Ludhiana, September 7
Facing criticism for providing gunmen to “notorious” Shiv Sena leader Suraj Ahluwalia, the police has sent a report to the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) to review the matter.

The department has also taken into account the alleged role of the gunmen in the killing of a taxi driver, Kawaljeet Singh.

The two gunmen of Ahluwalia have surrendered before the police, claiming their innocence. Both of them have been suspended and arrested.

The incident where Suraj Ahluwalia used the service rifle of his gunmen to shoot at Kawaljeet Singh at the taxi stand office in Upkar nagar, has brought to light such politicians who use their security guards to threaten people, rather than for their own protection.

Four months ago, R.K. Jaiswal, SSP, had refused Ahluwalia’s application for gunmen. In his report, the SSP had stated that there was no danger to the applicant’s life. However, the leader got the application approved from the ADGP, securities.

Police sources revealed that senior officers would review the record of so-called politicians who used their gunmen as goons and even used their weapons for assault.

The SSP said: “I had rejected his application seeking gunmen for security purposes. However, he somehow got the approval to keep the gunmen and used it for a wrong purpose.”

The incident has actually opened a can of worms, with the Haibowal SHO, Gurpreet Singh, alleging that the Shiv Sena leader created a ruckus and employed his gunmen as miscreants during the foundation stone laying ceremony of ISKCON temple.

He said he had even made a written complaint against the leader and sought the immediate removal of his gunmen. 

Khanna, September 7
A woman suffering from toothache lost her life after she allegedly went for treatment to a “dentist” at Rauni village, around 22 km from here.

The incident took place at around 6.30 pm yesterday when Jasvir Kaur (26), mother of two, went for treatment to Dr Kamal Nain Khurana. He gave her an injection in the arm and she died within half hour.

“The dentist told her that the tooth had decayed and would have to be removed. He had recently opened his clinic. She seemed to be healthy and only complained of toothache in the morning,” Sonu, brother-in-law of the deceased, said.

The police said the dentist had been practising in the village for the past two years. He had opened his clinic after he retired from the Army. “Over a year ago, a boy had died at the clinic in a similar manner,” the police post in charge, Darshan Singh, said.

He added that Jasvir Kaur was rushed to the Khanna civil hospital when her condition deteriorated after being given the injection. She died on the way to the hospital and her body was brought back to the village.

The police has sent the body for a postmortem to the Ludhiana civil hospital. Police officials said they had still to find the reason behind the death.

Jasvir Kaur’s husband had gone to Malaysia a few years ago and they have a 5-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter. Villagers said they came to know about the incident when all shops in the village closed immediately after the incident.

“We are yet to complete investigations and will conduct raids to nab the dentist,” police officials said.

A case under Section 304-A of the IPC has been registered against Khurana.

Ludhiana, September 7
A large and intricate web of 3-feet-wide streets with multiple storeyed shops-cum-houses, where even the sun finds hard to peep in, presents the picture of old Ludhiana.

In contrast is a city with wide roads, parks and modern buildings with malls and shopping arcades, just across a railway line that seems to divide the two extremes.

This is a tale of two cities --- the old Ludhiana situated on the north east side of the GT Road is a throwback on a bygone era. Its narrow lanes, where even a cart cannot move, is reminiscent of century-old town planning.

Across the rail line, one seems transported to a new world that boasts of modern architecture and planning. Here, farmhouses are spread in 1 to 4 acres. There are palatial houses, multi-storeyed commercial complexes and recreational places.

Things have come to such a pass that Ludhiana has expanded beyond the Sidhwan canal touching Baddowal village on the Ferozepur road and Jhamat village along the canal. On the other side, the entire Dugri village has been converted into a residential colony.

Some residents of the old city are constructing their houses afresh. Most of them have started using the houses for commercial reasons and constructed houses in new colonies.

“I constructed my house in the Model Town extension as I was sick of living in Kareempura. Nobody could come to my house in a car. They had to wait until 10 pm for the market to close to come to my house. We are liking it here,” Pritpal Singh said, adding that his children could now play in a park near their house.

He is one of the hundreds of residents who have shifted to the new city. However, several others want to stay put in the old city. They say congestion, pollution and other problems are for the new generation.

