Ludhiana, August 18
Taking strict notice of the “casual attitude” of junior officers for a review meeting, Municipal Commissioner G.S. Ghuman issued showcause notices to nine officials, who missed the meeting today.

These include draftsmen and junior draftsmen, who were absent and whose reports were incomplete.

Already irked over the absence of his subordinates, the commissioner got more furious when he was presented challan books, stating that these challans could not be issued to the defaulters because they required signature of ATPs.

Sources revealed that some challans dated as old as first week of July to which Ghuman got annoyed and sought an answer from his subordinates. "A building inspector from zone-A showed challans of July 7, which required signature of ATP Kamaljeet Kaur for further action," added the sources.

Apart from the non-issuance of challans, the low recovery from the building branch also invited criticism for his subordinates. "I cannot go to every site to see constructions and challan them," were the commissioner's words during the meeting.

Scolding his officers, Ghuman asked the officers to mend their ways failing which this time he would not spare anyone from the action.

Talking to The Tribune, Ghuman said, "Since STP B.S. Brar and MTP Hemant Batra are on leave, it's the duty of ATPs to be strict in their zones. I have directed officials of the building branch to be strict with illegal constructions, but their leniency is causing problem for the corporation, apart from the loss to the state exchequer. We need to be strict with defaulters and that's why I have directed the officials to take challaning process with full vigour."

During the review meeting on June 23, Ghuman asked draftsmen of the civic body to discharge duties of building inspectors along with their own due to shortage of staff.

Ludhiana, August 18
In a major success, the city police has nabbed the three accused in the ATM theft case, which took place here yesterday. The arrested men include the security guard of the ATM. An amount of Rs 7.31 lakh was found missing from the ATM machine at Rishi Nagar Block-Y yesterday.

While one accused was nabbed from the bus-stand, the other two were arrested from Barnala here today.

The accused were identified as Gurpreet Singh, who was working as a security guard at the ATM of Punjab National Bank (PNB).

According to SSP SS Gill, Gurpreet committed the theft along with Ravinder Kumar, alias Raju, and Mahesh Kumar, alias Kaalu, both residents of Dhanola village in Barnala.

The SSP said the absence of security guard Gurpreet Singh during the time of the theft raised doubts in the mind of investigating officials.

Immediately police teams were dispatched in different direction to nab Gurpreet. The accused were nabbed from the bus-stand with Rs 3 lakh.

During interrogation, Gurpreet confessed to committing the crime. He also told the police the whereabouts of the other two accused.

The police teams then headed towards Barnala and arrested Ravinder Kumar, alias Raju, from village Dhanola with Rs 2.20 lakh cash, while Rs 2.11 lakh was found from the possession of Mahesh Kumar.

During interrogation, Gurpeet Singh said he knew the password of the ATM, as bank employees used to operate the ATM machine in his presence.

On Monday, he found the timing apt to commit the theft. He stole the amount from the machine and distributed it among his accomplices in the evening.

Meanwhile, the police has freed the three people who were detained yesterday on the charges of theft.

Ludhiana, August 18
There was a time when the Sarabha Nagar market was considered one of the safest and pleasant weekend destinations for the city residents, especially women and children. The place, which was famous for its night life, high-end restaurants and food joints, has now turned into a boozers’ den.

With six liquor vends on the Satpal Mittal road, now famous as “Theka Road”, a number of tipplers are a common sight on the stretch.

A famous general store has recently changed to liquor business, as there are more buyers for liquor than for milk products.

However, the mushrooming of liquor vends has become problematic for residents of Sarabha Nagar. Tipplers park their vehicles outside houses close to liquor vends.“After drinking, youths create a ruckus. Sometimes we have to call the PCR to deter the rowdy elements, but tipplers often bribe cops and keep on standing there till midnight and disturb our sleep,” said Saurabh Garg

If trouble arises near liquor vends, cops have often been spotted looking the other way.

Food joints are the worst hit. One such restaurant, which is situated between two liquor vends, is facing a decline in its clientele.

