Ludhiana, December 13
A dispute over the ownership of a plot in Kidwai Nagar led to the police, MC officials and ATP Kamaljeet Brar rushing to the scene here today.

Two warring groups almost came to blows, with one of them comprising local residents claiming that the plot was a public land and belonged to the municipal corporation.

A family residing in the plot, however, asserted that they were not only in possession of the land but had also been paying housing tax to the corporation. Zonal commissioner MS Jaggi said he had collected documents from the family and also summoned municipal records.

A compromise, he said, was worked out with both groups committing to not breaching peace for the next one week. The fate of the plot, he said, would be decided on December 21.

ATP Kamaljeet Kaur, however, claimed that the site was handed over by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust to the municipal corporation and a court, too, had given an order in the favour of the civic body.

“A few days ago, the site was cleared by us and saplings along with tree guards were planted. But when I reached the scene today, I found the plants removed and the area being used for religious activities,” said the MC official.

Senior Deputy Mayor Praveen Bansal, who was leading local residents in opposing the family, alleged: “The family was trying to grab the land. They had started keeping pitchers there and said devotees would arrive to pay obeisance. You cannot just develop any public park into a place of worship.”

Pointing out the Supreme Court’s ruling, Bansal said: “The apex court has directed that no religious encroachment be allowed on public land.”

But the family contested his claim. “The land belongs to the Muslim Intezama Committee and we have been living here for several years. The site belongs to Mahmuda Begum and we have the proof,” claimed the family members.

Ludhiana, December 13
Panic gripped the Manjit Nagar area, near bus stand, after two persons were found murdered under mysterious circumstances at their rented quarter late last night.

The victims have been identified as Sunil and Vijay, who worked at marriage palaces as waiters and lived in a rented quarter owned by Surjit Kaur in street No. 2, Manjit Nagar.

According to the police, the victims were stabbed in cold blood with an ice pick. The murderer even heated the ice pick so that blood did not ooze out of the bodies.

The marks on the bodies indicated that the victims were stabbed several times by the assailant.

The matter came to light when Surjit Kaur, the owner of the quarter, saw lights of the room on late last night and complained to victims’ colleagues about it.

Rahul, the roommate of Sunil, further told Surjit Kaur that the two had failed to report for work either.

Rahul added that he had found the door locked when he had visited the quarters in the afternoon.

Surjit Kaur with the help of residents broke the door lock and found the bodies of Sunil and Vijay Kumar lying on the floor. She informed the police about the incident.

The police has started investigation into the murders. A dog squad and fingerprint experts were pressed into service.

The police said the murders might have been committed during the afternoon as residents had spotted the two in the morning.

Meanwhile, the police has also questioned Rahul. The absence of Neeraj, another roommate of the victims, has also raised suspicion.

Residents alleged that Neeraj had had a tiff with Sunil and Vijay a few days ago. The police has not ruled out the possibility of personal enmity and involvement of a close aide behind the murder of the victims.

The police was locating the relatives of the victims, as no information was available with the police as to which state the victims belonged.

The police is finding it hard to search for their relatives in the absence of mobile phones or phone book. The post-mortem examination on the victims’ bodies could not been conducted today in the absence of any relative.

The police also questioned Surjit Kaur for not conducting the verification of the victims before allotting them the quarter.

Later, the police booked Neeraj for murdering the two.

Ludhiana, December 13
In a new twist to the multi-crore fake bill scam in which three contractors and a dozen MC officials from the engineering branch have been indicted, an accused has alleged that probe officer Additional Commissioner KP Brar is too involved in the wrongdoing.

In a letter to local bodies principal secretary, contractor Varinder Kumar has stated that “the inquiry is being conducted arbitrarily by the probe officer. She did not listen to the contractors accused of fake bills and did not give them an opportunity to put forward their defence”.

He has alleged that the probe officer has indicted him because of his association with Punjab Deputy Speaker Satpal Gosain.

“Due to close family links, EO (enquiry officer) KP Brar started putting pressure on the applicant to get her name absolved of the inquiry … but as the applicant feigned his inability to pressurise Gosain to absolve her of the matter, Brar openly threatened the applicant that she will coin the story as to make the applicant pay a heavy price for his blatant refusal and involve the applicant in the fake bill scam”.

