Ludhiana, May 26
More than 20 students from the city have cracked the prestigious IIT joint entrance examination this year, the results of which were declared today. Topping them is Karan Jindal with an all-India rank of 731, followed by Harvineet Singh at 813, Sukaran Singh at 816and Aayush Gupta at 1206.

For Karan, on his way to become the first engineer in his family, self-study has been instrumental in his success. "To clear this tough exam 6 to 8 hours of study every day is essential, besides coaching which provides a focused approach to various entrance exams”, averred Karan, who said he had not expected to attain such a high rank in the IIT exam. He had scored 92.4 per cent in the class 12 examination as a student of GDR Academy.

A cricket lover who also likes to play the game, Karan said he wants to become a chemical engineer. His father, Rajeev Jindal, is a businessman and his mother, Renu, a housewife.

Karan is followed by Harvineet Singh whose all-India rank is 813. Having recently graduated from DAV School, Kota, he said had had expected a better rank in the IIT entrance exam. Both his father and mother are doctors. “It was a desire to be different from parents that motivated me to opt for an engineering course”, he remarked.

Harvineet says he is exceptionally good at mathematics and studied for 5 to6 hours every day. He also attended coaching classes daily for 3 to 4 hours.

Sukaran Singh with an all-India rank of 816 in the IIT-JEE aspires to study chemical engineering. He was a student of DAV Public School, BRS Nagar, scoring 92.4 per cent in Class 12. Both his parents are teachers.

"I don’t study for a fixed period of time daily but I was careful about studying only what is required. Focus is very important and coaching helps," said Sukaran, whose father is head of the commerce department at GGN Khalsa College and mother is a primary teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Halwara.

Aspiring to become a software designer, Aayush Gupta did his parents proud by scoring an all-India rank of 1206 in the IIT entrance exam.

"Though I was expecting a better ranking, I am happy with what I have achieved through my hard work and dedication," said an elated Aayush, who loves software designing and has been involved with it even during his school days.

A former student of BVM, Kitchlu Nagar, Aayush scored 90 per cent in Class 12 and wants to settle abroad. His father is a bank employee and his mother Manju Gupta works for a life insurance firm.

Others who have cleared the IIT entrance test this year include Siddhant Jain (all-India rank: 1334); Sourav Gupta (1464); Harmanjit (1616); Garvit Bansal (1907); Gurbir Singh (4251); Akshit Goel (4376); Manu Jindal (5349); Babandeep Singh (5435); Ashish Jindal (5880); Maninder Singh (5928); Siddharth Behl (6093); Sanchit Kapoor (6727); Utkarsh Garg (7297); Arjun Singh (7312) and Amit Chadha (9381).

Karan Jindal: Six to eight hours of study every day throughout the year along with regular coaching. However, there is no substitute for serious self-study.

Harvineet Singh: Remain focused on aim and nothing is impossible. Besides that, 10 hours study, including 5-6 hours' self-study and 3-4 hours' coaching are the other essentials. Coaching plays a very important role in competitive exams.

Sukaran Singh: I don't study by the clock; rather I pay attention to quality study. Coaching ensures a structured preparation and approach for competitive exams, but one should also pay attention to classroom teaching as it helps, contrary to the popular belief.

Aayush Gupta: Five-six hours of regular studies coupled with coaching at a good institute have brought me success. Coaching is important as it helps to prepare in a focused manner.

In a first for the city a large number of students have cleared the IIT joint entrance exam this year, breaking all previous records. "During previous years only 6 or 7 students had cleared the exam, but this year the performance has been overwhelming with over 20 students having cracked it," remarked Deepak Goyal, director of Aryabhatta Tutorials, a coaching centre in the city.

Ludhiana, May 26
"Study local, earn global" seems to be the key to attain life long success for the city's would-be techies. Well, that is the sentiment expressed by a majority of those who cleared this year’s IIT joint entrance examination, the results of which were declared today.

And, if one goes by the aspirations of overachievers, the time is not far when India will face a major brain drain.

"My ultimate aim in life is to go abroad, find a great paying job and settle overseas forever," remarked Karan Jindal, the city's IIT-JEE topper.