Though the police has raided these places on many occasions, it has failed to dampen the enthusiasm of tipplers.

Recently, a DSP-level official himself resorted to cane-charge to deter the youths, who were smoking hookah and consuming liquor in the open.

Though the restaurants have stopped selling hookah, liquor is still consumed in the open.

“Earlier, we used to boast having a house in a posh locality like Sarabha Nagar, but now we are thinking of selling the house and shifting somewhere else, as it is getting just impossible to deal with unscrupulous elements everyday,” said Manmeet Kaur, a homemaker.

As the area houses some schools, the presence of liquor vends adjoining them has become a matter of great concern.

Prem Kumar, a resident of Gurdev Nagar, said, “Many a time we have spotted students having beer and liquor during the afternoon. With the presence of liquor vends around some schools, it is getting very difficult to keep them away from drinking.”

Ludhiana, August 18
With an aim to curtail adulteration in food products, a team of health officials today collected samples of eight food items from different villages. District health officer, Dr SS Dhir, food inspectors, Dr Harjot and Dr Avinand Khosla, collected the samples of paneer from Samrala on the Machiwara road and the samples of dal channa, tea, fruit drink and ladoos from Ramgarh village on the Chandigarh road.

The team also collected the samples of ladoos from Bhaini Sahib and maida from Katani Kalan.

The samples taken will be sent for a laboratory test followed by an action on the people found guilty of the adulteration in the reports.

Ludhiana, August 18
With an aim to create awareness about the legal guardianship of the disabled, the Local Level Committee (LLC) of the National Trust today convened a meeting under the chairmanship of ADC (D) Davinder Singh.

The meeting was attended by Aashirwad (an NGO working for the disabled) director, Dr Neelam Sodhi, district social security officer Inderpreet Kaur and assistant civil surgeon, Dr Yashpal Mehta.

The committee today decided to create awareness amongst rural and urban people regarding the legal guardianship of the disabled. It was decided to initiate a campaign to create awareness on the disabilities and provisions made by the government, including the schemes for loans, pension, health insurance, transportation facilities and education.

The National Trust Act, 1999, particularly deals with the legal issues faced by the disabled and special provisions made to protect their rights.

Dr Neelam stated that parents who felt that they could not make legal decision for their disabled child (above the age of 18 years) could nominate a person as a legal guardian to look after the matters pertaining to loan, property and finances.

The parents can procure the forms from the NGO office, which when filled by the parents will be scrutinised at the LLC meeting followed by the permission to get the legal guardianship of the disabled.

In case of an orphan, the institute can become the legal guardian.

Ludhiana, August 18
Rani Lakshmi Bai was an ordinary girl who went on to become an extraordinary ruler. Her defiance of the British stands as an example even today. The fervour that she aroused gave birth to various leaders and revolutionaries who finally freed our nation from the British.

The life story of this valorous woman will be unveiled for the first time on the small screen through Zee TV from today through its new venture “Ek Veer Stree ki Kahaani… Jhansi Ki Rani”.

“The serial attempts to bring forth various facets of this remarkable woman which are yet unknown to the people. The Rani is shown as a mother, a wife, a daughter and as a warrior. She essays all roles with equal aplomb. The show is a tribute to her bravery, gallantry and patriotism,” adds Ulka Gupta, playing Lakshmi Bai in the serial.

The lead protagonist, Ulka Gupta, is a complete enthusiastic cutlet. She is a true cricket aficionado. She not only watches cricket religiously but also makes it a point to play cricket in her free time. She is also into writing skits and plays. Interestingly, she also performs all stunts herself on the sets and took up on horse-riding in first go.

Born as Manikarnika, Lakshmi Bai, also known as 'Manu', was the daughter of a Maharashtrian Brahmin, Moropant Tambey from Varanasi. While the other girls of her age chose to do household chores, she played and defeated the local boys in muddy matches of kabaddi.

She was married to Gangadhar Rao, who was the Raja of Jhansi, at a very tender age. It was after her husband's untimely demise that the agile Rani became a true warrior and an epitome of women's power in the country.

