Ludhiana, October 12
Going out to purchase grocery proved costly for a couple in their mid- 50s as they were allegedly thrashed by “boozers” following a car accident near the Pakowal road opposite to Aman Chiken shop here last night.

The victims have been identified as Harcharn Singh Khurana (52), owner of Pal Furniture, who along with his wife Harjeet Kaur was going to the market to buying cold drinks and grocery.

Thing turned from bad to worse when the victims and their relatives, who went to a police station for lodging a complaint were further surrounded by the accomplice of tippler.

The couple and one of their relative somehow managed to escape from the police station in order to evade further thrashing.

Narrating the incident Harcharan said: “As I parked my car in front of the shop, a few drunken men bang into my vehicle. When I came out of the car to check the damage the youth started abusing me. This infuriated my wife and she started arguing with the youth.”

Later, at least 12 drunken men surrounded the couple and thrashed Harcharan. When, his wife Harpreet tried to save Harcharan, the boozers allegedly manhandled her as well.

The incident provoked the crowd, who were witnessing the entire incident.

The area resident were already disturbed with the mushrooming of liquor vends in the area and they had even complained to the authorities to keep a check boozers.

People gathered at the spot and nabbed one of them, while others managed to escape. The drunkard man was then thrashed and handed over to the police.

The area residents and relatives then requested the couple to registered their complaint with the police, but much to their shock when they reached the Sarabha Nagar police station, at least 50 men led by a former councillor, who resides in Punjab Mata Nagar, stormed the premises and started abusing the family.

“They even shouted at the cops and freed their man. While leaving the police station the leader threatened me that they would create problems if I reported the matter with the police,” said Harcharan Singh Khurana.

Jaskaran, son of Harcharan Singh, alleged, “The former councillor’s men kept visiting the area and it was after two hours that we were able to take him to a hospital.” Harpreet Kaur looked visibly shaken following the incident.

SHO Beant Juneja was not present in the station when the former councillor’s men stormed the building. The man who was thrashed by the mob was also rushed to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Beant Juneja, SHO, Sarabha Nagar, summoned both parties. The case would be registered after receiving the medico- legal- report, he added.

Meanwhile, the incident has spread panic in the area. Ashu Jain, an industrialist, expressed concern over the growing number of such incidents. “I have made it a point not to visit the market such as Sarabha Nagar Model Town area during the weekends as drunk youths are always indulged in eve- teasing or pickup a fight.”

Recently, people thrashed a tippler in Sarabha Nagar market for allegedly grabbing a woman by her hair.

Ludhiana, October 12
Court of Judicial Magistrate Jagdeep Sood has convicted seven persons on the charges of attacking officials on duty and damaging the Railway’s property. They were sentenced to undergo one-year imprisonment each. They have also been directed to pay fine of Rs 3,200 each.

Those convicted includes: Vinod Jain of Ram Nagar, Samrala Road, Mukesh of Janta colony, Rahon road, Manav Sharma of Jalandhar bye-pass, Sanjay Kumar of Civil Lines, Rajvinder Singh of Jawahar Nagar and Gaurav Kumar of New Kundan Puri, Ludhiana.

They were booked under Sections 323, 427, 148, 149 and 145 of the IPC at the GRP Railway station on April 4, 2005, on the complaint of GD Agnihotri, Chief Reservation Supervisor, Northern Railway, Ludhiana.

He had stated that accused Jai Kumar posing himself as a press reporter came to Ramesh Kumar, enquiry reservation clerk, who was on charting duty. He asked him to get him reservation done from inside the office, but the same was not possible due to heavy rush. So, the clerk expressed his inability to do so.

Irked by this the Kumar took out his camera and started clicking photographs and abused the complainant. Then he called other mediapersons there.

Then they run away after damaging the railway property and attacking railway officials on duty. The complainant and Sumit Kumar (ERC) suffered injuries, as per prosecution.

During the trial, complainant GD Agnihotri and witness Ajay Pal Singh were declared hostile. But after appreciating the evidence, the court observed that during examination in chief, these witnesses deposed against the accused. Thereafter, the defence lawyer took certain adjournments for cross-examining the witnesses. When they were cross-examined they resiled from their statements given earlier.

Despite all this, SI Gian Chand’s statement corroborates the version of these two witnesses given in examination in chief. The circumstances speak and accused were held guilty. The court brushed aside the arguments of defence lawyers to the effect that the accused be acquitted since all railway officials had turned hostile.