He has urged the local bodies department “to mark the inquiry in this serious fake bill scam to some high-ranking officer of unimpeachable integrity outside the ambit of local body government and Ludhiana MC”.

He has also alleged that the EO has been “pocketing the ‘pass forward’ underhand charges and getting the bills of the applicant passed out of way”.

Reacting to the allegations, Brar said: “My report is based on documentary evidences like bills, etc. It’s true that I haven’t heard the contractors but the fact is that I was just asked to probe the record and submit my findings.”

She refuted the claims that she was pocketing any “pass forward” underhand charges.

Meanwhile, Congress councillor Sushil Raju Thapar has said: “If the MC fails to register an FIR against guilty contractors and officials till December 15, he along with his supporters will gherao Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura’s office on December 16.”

Ludhiana, December 13
The municipal corporation today lodged a complaint with the police at Model Town against a resident of Punjab Mata Nagar for starting construction of a shop in spite of a stay order from the court.

According to sources, ATP SS Bindra lodged the complaint and asked the police to register an FIR against the resident. The resident started constructing the wall not only in violation of the MC Act but also of the court’s orders.

Talking to The Tribune, ATP SS Bindra confirmed the move. “We had given several warnings to the owner but he was unrelenting. Since, we were left with no other choice, we approached the police,” added MC official.

It had taken a lot of effort for the municipal corporation to demolish these shops as the civic body officials had faced a stiff opposition from residents and encroachers, who enjoyed the support of area councillor Tanveer Dhaliwal.

The MC had returned empty-handed from demolition drives in the area twicein August and finally succeeded in their work in October.

The final demolition of the three shops was done on October 5 in the presence of ATPs Harpreet Ghai and Kamaljeet Kaur.

The officers had then revealed that there were three shops that had encroached upon the road.

Out of these, two had completely encroached on a 24-foot-wide road and covered an area of 13 feet of the road, while the third had more than 50 per cent of its construction as illegal.

There were nine encroachments on the road and ATP Ramesh Chabbra had earlier demolished six minor encroachments.

Ludhiana, December 13
The recent violence may have left migrant population disillusioned and wanting to return home, the fact remains that they have become the backbone of domestic, industrial and construction sectors.

Migrant workforce dominates the entire technical and semi-technical sector of the city. Starting from digging to construction of houses, all technical works like plumbing, electrical fitting and finishing, etc. are done by migrant workforce.

They dominate all spheres of work like tailoring, hand embroidering, masonry, car repairing, handling operations at cloth dyeing units and cycling industry, and whitewashing. So much so that these migrants and their women virtually run houses of local residents where they work as servants.

Prof LS Bedi, head of English department at GGN Khalsa College, said: “While locals are either heading overseas or looking for white-collar jobs, it is the migrants who run the wheel of the city by handling skilled and semi-skilled work.”

“We are grateful to the city that has given us so many opportunities to earn so that we can send the money back home. But problems start when anti-social elements snatch our hard-earned money and that was the reason behind the violent protest at Dhandari a week ago. Like every Indian, we also need security, not discrimination,” said Ashok, a migrant leader of Dhandari.

While migrant labourers have played a pivotal role in the growth of the industrial city, it too in return has given them a lot.

The money sent back from the city has also made a considerable contribution in the development of their native states. According to a survey, over Rs 30 crore per month is being sent back home by labourers through banks and post offices.

Around 10 lakh migrant workers work in the city round the clock to ensure bright future of their children back home. Hari Ram, a worker, said: “We are like sugar in tea. We are not harming anyone. We are just giving a flavour to the society.”

Ludhiana, December 13
With the Punjab State Education Board (PSEB) withdrawing affiliation to 187 schools in the state, thousands of students studying in these schools and their parents are a worried lot.

Though the students currently enrolled in these schools have been allowed to appear as regular students in the examinations to be held in March and April 2010, there is uncertainty over the future of those studying in classes other than the X and XII standards.

While the students of Classes X and XII would appear for their board examinations in April 2010 and have numerous options for higher studies, those in the lower grades, especially in Classes IX and XI, would have to struggle to get admission in others schools. Because, with seats for most classes already occupied by their own students, a majority of schools do not have the capacity to take in more than a certain number of students.

