Deep Hospital’s director trying to pacify the grandmothers outside the hospital. Photos: Inderjeet Verma

Ludhiana, July 19
An 11-day-old baby boy was abducted in broad daylight from the premises of Deep Hospital in Model Town here today.The baby, who was undergoing treatment at the hospital under Dr Baldeep Singh for the past one week, was discharged from the hospital at 12 noon today.

The incident took place at around 12.30 P.M. when the Gaffuran (maternal grandmother) and Majiran (paternal grandmother) of the child were waiting for their son to come from Malerkotla and take them home.

Gaffuran said they were coming out of the hospital’s pediatric ward with the child when a woman approached to and complimented them for boy’s looks. “As soon as I told Majiran to hold the boy as I wanted to drink water, the woman immediately took the child from my hand. Before we could realise what was happening, the woman sprinted down the stairs with the boy and sped away in the car waiting outside the hospital,” added Gaffuran.

Majiran said the woman had put a handkerchief near her nose, which made her dizzy, and she was unable to hold on to the child.

Baby's father Nasir, a carpenter by profession, blamed the hospital for being lax as far as security was concerned and added that no security guard was present at the exist to stop the woman from fleeing.

Nasir had married Rukayia a year ago and the baby boy was their first child but following some complications during the birth, the child was referred to Deep hospital.

On the other hand, Dr Baldeep Singh, director, Deep Hospital, said the woman had been identified as Manpreet Kaur. She had come to the hospital earlier also. “The hospital staff suspect that she had an eye on the twin brothers, who were born in the hospital two weeks ago, but she could not succeed in her nefarious designs. But, we have given her description to the police and hopefully they will recover the child,” he added.

However, speaking on the role of “security”, Dr Baldeep said it was a lapse on the part of the grandmothers as they had willingly handed over the child to the stranger.

Ludhiana, July 19
In a daring daylight robbery six armed assailants said to be members of the notorious ‘Fortuner gang’ struck again in the city, looting Rs 42.45 lakh from employees of a firm based in Jhabewal village after forcibly stopping their car in the Focal Point area here this afternoon. Four of the six men were reportedly clean-shaven with the other two sporting turbans.

The incident occurred at about 12:30 pm when the four employees of Bonn Food Industries, who included cashier Sanjay Mehra, driver Jasvir Singh and two helpers, Raj and Josan, were heading towards the State Bank of India branch located near Rockman Chowk to deposit cash. The four, all with muffled faces, were riding in a grey Ford Fiesta (registration no: PB10 BU1749) and had kept the cash in the vehicle’s trunk.

According to Sanjay, when the employees neared Rockman Chowk a white Honda Accord car came up from behind them and hit their vehicle’s rear end. Jasvir, who was at the wheel, said the impact was so strong he lost control over the vehicle and it rammed into an electrical pole on the roadside.

Before they could react the assailants swiftly alighted from their car, trained their pistols on Jasvir and his colleagues and ordered the driver to open the vehicle’s trunk. “After they weren’t able to find the knob that opens the trunk the robbers ordered me to open it”, said Jasvir.

"In the meantime two more armed assailants arrived in a white Toyota Fortuner (from which the gang reportedly got its name) and parked it right behind our car. After taking the cash in the trunk they fled the scene in the SUV, leaving the Accord behind," said Sanjay. None of the four employees were able to note down the registration number of the Fortuner. The police later said it suspected the robbers fled towards the highway leading to Delhi.

Sanjay said the entire episode happened so quickly the employees did not have any time to react. The employees stated they immediately informed the police after the incident. However, he added the cops took 25 minutes to arrive at the

They included ADCP Sushil Kumar, CID AIG Yurinder Singh, ACP Balraj Singh, ACP Bhupinder Singh and SHO Sandeep Wadera.

The city was turned into a virtual fortress following the incident. Barricades were erected on almost every roundabout with the cops searching vehicles.