Ludhiana, October 12
Failure of the local Municipal Corporation to take action against illegal hoardings dotting the city seems to have irked Deputy Commissioner Vikas Garg as he has taken cognisance of the matter.

Using his powers of the district magistrate, Garg has issued orders that no illegal hoardings, posters, advertisements, banners and billboards could be placed within the municipal limits. The directions have been issued to ensure compliance of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The orders issued on October 6 are applicable till December 4. A copy of it has been also issued to the municipal commissioner.

Besides, the orders also state that these illegal hoardings were causing loss to state exchequer. The commissioner has directed the department of public relations to make announcement across the city to ensure that orders are being complied and residents could be made aware about it.

Illegal hoardings dotting the city was pointed by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal a few months ago during his visit to the city and following his directions, the police along with the municipal corporation officials had removed many hoardings from various parts of the city.

Notably, despite several media reports, the corporation has not spring into action to stop installation of hoardings and posters, etc which amounts to defacement of the public property. Moreover, under the garb of agreement with the advertisers, many footpaths in the city have become a place for installation of iron billboards, leaving busy roads as only option for pedestrians to walk.

A case pertaining to advertisements on iron billboards in the city is already with the Punjab State Human Rights Commission alleging that for money, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has virtually sold footpaths leaving no space for walkers. The complaint was forwarded by social activist Arvind Sharma based on the report published in The Tribune, where residents had criticized the Corporation’s role.

Ludhiana, October 12
A drama was witnessed in the Model Town area today morning when a family pressed panic buttons thinking their school-going daughter has been abducted while she was watching a movie in a multiplex with her male friend after bunking the school.

The incident came to light in the morning when a cop found the girl’s bag in a car driven by two youths during a barricading. On questioning he learnt that the bag belonged to a schoolgirl.

The bag contained her school uniform and identity card. The boys, however, refused to divulge where the girl was.

The cop, Sandeep Vadhera, called up the school authorities concerned and found her residence phone number. He called the family who raised an alarm and complained that their daughter was kidnapped and only her clothes she wore in the morning were to be found.

The girl’s mother told the SHO that she had left house for the school and the authorities said she never reached the school. This made the police and family press panic buttons. The parents of the girl then rushed to Model Town police station to register an abduction complaint.

Meanwhile, the police grilled the two youths and they told the police that the girl was safe and was watching a movie in PVR on the Malhar Road along with her boyfriend. They said she changed into her casual clothes that she carried from home and went to watch the movie.

The youths, who were rounded up by the police, said they were helping their friend and his girlfriend to have a good time. But they were done in and taken to be as abductors. “Had I not allowed my friend to leave his girlfriend’s bag in my car, I would have been free,” said one of the youths.

One of the girl’s family members called at the newspaper offices also and informed the mediapersons about the abduction incident.

Later when the girl was found from PVR, the family was caught on wrong foot and tried to hush up the matter.

One of the family members even argued with the SHO for spreading wrong information.

The family members said the girl went to watch a movie with the consent of the parents and blamed the police for giving hype to the matter.

An officer on the condition of anonymity said, “If the girl would have really been abducted, the parents would have blamed the police for inaction.”

Ludhiana, October 12
After Chinese toys, bicycles, batteries, furniture, it is now Chinese crackers that are dominating the markets this Diwali. The Indian manufacturers seem to be feeling the heat due to tough competition by their Chinese counterparts.

Chinese crackers are available in markets at relatively "cheaper" prices with attractive packing. Though many cracker dealers say, substandard material is used in Chinese crackers, buyers still preferred them due to their "affordable" prices.

Various types of crackers, including sound crackers, roll caps, crackling sparklers, colour sparklers, match crackers etc from China have flooded 
the markets.

More variety was available at Gur Mandi and Meena Bazaar areas. These crackers attract buyers, especially children due to their attractive packing. The packets display photos of various dragon and Sumo wrestlers on covers and reasonable prices attract the buyers.

Surjit Singh, a contractor, told The Tribune that Indians easily get attracted to foreign tags. They were always ready to shell-out more money for "imported" items, no matter about the quality. "Some of them are really good. But realising the pulse of buyers, many Indian manufacturers have started packing the material giving a Chinese look. In most of the Chinese crackers, potassium chloride is used, which is banned and unsafe.