Many students would also face the problem of switching over to an institution affiliated to a different board, other than the PSEB.

Talking to The Tribune, Priyanka Sharma, mother of a Class IX student of a local school, which has lost its affiliation, said: “Next year is the most crucial year in the academic career of my daughter as she will be in Class X. With the cancellation of affiliation of the school by the PSEB, I do not know where to go. Getting admission to some other school is an option but it will be very difficult.”

Renuka Bali, another parent of a Class IX student, rued: “We do not want our son to appear as a private candidate, but with withdrawal of his schools’ affiliation by the PSEB, and most city schools not willing to take fresh students in Class X, he will go through a very tough time.”

The PSEB had yesterday withdrawn affiliation to as many as 187 schools of the state for failing to provide affidavits of payment of salary to their staff. As many as 24 city schools have lost their affiliation.

Jagraon, December 13
Dr Iqbal Singh, Governor of Puducherry, while addressing the audience at GHG Academy, Jagraon, yesterday stated that English should be given due importance as it was an international language and one could not grow without having proficiency in it.

He had apparently tried to term the decision of the Punjab Government of adopting Punjabi as its only official language wrong through his statement. This was not the only instance where he failed to adhere to the ground realities.

Speaking on the economic recession worldwide, he said Punjab remained a prosperous state during this period also. Master Tarlochan Singh, who had come to attend the function here, said he was surprised over the comment.

The economy of Punjab was at all time low with most of the farmers debt ridden and adopting to suicide due to incapacity of re-payment of debts despite the fact that about 70 per cent of its population was engaged in agriculture and allied activities.

He said the situation of urban dwellers was more or less the same as a majority of them had even mortgaged their homes with banks to maintain their lifestyles.

Mohinder Singh, a septuagenarian and a grandfather of a student in the school, expressed surprise that the Governor called upon the rich and NRIs to come in the field of imparting quality education. He said these people had only brought commercialisation in the field of education that made the right to study available only to the handful rich persons.

He said with the opening of new schools and taking over the state-run schools by industrialists and NRIs would make education a sector non-accessible to common man.

Jagraon, December 13
The GHG academy celebrated its annual day besides inaugurating its hostel building. Dr Iqbal Singh, Governor of Puducherry, presided over the function. He was accompanied by MLA Jassi Khangura, MLA Gurdeep Singh Bhaini and others.

Students presented a colourful cultural programme. Meritorious students were given prizes for their achievements in academic and curricular activities.

Dr Iqbal Singh laid special stress on quality education under strict discipline. He termed the deterioration of education system a result of negligence of parents, teachers as well as state governments. He emphasised that the other states should adopt the education pattern of southern states of India as they had excelled in imparting quality education among students and raising the literacy ratio.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 13
Even at the fag end of 2009, the authorities are yet to draft the urban education plan for Ludhiana and Amritsar. Courtesy, the failure of a Delhi-based NGO to submit a report on out of school children of these districts.

Blacklisting the erring charitable trust, the office of the director general (school education) initiated process for conducing a household survey for these two districts once again.

Urging the government to expedite the process for executing the project, office-bearers of a few social and educational organisations have demanded punitive action against the management of the erring NGO.

Investigations by Ludhiana Tribune revealed that the urban plan for identification of out of school children and their education could not be drafted adequately for Ludhiana and Amritsar districts for the current academic year. This has left future of thousands of children between 6 and 14 years of age in lurch.

Though the Sarav Shiksha Abhiyan Authority of Punjab has blacklisted the Datamation Foundation Charitable Trust, Swasthya Vihar, Delhi, for not submitting desired report within the stipulated period, no punitive action was initiated against the NGO.

Perusal of records revealed that the NGO had undertaken to conduct household survey of two districts with over one million population in of January this year. As per the terms and conditions of the reference, the entire work was to be completed and reports were to be submitted before February 15, 2009.

Lack of Interest, lack of access to school, household work, migration, earning, compulsion, failure and socio-cultural reasons are to be specified as factors behind the trend. 

Ludhiana, December 13
Lack of basic amenities like drinking water and clean washrooms have left students of Punjab Agricultural University fuming.

With most of the water coolers installed in various departments being nonfunctional and taps running dry, students have no access to clean drinking water even as dirty and stinking washrooms in dilapidated condition seem to have become a chronic problem on the campus. Washrooms in hostels are in a shambles.