The police has not ruled out the involvement of an insider behind the robbery, saying the robbers did not waste any time in searching for the cash as they knew fully well it was kept in the vehicle’s trunk.

It appears the robbers deliberately left behind the Honda Accord at the crime scene to send a message to the police they were members of the same gang that had forcibly taken away the same car from a youth in the Sarabha Nagar market on June 18.

Sources close to the police said though the car used for the robbery was in a fit condition and the robbers could have fled in it they intentionally left it behind.

Raikot, July 19
A school bus overturned after its tyres got stuck in the adjoining fields. This accident took place while the bus driver was trying to overtake a car. At least 12 students and three teachers sustained injuries in the accident. Jasbir Singh, the driver, a resident of Pherurahin village, however, managed to escape from the spot.

Agitated parents and the locals stormed the school premises and damaged the office. They also staged a dharna in the main chowk of Bassian village for about an hour. The dharna was lifted after Prithipal Singh, DSP, told the protesters that stern action would be taken against the offenders.

This incident took place today morning at around 8.30 A.M. on the outskirts of Bassian village near here. The bus (PB 10 AP 7705) belonged to Guru Nanak Public Senior Secondary School of Bassian. Those injured have been identified as Rupinder Kaur (17), Karamveer Singh (7), Harjot Singh (12) and Manjot Kaur (12). Manjot’s limbs had got fractured. Most of the injured students were from Nathowal village.

The eyewitness said there were at least 100 students in the bus when this accident took place. The bus didn’t have any permit to ply on the road and was not even passed by the transport department. There was not even a first aid kit available in the bus.

Mohinder Singh, director of the school, though accepted the error on the error on the part of the driver. But, he tried to put the entire blame on the farmers who have encroached upon the roadside land.

Avtar Singh, school principal, maintained that the parents had earlier also complained against the driver, who was even warned for that. He, however, maintained that there were only 48 students in the bus at the time of accident. 

Ludhiana, July 19
A local resident had a narrow escape yesterday evening when the white Tata Indica car he was driving through Bhagat Singh Nagar fell into an uncompleted basement being constructed for a city centre project, which has been hanging fire for the past many years. He was lucky enough to have not suffered even minor bruises.

According to police sources, the car, bearing a three-year-old temporary registration number, belonged to a Jalandhar based political leader who sold it to his relative in the city.

The incident, however, has again brought to the fore the fact that the incomplete project is becoming an accident prone site. Residents living in the vicinity said during the recent heavy showers earth on the sides of the uncompleted basement began to cave in. They added a major tragedy could occur anytime.

Meanwhile, activists of the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Sangathan of the All India Congress Committee today staged a protest at the scene of the incident. They said the accident occurred because streetlights in the area did not function at night.

“All our pleas to the Ludhiana Improvement Trust to resolve the problems in this area have fallen on deaf ears. Nobody listens to us. With the earth on its sides caving in, the road can be washed away anytime and vehicles can fall into it. Maybe they are waiting for a big tragedy to happen”, the activists said. 

Ludhiana, July 19
The oldest off-road vehicle brand that was hugely popular during the Second World War, the jeep is now once again going strong and has become a style statement to make for young hunks. If one sees rich brats zooming around in the city in expensive cars like Audis, BMWs and Mercedes, boys in open, modified jeeps is a common sight as well.

Besides the city’s spoilt kids those who fancy this light SUV also include wealthy NRI youths as well. From Porsches and Lexuses their loyalties now appear to have shifted to the Willys Jeep.

"The jeep was earlier synonym with the army. The Willys Jeep, made by the US auto firm Willys-Overland Motors, which became an iconic brand in the 1970s and 80s, is back in style these days. Its reasonable price coupled with a sturdy body is reason enough to buy this beauty," said Major (retd) Pal Singh.