The Indian manufacturers use aluminium powder in crackers, which is relatively safe but expensive. Their product has to be expensive but buyers go for imported material. We have to bring them to market, as people demand for it. Diwali fills the pockets of traders so we can’t afford to lose customers,” he said.

The crackers in the city will be sold by the license holders, as per district administration instructions. Several venues have been marked by administration for sale of crackers and for the convenience of people.

Some of these sights include areas like Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, Old Courts Complex, Pakhowal Road, Sidhwan canal near bridge, Shimlapuri, Haibowal Fire station, Urban Estate phase II, Rajguru Nagar etc. The administration has strictly ordered that fire-crackers could not be sold in congested residential areas in the city due to several health issues.

Ludhiana, October 12
In order to stop the supply of substandard mid-day meals in government schools, the health authorities have collected samples of wheat and rice stocks from various schools and sent them to the public analysis laboratory.

Dr US Sooch, Districts Health Officer, stated that four samples of wheat and rice stocks were sent for testing.

Last month, parents of some students protested against the school authorities for supplying substandard meals to children in schools.

With the hike in prices of vegetables and pulses, less quantity of food was being served to children in government schools.

Parents alleged that mid-day meals, which were being served to students, were infested with worms, insects and small pebbles.

The scheme was started by the Government of India with a noble mission of providing nutritious diet and checking the dropout rate in schools.

Recently, the Ambedkar Nagar Welfare Society and Women and Children Welfare Society protested against the poor quality of mid-day meal being served to children in Government Primary School 1B, Ambedkar Nagar. In their complaint, they alleged that the school authorities were serving half-cooked meal to students.

The district official of mid-day meal said the government had allocated Rs 2.08 per student at primary level and Rs 2.60 per student at upper primary (classes VI to VIII) level.

“Wheat and rice are supplied by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) through PUNSUP,” he added.

However, fifteen samples of mid-day meals both cooked and uncooked taken by the health department during the month of July, were found uncontaminated, said Dr Manu Vij, in charge, School Health Programme.

Ludhiana, October 12
It was a perfect blend of Sufism and poetry, spiritualism and hard realities of life on the occasion of International mushaira organised by Sufi Foundation India at Nehru Sidhant Kendra here recently.

The mushaira, that started at 11 pm, turned out to be a heavenly experience, with poets participating from all across India besides Pakistan, UK and the US.

Renderings by the likes of Shaharyar, Bekal Utsahi, A Ahad Saaz, Gulzar Dehlvi and their contemporaries from Pakistan and several other countries, was soul stirring with special focus on man-made political boundaries and the dire need of doing away with all kinds of barriers in the way of interaction.

MF Farooqui, the man behind the show, remarked that the aim of the event was to strengthen the bonds between people, irrespective of their faiths, religion or nationality.

Ludhiana, October 12
Colours of Sufi and folk music mesmerised residents of Ludhiana during a performance by famous Rajasthani singer Babu Khan and Punjabi singer Rajinder Malhar at Guru Nanak Bhawan here recently.

Organised by Punjab Cultural Society, presentations by musicians enthralled audience and they asked for more.

The stage was set on fire with the first performance by Malhar, who has done shows all around the world and had been in this line for the past 18 years.

"His music was soothing and it was his first performance in Ludhiana, despite being a city resident," said Ravinder Ranguwal, president of the society.

The programme also witnessed performing arts in the form of dance by some of the society members like dance on dhol, chimta, etc along with Rajasthani folk.

Adding to the environment was Rajasthani singer Babu Khan, who sang “Dama dam mast kalandar” and “nimboda, nimboda." Besides, life time achievement award was also conferred upon Prof Kartar Singh for his contribution.

The evening left audience spell bound and organisers high spirited.

Ludhiana, October 12
Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, witnessed a day of spiritualism, articulation and acting on the first day of its first-ever youth festival here today.

Various activities and contests marked the day with enthusiastic participation from students.

Dr VK Taneja, vice-chancellor of the university, inaugurated the festival. He said activities like youth festival develop the spirit of self-esteem and confidence among students and improves their vision towards life. He said we would develop more facilities for students to nourish performing arts.

Dr KS Sandhu, DSW and president of the youth festival committee, appreciated the efforts of the university staff. He said: "It is our first effort and we are trying our best to make it a success."

Dr Sukhnain Singh, former student of the college and noted singer, gave a mesmerising performance.

