was burnt. This theory is based on the recovery of an iron (used for ironing clothes), on which human hair were found.

"It seems the woman was clubbed to death with the iron and later set on fire," revealed a senior official.

"That explains why there were no struggle marks in the room and also why the woman didn't cried or raise an alarm," he said.

The official said it seemed an insider's job, "The statement of neighbours is of prime importance now. No one has so far reported seeing any person going into the house at that time or someone running out after the fire."

SSP R K Jaiswal said the police was awaiting forensic report on the cause of the fire and more significant how it spread. "The iron is an important clue. We have sent the hair for the forensic examination to ascertain if those were of the old woman," he said, adding that prima facie the hair seemed her’s only.

The woman was alone in the house that afternoon when the incident took place. Her skeleton was found by her neighbour Rajinder Singh around noon.

The police has already registered a case of robbery and murder against unknown persons after the crime.

Her son, Rajan Kumar, an oil trader, had alleged that his mother had been murdered. He said the stove and cylinder in the house were intact and she did not have any bottle or can with kerosene.

He alleged Rs 70,000 was missing from the house.

The death was considered suspicious from the first instance as it was strange for any person engulfed in flames not to run around.

Further, the lower right hand of the woman was not burnt, but the whole body had been reduced to ashes.

Rajan Kumar complained to the police that his in-laws could be the accused. He had a marital dispute with his wife. She was living separately for six months now.

The neighbours have told the police the family usually stayed aloof and rarely interacted with anybody.

Ludhiana, August 6
Vigorous measures against the widespread menace of power theft by the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) here have yielded rich dividend as nearly Rs 1 crore was recovered from offenders in different divisions of the city in July, 2008, alone.

The City East circle had slapped a penalty of Rs 72.33 lakh on those indulging in stealing power during the month while the City West circle recovered Rs 27.43 month on this account.

H.S. Randhawa, deputy chief engineer, City East Circle, told The Tribune that field staff, including meter inspectors, junior engineers, along with senior officials, had inspected the premises of a large number of agricultural, industrial, commercial and domestic consumers and 319 cases of power theft were detected. Of these, 26 were from the farm sector while 293 were from other categories.

Ludhiana, August 6
An advertisement scam worth crores is staring in the face of the local municipal corporation allegedly in connivance with senior functionaries of the civic body.

Though the MC exchequer is losing crores every year, this does not seem to bother the functionaries of the civic body.

The MC had entrusted the contract of 220 ad boards to a private company two years ago with a rider that it would maintain all green belts in the city. The company was also asked to give small amounts per ad board with an agreement of contract for seven years.

The company, however, did not do anything as almost all green belts in the city were forest areas and only the roundabouts were to be maintained by the local body.

Ludhiana, August 6
It was a day of political interference for the municipal corporation as its tehbazaari and demolition squad was prevented from carrying out their operations by political leaders at two different places here today.

Many councillors did not allow a demolition squad led by Vinod Sharda to remove illegal shops that had come up near a nullah in Transport Nagar today.

In the other incident, local MLA Harish Bedi's son and a Congress leader, Vicky Sharma, today did not allow tehbazaari department of municipal corporation to remove a neon board from Bharat Nagar chowk which was put up allegedly illegally.

Many councillors, including Gurdeep Singh Neetu, Satish Nagar, Bawa Jain, R.D. Sharma, son of councillor Prem Sharma, husband of councillor Santosh Kalra and son of Poonam Ratra, reached the spot and argued with the team.

They asked the team to remove all other encroachments first before taking action against those shops.

The MC had ordered demolition in the wake of a Tribune report in these columns today that these shops were coming up illegally. It was after the exposure that the team went to the spot. The team could not do much except removing some bricks manually. The team then returned empty-handed with the illegal structures staying put.

In yet another incident, an MLA's son, Honey Bedi, and Vicky Sharma did not allow the tehbazaari team led by Naveen Malhotra and three other tehbazaari superintendents to remove the neon board at Maghar Singh and Sons shop.

The team said the board was illegal as the company had a permission to put up only a flex sheet with a light. But it had put up a neon electronic board instead.

Tehabazaari sources said Sharma and Bedi both misbehaved with the team. One of them even threatened to throw them from the rooftop of the building. The team then called up the commissioner, who in turn asked them to finish the work peacefully.

The team then cut electric connections of the board and covered it with a cloth. The company was given two days’ time to take permission for a neon board.

