NEIGHBOURHOOD

Body of missing 6-yr-old found
Tribune News Service

Rajpura, October 4
The body of a six-year-old boy, who had gone missing, was found in a pond here today. Lovepreet Singh of Angad Dev Colony was reported missing since Wednesday.

The father of the boy, Jagir Singh, a truck driver, said his son was tortured and his body thrown into the pond. “The pond is 5-ft-long and 3-ft-deep. My son could not have drowned as he was nearly 4 ft tall,” he said.

Moreover, there were marks of torture on the body.

The victim went out to play with some boys in the locality. His parents tried to locate him all night, but could not find him. They also made announcements in gurdwaras of the area to locate him.

Some children of the locality spotted a body in a small, man-made pond in the area when their ball fell into the pond. They informed their elders and also brought it to the notice of the family of Lovepreet.

Residents informed the police. The body was fished out and a postmortem was conducted at the Civil Hospital before being handed over to the family.

“The family suspects some area residents who, according to them, could have killed their child. We will look into the allegations during investigation,” the police said.

The viscera of the body has been sent for examination.

Sarai Pattan (Ropar), October 4
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is to take up the issue to exempt the Kandi area from the Punjab Land Preservation Act (PLPA) with the Central government.

He laid the foundation stone of 675.04 m long high-level bridge over the Satluj river at a cost of Rs.56.70 crore. Badal said he had constituted core groups comprising MLAs from the Kandi and Bet areas along with the administrative secretaries of the respective departments to take stock of problems and suggest remedial measures to overcome hardships faced due to the PLPA.

On the basis of consolidated report of these core groups, funds will be ought from the Central government for seeking the additional funds to tackle the problem in a result-oriented manner on pattern of exclusive grants meant for the Border Area Development Programme. The GoI had agreed to grant the approval for the construction of rural roads in the Kandi area under the Pardhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana at par with the hilly areas.

Responding to the demand raised by the MLAs and MPs representing the Kandi and Bet areas towards widespread devastation caused by wild animals, Badal said he would asked the department of forest and wildlife to take necessary measures. It will also be recommended to allow the inhabitants of the Kandi area to kill these animals within the prescribed norms of the Wildlife Protection Act in order to save their crops and life.

Badal asked the district administration to convene a special meeting so that a special thrust for the development of backward area could be given on priority.

He claimed that the sufficient funds had been earmarked for the bridge project and an executing agency had been asked to complete this project within 18 months.

Prominent amongst others who were present in the meeting included PWD (B&R) minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, MP from Hoshiarpur Avinash Rai Khanna, Jathedar Takhat Sri Keshgarh Sahib Giani Tarlochan Singh, chief parliamentary secretary Ch. Nand Lal, MLA Morinda Ujjagar Singh Badali and district president of the SAD and the BJP unit, Ropar, Tara Singh Ladal and Bhupinder Diwan, besides the party workers and senior leaders of the SAD-BJP.

Kalka, October 4
Thousands of visitors and tourists thronged Yadavindra Gardens, Pinjore, on the second day of the 3rd Heritage Festival organised by Haryana Tourism, here today.

Performances like puppet show, Rajasthani Kachi Ghori, traditional Haryanavi orchestra, Haryanavi folk dances remained the main attraction.

Specially crafted “Anarkali Bazaar” on the bastions of the Mughal Gardens to remind people of the Mughal period drew huge crowds.

It was a shopping paradise for visitors, as craftsmen from all over the country showcased handlooms and handicrafts of various states.

One such craftsmen, Anchal Jain, who had come from Ambala, had a long cherished dream of bringing out unique embroidery work involving painting done with the help of threads.

One such painting on display had over 180 shades of thread used in tandem to make a painting of Jesus Christ.

The 7’x4’ painting is a masterpiece and a treat to watch. However, Anchal has no plans to sell it. “I want to dedicate it to my family,” says Anchal.

“It took me nine months to make this masterpiece. My father taught me embroidery and it is in my blood. But it was my dream to do something different. And I decided to blend embroidery with painting, she said.