Results:

Shabad gayan (solo): 1st Gurleen Kaur, College of Dairy Science and Technology, 2nd Manbir Singh, College of Veterinary Science, 3rd Simran Kaur, College of Veterinary Science

Shabad gayan (group): 1st College of Veterinary Science and 2nd College of Dairy Science and Technology.

Debate: 1st Natasha Dhar, Jagpreet Singh, College of Veterinary Science, 2nd Ramandeep Singh, Gauravdeep Singh, College of Veterinary Science and 3rd Sudanshu Raman, Shubhkarmjit Kaur, College of Fishries

Eelocution: 1st Anurag Singla, College of Dairy Science & Technology, 2nd Gauravdeep Singh, College of Veterinary Science and 3rd Ramandeep Singh, College of Veterinary Science

Extempore: 1st Ramandeep Singh, College of Veterinary Science and 2nd Jagpreet Singh, College of Veterinary Science.

Jagraon, October 12
The issue of corruption in the local municipal council took a U-turn when the so-called whistleblower (vice-president of the council), who had levelled corruption allegations against the council chief, was summoned by the deputy director of the Local Bodies over the issue of allotting tenders to his real brother.

The council’s president managed to get this post with the support of Congress councillors. A few BJP and Akali councillors were not in his favour. In lieu of the support taken from the Congress, Ravinder Kumar Sabharwal was elected as his deputy. But about a few months ago, Ravinder Kumar turned against the president and levelled corruption allegation. Sitting MLA Gurdeep Singh Bhaini has openly criticised the president over this issue.

The executive officer Jagraon Municipal Council has confirmed that Deputy Director Ashok Sikka had summoned him for a hearing tomorrow. A local resident had lodged a complaint with the deputy director that Naval Kishore, Rajinder Kumar’s brother, who works as the council’s contractor, was allotted tenders worth lakh of rupees. 

He had stated that this was in gross violation of rules, as relatives of the councillors could not avail any benefit from the council. Ravinder Kumar had sanctioned the tenders of his brother by signing the allotment of the tenders. Besides this, Ravinder Kumar owns a brick kiln at Jagraon and had even supplied the bricks to the contractors.

When contacted Rajinder Kumar said his brother had been the council’s contractor much before he was elected. Moreover, he had sought permission from the EO after giving details of his relationship with him. Regarding the signing of tenders he termed it as a routine office work as in the absence of the president, he had to perform his duties.

He further added that some time earlier, his explanation was sought over this issue and he had given in writing that if someone has a problem of his being my brother, he should be stopped from taking council’s contract. He added that he had never supplied even a single brick to the council. If someone prefers to buys bricks from him how can he stop him?

Rajinder Kumar however denied of receiving any summon till date and added that he is ready to face any inquiry and will give reply according to the situation. Reliable sources revealed that if the complainant comes forward to pursue the matter, the councilor ship of Rajinder Kumar could be cancelled over this allegation. But it seems that like many other complaints, this complaint could be ambiguous one and in case the complainant fails to appear, the complaint could be dismissed as was done in all previous complaints against the Jagraon council. 

Ludhiana, October 12
A western solo-dance competition was held at BCM School here today. Students of Class VI participated and gave excellent performances.

The aim was to encourage the students to come forward and perform and build their confidence.

Two dance teachers of the school judged the contest. Kinnery, Japneet, Mehak and Barbie bagged first, second, third and consolidation prizes, respectively.

Mullanpur Dakha, October 12
To resolve the problem of stagnant and over flowing of village ponds, Manpreet Singh Ayali has come up with a novice by developing a natural water treatment plant in the village pond.

The new system will provide employment to the rural youth and also self sufficiency to the village panchayat by increasing its income through rearing of fishes in the ponds.

Additionally, the cleaned water of the pond will be used for irrigation purpose. Ayali said the project was a pilot project adopted at Rurka Kalan village with a cost of Rs 2.5 lakh.

He said 20 such treatment plants were being developed in the district with a cost of 1.5 crore and would be completed soon.

The World Bank has appreciated the project and has assured to adopt 100 villages at the cost of Rs 10 crore after inspecting the pilot project of 20 villages.

At Rurka Kalan village, the pond is divided into four parts similar to the technique of septic tank. The cleaned water of one compartment of the pond is released to the other and so on. The water testing reports from the labs has certified that the water from the last two compartments was fit for irrigation of crops.