He has a reason for preferring to work overseas rather than his country. "Technical experts from India earn bigger pay packets than those who choose to stay back," he said.

However, when questioned about his choice to study in India and decide against going overseas for higher education, Karan said: "The Indian educational system, especially top institutes like the IIT, ensures an excellent foundation for techies, which helps them secure well-paying jobs abroad."

Echoing his view, another IIT entrance topper, Aayush Gupta, said, "My dream is to become a successful software designer and settle abroad." However, his reason for not going abroad for higher studies is a little different from Karan's.

For Aayush, his family’s limited economic resources are a hindrance in studying in a foreign university but that does not take away from him his dream to work in a multinational company abroad.

"Finding a job in a country like the United States or Australia is not very difficult for an engineering graduate from India, that too from a top tech school like the IIT.

And along with a fat pay packet the highly advanced technology and wider scope to grow attract me to foreign shores," Aayush revealed.Foreign dreams surely rank high on these toppers’ agenda.

Sukaran Singh, another student who cleared the IIT entrance exam this year, also has similar plans, but only if his dream of becoming an IAS officer is not fulfilled. Just like many of his peers he does not want to study abroad. "The top Indian institutes offer great courses and the best in education," he said.

Alamgir (Ludhiana), May 26
Providing much relief to the residents from dog menace, Doggie-Lane project for sterilisation of stray dogs, started here today.Ten stray dogs, caught by workers and veterinary doctors, were sterilised by a team of five doctors on the day one. The sterilisation process was performed in the presence of Commissioner AK Sinha and Senior Deputy Mayor Parveen Kumar Bansal, who were accompanied by members of the People for Animals (PFA) and Animal Husbandry department to see that no cruelty was done to animals.

The Commissioner told The Tribune that this was one of the pilot projects, which will provide relief from stray dog menace. The company has been given a target to sterilise 750 dogs in one month. For sterilisation of one male dog, Ludhiana Municipal Corporation will provide Rs 550 and for female dog, it will be Rs 650.

“The company will be monitored and in case of some flaws or cruelty, we will stop the project,” said Sinha.

While Bansal said for the past four years, efforts were being made to start the process. "We were trying to avoid risks involved and now when everything has been streamlined, we started the project," said Bansal.

Meanwhile, representatives from the PFA appreciated the move by civic authorities, but they maintained that PFA would make sure that no damage was done to stray animals. Dr RM Bhardwaj, nominee of the Animal Welfare Board India stressed that LMC or the Doggie-Lane had to assure that they didn’t violate any norms. "From wherever animals are caught, after sterilisation, they should be left there only,” said Bhardwaj.

Meanwhile, doctors said: "We will clip little portion of their ear as an identification mark. They will be taken care of for a week after the operation.”

Ludhiana, May 26
Callous attitude of the administration came to the fore again following the death of a man, who succumbed to heatstroke and multiple wounds near the Civil Hospital here today.

The deceased appeared to be in the mid-60s. A good Samaritan spotted the body and rushed it to the hospital.

Soon after the recovery of the body, the departments indulged in a blame game. Both the police and the civil hospital authorities were passing the buck and refused to claim responsibility.

The incident came to light this morning when Bobby, who ferried unidentified bodies to the hospital voluntarily, received a call that a man in his mid-60s was lying dead under a tree near the hospital.

When he reached the spot, he saw some stray dogs eating the body. He shooed those away, but was attacked while he was rushing the body to the hospital.

According to Senior Medical Officer US Sooch, the deceased was an accident victim. He was admitted to the hospital on May 18, but fled on May 24.

On the other hand, Bobby said that police informed him in the morning about the incident.

Gurvinder Singh, SHO of the Division No. 2 police station, said soon after receiving the information, the police sent the body to the hospital. He said the railway police was probing the matter.

Ludhiana, May 26
As many as 1,500 workers of 32 trade organisations in support of protesting casual and contract workers of BSNL today held a massive rally and took a procession to the mini-secretariat. The demonstrators demanded reinstatement of workers.

The chain fast strike by BSNL casual and contract workers that was started on April 5 entered into 52nd day today.