Not only this, even the buildings of various departments are in a dilapidated state with moisture-laden walls, broken furniture and dingy rooms.

“We are facing a lot of inconvenience due to lack of basic amenities on the university campus. We do not even get clean drinking water in our department. The water coolers and taps in the departments are mere showpieces. All this, in a university, which is known to be the food bowl of the nation,” remarked a student of MCA I sarcastically.

Another student added, “Washrooms in the departments are so dirty that one doesn't even feel like using them. Almost all washrooms are in a mess,” she said.

Most of the students aired the similar grievances. They rued that numerous complaints to the university authorities and the respective heads of the departments and colleges have fallen on deaf ears. “We are paying a hefty sum to the university as our annual fee. We have at least the right to get clean drinking water, if nothing else, on the campus,” rued another MCA student.

Ludhiana, December 13
Lending a comic hue to the importance of a woman in a man’s life, “Mirch Masala - Chhadeyan di June Buri” left the audiences in splits here yesterday.The Punjabi play, woven around the story of three ageing bachelor brothers and their plight in the absence of a woman from in their lives, was staged last evening at Guru Nanak Bhawan.

Written by noted artiste Dr. Jatinder Brar and directed by popular Punjabi actress and artiste Nirmal Rishi, the play had some powerful performances and hilarious dialogues.

The story of the play revolves around three brothers Veera, Dara and Sonpreet, who are all single and desperately looking for a suitable bride for the eldest brother Veera.

However, contrasting likes of the two younger brothers and each one's desire to bring a sister-in-law (bhabhi) of his choice, not only leads to a lot of conflict in the household, aptly potrayed in hilarious sequences, but also results in collective failure of the brother trio to find a suitable match for Veera, the docile elder brother.

While wrestler Dara and English loving Sonpreet fight it out, rejecting prospective brides for Veera, the neighbours and the police harass the trio for being bachelors.

The health freak Dara and stylish English speaking Sonpreet lend several comic moments to during the play as do the timid Veera and the domestic help Ramu, another bachelor of the household who is responsible for most of the confusion and mess around the house.

The play was presented by Bal Vikas Trust, a NGO working for underprivileged children. DIG Dr Sharad Chauhan was the chief guest, while Rancha Sharma, managing trustee of the trust, was also present on this occasion. 

Ludhiana, December 13
Everest Public Senior Secondary School celebrated its Founder’s Day yesterday on the school premises. Rich tributes were paid to Dina Nath Sharma, founder of the institution, who devotedly served the cause of education with the sole mission of enlightening the poor and backward class students with knowledge.

Padam Shree Vijay Kumar Chopra, chief editor, Punjab Kesari Group, Jalandhar, inaugurated the function. Heera Singh Gabhria, Cabinet Minister, Punjab, was the guest of honour.

The others present on the occasion included were Sukhdev Singh Gill, Jaspal Singh Giaspura, Tehal Singh, councillors, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, I. M. Dutta, principal, Inderjit Malhotra, principal, N.K. Bangia, principal, Navdeep Bangia, Ravinandan Sharma, principal, Baljinder Singh Panesar, political secretary, Cabinet Minister, Pardeep Kumar, and Ranjit Singh, state awardee.

On this occasion, a scooter was also donated to Rajiv Duggal, a physically challenged student, by the management of the institution.

An inter-school declamation contest was also held. Students of various city schools participated in the contest and spoke on various topics like 'Sayunkat Pariwaron Mein Bhikhrab', 'Krabtya and Adhikar', 'Dharam Media Ate Rajniti', 'Samaj Da Mud Ma Bap' etc.

Ludhiana, December 13
The enforcement wing of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) carried out spot inspection of more than two dozen marriage palaces and resorts on the periphery of the mega city all through the day yesterday and found several irregularities, including one case each of theft, use of unauthorised load and meter tempering.

Giving this information, HS Randhawa, chief engineer (enforcement) of the PSEB, told The Tribune that a team of senior officials of enforcement wing checked 25 marriage palaces and resorts in the city. The cases of theft, use of unauthorised load and meter tempering had been marked to the operations wing for working out penalty and issuing demand notices to the erring consumers.