Ayali further added that a treatment plant, otherwise, costs more than a crore but the water in this way was being treated at a low investment and also in a natural way.

He said, initially Kuldeep Singh, the president of Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon Welfare and Sports club, Issewal, started the project, but when it was bought to his notice, overwhelmed with the prospective benefits of the project, he financed it through Zila Parishad and started the project in other villages too.

Ayali, invited the village panchayat throughout the district to have a view of the system and has requested to adopt it in all villages. He assured monetary aid to them from Zila Parishad.

Ayali was accompanied by Sukhdev Singh Chak, Kulwinder Singh Ayali, Kuldeep Singh, sarpanch Charan Kaur and others.

Ludhiana, October 12
The Vigilance Bureau nabbed a fire officer posted at fire headquarters while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from an industrialist to issue him a fire outbreak certificate here today.

According to SSP, Vigilance, SS Mand, fire officer KL Kakkar had demanded a bribe of Rs 10,000 from Manish Pruthi, an industrialist from the Rahon Road. The latter's industry had caught fire on October 10 and he wanted a certificate to claim compensation under fire insurance.

Manish was expecting Rs 10 lakh from the insurance company and the fire officer demanded a bribe of 1 per cent of the 
total amount.

The industrialist complained to the vigilance bureau which laid a trap today morning in the presence of two official witnesses led by DSP Sandeep Sharma.

A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the fire officer.

Ludhiana, October 12
Jaspreet Kaur, a local resident, has received 54 grams of gold worth Rs 90,000 after she won the first final of Zee TV show “Ghar Ghar Mein- Fursat ke Lamhe”.

Jaspreet won the gold (in grams) equivalent to her weight (54 kg). She and her family fought it out with four families for the grand prize.

Her family was one among the 16 families of the city to have played in the game. Hailing from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, she played in the semifinal against her neighbour and won.

Episode of the Ludhiana shoot will be telecast on Zee TV from Monday to Friday after Diwali.

In a shooting schedule spread over 10 days, Zee TV brought the first of its kind, family game show "Ghar Ghar Mein - fursat ke lamhe" to Ludhiana.

Besides, the daily winners in each episode, the show will also announce a mega winner every week. The winner will be among the families who have been competing with each other throughout the week.

The daily winners get to take home cash prizes, sarees, gift hampers and other expensive gifts.

Ludhiana, October 12
Shooting of Punjabi movie “Chhevan Dariya” is underway in the city. The movie, being produced by Mumbai-based Noor Nissan Productions, depicts the real Punjab and dwells upon the contrasting aspects of the life.

“The movie gives a true picture of Punjab,” informed Ish Amitoj Kaur, the director from the USA. She further revealed that “Chhevan Dariya” is a movie with a social message and “hopefully, will pull audiences to theatres”. “While on one hand, there is positivity and prosperity, on the other, there is a life replete with alcohol and drugs, also known as “Chhevan Dariya” or “The Sixth River”,” revealed Ish.

While Bollywood badman Gulshan Grover who is playing a positive role in the film and actress Neena Gupta of “Choli ke Peeche” fame decided to stay away from the city during its shooting, rest of the star cast has been shooting enthusiastically in Ludhiana for the past two days.

Besides Gulshan Grover and Neena Gupta, Rana Ranbir, Deep Dhillon, Binnu Dhillon, Lakhwinder Wadali, Navneet Kaur, Manpreet Singh and American actor Christa Cannon are the other actors on the star cast of the movie.

Some big names, including music director Jaidev Kumar, lyricists Kumaar and Kulwant Singh, renowned Punjabi singers Wadali Brothers, Froze Khan, Manpreet Akhtar, Jaspinder Narula and Lakhwinder Wadali are associated with the film. 

Ludhiana, October 12
Right to Information Act, 2005, a tool of change, today completed its four years. All these years, various NGOs and common man have taken RTI’s help to be informed and feel strengthened.

The Tribune tracks three NGOs of Ludhiana that are using RTI Act to bring a change.

The exemplary work under the Act in the city has been done by NGO Resurgence India that has been playing a pivotal role in promoting social awakening and empowerment among citizens of India.

Formed by an architect Hitender Jain, the NGO has played a vital role in unearthing a scam involving Red Cross funds.

