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Ropar, August 15
State health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla promised free education to the students, who can give information about drug-peddlers in their area.

On the occasion of Independence Day today, Chawla said this had been done under the state government’s campaign against drugs and drug-peddlers. Name of the student, giving such valuable information, will be kept secret.

She said that so far, the state government had confiscated medicines, abused drugs worth Rs 6.25 crore. Paying rich tributes to freedom fighters and revolutionaries, Chawla said Punjabis had been among fore-front runners in fighting for Independence of India. Chawla said the government had given free treatment to school students suffering from heart ailments, cancer and Thalaessemia.

After the function, Chawla visited the Ropar civil hospital and met the patients undergoing treatment. Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti and SSP LK Yadav honoured the minister. DC Priyank Bharti declared holiday on August 17 in educational institutes.

She also honoured many residents for their valuable contribution in the district. Meanwhile, Independence Day celebrations were also held at IET Bhaddal. IET CEO Ravinder Singh hoisted the flag. He appealed the younger generation to follow ethical rules and keep alive the aspirations of the martyrs of our freedom struggle.

Zirakpur/Derabassi,  August 15
The Independence Day was celebrated with glory and great enthusiasm at Zirakpur and Dera Bassi today.

Zirakpur MC president NK Sharma unfurled the national flag at the Municipal Council office and honoured freedom fighters in his speech.

Later, school students at Sharma Farmhouse presented a colourful cultural programme.

In Dera Bassi, SDM Puneet Goyal also unfurled the Tricolour at Government School. The students in traditional dresses performed on patriotic songs to mark the occasion.

Fatehgarh Sahib: Minister for technical education, industrial training and social security Choudhary Swarna Ram today hoisted the national flag during a district-level Independence Day function at Mata Gujri College.

Speaking on the occasion, he said the nations who forget their war heroes failed to develop and went into oblivion.

He announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh for all schoolchildren, who participated in the Independence Day function and also honoured the freedom fighters. The minister gave tricycles to 10 needy persons.

Bassi Pathana: The Independence Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm at Government Senior Secondary School here today.

SDM Puneet Shergill unfurled the national flag and took the salute from the contingents of Punjab Police, home guards and NCC cadets and inspected the parade.

In her address, she recounted the sacrifices made by the freedom fighters to get the independence and highlighted the importance of the day.

Schoolchildren presented an impressive cultural programme, which was highly appreciated. She handed over 25 sewing machines to widows and honoured the prominent personalities and those who participated in the cultural activities

Patiala: District-level function to mark the Independence Day was celebrated at YPS, Patiala, here today. Cabinet minister Manoranjan Singh Kalia was the chief guest and he hoisted the flag.

He remembered all freedom fighters and said it was only because of them that India had reached where it was today and their sacrifice could never be ignored.

Kalia along with DC Deepinder Singh and SSP Arpit Shukla took the salute. Giddha by city’s MM Modi College, Government Girls’ College and Mohindra College enthralled audiences. The chief guest donated tricycles and sewing machines to the needy.

He announced August 17 as a holiday for all educational institutions.

Rajpura: Chief Parliamentary Secretary Raj Khurana hoisted Tricolour during the Independence Day celebrations held here today. He took salute from the marching contingents of Punjab Police, Punjab Home Guards and others.

He paid tributes to the freedom fighters and appealed to masses to follow the path shown by the leaders. He motivated people to contribute for the cause of society and set an example of crime-free and well-educated society.

Kalka: The Republic Day was celebrated with enthusiasm and patriotic zeal in Kalka, Pinjore and its vicinity. A sub-division level function was held on the sports ground of the Government Postgraduate College here.

The SDM, Kalka, Yogesh Kumar, took the solute of march past by the Haryana police personnel, Home Guards and NCC cadets. Schoolchildren of the area presented a cultural programme to mark the occasion, which consisted of patriotic songs, group dances of Haryana, Himachal and of many other states, which cast a spell on the spectators. The display of the physical activities like drill, dumbles and lazium by schoolchildren also remained the main attraction of the programme.