Later, the tehbazaari team removed a trampoline from outside Ansal Plaza that the team claimed was an encroachment. Temporary encroachments were removed from Flames Mall, Kali Ghata and Krishna Jewellers. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 6
Even after 12 years, the examination was conducted by the Punjab Service Selection Board, BAMS doctors of the area are awaiting the results.

They have now urged the Punjab Chief Minister to either get the results declared or consider their candidature for appointment as Ayurvedic Medical Officers on contractual basis under the National Rural Health Mission scheme.

Apprehending political interference and discrimination during the selection process, the BAMS degree holders alleged that the government, in order to adjust their GAMS favourites, had arbitrarily enhanced the eligibility age to 60 years.

Dr Narinder Pal Sharda of Khanpur village and Dr Ravi Sharma of the local Subash Nagar area said they along with hundreds of other ayurvedic graduates had appeared in the test conducted by the Punjab Service Selection Board in 1996 but their results had not been declared for reasons best known to authorities in the department.

"As the test was conducted by the Congress government, the following government led by the SAD staggered the declaration for obvious reasons," said Dr Narinder Pal.

Though some posts of Ayurvedic Medical Officers were filled on the basis of interviews, eight years ago, the authorities did not bother to inform them (1996 candidates) the fate of their candidature.

Terming Dr Vivek Sharma, Dr Sanjiv Sharma and Dr Sushma Rani to be in the same boat, Dr Narinder alleged that the unconcern of the successive governments had spoiled their careers.

While thousands of ayurvedic graduates have passed out during the past two decades, the government has played a cruel joke by advertising about 120 posts of Ayurvedic Medical Officers on contractual basis under the NRHM scheme in the state.

"To add injury to insult, the administration has increased the age limit to 60 years, which is above the retirement age in most of the departments," rued the doctors. 

Ludhiana, August 6
Setting up of toll plaza just a few metres away from the Satluj bridge is threatening the latter as it is already in a dilapidated state.

Serpentine queues of vehicles could be seen on the bridge. Concerns are being expressed as to how so many vehicles could be allowed to park on the bridge, waiting for their turn, when the structure could collapse any time.

The pedestrian path on the Satluj bridge has been declared out of bounds. Instead of carrying out repairs on the footpath on both sides of the bridge, the National Highway Authority of India, the administration of Ludhiana and Jalandhar have opted to keep the pedestrians away by putting a notice board on the either of the bridge.

Signboards stating "Kindly do not use the footpath" have come up on the either side of the bridge prohibiting the pedestrians. But with no safe alternate route provided to those crossing the bridge by foot, the pedestrians risk their life by using the road space meant for vehicles.

It is causing inconvenience to residents of the nearby villages who use the footpath to cross the river many times a day. Besides, devotees to a Muslim shrine, situated in the Punjab Police Academy, also travel by foot over the bridge.

Recently, the volume of pedestrians has increased with the coming up of a Shani temple near the bridge. Residents from the nearby villages and some from Ludhiana also prefer walking all the way to the shrine.

Mani Dhaliwal, a resident of Phillaur, raised concern over the state of the bridge. He said," How can the NHAI authorities think of putting up a toll plaza over a dwindling bridge? Before, shifting the Doraha toll barrier to the Satluj bridge, the authorities should have considered the status of the bridge, which has already outlived it life. How can a bridge, which is not fit for pedestrians, can be fit for vehicles, who have to halt their vehicles over the bridge."

Jatinder Kumar, a resident of Ludhiana, said, "I pay regular obeisance at a temple across the bridge. But reaching the temple is proving to be a rather risky affair, ever since the toll plaza has been operational here."

"Instead of taking out any repair work, the authorities have pitched a signboard to keep away the pedestrians from using the bridge," said Sudesh Kumar, a resident of Laddowal.

Ludhiana, August 6
Wearing black robes as a mark of protest, the employees of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) today staged a dharna at the suburban circle in response to a call given by the state committee of Technical Services Union. The protesters were raising their voice against policies of privatisation being pursued by the board and victimisation of employees.

Speakers at the dharna called upon the PSEB management to stop privatisation of the board, put an end to outsourcing of departmental work, resume process of new recruitment to fill vacant posts, scrap Indian Electricity Act 2003 and restore the right of compassionate employment to dependents of deceased employees.

