Doraha, July 31
The Punjab School Education Board has forgotten Udham Singh’s martyrdom day and has instead mentioned it as his birth anniversary in the academic calendar.

The faux pas is evident in the academic calendar for primary school students for the 2010-11 session. The board mentions July 31 as a holiday, not to commemorate his martyrdom, but his birth.

“This is a blunder on the part of the Sarb Sikhya Authority. If such day is mistaken, it is a shame on our knowledge and its so-called promoters. It is a matter of shame that young and innocent minds are being duped and ultimately, they are held responsible for the mistakes committed by their so-called guides,” rues a freedom fighter.

“If this is the honour we are bestowing on freedom fighters, what can we expect from the children who are being regularly supplied such misinformation,” says an intellectual.

“In one of the books, the incorrect birth date of Bhagat Singh confuses students. In another book, vital lines are missing from a verse of Kartar Singh Sarabha. How much more are we going to tax our students by misinforming them,” asks a teacher.

Khamano (Fatehgarh Sahib), July 31
Armed assailants lynched a 32-year-old man at Bhattian village near Sanghol after chasing his vehicle.

The attackers repeatedly hit the man’s vehicle till it overturned and then attacked him with swords and sticks. Later on, they shot him dead at point-blank range.

The deceased has been identified as Gurdeep Singh Rana, a resident of Ghudani Khurd village in Ludhiana. He, along with three others, was on their way in a Bolero Jeep to meet an advocate in Chandigarh. The other three also sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Fatehgarh Sahib.

According to police officials, the attackers and victims had been fighting with each other over petty issues for the past several years.

The victims had attacked their opponents near Ladda Kothi village in Sangrur about a year-and-a-half ago and injured one of them. One of their accomplices, Jagjit Singh, a resident of Ghudani village in Ludhiana, is undergoing imprisonment at Malerkotla Jail for the attack.

Both parties had come to attend a court hearing at Dhuri on Friday where they entered into heated arguments with each other. Following the arguments attackers decided to eliminate them and started chasing their victims on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana road.

Fearing danger the three men in Bolero made frantic calls to the police for help while their opponents were chasing them. The attackers, who were chasing them in three vehicles, hit their vehicle repeatedly till it overturned.

While three of them escaped after sustaining injuries one of them, Gurdeep Singh Rana, was shot dead after severe beating. Those injured have been identified as Taj Mohammad of Ghudani Kalan village; Harinder and Talwinder of Ghudani Khurd village.

The police officials said a case in this connection had been registered against former municipal councillor, Khushdev Singh, a resident of Khanna Khurd village, besides others under the Arms Act.

Ludhiana, July 31
Squeezed between the files and the fieldwork, officials and clerical staff at the civil surgeon’s office are constantly on a “Herculean task” from morning till evening. A team of at least 80 officials and clerical staff is inadequate to deal with the field and file work of the city with the population of more than 50 lakh.

The civil surgeon, assistant civil surgeon, district family welfare officer, district health officer, drug inspector, staff working in the malaria wing, laboratory and the National Rural Health Mission are hard-pressed to deal with the paper work, as a result the motive to provide healthcare services to the people is lost.

Expecting wonders from the officials, the department of health and family welfare has failed to balance the staff and work in proportion, which is why the “efficacy in work” is a distant dream for the office.

It would not be wrong to assess the officials as the “white-collared” clerks.

The district family welfare officer is constantly on the job to check the violation of the Pre -conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC and PNDT) Act in the city and the district at large. The job is not just restricted to checking of the records and functioning of the ultrasound scan centres but the officials concerned has to ensure execution of all family planning camps, schemes for women under the state and Central governments. To top it all, it is the maintenance of the records that adds to the stress levels.

Coming on to the tasks of the district health officer, who along with the two food inspectors, is expected to take samples of food, beverages and water from every nook and cranny of the city. Being the authorised signatory for the birth and death certificates of the rural populace in the district, the district health officer has to verify and sign such documents.

The scene is no different for the drug inspector who has to keep a watch on the chemist shops /drug stores in the city as well as in the rural areas. Not to miss the district epidemiologist, who is responsible for the “outbreaks” in Ludhiana, which is prone to diseases, like gastro and dengue and is also attending meetings with the bureaucrats to brief them.