Speaking on the launch, Nitin Vaidya, COO of ZEEL and business head of Zee TV, said: "Rani Lakshmi Bai was an icon of the Indian Independence movement. The new show on ZEE TV will present it from an outlook which would definitely leave its audience stirred. It will talk about how a simple girl turned out to be a revolutionary by merely making difficult choices".

"I see the Rani as an inspiration to every modern woman, who wants to carve a niche for herself, while simultaneously taking care of her family. The topic is very much relevant in contemporary times, when women are being inflicted with so many atrocities," feels Sakshi, a viewer who is anxiously waiting for the serial to go on air.

The show has been shot extensively across four states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Ludhiana, August 18
The Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched its global credit card in association with VISA, which was accepted at over 29 million merchant establishments and 1 million ATMs worldwide, which used VISA as a payment gateway.

The credit card was offered only to customers having a minimum of six months of banking relationship with the PNB. The PNB will issue 2 lakh PNB global credit cards by March 2010.

This was stated by Ranjan Dhawan, chief general manager, PNB credit card venture division, the Punjab National Bank, head office, New Delhi, while addressing mediapersons here yesterday.

Dhawan further told the PNB had initially launched two varieties of consumer credit cards i.e. PNB global gold and PNB global classic, which would meet the needs of its customers and would cater to the requirement of different income groups.

Ludhiana, August 18
With dreams in their eyes, these girls came to this city as they wanted to do something different. Earlier, it was in the kitchen of their homes where they used to cook but now they will be cooking in the professional kitchens. Thirty girls from different villages completed their course and headed towards a new life.

The sixth batch of the one-year certificate course in hospitality kitchen management (CHKM) passed out recently. They were presented the certificates by Jassi Khangura, MLA, Qila Raipur, and managing director, Hotel Majestic Park Plaza, at a function organised in the hotel here.

Girls from these small villages, Kulhar, Jarhtauli, Dhoorkot, Siarh, Sarabha, Gujjarwal, Barahmpur, Qilaraipur, Gopalpur, Toosa, Jagerha, Qilahaans, Khera, Aasi kalan, Lohat Baddi will now be making big in their world.

Sarabhjit Kaur from Dhoorkot village said it was like a dream come true for her. "We always dream to do something different from the usual and I am lucky enough to make my dream fulfilled," she smiles.

Khangura said the main purpose of this course was to provide job-oriented education to the youth of the rural and backward areas. "So far six batches of 30 candidates each have completed the course and most of them have been placed in the best hotels across the country," he said.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 18
Graduates and postgraduates of rural areas need to improve their communication skills for getting high-profile jobs in multinational and public sector undertakings.

These observations were made during a “Job Fair” and career-counselling camp organised jointly by the local branch of Zenith Institute and Job Hunt, a job placement agency from Chandigarh, at Guru Teg Bahadur complex here yesterday.

“The major drawback of the aspirants was that they could not communicate well in all languages, including English. Though they fared well in their mother tongue, they could not converse in Hindi and English,” said Varsha, assistant human resource officer.

Investigations by the Ludhiana Tribune revealed that a large number of youths, especially rural, had participated in the job fair, but only 30 per cent of them were offered job opportunity by the organisers. Others were asked to try their luck after improving their communication skills and other personality traits.

Experts from Ivy Institute, Ludhiana, provided carrier counselling on the occasion. 

Ludhiana, August 18
The Income Tax Employees Union today went on a half-day strike. A dharna was also staged at the Rishi Nagar IT office. Employees of group B, C and D participated in the strike.

Sandeep Kumar, secretary of the union, spoke against the issue of new exam policy without considering the suggestions made by the Income Tax Employees Union and also wanted the settlement on the issue of pay of inspectors and administration officers.

Ludhiana, August 18
“Spirituality with non-directed prayers, meditation and providing unconditional service to the unprivileged people develop overall personality rather than physical or mental health’’, said Dr Daljit Singh, principal, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, during the inaugural address to the first year students of B.Pharmacy at PCTE Institute of Pharmacy.