Reiterating their decision to observe one-day strike on August 20 against “unjust” policies of the board, they said the agitating employees might be forced to resort to indefinite strike if the government failed to see reason and put a halt to the proposed disbanding of the PSEB.

In scathing attacks on the board management and state government, the trade union leaders, including circle finance secretary Bikkar Singh Malli, assistant secretary Ranjit Singh, Sukhcharanjit Singh, Shankar Das, Chamkaur Singh, Kuldip Singh, Zameer Hussain, Teja Singh, Harnek Singh and Kanwaljit Singh, said it was regrettable that the assurance given by the Punjab Chief Minister for reinstatement of seven activists had not been honoured till now.

They said to rub salt into the wounds of aggrieved employees, police repression had been let loose against peacefully agitating employees in Amritsar, Patiala and Sultanpur Lodhi. 

Ludhiana, August 6
Bhai Ram Singh, a leader of Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), yesterday demanded an international probe into Ishmeet Singh's death.

He visited Ishmeet’s house in Shastri Nagar here and condoled his death. He said it was sad that neither the SGPC nor the state government had written to the Interpol to inquire into the matter.

The leader said though the government made tall announcements, it had not taken any initiative to find out what caused his death.

Bhai Ram Singh also said the ruling party was deriving benefit from Sikhs but not doing anything for their welfare.

Condoling the death of CPM leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet, the SAD(A) leader said it was an irreparable loss to not only the state but the entire country. The party wished that Surjeet's bhog was performed according to the Sikh rites, he said.

Ludhiana, August 6
A loving look, a tender touch can transform children with special needs into cultured craftsmen. Staff members of Ek Prayas, an NGO, who helped these children fasten threads with beads to design magnificent Rakhis, have proved this.

It is important to be a friend, philosopher and guide to these children for motivating them, says Bharti Maini, a teacher with Ek Prayas.

Involved in an endless endeavour, the kids aged between eight and 15 have made use of waste paper, worn-out cloths, beads, mirrors, molly and paint for preparing Rakhis in different shapes and sizes. “The smile on the faces of these children as they accomplish their task is feast for our eyes,” the teacher went on to add.

Endorsing the cause, a few city philanthropists personally visit Ek Prayas to purchase these Rakhis and send them to some retail outlets for sale. “Our friends and relatives are among the buyers of the Rakhis prepared by our children,” informed an employee.

Coming to the traditional fervour that marks the festivities, city shops have the most ostentatious silver plated and gold-plated Rakhis in addition to the most ethnic molly and sandalwood combination.

Namita, while making an interesting revelation, stated that her brother who lives in the USA has specially instructed her to send plain sandalwood Rakhi adding on his behalf, “it gives me an essence of being close to my motherland”.

On the other hand teenagers are queuing up for the intricately designed Rakhis between Rs 50 and Rs 95. 

Ludhiana, August 6
Two unidentified bodies were fished out from the Sidhwan Canal near Issewal village bridge this evening.

The bodies spotted by the passersby had stuck under the bridge. It took considerable time for the Hambran police and the Dakha police to sort who would handle the case as the bodies were found on the border of both police station areas falling in different police districts.

The exact cause of death would be known after the post-mortem examination, which would be conducted tomorrow. DSP Paramjit Singh Goraya said the youth seemed to have drowned only as there was no visible sign of injury on the body.

Ludhiana, August 6
Reduction in gold prices has failed to generate demand for jewellery here. Low liquidity, coupled with inflation, say jewellers, has lowered demand by more than 60 per cent within a year.

However, bullion that generated high return on investment has been a preferred option for those dealing in commodities.

“Demand is abysmally low. We were expecting buyers now that prices have come down a bit, but there has been no improvement in the situation.

As compared to last year, the demand is lesser by 60-70 per cent,” said Vinit Dhanda of the Ludhiana Jewellers Association.

Unlike earlier, when customers had begun selling the yellow metal and were opting for exchange, the buyer profile has undergone a major change now. A clear majority is the one who makes purchases for weddings whereas another section is the category that has surplus funds to park in.

Even as the festival of Rakhi is round the corner, those in the business are quite disappointed with the low turnout of customers.

“Earlier those who wanted to give cash gifts of Rs 5,100 or Rs 11,000 used to purchase gold items. But now, the quantity they get is very low and people are not indulging in purchases. On account of tightening of the liquidity market, people have not even expanded their budgets for wedding-related purchases,” said Shyam Kumar, another jeweller.