“I will like to celebrate the artiste’s outstanding work,” Congress leader Ambika Soni had commented on her visit to “Anarkali Bazaar” yesterday.

Meanwhile, Haryana minister Kiran Choudhry today said Yadavindra Gardens were one of the oldest maintained Mughal Gardens in India and Haryana Tourism had successfully made it the first heritage site of the state. Pinjore would now be a buffer zone for tourists. She said at least 42 craftsmen from all over the country were participating in the festival showcasing the finest traditions of handlooms and handicrafts.

She added that eight traditional dance troupes were participating in the festival this time. Around 3,000 visitors had visited the gardens till the second day of the three-day festival.

Various competitions were held on the second day. Arshdeep Kaur of Saint Xavier’s School, Chandigarh, won the first prize in painting competition in the age group of 12 years, while Raghav Banato of Ryan International School, Chandigarh, bagged the second prize.

Kavita of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Chandigarh, won the first prize in the above 12 years category of painting competition, while Baljinder Singh of Government Senior Secondary School, Karampura, bagged the second prize.

Ambala, October 4
The principal medical officer of the city civil hospital, Dr O.P. Arya, will conduct a probe into the alleged incident of removing the eyes of a person who was kept in the hospital's mortuary after his death in a road accident.

Besides a doctor couple of Patiala, the Punjab police had booked a Class IV employee of the city civil hospital, Sunil Kumar, in this case. The police had allegedly recovered a pair of eyes from Sunil.

Dr Arya told that the body of Lalann Shah who was killed in a road accident near the city, was brought by the Punjab police in Ambala City hospital on October 1. He said that a doctor of the civil hospital conducted the postmortem on October 2 and handed over the body to his relatives from Bihar. It was not an unclaimed body, he added.

Dr Arya further said that a doctor who conducted the postmortem had mentioned in the report that the eyes of the deceased were intact. More over the relatives of the deceased have not made any complaints against the hospital authorities.

When asked whether the hospital employee removed the eyes of the deceased, Dr Arya said the Punjab police was already investigating the matter and interrogating the persons concerned. He said that he was confident that the eyes of Lalann were not removed. It should have been investigated to whom the eyes belonged that were allegedly recovered from the hospital employee.

Mean while, the Class IV employees union of the hospital said that Sunil was falsely implicated in the case.

Kharar, October 4
Area residents sweat it out under 13 hours of power failure on Friday.

The power supply to Mundi Kharar feeder was snapped at 8 am and was resumed at 10.45 pm.

Earlier in the day, a power cut was imposed from 8 am to 2 pm. This was done to change old structures connecting various power stations. The feeders of Majra, Mullapur, Morinda, Mundi Kharar and others were shutdown during this period.

Meanwhile, work of installing the power cables to support the increased load of the Mundi Kharar feeder, was also in progress. The total load on the Mundi Kharar feeder exceeds 280 kv in summer season, causing problem of voltage fluctuation.

As per sources in the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), the permit to carry maintenance and repair work was only till 5 pm. After 5 pm, PSEB authorities were supposed to allow resumption of the power supply.

However, till 6 pm the PSEB officials kept on continuing the work of changing cables. Later, when the supply was restored, the newly installed cables tripped leading to a total blackout in areas of Sunny Enclave, Gulmohar Complex , LIC Colony, Fatehullapur, Jandpur, Dashmesh Enclave, Swaraj Nagar, Mata Gujri Enclave, Gillco Enclave. All these areas lie under the Mundi Kharar feeder.

The power supply continued playing truant till 10.45 pm. Senior PSEB officials reached the spot at 10 pm after the area

residents repeatedly called them and apprised of the problem.

When contacted, SE, Suhinder Singh, said he was looking into the

matter and a serious action would be taken against the officials found guilty.

Ambala, October 4
The Ambala Scientific Instruments Manufacturers’ Association (ASIMA) organised its annual general body meeting today at Kingfisher Tourist Complex, Ambala, wherein Dr A.R. Kidwai, Haryana governor was the chief guest.