Doraha, September 7
Children studying in government schools, especially those from a poor background, are skipping breakfast because of the midday meal being offered in schools.

Some children at Jugiana village said in spite of being hungry in the morning, their parents don’t provide them with food, which is saved for dinner.

Mittu, a Class II student at the government primary school, said they were four brothers and sisters. While she alone was studying, her siblings, besides her parents, were working in a factory. Asked about her morning diet, she said her mother denied her breakfast even when she asked for it, giving the plea that she would be served food in school. She said the quantity of food served in the school was not enough for someone who had missed breakfast.

At times, the midday meal is not served, and she has to go hungry for the whole day.

Dr S.S. Dhir, district health officer, said since such children were underfed, it could have a serious repercussion on their physical, mental and psychological development. “Minerals, vitamins and proteins are essential for growing children. Their absence could lead to stunted growth, dental caries, poor vision and inflexible bones. “Our medical officers conduct regular medical check-up of these schoolchildren and prepare monthly reports. But a lot more needs to be done,” he added.

With the recent announcement of the government regarding the withdrawal of aid meant for providing midday meals as far as some “incompetent” schools go, the situation will further worsen. A philanthropist of the area suggests that at the ground level, it should be made obligatory for sarpanches, panches and other influential persons of villages, where the migrant population is in strength, to keep a check on the quantity and quality of food being given to children.

Ludhiana, September 7
There is more to it than meets the eye. The opposition by councillors to the proposed disbanding of mohalla sanitation committees and recruitment of regular safai workers doesn’t make sense.

While SAD-BJP councillors, as also those from the Congress, have opposed the move on the plea that considering the funds being spent on sanitation by these committees, the effective strength of safai workers will be reduced to less than 25 per cent, highly placed sources in the MC maintain that the councillors had vested interests in these committees.

The MC has set up 334 sanitation committees which deploy some 3,300 safai workers, each getting monthly wages of Rs 2,880. The annual expenditure on these committees is around Rs 12 crore.

During a recent meeting of the core committee of the MC, comprising all political parties, the councillors had argued that within this budget, it would not be possible to recruit more than 800 safai workers on a regular basis and if the sanitation committee were disbanded, 75 per cent of the city would have no arrangements for garbage removal.

If sources in the MC are to be believed, huge amounts of funds are siphoned off every month by showing “non-existent” safai workers on the rolls and pocketing their wages in connivance with officials of the civic body.

That these committees are not serving their purpose is evident from the heaps of garbage and poor sanitation in almost every part of the city, leading to frequent outbreak of diseases.

There have been several instances in the past where functionaries of the sanitation committees, mostly henchmen of the area councillor, have failed to physically produce the safai workers shown to have been deployed by them on record for the purpose of claiming wages.

Some inquiries conducted into the working of these committees had also indicated that all was not right. However, following political intervention, these findings were ignored.

In a memorandum submitted to the Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, and local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia, the Anti-Corruption Society has urged the state government to disband the committees and recruit regular safai workers in all major cities in the larger interest of the state and its people.

The society has also called for a high-level probe into the working of these committees.

Khanna, September 7
An Army jawan, who was on his way to his village near Khanna from Kanpur, died near the Chawa railway station this morning.

The victim has been identified as Jasvir Singh (28), a resident of Brampura village.

According to GRP officials, he tried to get off at the railway station when the train slowed down. He fell down due to a sudden jerk and received fatal injuries. He was declared brought dead at the Khanna civil hospital.

A case has been registered.

Ludhiana, September 7
A year ago, city residents elected the 75-member general house of the municipal corporation with a hope that their pending demands and grievances would be addressed by the newly-elected representatives.

Though the present civic body still has four years to carry on with its developmental projects, Ludhiana Tribune tries to take an overview of the areas where the corporation did fairly well and where it failed.

Talking to The Tribune, mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura said: “When we came to power city’s condition was pathetic. The development work started only after we took over.” We started repairing major roads like Ferozepur Road, Gill Road and Dhandra Road. But, he complained that continues rain for the past four months played spoilsport. The mayor promised that once the monsoon was over residents wouldn’t have anything to complain, as the roads would soon be recarpeted.