The workers protested the lay-off of nearly 250 casual and contract workers working with BSNL, Ludhiana, through outsourcing. After various rounds of meetings and negotiations and through a committee appointed by the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, under the chairmanship of ADC (D), it was decided to reinstate the employees, but the management failed to fulfill its commitment.

Taking stock of the situation many trade unions and other organisations extended their support to the workers.

Bant Brar, secretary of the AITUC, Punjab, condemned the retrenchment of the workers.

D P Maur, secretary of the Joint Council of Trade Unions, Ludhiana, condemned the delay by the management to implement the decisions of the committee appointed by the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, under the chair of ADC (D) to reinstate the workers.

Bharpur Singh, secretary, Punjab, and Sukhchain Singh, president of the Ludhiana unit of BSNL casual and contractual worker unions, said the agitation would continue till all the workers were reinstated.

O P Mehta, secretary of the AITUC, Ludhiana, said if the issue was not resolved, a state-level rally would be organised soon.

Ludhiana, May 26
The buyer-seller meet “Knits and Wears” ended on a happy note. The number of orders booked this year has been increased by 40 per cent.

Sudarshan Jain, president of the Knitwear and Apparel Manufacturers Association, during a press conference said the meet proved to be a best platform for both buyers and sellers.

“Sellers managed to get maximum orders during the meet and for the remaining orders they will not have to work hard,” said Jain.

Industrialists demanded that an exhibition centre was the need of the hour. — TNS

Jagraon, May 26
A newly married woman from Raikot, who was suffering from severe headache, was bought to an “ichhadhari” baba of Braich village near Jagraon and mercilessly beaten up with iron tongs (chimta) in the name of treatment. Her condition became so serious that she had to be admitted to a hospital in Mullanpur Dakha. A large number of devotees witnessed the incident but none came forward to her rescue.

Mandeep Kaur (24) had got married to Baljit Singh of Jowaddi Khurd on May 9. On returning from her parents’ home she started complaining of severe headache. Her father Darshan Singh took it to be the handiwork of some ghost and took her to Surinder Singh, alias “Ichhadhari” baba on May 16.

The baba confirmed that she was under the influence of the ghost. In order to treat her, he kept on her beating her with his iron tong till she fell unconscious. None of the devotees present there tried to rescue her from the clutches of the so-called baba.

She was taken to a hospital at Raikot. After four days of treatment she was shifted to Pandori hospital at Mullanpur Dakha. She is recovering physically but seems to be mentally upset. She is afraid of strangers and is not in a position to speak.

The Sudhar police was informed about the incident, but no complaint has been registered against the so-called godman. He was once nabbed and brought to the Sudhar police station.

But, was released on bail after a senior politician of the area intervened. The SHO, however, said, “ I can not register a case against the baba till Manjeet Kaur recovers and gives a statement in this regard.” 

A unique initiative has been undertaken by the team and students of Mother's Pride School under the project name "Ludhiana Balley Balley, Pollution Thaley Thaley". The project is being taken out by school director Maidhavi Soi.

"You go to any part of India, dirt and filth is likely to welcome you, not to forget polythene and waste materials scattered all over," says Maidhavi.

Traffic, pollution, water scarcity, power cuts, broken roads, large scale cutting of trees for widening of roads, no greenery and lack of cleanliness in the city are factors that forced Maidhavi to adopt the project.

Management and teachers of Mother's Pride Pre-School have taken the initiative to spread awareness among residents. "If we unite, we can fight this menace," said Maidhavi.

Children of classes nursery and pre- nursery raised slogans and requested their parents and guests to work on the project for healthy future.

More than 150 parents agreed to be a part of the project. A group has also been formed on the social networking website Facebook. Those interested can join the group.

Result party: A party was organised at Radha Vatika School, Khanna, to celebrate the success of students, who passed with flying colours in Class XII CBSE Board examination.

Manvir Singh scored 92 per cent marks and 11 students got 80 per cent marks. A brief cultural programme was also organised. Meritorious students gave the credit for their success to their hard work, parents and teachers.

School chairman Nirmal Parkash Sofat, director RP Sharma and principal A Sakarsudha showered their blessings upon students and wished them luck.