The team of inspecting officials, he said, found that in as many as 10 marriage palaces and resorts, the low tension (LT) lines passed right through their premises where chances of theft through tapping (kundi connections) were very high since most of the functions at these places were held during night when watch and ward staff of the PSEB was not available for checking.

“The officials of operations wing had been explicitly directed to take immediate steps for shifting the LT lines away from the compounds of the marriage palaces and resorts or else convert them into high voltage distribution system (HVDS),” he informed.

The exact amount of penalty imposed on the marriage palaces owners for theft and other irregularities will be known only on Monday.

Randhawa said the enforcement wing had clear instructions from the PSEB management to carry out its drive against power theft and use of unauthorised load relentlessly, and it would continue with its assigned task without sparing anybody.

Mandi Ahmedgarh,December 13
Apprehending threat to her life from goons of in-laws of her NRI son, a Dalit widow of local Bhagwan Nagar locality has sought protection from state and union governments. She has also sought reinvestigation and cancellation of a dowry case registered against her and her son settled in Canada.Meanwhile, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission has sought a report from the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ludhiana range, through ADGP/IVC-cum-Human Rights, Punjab, on her.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Ludhiana (rural), has been directed to stagger action in case of FIR registered against the complainant under Section 406, 498 A, and 120 B at the Sudhar police station three months ago and send the case file and documents to the DIG, Ludhiana.

In a communiqué addressed to higher authorities, including Prime Minister, Chief Minister and secretary the Central Social Welfare Ministry and the National Commission for Women, Bhupinder Kaur has apprehended threat to her life from musclemen of in-laws of her son Kirandeep Singh.

Kirandeep was married to Suninder Kaur, an NRI daughter of Ajmer Singh of Buraj Littana in Ludhiana district, on March 19, 2007.

Both Kirandeep and Suninder Kaur had moved to Canada soon after marriage and a daughter was born from the wedlock.

Things ran smoothly for a few months after which the in-laws of Kirandeep filed a complaint against him at a police station in Canada. Kirandeep started living independently after being discharged on probation by a court in Canada.

Meanwhile, relatives of Suninder Kaur allegedly started harassing Bhupinder Kaur on flimsy ground. A number of complaints were lodged against her and her son at various police stations falling under the jurisdiction of Ludhiana (rural) police district during last few months.

Earlier, the Human Rights Commission, Punjab, had observed that the Raikot police had registered FIR No. 28/09 against the complainant along with her son settled in Canada without verifying facts.

The case was registered with an intent to pressure the complainant to impress upon her son to compromise with his in-laws.

Interestingly, DA legal, Ludhiana (rural), had opined twice that the application moved by Ajmer Singh was devoid of merits. The Sudhar police had later registered the case on basis of report submitted by the district attorney.

Acting on another complaint, the ADGP IVC-cum-Human Rights has now directed the DIG, Ludhiana, to submit a report after getting the matter probed by the police outside the Ludhiana (rural) district.

Ludhiana, December 13
Around 800 patients were examined at a free medical camp held at Swami Vivekanand Hospital here today.

A team of doctors, along with supporting staff, conducted the medical check-up of the patients in different specialities while also rendering follow-up advice. Bone mineral density scan (BMD scan) was done free of cost for more than 200 patients. Some 100 patients were detected to be suffering from calcium deficiency and were advised on dietary modification for management of the condition.

Meanwhile, 25 physically challenged persons were provided artificial limbs and hearing aids by Bharat Vikas Parishad Charitable Trust at the 797th artificial limb distribution camp organised at Viklang Sahayata and Punarvas Kendra here today. Narinder Mittal, convener of Viklang Sahayata Kendra informed that artificial limbs, calipers, wheelchairs, tri-cycles and hearing aids had been distributed to more than 31,150 physically handicapped persons since inception of the kendra in 1996.

He said a state of the art polio surgery hospital was also running where corrective polio surgeries were being done on every 2nd Sunday of the month free of cost. So far 795 polio operations had been performed with 100 per cent successes. About 10 more polio surgeries were performed during the camp today also.

Jagraon, December 13
Eleven candidates are left in the fray for five positions of the Jagraon Bar Association elections slated for December 19 as the date for withdrawal of nomination drew to a close.