Terming three-wheelers as the major traffic hazard, Giaspura said:”Autos are major hurdle in traffic management and we would request the state government to stop these from plying in the city roads. This in some way help in easing the flow of traffic.” Besides, their absence was important for the functioning of the city bus service, which was likely to be started in a few days.

He added that as far as sewerage system was concerned 40 per cent of work was still to be undertaken and the authorities had received funds for it.

Disclosing his future plans, the mayor said, “We are committed to the development of Ludhiana.” However, according to leader of opposition Prem Mittal, a former senior deputy mayor and Congress municipal councillor from ward No. 51, the present civic administration had failed at every front. “Instead of development, the condition of city was deteriorating everyday. Open drains were not cleaned this year before monsoon due to which there has been an outbreak of water-borne diseases and deaths have been reported,” he added.

Mittal said: “If you take an overview of their work no big project has been initiated by the government. The Gill Chowk flyover which the corporation boasts of, was actually passed during the Congress regime and they are staking claims on it as it was started during their tenure.” He said construction work of the stadium at Pakhowal Road and railway overbridge in Civil Lines, was still pending.

The district Congress Committee president Jagmohan Sharma alleged that the Badal government had promised to turn Ludhiana into Los Angeles and Punjab into California. “But the public can itself see where they are. Sukhbir Badal talks about bringing metro to Ludhiana and is unable to provide roads for the vehicles,” he quips.

However, public seemed to be dissatisfied and complained that no matter whoever was in the power what really concerned them was clean and green Ludhiana.

Ganganjeet, a lecturer in Ramgarhia Girls’ College, said, “Good roads, proper sewerage system, clean water, green parks and traffic control are the only demands of public, but the government has even failed to provide us with that.” Instead of playing blame games parties should try to take development works sincerely because it concerns masses.

When senior deputy mayor Parveen Bansal, municipal councillor from the BJP, was asked that the local public was not happy with the corporation’s performance, he said due to late formation of the finance and contracts committee, it took a little time to set everything right. Bansal said all major projects, including road repair and indoor stadium, were in pipeline and tenders had been called for undertaking the work. He added that the work on these projects was likely to start soon.

Ludhiana, September 7
Just think you call a local leader and hear "Bharat humko jaan se pyaara hai" or "Jai Ganesh jai Ganesh deva". What impression does it give? Does it make you laugh or presents a notion that the person you are calling is full of patriotism or spirituality?"

Well, it may not be a trend everywhere, but a number of municipal councillors in the city do have patriotic and religious songs as their hello tunes. Interestingly, the list even includes mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura. It seems hello tunes have become a new tool to woo voters.

Talking to The Tribune, councillor Sushil Raju Thapar, who has a hello tune "Mera mulk mera ye watan" said, "I have this caller tune for the past seven years. The tune instills  a feeling of patriotism and is good  to ears."

According to 22-year-old Manjot, who voted for the first time in the civic poll last year, the idea of keeping such caller tunes was just a political gimmick to catch the attention of a caller. "Generally, these councillors don't pick up their mobile phones when public is calling them and the tunes work as a balm to cool peole’s temper," she said, adding that public knows what was the reality behind these tunes.

However,Lovedeep disagrees with Manjot and says, "It's good to hear that in today's world there are some people who really believe in patriotism. Whatever the intention of councillors, but one thing which needs to be admired is that they at least try to keep feeling of patriotism alive."

He added that admirers of patriotic songs are now rare and were limited to educational institutions and national functions only.

Ludhiana, September 7
Car rallies are always associated with speed, thrill and excitement but have you ever thought that car rally can also be associated with the mental ability of a person? Yes, this was what the Ludhianvis today experienced during the 8th family fun car rally 2008.

As many as sixty-two families from across the city participated in the rally. The major highlight of the rally was that it had nothing to do with speed. On the contrary, all the participants were supposed to follow and obey traffic rules and answer the general knowledge questions in between the laps. Minister Hira Singh Gabria flagged off the rally from the Nirvana Club. Pop singer, Shanker Sahney, was also present while the flagging off ceremony.