The governor released ASIMA Directory 2008, and excellence award was given to five industrialists of eminence for scientific industry of Ambala. Addressing the gathering he stressed the importance of directory in business promotion and social harmony. He informed that awards not only make people self-confident but also motivate young generation to do their bit for the country as well as the society.

Puneet Gupta, general secretary of ASIMA, read out the annual report of the various activities of the association.

Excellence award was given to Panna Lal of OSAW; K.L. Verma of Victor Scientific Industries; Hans Raj Aggarwal of Unilab Microscopes Mfg. Co. Pvt. Ltd; Nalini Kant of Advanced Microdevices Pvt. Ltd; Dr Anil Jain of Vaiseshika Electron Devices.

The governor in his address congratulated the Ambala industry for rapid strides it has made in the field of scientific instruments.

He informed that basic sciences are prerequisite for success in any area. He felt sorry that despite the progress in the Software sector, hardware sector is lagging behind. He announced setting up of a common facilities centre in Ambala. He said funds for the said project would be released within November 2008.

Patiala, October 4
Even as the MC has been talking of setting up cattle pounds on the outskirts of the city to get rid of the filth caused by unauthorised dairies, these dairies are thriving.

Dairies are flourishing around Rajpura Colony, which has over 500 government houses. Some people are running dairies in the locality with scores of cattle in each dairy. The unhygienic conditions and the stink are making the life of residents difficult.

There is no infrastructure in these dairies and waste material and dirty water is drained out in the open. Dung also finds its way into sewers, putting a strain on the sewerage.

Also, cattle roam around freely, hindering the movement of vehicles. At night, these are tied along the road and are a traffic hazard.

A brief shower is enough to worsen the situation.

Residents said it had been announced several times by the MC that dairies would be shifted out of the city limits and it was necessary to relocate these immediately.

“If these can’t be shifted out immediately, the owners of these dairies should at least be penalised to ensure that they did not throw dung and other waste material in the open,” Sarabjit Singh, a resident, said.

The mayor could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Rakhra (Patiala), October 4
“The Punjab government has urged the union agriculture ministry to label ‘Pusa-1121’ variety as Basmati rice. The central government will give a final shape to the state government’s proposal soon,” asserted Punjab chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh.

He made this comments while inaugurating a farm mela held by the Young Farmers Association at Rakhra village, near here, today.

He added that farmers should take advantage of newly established veterinary university as far as dairy and fish farming were concerned.

A large numbers of farmers from all over the state and neighbouring Haryana and Rajasthan today thronged the mela.

The emphasis was on variety diversification of wheat to bring stability in production and get out of stagnation.

The chief secretary was honoured by the association. The farmers were taken around the Basmati museum set up at the association’s farm where all varieties of Basmati were demonstrated.

Earlier, YFA president Jagdeep Singh Cheema welcomed the guests and secretary general Bhagwan Dass highlighted the activities of the association and problems facing the farmers.

Former MLA Surjit Sigh Rakhra also spoke. Joint director (agriculture inputs) Dr H.S. Bhatti and joint director (plant protection) Dr Gurdev Singh Gill also participated in the festival. President of the All-India Basmati Exporters Association Vijay Setia assured farmers of including Pusa-1121 variety in the Basmati category.

Ropar, October 4
A Punjabi film, “Luv u Bobby”, is presently being shot on the IET campus, Bhaddal. Students and faculty members of the institute will also feature in the movie.

Film is a love triangle based on the life of children of Army men, who always expect discipline in every facet of life.

Film director Gurinder Dimpy said modern Punjab had been depicted through the film. The college life of youngsters was being filmed on the campus.

Producer Gurbir Sandhu said Punjabi actors Yograj and Guggu Gill had come together after a gap of 13 years through the film and viewers would see them in a polished avatar, unlike their previous flicks.

It is a debut film for Vikram Sidhu and Poonam Cehal and Jiya Chopra, who are in lead roles. The other actors are Gurkirtan, B.N. Sharma and Binu Dhillon.