The voters will elect president, vice-president, secretary and two executive members from the 69-member Bar Association. Two groups have been pitted against each other for the top posts and have adopted all means, including hosting cocktails parties, to win over the voters.

Those left in the fray include Joyati Saroop Sehgal, Ashwani Kumar Atrey and Subhash Chander Mahant for the post of president, Preetinder Singh Kushal and Kamikar Singh Munjal for vice-president, Vishal Sharma and Parminder Pal Singh for secretary and Iqbal Singh Akalgarh, Sukhwinder Singh Chabra, Parveen Kumar and Varun Bansal for the two posts of executive members. — OC

Ludhiana, December 13
The Northern Railway Pensioners Welfare Association has reiterated the demand for “one rank - one pension” along with removal of disparities that still existed for old railway pensioners who had retired before January 2006.

Addressing the 11th annual general meeting of the association here today, KL Chitkara, president of the body, and VM Bhandari, general secretary, further asked the railway authorities for early upgradation of railway health unit for providing better health care facilities to over 5,000 serving employees and pensioners as also providing specialist medical consultants and diagnostic equipment.

Among other issues raised at the meeting were exemption from income tax for pensionary wages, reduction of age limit from 80 to 75 years for 20 per cent hike to pensioners and enhancement of fixed medical allowance from Rs 100 to Rs 500 at par with the state government pensioners.

Bhandari read out the annual report of the body while claiming that senior functionaries of the association were available at the Pensioner Information Centre every Monday to resolve the pension-related problems.

Through its vigorous follow up, the association had been able to get third beneficiaries like divorced or unmarried daughters or physically challenged sons for family pension in the event of death of both the pensioner and his or her spouse. The report of the Sixth Pay Commission, in respect of railway pensioners, had also been got implemented, he claimed.

Ludhiana, December 13
The Punjab Tax Bar Association (PTBA) has asked the Punjab Government to extend the date for submission of form C to March 31, 2010.

BR Kaushal, general secretary, Lalit Takyar, secretary general, Rajpal Gupta, vice-president and Tirlok Bhalla, finance secretary, of the Punjab Tax Bar Association, in a joint statement, have said the trade and industry in Punjab were facing a lot of difficulty in procuring forms C from dealers located in other states, as there was reportedly an acute shortage of these forms in many states.

Functionaries of the taxation body urged the Punjab Government to take up this matter with other state governments as also the empowered committee meeting of state finance ministers on VAT at the national level.

"Forms C are to be printed by the respective state governments and issued by the government to the dealers. When the government is not providing the required number of these forms, how can the dealers supply the same to their counterpart dealers in time? Whereas the central and the state governments are at fault on this issue, the trade and industry are being penalised," they maintained.

Kaushal and other office-bearers of the PTBA further demanded that the e-filing of returns, which had been made compulsory, should be implemented in phases, and that too after having the views of the dealers who were proposed to be covered under this category because the difficulties being felt by the petty dealers must be considered while enforcing legal provisions.

They wanted the state government to be more flexible in issuing refunds to the dealers and adopt a suitable mechanism to ensure that the genuine dealers should get their refunds at the earliest. "By making submission of forms C and H mandatory for grant of refunds, the government has literally stalled the process of refunds to the dealers who are already facing financial crises due to the overall slump and recession in the market."

Ludhiana, December 13
The Ludhiana Bodybuilding and Fitness Association organised the 16th edition of Mr Ludhiana competition at Laxmi Narayan Bhawan, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, here today in which nearly 125 participants competed in the junior as well as senior sections.

Chief parliamentary secretary Harish Rai Dhanda, Padma Shree Vijay Chopra and DIG, Ludhiana, SS Chauhan, gave away prizes to the position holders. Former national champions PP Khullar and eight-time Mr India Yogesh Sanan were also present at the prize distribution function.

Results: Junior section- below 55kg - Dharminder Singh 1, Manish Kumar 2 and Harmandeep Singh 3; 55-60kg: Harpal 1, Rahul Dev 2 and Chandan Kumar Yadav 3; 60-65kg: Ashish 1, Sachin Malhotra 2 and Jatinder Pal 3; 65-70kg: Robin Jain 1, Mohd Aslam 2 and Gurpreet Singh 3; 70-75kg: Vipan Sharma 1, Gagandeep 2 and Amit Kumar 3; above 75kg: Parminder Singh 1.