Railways employees also celebrated the Independence Day on Railways sports ground, in which Rakesh Srivastav, assistant works manager (AWM) of Northern Railways Workshop, Kalka, unfurled national flag.

Bassi Pathana, August 15
Lakhbir Singh Thablan, SAD (B) leader and newly nominated chairman of the Market Committee, Bassi Pathana, escaped a bid on his life at a gurdwara in Thablan village during the wee hours this morning.

He was shot at by three villagers, but saved himself by closing the iron doors of a room in the gurdwara and fired in self-defence, injuring one of them. The villagers raised an alarm and the assailants fled.

According to the police, Lakhbir Singh went to the gurdwara around 6.30 am to pay obeisance as usual. Six persons of the same village, namely Amarjeet Singh, Karam Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Fateh Singh, Devinder Singh and an unknown person, attacked him and fired with a revolver.

Lakhbir hid in a room and also opened fire in self-defence from his revolver and injured one of the assailants. The police said Karam Singh got bullet injuries and was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Chandigarh.

The DSP said the assailants had been nursing a grudge against Lakhbir as one of his supporters took possession of 4.5 kila from Karam Singh on July 11, on the directions of the high court. As Lakhbir was instrumental in getting the possession of the land, the assailants were annoyed and, hence, attacked him.

The DSP said a case under the Arms Act has been registered against all six persons, but no one has been arrested so far. He said a police team has been dispatched to the Civil Hospital to take the statement of Karam Singh.

Patiala, August 15
With Vijender Kumar winning the first-ever medal at the Beijing Olympics, Indian boxing is on a new height. Though pugilists were undoubtedly the top choice for a medal even before the Olympics, their performance at the ring had strengthened people’s love for them.

Now that people have started looking up to them, the Indian Boxing Association is taking every possible step to help the pugilists give their best performance in the upcoming competitions like world championship and the Commonwealth Games.

Along with top Indian coach like Gurbax Singh Sandhu, Heath Matthew, a world-fame physiotherapist, who is currently employed with the Mittal Trust, has been attached to the team in order to enhance their performance.

29-year-old Matthew, who hails from Durben, South Africa, started his carrier as a physiotherapist in 2004, when he took an assignment with a multi-disciplinary stadium at his home city and since then there had been no looking back.

He had worked with various teams like rugby, soccer and swimming but his first assignment in India was with Mahesh Bhupathi in 2006.

After that he had worked with the likes of Sania Mirza, Abhinav Bindra and Saina Nehwal. Working with Indian boxers has been a delightful experience for him. He said Indian players had been dedicated a lot and shown a lot of respect to their coaches and trainers.

“There is certain depth in the Indian players. They are dedicated to their game and are ever ready to grasp new fitness techniques that held them in performing better.”

He said there had been a lack of knowledge about sports medicine in India. “Without knowing the consequences, the players do hard training and then do not recover. With time, small injuries start developing, as a result of which later it becomes really difficult for them to recover fully. Now, that the things are changing, the players are becoming aware of this aspect as well and have started paying attention to each and every aspect,” he added.

On being questioned about his main focus, he said, “I had tried to include variety time because monotony had been tiring. Moreover, maintaining balance in nutrition is another important concern.”

“There is general fitness that is common for all players and then there is specific fitness. I try to accumulate a proper blend for them so that they are in best shape. Confidence level is a must for everyone. So that is another thing we focus on,” he added.

Talking about Indian pugilists, he said all of them had been in their best shape and he was expecting wonderful results in the competitions.

Patiala, August 15
A team of 7 students and 3 staff members - Dalip Shekhawat, Parminder and Thaplial of YPS, Patiala, scaled the Stok Kangri peak in Zanskar range of Leh.