The cars were decked up beautifully. The themes taken up by the participants were different. Some had decked up their cars with Indian flags, for others it was multi-coloured balloons. While, on some cars, kid's paintings made their way for the decoration. Still other had collage pasted on the bonnet of their cars. The car, which won the award for the best-decorated car, had a message of preservation of wildlife pasted on it.

Ludhiana, September 7
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has hailed the legislation, enacted by the Punjab Assembly in its ongoing session, on providing security to medicare service personnel and institutions. It said this would inculcate a sense of security among the medical professionals and the supporting staff while also leading to improvement in doctor-patient relationship.

Addressing a news conference here today, Dr Amrik Singh Arora, president of the Punjab state branch of IMA, said by coming to the rescue of health services the state government had done a real service to the people of Punjab.

He said in the wake of increasing incidents of violence against doctors and medical institutions, the medical fraternity was feeling insecure to the extent that doctors and private health institutions were refusing to handle critical and emergency cases, which were being referred elsewhere, losing precious time in the process.

Dr Arora further said that in a safer environment and with legal protection for personnel and infrastructure being in place, now the private institutions and professionals will not hesitate to upgrade their skills and equipments so as to provide better medicare services to the patients.

The IMA chief observed that even though the doctors, without exception, acted in the best interest of the patients at all times, still the body had set up a patients grievances committee at state level to deal with cases where negligence of the medical professionals was suspected.

He made a special mention of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla, local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia and senior officials of the health department, who had made possible the enactment of 
protection mechanism for medical professional and institutions.

Ludhiana, September 7
In the light of guidance from Sri Aurobindo, the Auro club, Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management, facilitated new talent in the form of cultural competition highlighting Sufi, classical, folk singing, skit, bhangra and classical dances.

Keeping alive the current issue, students celebrated the ‘Global Warming Awareness’ Day by giving presentation and conducting quiz on environmental issues. The students launched another dimension in the form ‘Auro club’ with objectives of promoting and protecting the culture for the new generation and bringing a vibration of awareness regarding global issues amongst the youth.

Inderpal Singh was announced the president of the club.

On this occasion different competitions were held in the college in which large number of students participated. Aakriti Dewan bagged the first prize in collage making, Abhitosh in cartooning, Gagandeep in creative writing, Sakshi Jain in landscape and poster making, Pushpinder in rangoli, Gagandeep and Shivleen in poem recitation, Amrit in Sufi singing and Harman in folk singing. The program concluded with a lively bhangra performance.

Ludhiana, September 7
Led by functionaries of the local Kalvari Church, Christians today took out a peace march to protest against the atrocities being committed against members and institutions of theirs in different parts of the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Pastor Waris Masih and Amrin Gill, secretary of Kalvari Church, said the churches were being set on fire and a reign of terror let loose against Christians in Orissa and elsewhere, which was highly condemnable.

Maintaining that the Christians were peace-loving people, they made an earnest appeal to the Hindu bodies to desist from making provocative speeches and indulging in acts of violence. "Such atrocities against the minority community could lead to disturbance and disharmony in the country which might prove disastrous in the long run."

Those who took part in said they were hurt over the total inaction of the state government in Orissa and the Central government in curbing the communal violence with firm hands which had emboldened the fundamental bodies.

Ludhiana, September 7
The National Organisation of Government Employees (NOGE), Punjab, has urged all employees, including those working in banks, insurance and private sector, to donate their two-day salary for Bihar flood victims.

In a press release issued today, state president of the body K.R. Tripathi said more than 40 lakh people had been affected due to floods in Bihar and public should come forward to help them. He urged those engaged in service sector to make their donations to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.

Similarly, Hosiery and Industrial Workers Association president Harish Kapoor and Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), Punjab, general secretary Shiv Gupta have made an appeal to the people to donate liberally either in form of cash or kind for the flood affected people.

Ludhiana, September 7
On the second day of northern region poetry recitation festival, poets from various places presented their poems at Punjabi Bhawan, here today.

Urdu poet Balraj Komal, Dogri poet Gianeshwar, English poet Rachna Joshi, Hindi poet Liladhar Jaguri, Rajasthani poets Arjun Charan and Jyoti, Kashmiri poets Sabba Shaheen and Mohan Lal Aash and Punjabi poets Manmohan and Parminderjit regaled the audience with their muse.