Similarly, Kuldeep Singh Khaira, a resident, was irked by the road construction on Gill road. "I was so disturbed that I filed an RTI application with the Municipal Corporation and the facts revealed by the civic body were surprising," said Khaira, who has now started playing a role of crusader by highlighting irregularities in government departments.

"I was never in favour of forming any NGO, but since we were five like-minded people, we formed a chapter Vigilant Citizen's Forum, to prove to people that they could also form such associations and keep a check on development in their areas," Khaira added.

He said: "Government officials will try to discourage, but one shouldn't get disheartened."

Joining the list is another NGO Anti-Corruption and Crime Investigation Cell that came into being in 2007. "These two years with RTI have taught me lessons, which I had failed to learn since past several years. Every government department has scores of irregularities that can be unearthed through RTI," says NGO president Rohit Sabharwal.

"It was difficult for common man to access a departmental file. But, now the RTI Act has helped a great deal," added Sabharwal, whose NGO has submitted around 200 applications through RTI with a success rate of 70 per cent.

He said: "I have two favourite cases. One is autos in Ludhiana, for which Punjab government has been directed by the High Court to introduce LPG autos by next year and another is marriage palaces and car workshops. Before filing PIL's related to these two cases, I had collected all documentary proofs through RTI."

Ludhiana, October 12
Secretary of welfare department, TR Sarangal, today directed all Additional Deputy Commissioners (development) of the state to uplift the livelihood of BPL families belonging to the Scheduled Castes, to make proposals of schemes for them and submit a report within a week.

Sarangal was addressing a meeting of the Additional Deputy Commissioners to review the progress of schemes for which funds were released under the Central sponsored programmes.

He said only 12 districts had submitted their proposals and he directed the remaining districts to submit their proposal, so as to get the required funds.

Funds amounting to Rs 20 lakh had been released to each district of the state during last year, but this amount was not spent completely.

He directed the officials to submit utilisation certificate after using the grants. He also directed the ADCs that the list of beneficiaries covered under special assistance scheme during 10 year plan (2002-07) should also be submitted.

He asked officials to implement these schemes honestly, so that maximum numbers of beneficiaries could avail benefits. He also asked the officials to conduct the meeting of monitoring committee regularly at district or block-levels.

Among others who were present in the meeting included Chaman Lal, director welfare department, Devinder Singh ADC (d), Kanwalsher Singh ADC (d), Kapurthala, Jaswinder Singh ADC (d), Gurdaspur, Sukhwant Singh Sarao ADC (d), Sangrur, Balwant Singh Shergill ADC (d), Barnala, Kanwar Sukhjinder Singh ADC (d), Tarn Taran, and ADCs of remaining districts of the state.

Ludhiana, October 12
The state government seems to have woken up from slumber at last, with the decision on installation of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) in the city, which will be taken within two weeks.

For cleaning-up of Budda Nullah, several major departments submitted their reports to the principal secretary to chief minister, here last evening.

It is expected that the work on installation of CETPs will be started in the city in a few days, providing much relief to the industry and residents.

DS Guru, principal secretary to chief minister, said the government was adamant to take up the issue. The clusters at Focal Point, Tajpur road, Bahadurke road, Industrial Area and Rahon road have broadly been identified.

Capacity of discharge has also been worked out and existing sewerage lines have been studied, claimed Guru.

"The matter took time, but we will try to convene a meeting with the CM in the coming days," said Guru.

Meanwhile, president of the Dyeing Associations of Ludhiana, Ashok Makkar, said the industry was ready to foot the bills for discharge. "We all are living in same environment and industry also wants to clean the Budda Nullah. At present, dyeing units are discharging seven per cent water in nullah, whereas, electroplating and other units are contributing around six per cent. 87 per cent of water discharge is by domestic users and Municipal Corporation. We are ready to pay our share for cleaning. Now it is for the government to decide on the installation of CETPs in the city,” he added.

Ludhiana, October 12
A woman was crushed to death by an over speeding private bus at Ayali Chowk here today. The victim has been identified as Chandrawati (45), a resident of Ayali village.

According to eyewitness, Chandrwati was waiting for a bus near Ayali Chowk when an over speeding private bus ran over her.

The victim succumbed to injuries on the spot. The driver of the private bus tired to flee but was nabbed by the people.

The driver has been identified as Sunil Mishra. It is learnt that the driver was thrashed before he was taken into the police custody.

The police has booked the accused for negligent driving.