"The jeep is a potent status symbol. People envy a person driving this rugged offroader more than someone driving a car costing Rs 20 lakh,” said Harman Brar, a proud owner of a jeep.

Where are these open resouped jeeps available? Harkomal Singh, who recently bought a restored Willys jeep, said Moga and Dabwali is the marketing hub for these refurbished vehicles.

The jeeps are modified in Dabwali in Sangrur district and are being sold in the markets of Malout, Ludhiana, Monga and Bhatinda. The region’s largest second-hand jeep market in Moga draw jeep aficionados coming from the hilly regions and a number of other states.

The price range of a restored Willys jeep starts from Rs 1.65 lakh and can go up to Rs 2 lakh. The abandoned chassis is fitted with a top of the line Toyota turbo diesel engine, which is preferred for its high fuel efficiency and pickup performance. These jeeps are replete with modern accessories and chrome alloys wheels that are fitted to attract buyers.

Gurtej Singh, a dealer from Moga’s jeep ‘mandi’ (market), observed: “Nonresident Indian buyers have again set the trend for open jeeps. The passion for driving imported vehicles is no longer evident, instead they love these restored Willys jeeps. There are close to a hundred ‘dealers’ in Moga with each selling at least ten resouped Willys jeeps every week”.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 19
Tree plantation, pure drinking water and supervision of sanitary situation of toilets at their respective schools have been allotted two marks each while considering applications of school teachers for selection for state award in the profession.

Results and academic qualification have been ranked highest at 20 and 15 marks, respectively.

With extension of last date for receipt of applications from March 15 to July 30, the education department has also announced a renewed policy for evaluating the performance of the teachers desirous of being selected for the annual state award in teaching.

According to the policy, the teachers in mathematics, English, social studies, science, Punjabi, physical education, headmasters and principals will be represented by one state awardee in each category, while two teachers will be chosen from vocational, drawing and agriculture subjects, etc.

However, only teachers with exceptionally high merit are to be selected and in case of non-availability of appropriate candidates in a particular category, a teacher from other group would be considered.

Perusal of guidelines circulated under the signature of the special secretary (school education) revealed that outstanding teachers should be felicitated at the district level too.

Bifurcation of total 100 marks for reckoning merit of the candidates revealed that besides considering educational qualification and results of the applicant, the selection committee would judge his/her overall personality traits too. Confidential reports of last 10 years can fetch maximum 10 marks, contribution in cooperative teaching activities six marks, role in construction and maintenance of school building and innovation can fetch five marks each and contribution in maintaining discipline and fighting with dropout problem four marks.

The role in increasing strength, maintaining students attendance, cleanliness of premises, availability of upkeep of furniture, national integration and utilisation of teaching aids, besides tree plantation, drinking water and sanitation of toilets have been allocated two marks each.

Ludhiana, July 19
Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) organised two training programmes for the veterinarians of the state. These trainings were sponsored by the Punjab State Veterinary Council, Chandigarh, and were in context with the present scenario of the livestock sector in the state.

In the series, as many as 39 training programmes on different aspects of veterinary science were conducted. The veterinarians from the Punjab State Animal Husbandry Department and the rural veterinary officers of the Zila Parishad have been given training on “Entrepreneurship in Veterinary Science” and “Biological Threats” which were organised by the Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension Education and Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Veterinary Medicine respectively, As many as 20 vets were trained in these programmes.

The financial assistance for workshop was provided by Dr Darshan Singh, Registrar, Punjab State Veterinary Council, Chandigarh, under the 11th five-year plan, centrally sponsored scheme. The veterinarians were deputed by Dr HS Sandha, Director, Animal Husbandry, Punjab.

Ludhiana, July 19
An infant who was diagnosed with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, a rare disorder, was brought to CMC Hospital and after active neonatal intensive care management and ventilator support, the baby underwent a rare and complicated surgery of diaphragmatic hernia.

The surgery was successful and the baby was taken off the ventilator. He was discharged earlier this week and is doing well.