Poor performance of equity markets in the recent past along with a stagnant property market have been major contributors to reduced purchases.

While physical buying has taken a back seat, those engaged in commodities trading are going in for bullion in a big way.

“The returns generated by gold in the last one year have been the highest among various categories of investment. It is a preferred commodity to trade in,” said Ashwani Sharma, an investment adviser.

Jewellers are now hoping for some improvement in the market scenario in the coming one and a half months to two months as the festival season reaches a peak and wedding season also arrives.

Ludhiana, August 6
Students of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), majority of them the hostellers, are up in the arms against authorities over the issue of accommodating new entrants in the hostel. To mount pressure on the university management, many of these students did not even attend their classes at the campus yesterday. The matter was resolved after director, Students Welfare, intervened asked seniors to share their rooms with new students for a few months.

Talking to The Tribune, one of senior student from hostel No. 8 Harpreet Singh said the management had asked them to accommodate at least 20 new students from B.Tech (dairy technology) in their hostel rooms. “But it is difficult to share the room with three students. Some of the rooms are not even spacious. Secondly, veterinarians should be given a separate wing”, said Harpreet adding that they will only adjust with the students till the construction of new wing starts on the campus.

Another second year veterinary student, who did not wish to be quoted, said the majority of veterinarians did not get along well with students of dairy farming and fisheries. “We have our own interests as all veterinarians share a good rapport with each other. If there was accommodation problem, why did the authorities start the new course (B.Tech dairy technology) and admitted more students in the hostel?” asked the student.

Director, Students Welfare, GADVASU, Kulbir Singh Sandhu, however, said the matter was resolved, as all protesting students had agreed to share their rooms with new students. He said the veterinary university had surplus accommodation (hostel Nos. 3 and 8) and the renovation work was going on at one of the wings. “But they demand separate wing for students of dairy farming and fisheries. We have told old students that construction will start within four months and they must adjust with them till then. The rooms, which are to be shared by three students, are spacious with three almirahs each”, he added.

Ludhiana, August 6
At all educational institutions in the city, where boy students dominate the scene, "muscle power" seems to be the sole mantra for the "ruling party". Majority of the students, who believe in showing their strength among others, seem to be less interested in studies. They not only indulge in unnecessary brawls, create indiscipline but bully others to join them as well.

In a recent incident at SCD Government College, clash between two groups was averted after the police intervened. Both group leaders claimed themselves to be presidents of the student union of the college. A few students projected BA IIIrd year student Deep Brar as their new union president while another group led by Ekjot claimed that he was the existing president. Deep Brar is believed to be supported by the SAD (B) students' union.

Though, the student elections are "banned" in Punjab but leaders are actively taking part in politics.The college managements always maintain that since all such activities take place outside the college or campus premises where they can not really intervene but the "muscle power" is openly displayed in all these educational institutions. Even the announcement of new president at SCD Government College was held in the hockey grounds of campus, where other group openly raised objections and slogans. One of the student who was also an eye-witness, said, "It all happened in the campus. Why did the authorities object to it?", he asked.

This is not an isolated case. Similar cases of "muscle power" have been reported from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), GADVASU and Arya College in the recent past. One of former union leaders of PAU Students Union said the youngsters, specially the new entrants wanted to show their strength whereas the old leaders refuse to vacate their "powerful seats". "The group having majority of students on his side tries to dominate others. The students politics still actively exist in the educational institutes, ban or no ban hardly matters", he explained.

Though, the student elections are "banned" in Punjab but leaders are actively taking part in politics.The college managements always maintain that since all such activities take place outside the college or campus premises where they can not really intervene but the "muscle power" is openly displayed in all these educational institutions.

Ludhiana, August 6
From tomorrow onwards lakh of students across the state would be able to listen to their classroom lectures on radio. The state government in collaboration with Akash Wani, Jalandhar,is launching a 30-minute programme to be aired daily.

The Sarva Shiksha Ahiyan (SSA) authorities have directed as many as 12,972 government elementary schools and 77 added schools to purchase radio sets so that the students can daily tune in to the educational programmes.

The 30-minute programme will be aired from Akaash Wani, Jalandhar, from 12.05 pm to 12. 30 pm. The half-an-hour lecture will cover historical events, sports, culture, current affairs, math and science syllabus.