Lok Sabha, deputy speaker, Charanjit Singh Atwal was the chief guest for today's function. While speaking on the occasion, he said, Punjabis by nature adopt other cultures very easily. In Punjabi culture one finds the poems and couplets by various Sufi saints and the need of the hour is to adopt their thoughts, he said.

Ludhiana, September 7
Ludhianvis danced to the tunes of pop singer Shanker Sahney during a ceremony organised at Nirvana Club yesterday evening. He sang various foot-tapping hits like “maachli”, “glassi-glassi”, “kudi chulbuli”, “jat luteya gaya” to name a few. He was here to perform on the launch ceremony of the new paint brand 'Colour Dreamz' by Kamdhenu Ispat Ltd.

Shankar Sahney while sharing his most reverent moment of life said it was when he met Gulam Ali recently in a plane. Sahney added that Gulam Ali appreciated the Punjabis for doing well in the music industry and said it was a boom time for the Punjabi singers. The performance, which would always remain close to his heart, was when Gulam Ali asked him to sing 'Mahi' for him.

"I was honoured by his request and the moment shared with him would always remain close to my heart forever. “Jitni kisiko sur se mohabaat honi chahiye” was the song Gulam Ali rendered for me", he quips.

Talking about his journey into the music world, he said his father was the head of music department at Government College, Hoshiarpur. Taking inspiration from his father he also started singing and then made his way to the radio station. He came to Delhi and then there was no looking back.

Talking about his career graph he said until now he had done 1,400 live shows and have 18 CDs to his credit. "Not only Punjabis but people living in the USA, Canada and the UK are also lovers of Punjabi music and love dancing on the foot-tapping numbers", he added. 

Ludhiana, September 7
'Mirch Masala' a pure comical production by Nirmal Rishi, the name reckoned with Punjabi plays had the audience in splits of laughter yesterday evening at Punjabi Bhawan.

Written by Dr Jatinder Brar, the play ‘Mirch Masala’ revolves around three bachelor brothers who long for a feminine touch in their home.

Obsessed by their liking for wrestling and English speaking the younger brothers Dara and Sonpreet hunt for a 'suitable' wife for their elder brother.

Veer Ji (Parminder) plays the role of elder brother, who with his ready to please attitude plays into the hands of his younger brothers adding to the element of 'situational humour'.

The social structure comes to light as the play progress as the neighbours compelled by their mentality blame the three bachelors for whatever goes wrong in the vicinity. The Punjabi psyche comes to the forefront as the boys are even held responsible for clothes of neighbouring houses blown to their house by strong winds and the poor boys are alleged for 'molestation'.

Entry of the eunuchs calling upon the younger brothers to consider them as suitable match for marriage adds to the light moments of the play.

It was the role of Ramu (servant), Bholi (fat girl) and Julie (the English speaking girl) that gave the audience a taste of witty remarks and an insight into the urge of the characters to prove their worth to the world.

Nirmal, the director of the play remarks that the play is purely a situational comedy that has been written and directed with the sole motive of entertaining people. The play is different from her earlier  directions that include Bukhde kalire, Savi, Mitti Rudan Kare, Maaan mainu marin naan.

“Though I would love to work on comic plays in future but there are some serious issues like female foeticide that need to be taken up on stage on priority,” Nirmal added.

Ludhiana, September 7
Prof Jaipal Singh, a senior lecturer of physics in SCD Government College here, once again proved his majority by defeating his lone rival Prof S.S. Bomb in the elections of Government College Teachers’ Association, Punjab, with a huge margin of above 630 votes yesterday. Prof Jaipal remained the favourite candidate for the post of president of the association despite strong opposition by Prof Bomb over the former’s “ineligibility” to the post.

Till filing of the report, results from 32 government colleges from all over Punjab were received. Prof Jaipal was polled above 665 votes whereas Prof Bomb could get only 35 votes.

At SCD Government College here, Prof Jaipal was voted 43 votes against Prof Bomb’s 14 votes. The teachers from Government College for Women here cast 47 votes to the winning candidates while rival candidate could not open the account.