The team after completing their advance and basic mountaineering courses was flagged off by deputy director, Rajiv Sharma, on July 26, for the expedition. On being questioned about their journey, Dalip Shekhawat said, “we reached Leh on July 27, and stayed at a military transit camp. On the next day, we proceeded to Stok village and camped there. In the evening we underwent acclimatization walk and reached Mankorma the next day”.

He said they reached the base camp on July 30 evening and prepared for ascend, after early dinner. "We began ascending at 1.10 am after a light breakfast and trekked along the ridge.

The temperature was sub zero, our stamina seemed to crumble with the increasing altitude but we didn’t give up. We reached the top of Kang Lajhal. Master Amitseshwar hoisted the YPS and Indian flag there.

We were the first team to conquer the peak in a record time of 5 hrs and 15 mins from the base camp," he added.

Chandigarh, August 15
Tainted IPS officer Saji Mohan was today produced before the duty magistrate, who ordered to send him back to the Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail following the completion of interrogation by officials of the NCB (Narcotics Control Bureau) here.

While producing him after two-day remand before the duty magistrate, the NCB officials said further custodial interrogation was not required in the case.

He was remanded in two-day police custody on August 13 for interrogation in the case.

The former NCB officer was lodged in the Mumbai jail after he was arrested by the ATS with 12 kg heroin early this year.

He was booked by the NCB here in a separate case of drug pilfering. The officer is accused of pilfering drugs during his tenure in Chandigarh.

NCB officials said the charge-sheet would soon be filed in the case.

Zirakpur, August 15
The local police today booked three youths for creating ruckus at a shopping mall here last evening.

All youths are residents of Mohali, with one of them claiming to be the son of a senior Punjab police officer.

A security guard posted at the gate had alleged that the youths had entered the mall from the wrong end in their car. When he objected to it, they started abusing him. They parked the car at the centre of the gate.

In the meantime, in-charge of security reached the scene and asked the youths to remove the car but they refused to do so and started abusing him, leading to an altercation.

High drama prevailed for over half an hour in which a traffic policeman was allegedly assaulted by the youths.

The security guards alleged that the youths were drunk and equipped with sharp-edged weapons. The investigating officer said the medical report confirmed that the youths were drunk and a case had been registered against them.

Chandigarh, August 15
Tejaswini Naidu of Andhra Pradesh claimed top position in the 56 kg women category of the 35th (men) and 27th (women) Senior National Powerlifting Championship organised by the Chandigarh Powerlifting Association at Weightlifting Hall (Sports Complex), Sector 42, here today.

Sunita Toppo of Chhattisgarh occupied the first place in the 60 kg women category.

Also, AB Manju of Kerala and Mahip Kumar of RSPB grabbed top slots in the 67.5 kg women category and 75 kg men open category, respectively.

Chandigarh, August 15
Rain played a spoilsport on the third day as a few matches were played today in the ongoing LD Kapoor Memorial Total Tennis Championship held on YMCA Sector 11 premises.

In the boys’ under-12 singles, top seed Karandeep Singh of Ludhiana and second seed Param Pun of Chandigarh beat their respective opponents with ease and through to the third round.

Karandeep Singh blanked his opponent Aditya Kansal 6-0 in just 30 minutes and Param Pun beat unseeded Angad Singh conceding just two games by 6-2.

Results:

Boys’ under-12 second round: Karandep Singh bt Aditya Bansal 6-0; Sidharth Kapoor w/o Vaibhav Rattan; Rishabh Sharda bt Sumer Sandhu 6-0; Anmol Kamboj bt Japjot Singh 6-1; Sachit Malhotra bt Adeesh Bansal 6-1; Paras Mittal bt Jay Nagpal 6-3; Abhi Uday Gautam bt Navkaran Pathania 6-5(2); Ayush Verma bt Karanveer 6-1; Sagar Bains bt Sourabh Prashar 6-0; Dishant Verma bt Sahil Singla 6-2; Samarth Sardana bt Savneet Singh 6-2 and Param Pun bt Angad Singh 6-2.