Wg Cdr. HS Gill, chairman, PCTE group of institutes, Dr. KNS Kang, director-general, PCTE group of institutes, Dr. Darshan Singh, principal, PCTE Institute of Pharmacy and Dr. S.K. Munshi, professor of biotechnology, were present.

While chairman PCTE group of institutes emphasised the fact that healthy body led to healthy life, adding that one should not only do physical exercises but should take out time to read good books. It is advisable not to dwell on expectations from others and do something for society also.

Ludhiana, August 18
A Ludhiana-based NGO, People's Movement, held a function to commemorate the 100th martyrdom day of Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra.

Rachpal Singh from Bhaini Sahib lighted the lamp to inaugurate the function. Atul Kothari, national convenor of Siksha Bachao Andolan Samiti highlighted the need to inculcate the values of love towards the motherland.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Rajneesh Arora, V-C PTU, said that Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra was an eminent freedom fighter. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 18
Recognising his services towards fostering communal harmony and national integrity among the youth of local town and surrounding villages, the government has conferred the state award in social services on Prof Tanvir Ali Khan, a lecturer in Punjabi posted at Government College, Malerkotla.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal presented the award constituting a gold medal, citation, shawl and Rs 11,000 to him at a state-level function organised at Ferozepur on Saturday.

A few social and educational organisations of the local town have also decided to felicitate the don. According to Ravinder Puri, a councillor and president of Journalists’ Association, the decision to felicitate the don was taken at a meeting of office-bearers of certain social and educational institutes held at the Municipal Park today. Appreciating the government’s gesture, the organisers claimed the move to honour genuine social workers would persuade more and more persons to come forwards in the service of society.

Ludhiana, August 18
A man, who allegedly attempted suicide after consuming poison, was booked here today. Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Manjit Nagar near Bus Stand, who was recuperating in Suman Hospital, alleged that his wife’s distant relatives had usurped his property.

He alleged that he was harassed by repeated questioning of the police and tried to commit suicide.

The SHO, Division No. 5, confirmed the development. He said Rajesh had been booked for an attempt to suicide.

According to the police, Rajesh has a history of misguiding the police. A few months ago, Rajesh blamed his wife’s relatives for poisoning him and even filed a complaint with the police against them.

Police sources said during the investigation, it was revealed that Rajesh had cooked up the poison story to frame his wife’s relatives in the case.

Ludhiana, August 18
Bhartiya Vidya Mandir (BVM) Senior Secondary School, Udham Singh Nagar branch, bagged 10 medals, including four gold, three silver and three bronze, in the Ludhiana District Inter-School Kickboxing Championship organised by the education department at Saraswati Modern School, Civil Lines, here today.

Results:

Below 44 kg: Vidhu Anand of SMS School 1, Anmol of Saraswati Modern School 2 and Bhanu of Saraswati Modern School 3; below 48 kg: Dishu of SMS School 1, Sahil of Saraswati School, Partap Singh Wala 2 and Sawan of BVM 3; below 52 kg: Akwidner Singh of GHG Academy, Jagraon, 1, Gourav Shouri of BVM 2 and Govin Maini of BVM 3; below 56 kg: Parul Mittal of GHG Academy, Jagraon, 1, Paru of SMS School 2 and Gourav Sharma of Saraswati School, Partap Singh Wala, 3; below 60 kg: Vipul Gaba of BVM 1, Parupkar Singh of GHG Academy, Jagraon, 2 and Sahil Kalra of Spring Dale School 3; below 65 kg: Anil Sharma of BVM 1, Raghav Kashu of Spring Dale School 2 and Varun Dua of Saraswati School, Partap Singh Wala, 3; below 70 kg: Gagandeep of Saraswati School, Partap Singh Wala, 1, Lokesh of BVM 2 and Shashi Kant of BVM 3; below 80 kg: Sahil Joshi of BVM 1, Parul of BVM 2; plus 80 kg: Gagandeep Walia of BVM 1.