For the post of general secretary, Prof Hardeep Singh won by getting 667 votes. Additional returning officer Prof Jaswant Sidhu said results from certain colleges were still awaited, but Prof Hardeep Singh was in the winning position, he said.

Hailing the election results, Prof Kuldeep Singh, a senior lecturer at GCW, said majority of association members were not in a mood to hold the elections. “We wanted the present team to continue. But certain objections were raised and both the winning candidates came out well in the elections,” said Prof Kuldeep Singh.

Ludhiana, September 7
Oral implantology centre at Baba Jaswant Singh Dental College, Hospital and Research Institute was recently upgraded with the latest, state-of-the-art technology and equipment and rededicated to patient care.

‘Patient Information Brochure’, giving pictorial detail about dental implants, pre-operative and post-operative care, was formally released by chairman Baba Jaswant Singh in a function held at the college. He exhorted the dental faculty and other staff members to stress upon patient counselling and treatment with care and compassion.

Dr K.B.S. Kuckreja and Dr Ajay Bibra during the function gave a multimedia presentation on dental implants, which are artificial roots that are implanted in the jawbone and on which crowns, bridges or removable prosthesis are fixed.

Almost all dental implants in use today are made from titanium or titanium alloy, materials that have been shown over many years to be well tolerated by bone.

Implants that heal properly should be able to function for at least 10 years or more provided the oral hygiene is good and implants are checked regularly. The cost of the whole treatment depends upon the cost of the implant, the number of implants used and on the kind of super structure (bridge, denture etc.) made.

Vice-principal Dr Vivek Saggar and managing director Piara Singh were also present on the occasion.

It is too late for the mayor to voice his concern against the ‘vehra’ culture which is responsible for all ills on the outskirt colonies, especially in and around Giaspura and Sherpur area. In this area, lakhs of immigrants are residing in highly suffocated and unhygienic conditions.

The problem will continue till the greed of unscrupulous owners for making money by exploiting the weaker section of the immigrants is not checked. These owners should be asked how they are renting a room meant for 4-5 persons and joint latrines and bathrooms to hundreds of people with poor water supply. Till the corporation does not takes a strict action against the ‘vehra’ culture the poor immigrants will continue to suffer various diseases and bring bad reputation to the A class city.

Sher Singh, Ludhiana

Readers are invited to mail letters (not more than 200 words) at "ludhiana@tribunemail.com" or post the same to The Tribune, 1, 2 Improvement Trust Building, Badaur House, Clock Tower, Ludhiana.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 7
Activists of the brick kiln owners’ associations of the Ludhiana district have threatened to stop selling bricks on November 11 and 12 in protest against the alleged indifferent attitude of the union and state governments towards the possible closure of brick kilns due to the steep hike in prices and the non-availability of the coal. This decision was taken at association’s meeting held at Dehlon village near here today.

Shortage of bricks and increase in prices will affect the construction and developmental works in and around the area, the association members said.

According to Sarabjit Singh Dhillon, general secretary, and Vijay Kumar Shahi, activists of the district association have threatened to stop selling bricks for two days as a token of protest. The brick kiln owners would shut down their kilns if the government failed to come to their rescue, office-bearers of the association threatened.

Earlier, brick kiln owners had to suffer losses due to the hike in transport fares and now the prices of middle varieties have been hiked from Rs 5,000 per tonne to Rs 11,000 per tonne.

“If the hike in prices of the coal is not withdrawn, running brick kilns will no longer remain economically viable. Rise in prices of bricks will adversely affect development works being undertaken by the government agencies, as no kiln will be able to supply bricks at prices settled earlier,” Shahi apprehended.

The hike in coal prices had resulted in corresponding increase in the rates of bricks. A large number of the kiln owners quoted rates between Rs 2,100 and Rs 2,400 for 1,000 standard bricks. The fare was to be paid by the buyer.

With little stocks of coal at their disposal, majority of kiln owners have started searching for alternative sources of fuel.

Thousands of labourers working at 300 kilns will be rendered jobless after fuel stocks get exhausted. Masons and labourers working with them also apprehend similar fate.