All these subjects will be taught in a poetical manner so that students could comprehend them easily. Krishan Kumar, DG, Sarva Shiksha Ahiyan, said,"The programme will lay special emphasis on easier and interesting methodology to attract students, particularly in the rural areas." 

Ludhiana, August 6
The court of sessions judge G. K. Rai has sentenced Jaswinder singh, alias Jassa, of Bagha Purana village, Moga, to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years in a rape case. The convict was also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 2,000.

Delivering the verdict, the judge held that the prosecution had successfully proved the charges levelled against the accused, beyond any reasonable shadow of doubt. The judge also declined the plea of leniency raised by the accused.

The accused was booked under Secitons 363, 366 and 376 of the IPC at Division No. 5 police station on March 23, 2006, on the complaint of Neelam Rani of Moga. She had stated to the police that her daughter was getting training of air hostess from Frankfin Institue at The Mall, Ludhiana.

Her daughter used to go by a bus of Malwa Transport, which was being driven by the accused. On March 16, 2006, she went to the institute as usual but did not come back. On inquiry, she came to know that the accused had allured her and took her away. The accused was a married person and had three children, added the complainant.

The accused and the victim were apprehended by the police on April 5, 2006. Thereafter, the girl had alleged that she was kidnapped by the accused at knife point. Further the accused raped her in a hotel, where she was kept all these days.

The defence counsel argued that the girl, aged 19 years, was a consenting party. She had gone with the accused at her own will. She wanted to marry the accused but her parents were not ready. This resulted into his false implication in this case. But the girl did not support his version.

After appreciating the evidence on record and convinced with the submissions made by district attorney Mitter Sain Goyal, the judge found the acussed guilty and convicted him. 

Ludhiana, August 6
Series of special lectures on breastfeeding followed by a declamation contest and a poster-making competition of MBBS and nursing students marked the breastfeeding week at the Department of Paediatrics, DMCH.

As many as 200 MBBS and nursing students participated in competition giving interesting slogans on the significance of breastfeed. “Yehi hai right choice (breast milk) for baby" was among the most catchy slogans given to attract the attention of young mothers.

Dr Daljit Singh, principal, DMCH, reiterated the need for exclusive breastfeeding during first six months of life. He said it contained many useful substances which helped body to fight infection and protected baby from various allergic conditions like asthma and other chronic diseases in later life. The content of protein, lactose and fat are in appropriate quantity for the human baby.

"breast milk is not only species-specific but also baby-specific because the milk of mother having premature babies is chemically different from other mothers, and the composition of breast milk varies with time in the first few weeks as per the changing requirement," the doctor said.

Immunoglobins and other chemical agents in milk have strong anti-infective properties, apart from special cells, which help to fight pathogens. The content of minerals is also appropriate in human milk, particularly calcium and phosphorus. Iron in breast milk has high bio-availability, 50 per cent as compared to 15 per cent in cow's milk. Vitamins are also in adequate quantity, emphasized the exoerts at DMCH.

Dr Rajoo Singh Chhina, medical superintendent, DMCH, awarded the winners. Dr Puneet Pooni, Dr Deepak Bhatt and Dr G.S. Dhooria from te Department of Paediatrics also talked about the advantages of breastfeeding and said it was necessary for the nutritional, immunological, emotional, psychological, physical and neurological growth of a child.

Ludhiana, August 6
Government Senior Secondary School, Dhanansu, faced no resistence from their opponents from A S Senior Secondary School, Khanna, in the semifinal as they romped home victorious 4-0 to book their berth in the final on the penultimate day of the Ludhiana District Inter-School Football Championship (u-19) being organised by the District Football Association, Ludhiana, at Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

The second finalist will be decided from the second semifinal encounter slated for tomorrow morning between Government Senior Secondary School, Jandiali and Government Model Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

Earlier, in the quarterfinals, A S Senior Secondary School Khnna, along with Government Senior Secondary School, Dhanansu, Government Model Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, and Government Senior Secondary School, Jandiali, won their respective matches to complete the semifinal lineup.

A S Senior Secondary School overpowered Government Senior Secondary School, Hassanpura 2-0; Government Senior Secondary School, Dhanansu blanked Government Senior Secondary School, Sahibana 3-0; Government Model Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agricultural University, outnumbered Government Senior Secondary School, Jassowal 2-0 while Government Senior Secondary School Jandiali got walk over as their opponents, Spring Dale Senior Secondary School, Khanna failed to turn up.