Dr William Bhatti, head of department of paediatric surgery at the Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, said that this was a rare disorder.

The hole was in the baby's diaphragm and diaphragm was a muscle that helped us to breathe and keep the organs in the abdomen from going into the chest cavity the doctor said.

He said, When the baby is very small (early in the pregnancy), there is a hole in the diaphragm, which is normal, but the hole usually closes by the end of the third month of pregnancy. But in this case, the hole did 
not close.

This allows intestines to move into the chest cavity, as a result, the intestines can also push the other lung and keep it from growing fully.

Bhatti further stated that the complication sometimes kept the heart from growing normally, which led to high mortality rates.

"But the child was operated upon successfully and is recovering miraculously”, he said.

Ludhiana: MBA students of 2008 batch of the Bhutta College of Engineering and Technology (BCET) have brought laurels to the college by securing excellent marks in MBA 4th semester examination conducted by Punjab Technical University in May 2010. This was claimed today by Prof MS Seekree, officiating principal, and Dr RS Gupta, dean, management studies, in a press note issued here today.

In MBA (4th semester) the overall pass percentage is 96.6 per cent. All students passed in the first division and 90 per cent students passed with honours. Parnita Kaur bagged the first position in the college by securing 88 per cent marks. Japneet Kaur got second position with 86.8 per cent marks; Sanjay Kumar Singh secured 3rd position with 86.3 per cent marks. Navjinder Grewal and Gagandeep Kaur with 86 per cent and 85.9 per cent marks respectively closely followed them and were placed fourth anf fifth.

Mullanpur Dakha, July 19
Manpreet Singh Ayali, Chairman, Zila Parishad, laid the foundation stone of the first-ever public park here yesterday.The Punjab Mandi Board inaugurated the new grain market on April 13, 1966. The provisions were made to open a few parks in the area but not a single one could be established till date. 

Though, the market committee had developed a small park a few years ago, but women and children never used to stroll here as it used to be dominated by men. Now, miscreants have uprooted everything and sold them to junk dealers.

Though Mullanpur Dakha Nagar Panchayat was established on January 1,1975, it never thought of providing a park to 35,000 residents on the pretext that the allocation of the land for this purpose was not under their preview. Most probably, Mullanpur Dakha is the only town in Punjab where not a single public park or stadium has been constructed for the general public.

Five years ago, another park was inaugurated by the then SSP Jagraon Rajiv Ahir. Since it was developed on encroached land and only a few families had access to that park, women, children and even senior citizens never entered it.

All these years, sources revealed, proposals to develop the park was sent by the local market committee to a district mandi officer. But, the request used to be turned down. Now, the same mandi board has sanctioned Rs 11 lakh for developing the park spread over an acre. 

Ludhiana, July 19
The Insurance Institute of India has started their online registration process to conduct examinations to grant associateship and fellowship diploma in life and general insurance. The Institute conducts these professional examinations twice in a year across 110 centres in India and 15 centres overseas. The last day of online registration for October/November 2010 examinations is August 20.

The Insurance Institute of India has initiated the online registration process on www.insuranceinstituteofindia.com for the examinations-pre-licensing test for surveyors, which is conducted on behalf of IRDA, Licentiate, Associateship and Fellowship examinations, certificate in insurance salesmanship (for the agents) and certificate course on foundation of casualty actuarial science.

Students who have either completed matriculation/ SSLC, SSC or have worked with an insurer in the field or in office for a minimum period of three years are eligible to appear for theses examinations. The last day for online registration is July 15 after which late fees will be charged. The last day of registration with late fee is August 20.

The Insurance Institute of India conducts these examinations at a very nominal fee to encourage self-employment in the country. They charge not more than Rs 700 for registration across India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. 

Ludhiana, July 19
The Indian Doctors for Peace and Development and Social Thinkers Forum, Ludhiana, organised a seminar on “Nuclear power plants in context of Bhopal gas tragedy” today.