Senior section: below 55kg- Amit Mehra 1, Dharminder 2 and Sachin Sharma 3; 55-60kg: Harpal 1, Rahul Dev Singh 2 and Jagtar Singh 3; 60-65kg: Amit Bhatia 1, Ashish Gagat 2 and Bharat Bhushan 3; 65-70kg: Robin Sharma 1, Mohd Aslam 2 and Hardeep Singh 3; 70-75kg: Gurwinder Singh 1, Vipan Sharma 2 and Pankaj Sharma 3; 75-80kg: Sandeep Singh 1, Parminder Singh 2 and Kishore Kumar 3; above 80kg: Micky Sahni 1, Jagraj Singh 2.

Ludhiana, December 13
Local shuttler Pranav Chopra has achieved another milestone. He, along with Sai Praneeth from Andhra Pradesh, caused a flutter when the duo scored an upset victory over top seeded pair of Arun Vishnu from Kerala and Tarun Kona from Andhra Pradesh to emerge champions in the men’s doubles category in the NPL-All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament held at Bangalore from December 9 to 13 organised by Prakash Padukone, a former international badminton star.

Pranav, a trainee of Ludhiana Badminton Academy, has been competing in the junior section for the last five years and has already carved a niche for himself by winning more than a dozen titles at the national-level tournaments (juniors) besides making waves in the international arena also.

Pranav, currently sponsored by Air India and Sai Praneeth by Airport Authority of India, romped home victorious in this prestigious tournament. Starting as underdogs, the duo tamed many senior ranking opponents to secure berth in the title clash match.

Keeping their tempers in control at crucial moments, Pranav and Sai wrapped up the first set at 23-21. However, in the next set, Arun and Tarun bounced back with a vengeance to win 21-14 to level it one-all.

In the third and deciding set, Pranav and Sai waged a spirited battle against their experienced rivals to clinch it 21-14 which fetched them top honours in their maiden appearance in a senior ranking tournament.

In the mixed doubles’ section, Pranav, pairing with Prajakta Sawant from Maharashtra, too faired well, though tumbled at the last hurdle to finish at runners up. The pair of Pranav and Prajakta had won bronze medal in the Junior Asian Badminton Championship held early this year at Malaysia.

At present, Pranav Chopra, Sai Praneeth and Prajakata have been undergoing training at Hyderabad at an academy being run by Pullela Gopichand.

For their outstanding performance at the ranking tournament at Bangalore, Pranav and Sai pocketed a cash prize of Rs 60,000.

The office bearers of the Ludhiana Badminton Academy have hailed Pranav’s achievement in his maiden attempt in a senior tournament.

Ludhiana, December 13
Government Model Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agriculture University campus, has added a feather in its cap by becoming the first government school of the state to introduce horse riding for its students.

Thirtysix students of the school, including 30 boys and six girls, are being trained in horse riding by Punjab Remount and Veterinary (1 Pb R & V) Sqn NCC. These students are given lessons every morning from 6 am to 7.30 am.

"All these 36 students are our enrolled cadets and are being given basic horse riding training," informed Maj Mangesh, OC of the 1 Pb R & V Sqn NCC.

He added that the students had been enrolled with the unit for a period of two years during which they would also be given advanced horse riding training.

All those undergoing training are students of Classes XI and XII. The best part about the training is that the students are not charged any money for the same.

Sharing information with Ludhiana Tribune during a horse show organised on the school campus on Friday, programme officer, NSS unit of the school, Ramniq said, "This endevour is part of the initiative of the school authorities to inculcate the spirit of sportsmanship among the students and to make them aware about the importance of extra-curricular activities."

She added, "With just about 15 days of training, our students have gained so much confidence that we planned this horse show in which students have shown extraordinary skill and talent. The idea behind putting up this show was to inspire students to take up the activity in large numbers."

Ramniq remarked that following the show, numerous students had expressed a desire to learn horse riding. "Mission accomplished," said a smiling Ramniq, who also happens to be the brain behind the idea.

However, she added that the initiative would not have been possible without the support of school principal Sanjeev Thapar, senior lecturer Anoop Paasi and vice-principal Sudeep Kaur, "and of course, Maj Mangesh who has been very supportive and encouraging in the initiative," she said.