Computer course: Desh Bhagat Institute of Management and Computer Sciences is all set to offer students with an opportunity to become Oracle certified professionals from an authorised Oracle training partner.

Dr Zora Singh, chairman, and Prof Shalini Gupta, director general of Desh Bhagat Group of Institutes, said specialisation in any field was a must these days.

NSS camp: On the concluding day of the seven-day NSS camp, a cultural fest was held at Guru Nanak Girls' College, Model Town. The event was based on "Environment Preservation of Natural Resources and Conservation of Cultural and Historical Heritage".

Principal Dr Charanjit Mahal was the chief guest. She motivated volunteers to try their best to make the society a better place. Dr SS Mahal, professor, PAU, was the guest of honour.

NSS volunteers presented a cultural programme, including poems, songs, mono-acting to create awareness about pollution-free environment.

Meeting: An academic meeting of commerce and computer department of Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women was held today under the guidance of college principal Dr Parveen Kaur Chawla.

Decisions regarding on-line submission of forms for admission to BCom (I) were taken at the meeting. It was also decided that faculty members of the commerce and computer departments would help students in submitting forms. — TNS

Ludhiana, May 26
A fire broke out in the basement of Swani Motors at Feroz Gandhi market due to the short circuit here today. No loss of life or property has been reported. Had the fire department not taken timely action, there could have been much more loss. According to fire department officials, three fire tenders were pressed into the service to douse the flame.

It took more than two hours for them to control the fire. According to eyewitnesses, the electricity wires in the basement were all cracked and hung haphazardly, posing threat to human lives.

A worker, working at one of the offices said, “They had lodged a complaint in this regard with the landlords (most of these offices are on rent) but no action has been taken so far. We were aware of this. Thank god that people are safe.” 

Ludhiana, May 26
Serving an ultimatum to the Union government and the Railway ministry to desist from its proposed privatization, the Northern Railwaymens’ Union today threatened to go on an indefinite strike and bring the train movement to a complete halt without any further notice.

Addressing a rally, convened here at the call given by the Central working committees of the Northern Railway Mazdoor Union and the All-Indian Railmens’ Federation, Daljit Singh, divisional secretary of the union, made scathing attacks on the top brass of the Northern Railway as well as the government for what he described as piecemeal privatisation, outsourcing and failure to remove anomalies in the recommendations of 6th Pay Commission.

He said, “An expert committee set up by the Union railway ministry has made recommendations for handing out the Railways in small chunks to the private sector. If the government goes ahead and action is taken on this report on the recommended lines, the results will be disastrous.”

Daljit Singh and Rajinder Singh, divisional vice-presidents, who presided over the rally, further demanded immediate steps for the removal of anomalies in the pay commission’s report and revision of the pay scales accordingly.

They demanded free rail travel pass of Ist class and IIIrd AC for employees drawing grade pay of Rs 4,200 and Rs 2,800, respectively. Other demands put forth by the union included Rs 2,400 grade pay for fitters in technical staff, providing employment on merit to a family member of the railway employees and scrapping of the new pension and income tax schemes.

Ludhiana, May 26
At least 30 passengers had a miraculous escape after an over-speeding bus lost control and rammed into a divider near ESI Hospital here this morning.The incident took place at around 9.30am here when a private bus belonging to New Akal bus service (PB - 10- BZ- 9377) was heading towards Raikot lost control and ran over a divider. It uprooted a tree and three electrical poles.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 26
A gang of miscreants, armed with sharp-edged weapons, allegedly tried to kill four persons after dragging them from a bus at the Pohir bus stop near here last evening.The victims included a local advocate and witnesses in connection with another attempt to murder case, registered against the suspects at the local police station. The Dehlon police has booked at least 11 persons under Sections 307, 324, 323, 324, 148 and 149 of the IPC.

To show solidarity with the assaulted advocate, members of the Sangrur Bar Association, led by Gurtej Singh Grewal boycotted courts today and announced strike for two days.