The speakers while expressing anguish at the belated judgment warned that worse situation could arise in the event of a nuclear accident where the government is proposing to put a cap on the liability in the Nuclear Liability Bill.

The speakers demanded a review on the Nuclear Liability Bill in the seminar. The Bill must be opened up for wider and transparent public consultations before any further step is taken to approve it, the speakers said.

Amarjeet Kaur, secretary, All-India Trade Union Congress, said the latest judgment on the Bhopal gas tragedy and unveiling of reports how the high ups in Union Carbide Limited were let go scout free coupled with failure of the Government of India to protect the rights of its own citizens was a matter of grave concern for every Indian.

Dr LS Chawla, president IDPD, said there was no foolproof method to manage the waste of the nuclear power plants. The IDPD study conducted at the Jadugoda uranium mines revealed astounding information about this waste lying in open and causing hazardous effect on the health of people living around there, Dr Chawla went on to add.

Meanwhile, Dr Arun Mitra, general secretary IDPD, in his presentation informed that the government had already come out with the Nuclear Liability Bill with a cap of US$ 458 million. Dr Mitra further stated that India should go in for renewable energy rather than harping for the nuclear, which is neither safe nor economical.

Phillaur, July 19
Five persons, including a woman, were killed and eight others injured in mishaps in and around Phillaur last night.As per the reports received here today, two motorcyclists, both residents of Goraya, were killed on the spot. The third person riding pillion sustained injuries. They have been identified as Kulwant Singh, Amarjit Singh and Joga Singh. 

They were returning from Gohawar to Goraya on their motorcycle (PB-21-D-6077) when their motorcycle overturned near a diversion, while negotiating a turn. They were rushed to a Goraya hospital where Kulwant and Amarjit were declared brought dead. Joga Singh was admitted to a hospital at Goraya. The bodies were handed over to their family members after conducting post-mortem examinations today.

In another accident, Hans Raj, a resident of Rasulpur village, died on the spot after hitting a speeding vehicle near Indira Colony, Goraya, on the National Highway last night.

Meanwhile, a woman identified as Simar Kaur (65) was electrocuted in nearby village Nasirabad last night. She was returning home after attending a religious function when suddenly she came in contact with electricity wires near her house. Darshan Singh, a resident of Hisar, was run over by a train near Phagwara last night. Whereas, four persons sustained serious injuries when the car in which they were traveling overturned between Goraya and Phillaur last night. The injured identified as Rajesh, Suchet, Sanjay and Anurag were admitted to a local civil hospital. The accident took place when the driver lost control over the vehicle while ramming it into another one.

Bhupinder Singh, his wife Paramjit Kaur and daughter Hardeep Kaur sustained injuries when a speeding car near Bhattian village hit their motorcycle. All injured were admitted to the local civil hospital. Cases have been registered. 

Phillaur, July 19
After Shamshabad village in Phillaur sub-division, now it was the turn of Chack Dhotrre village near Goraya to come in the grip of gastroenteritis, where a six-year old girl, Seema, died, while four others, including her cousin Mamta, fell ill and were admitted to different hospitals in Goraya and Dhahan Kaleran today.

Phillaur SDM Pritam Singh, who along with other officials rushed to the village, today told the condition of the ones suffering is out of danger now.

During a visit of the village, it was observed that the villagers were in a state of fear, while chief parliamentary secretary Sarwan Singh Phillaur and ADC (development) Jalandhar, Sarojini Gautam also visited the village and advised the people to take boiled drinking water in the rainy season as a preventive measure.

Use of contaminated water was said to be the cause of the gastroenteritis, which gripped some localities of the village. The SDM said three water samples had been taken from different houses of the village.

Replying to a query, ADC Sharda told The Tribune that the villagers were also having their own drinking water arrangements after discontinuation of the water supply of public health from nearby Mahalan village due to a hindrance from the passing railway track.