The songs have been sung by Kailash Kher, Bhupinder, Sunidhi Chouhan, Labh Janjhua, Indian Idol-fame Sumedha, Preety Bhalla and Vikram Sidhu.

Bassi Pathana, October 4
The process of procurement of paddy by government agencies began at the local grain market yesterday.

Local MLA Didar Singh Bhatti accompanied by SAD district president Jagdeep Singh Cheema, local SDM and officials of the procurement agencies inaugurated the process by making a purchase.

Bhatti inspected the heaps of paddy brought in by the farmers.

He called upon farmers to bring paddy to mandis as per the specification of the government.

He also inspected the arrangements made by the mandi board for the convenience of farmers.

Punjab Arthia Association press secretary Rajesh Singla and association general secretary Arthia Surinder Singh expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made by the mandi board.

Patiala, October 4
Dronacharya Awardee G. S. Sandhu, the spirit behind India’s successful boxing campaign in the Beijing Olympics, was bereaved when his brother Jarnail Singh Sandhu (65) died following a heart attack at Ludhiana last week. He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters. Jarnail Singh's bhog will be held at Sultankhanwala, near Malerkotla tomorrow.

Mohali, October 4
Four persons have been booked for allegedly cheating Gurpreet Singh, a resident of Phase III B2, here. According to the police, Gurpreet Singh, an insurance agent, had received an email in January that he had won a lottery for Rs 8 crore. The mail said before getting the amount, he would have to deposit some money.

He deposited Rs 3.59 lakh in the name of Shamir Avdal Sheikh in this regard. Later, he was told that the amount was to come from Nigeria and he would have to collect it from the Mumbai airport after depositing Rs 5 lakh as customs duty.

He got suspicious and informed the police. The police has booked Shamir Sheikh, Varinder, Jagan Nath Verma and Rakesh Rajbhar under Section 420 of the IPC in this regard.

Chandigarh, October 4
The local police has arrested Ashok Kumar and Santosh Kumar and booked around 25 residents of Colony No. 4 for misbehaving with a sub-inspector of the Chandigarh police, Hans Raj. They have also been charged with blocking traffic on the road and obstructing a police officer in the course of his duty.

Chandigarh, October 4
“Lack of security in Bangladesh’s national team forced us to join the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL),” said Bangladeshi members of Dhaka Warriors.

“There is no guaranty that we will make it to the national squad. People value you only if you are in the playing-11. In the ICL, we have contract for three years and have enough time to prove our mettle,” said Dhiman Ghosh, who left Bangladesh team to join the ICL.

The members of the team reached the city to join a preparatory camp for the forthcoming ICL domestic series.

“We hope that the ban on the ICL will be removed, which will bring in more international players to the league,” says former skipper of Bangladesh team Habib-ul-Bashar, who is also leading Dhaka Warriors.

Terming Twenty-20 cricket a craze in Bangladesh, he said: “The ICL and the IPL are a big hit back home and people remain glued to their television when T20 is being telecast.”

He said: “We are not bothered about the ban on ICL players. We have come here to play cricket and will concentrate only on the game.”

The Dhaka squad is all set to roll in the league with the hope that the coming season will be more fruitful than its previous edition.

Yesterday, members of Chandigarh Lions had arrived in the city. The players are staying at Hotel Monutview and will train at Tau Devi Lal Cricket Stadium in Panchkula.

Chandigarh, October 4
Guided by Manmeet and Sunita, who netted one goal each, MCM DAV College for Women, Chandigarh, defeated GGS Khalsa College, Jhar Sahib (Ludhiana), on the first day of the Panjab University Inter-College Football (Women) Tournament for 2008-09 on PU campus here today.

In the Volleyball A-Division (Women) Tournament, Guru Nanak College for Girls, Muktsar, blanked MG Khalsa College for Girls, Kottan 3-0.

In the second match, Government College, Hoshiarpur, beat SGG Janta Girls College, Raikot, 3-0. In the third match, Government College, Hoshiarpur, beat Panjab University 3-1.

Also, Khalsa College for Women, Sidhwan Khurd, beat GGS Khalsa College for Women, Jhar Sahib, 3-0.