Jagdeep Singh and Aman of Lehra village in Ludhiana district, Manjinder Singh, Rajdeep Singh of Pohir and at least seven others were booked for allegedly assaulting Majid Khan, Kadar Khan, Jatinder Singh and Amit Kumar (advocate), after dragging them from the private bus at the Pohir bus stand near here last evening. The victims were returning from the district courts at Sangrur. While Amit Kumar appeared in the court as counsel of complainants of another case registered at the local police station against some of the suspects other victims were witnesses in the case.

Investigations revealed that some of the suspects, including prime accused Jagdeep Singh, were facing an ‘attempt to murder’ case at Sangrur courts. They had threatened the victims of dire consequences in case they did not withdraw support to the complainants. When they (victims) showed their inability to oblige the suspects, they laid a trap at Pohir village and assaulted them after dragging them from the bus they were travelling.

Though the Dehlon police had swung into action immediately after receipt of the report, the suspects succeeded in feeling from the scene. All raids proved to be futile.

Meanwhile, Nawal Kishore Chhibbar, president, Ludhiana Bar Council, and Parupkar Singh Ghumman, former president, have urged the higher authorities to nab the suspects at the earliest. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 26
The Dehlon police has arrested a Nepalese domestic help, who had tried to rob an organiser of a public school at Dehlon, by serving the drug-laced food to the family a week ago.

The accused had succeeded in taking away cash and goods worth Rs 25,000 while the owner was busy shifting a teacher who had fallen unconscious after consuming the drug-laced food on that fateful day. The accused has been identified as Chatar Bahadur of Nepal.

Chatar Bahadur had allegedly tried to rob Charanjit Singh, the organiser of the Dasmesh Public School at Dehlon, a week ago. However, he didn’t succeed in carrying out his plan as Chatar Singh did not consume food prepared by him (Bahadur).

Sources revealed that Charanjit Singh along with Rakesh Kumar, a science teacher of his school, had been living alone at Dehlon since long as other members of the family had migrated to a foreign country. Chatar Bahadur, who had been working as the domestic help, also used to stay with Charanjit.

With an intention to rob the family of cash and valuables, Bahadur prepared the drug-laced food in dinner on May 18. However, the food was consumed was only Rakesh Kumar as Charanjit Singh had dined with his friends at some social gathering. Rakesh started vomiting and fell unconscious shortly after eating the food. Charanjit Singh shifted him to a private hospital at Dehlon. It was during that night that Chatar Bahadur fled with cash and valuables worth Rs 25,000.

The SHO, Dehlon, said Chatar had conspired to steal valuables and cash worth lakhs by drugging both occupants of the house on the fateful day. His plan was shattered, as Charanjit Singh did not take food even after repeated requests by Bahadur.

The accused has chosen middle week of the month as majority of the students deposit their fees during this period.

Referring to information extracted from the accused during preliminary investigations Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Ludhiana, Narinder Singh Ruby, said, “He is suspected to be a member of a notorious gang. However, the police is yet ascertain antecedents of the accused and other members of his gang.” 

Ludhiana, May 26
In reply to Ludhiana's total of 399 runs, Kapurthala were bundled out for a paltry score of 106 runs and lost on the basis of first innings lead of 293 runs in the third match of the Punjab State Inter-District U-22 Cricket Tournament being organised by the Punjab Cricket Association which concluded at the Punjab Agricultural University here today.

Resuming at over night score of 57 for five, Kapurthala could manage only 106 runs in 25.2 overs. Mandeep Singh made 42 runs, while Krishna contributed 19 runs.

Ludhiana's medium pacer Baltej Singh ran through the visitors batting line-up. He bowled 12.2 overs and consumed eight wickets after conceded 47 runs. Deepak Bansal captured two wickets for 48 runs in 13 overs.

Ludhiana forced follow on and Kapurthala, in their second innings, scored 378 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 65 overs.

Krishna made 197 runs with the help of 27 hits to the fence and five sixes, Mandeep Singh chipped in with 42 runs, while Rohit Jassal scored 41 runs.

For Ludhiana, Deepak claimed five wickets for 97 runs, while Rahul Singla grabbed two wickets for 137 runs and Akhil Aggarwal took one wicket for 11 runs.

With this win, Ludhiana secured a berth in last four stages. Now, in the semifinal, slated to be held in Jalandhar on May 28 and 29, Ludhiana will take on Jalandhar.