However, announcements have been made to avoid drinking water of the village and some water tanks were sent to the village to provide fresh drinking water to the villagers, said the SDM.

He said tablets of chlorines were also being distributed among the villagers and sanitation arrangements were being made to prevent people from any epidemic.

The SDM announced free medical treatment of the ill.

When asked, ADC Sharda told public health officials had been asked to launch a village-to-village campaign to check the drinking water supply. She, however, also advised the people to adopt precautionary measures for the prevention of the disease.

Meanwhile, the body of the girl was handed over to her family members after conducting a post mortem.

It may be mentioned here that several villagers are making their own drinking water supply arrangements without adopting hygienic steps and the departments concerned, including health and public health officials, are least bothered to check this violation.

Doraha, July 19
A tribal couple that was allegedly injured by a Skoda car on the national highway a few days back and were said to have arrived at a compromise with the accused, have alleged that the latter backed out accompanied by the police apathy.

According to information, it was on July 4 that Rakesh and his wife Rekha, residents of Sunder Nagar, Ward No 6 of Doraha, were hit by Skoda car (PB-10-BD-0997). They were admitted to Sidhu Hospital, Doraha. Rakesh lost his leg in the accident, while his wife had to be operated upon.

The Skoda car is said to be of an NRI who had allegedly arrived at a compromise with the couple on the condition that he would give financial assistance to the injured and bear the expenses thereafter too.

But according to the victims, although the help poured in initially, after that it stopped all of a sudden. They said they were not in touch with the NRI and when they tried to contact the police, they were not given any positive response.

Jaspal, who is pleading for the cause of the injured, said he had tried to contact police officials but to no avail.

DSP Payal said at the time of the incident, the couple was asked to get an FIR registered against the alleged accused, but as both parties arrived at a compromise, the police had no further role to play in the matter. “But now, as they are facing a fresh problem, they should approach the police so that the needful can be done as per their statement,” the official added.

Ludhiana, July 19
Seasonal diseases like gastroenteritis, cholera or dengue spread panic among city residents during every rainy season. Not checking the supply of contaminated water or not lifting dirt or garbage on time, the Municipal Corporation is blamed for bringing "epidemic"-like situation in the city. But Corporation Commissioner AK Sinha said that it was unfortunate to hold the MC responsible for everything "wrong" in the city. Unawareness among residents, too, was responsible for the spread of seasonal diseases to an extent.

Talking to The Tribune, Sinha said that ever since the monsoons knocked in the region, he made sure that officials concerned were "on round" to the affected areas. Contaminated water was undoubtedly one of the major reasons for gastroenteritis and cholera but the problem occurred mainly in unauthorised colonies where residents drew water illegally from the main water pipes.

"Their rubber-thin pipes are broken in which sewerage water could be mixed. Majority of these are unauthorised colonies, though they come under the MC. Here the civic body feels helpless ", said Sinha. He further added that in these affected areas, teams of officials found that migrant population was also eating stale food.

"These people cook rice in bulk and consume it for 1-2 days. Keeping food outside in the extreme humid weather will certainly not be good for consumption. The rotten food can also cause diseases", said Sinha adding that the civic body was trying their best to control the situation but residents, too, had to take certain precautionary measures.

Meanwhile, the MC has identified certain sensitive areas, including Tibba Road, Giaspura, Subhash Nagar, Mayapuri, Haibowal, Shanti Nagar, Sherpur, Jawahar Nagar camp etc, where chlorine tablets are being distributed. Through pamphlets, residents are being told to maintain hygiene.

The customers of Ludhiana eagerly awaiting the launch of much-awaited concept model of Toyota’s new compact car - Etios - will now get an opportunity to see the vehicle in their own city. To ensure maximum accessibility to its customers, Toyota will expand its sales/service network to about 150 dealers by the end of 2010. — TNS