Darshan Singh Jawanda, president, Surinder Tangri chairman, Avtar Singh Mann patron, Kewal Arora, cahsier, Jagdeep Singh Sakhija, Ashwani Sood and Satish Aggarwal also attended the meeting.

Ludhiana, September 6
First ever business-to-business exhibition of jewellery houses in the northern region entered its second day as the exhibitors successfully developed their network to get more business from the city.

These jewellery houses have come from Delhi, Mumbai , Jaipur and various other places to take part in the ongoing exhibition at Park Plaza.

Clarity Gold and HV Jewels known brands from Mumbai, Vikas Diamonds brand famous as Shubh Gold from Delhi, HR Brothers, Nahar Gems and N.R Sons from Jaipur are showcasing their jewellery collection.

Satish Aggarwal of Ramban Exports said he ventured into this busness two years ago. "I have my tea estates but was fond of diamonds thus started with this business. To attain expertise and perfection I did a six months diploma in jeweller designing," Satish stated.

Rajiv Chadha of Clarity Gold, popularly known as Aura, said," We have launched a new range diamond which is a carbon quoting on (CZ) American Diamonds which gives it a excel, shine and looks of diamond and costs one-twentieth of the real cost of the original diamonds. This concept has been introduced for those who cannot afford real Diamonds"Aura also promises 85 per cent cashback in case of return or exchange of the pieces along side they also offer one year insurance against cases like theft and snatching.

Gems,including rotile quards, aquamarine tumbles, emerald tumbles, pink opal exhibited by HR Brothers from Jaipur attracted a large number of jewellers from Ludhiana.

It is an endeavour of Excelsior, the event management group, to bring together big names and brands of the industry under the same roof. The exhibition will help participants to find out right designers for them.

Ludhiana, September 7
Continuing with their winning spree, Malwa school hockey wing, Ludhiana, thrashed Moga XI 12-0 in a group A match in u-16 section of the Punjab State Weekend Hockey Tournament being organised by the Punjab sports department at Prithipal Singh Memorial Astro Turf Stadium of Punjab Agricultural University campus, here today.

Yesterday, Malwa school wing players blanked Mehta Gurukul academy of Doraha 5-0 to begin their campaign on a sound note.

Today, first match of the day played between the Malwa school wing and the Moga XI turned out to be a one-sided affair with the former dictating the terms throughout, giving no chance to their opponents to settle down.

They went on a rampage with striking in the very second minute of the encounter.

Kulwinder Singh opened the account through a field goal and three minutes later, Ravinder Singh made it 2-0.

Navpreet Singh, Ranjit Singh and Kulbir Singh struck in the 12th, 14th and 19th minute to further cement the lead (5-0). Amanjot Singh translated a penalty corner into a goal in the 23rd minute while Gurvinder Singh scored a field goal two minutes later to enhance the lead 7-0.

In the 30th minute, the winners forced another penalty corner and Ranjit Singh made no mistake in converting it into a goal, which read the score sheet 8-0.

After changing ends, the Malwa school wing players continued with same vigour and added four more goals to complete the rout 12-0. All these goals came off Kulbir Singh's stick in the 32nd, 37th, 40th and 59th minute, which saw his team to romp home victors without facing any resistance.

In the second match (u-14) of group C, Patiala defeated Bathinda 6-1.

Yuvraj Khosla of Patiala put his side ahead in the 10th minute through a field goal. He again struck in seven minutes later to make it 2-0. However, Bathinda reduced the margin through Vishal in the 18th minute (1-2).

Ashish of Patiala scored a field goal in the 28th minute and in the next minute Ripudaman Singh sounded the board to read it 4-1. Ripudaman pumped into another goal in the 40th minute to increase the lead 5-1 while Yuvraj converted a penalty corner two minutes later to steer his side to wrap the issue 6-1.

In another group C match (u-14), Barnala overwhelmed Paatran 6-0, after leading by two goals at half time.

Sandeep Singh opened the account in the 23rd minute and six minutes later, Inderjit Singh sounded the board to make it 2-0. Other goals were scored by Gaganpreet Singh (31st minute), Sandeep Singh (33rd minute), Inderjit Singh (37th and 42nd minutes).