Hema Singh shifted base from Delhi to the US after marriage, but her love for the rich Indian culture was so strong that she decided to show to the world a glimpse of it. “Ethnic Indian wear is so mesmerising. It depicts the rich heritage of our country and so, I decided to give the world a taste of it. The best way was to take our ethnic wear to foreign shores,” says the designer, who runs a fashion studio in California.

What was more of an emotional decision turned out to be great entrepreneurial success for Hema. “I found that ethnic Indian wear was instantly lapped up and was highly sought after in the US. More than Indians settled abroad, it is US natives who are more keen to dress up in sarees, lehngas and salwar-kameez,” she says, adding that bling is loved as much by Americans as by Punjabis.

The designer adds that she will soon set up a business house in California, which will enable quick and easy export of made-to-order Indian dresses. Hema concedes that designing has always been her first love, and that too, traditional Indian wear.

In the city with her collection of designer salwar-kameez, Hema says she does not wish to cater to a select few. “I wanted to reach out to the masses through my designs, which is why you will only find wearable items in my collection, replete primarily with cotton salwar-kameez, in combination with net, velvet, zari, brocade and silk,” remarks Hema, whose clothing is named Shivika.

On her visit to the city, she says this is the first time she is participating in a lifestyle exhibition in India. “Ludhiana being the heartland of Punjab was the best option I had when I decided to display my creations. Add to it the rich and smart choice of the local people, and any designer’s wish of getting a feel of the real Indian fashion market will come true,” says Hema.

Like every daughter, 20-something Sahiba Kaur made her fashion designer mother Rani Vij proud and happy when she announced her decision to follow in her footsteps and venture into the fashion world. “For me, it was not an obvious choice, though I always loved clothes. The credit for getting me here goes to my mother’s beautiful creations,” says New Delhi’s Sahiba on her entry into the fashion world.

Rani says, “I had designed Sahiba’s trousseau when she was getting married a few months ago. When she moved to Delhi after her marriage, her friends wanted to see her collection of wedding dresses. The collection of bridal wear was enchanting.”

“After a push from my friends, I decided to venture into fashion designing,” quips the daughter, who combined her jewellery house at Delhi Diamond D Dazzle with a fashion establishment. There has been no looking back since for Sahiba even as her mother Rani continues to work from home in Kolkata. “I have my loyal clients and want to give them quality,” says Rani.

Ludhiana, July 31
Friendship is a wonderful bond, an enchanting chemistry between people, which feels like magic. Friendship Day is a way to pay tribute to the special one who understands you without words, smiles with you, never lets you cry, stands by you in times of joy and sorrow, and is always there, physical distance notwithstanding.

Friends surely understand the meaning of this special bond and are all set to celebrate Friendship Day with much elan tomorrow.

In tune with the spirit of the occasion, stores across the of the city are decked up and stuffed with goodies, in preparation of the day.

Gift stores, bakeries and florists are flooded with orders for over a week. “Everyone is in the mood of celebrating the day with pomp and show,” says Shankar, a florist.

As expected, friends of all ages are excited and enthused with energy to make the day special for their buddies.

“Every year, my group of seven friends, studying across India, and I meet in the city to celebrate the day, cherishing old school-time memories. The day is very special for all of us,” gushes 19-year-old Sonam M, a fashion designing student, adding that she has got coffee mugs with a group picture printed on those as a gift for her buddies.

Ludhiana, July 31
Excelsior PR’s three-day exhibition- Wedding Asia-2010- opened in the city to a huge response on the first day today. The quirky exhibition, in its emerald edition, at Majestic Park Plaza, is exclusively showcasing an amazing collection of wedding necessities from wedding trousseau to dazzling designer jewellery, from accessories to home décor interiors and furnishings and from wedding planners to honeymoon destinations.

Name any of these concepts and Wedding Asia-2010 has on the spot solutions to pacify the customers’ query related to extravagant event of weddings.

The expo features numerous stars of the designing industry, including names like Jaya Mishra, renowned for her exquisite prints and saris. Icon of the fashion world Manish Arora is also exhibiting in the expo. Manish Arora’s creations offer a variety: a couture line, a diffusion range and a prêt collection. His clothes are an eclectic mix of design elements inspired from the ethnic cultural roots of India. He plays with colours and cuts to create the magic.

Designer Pallavi has brought a creative collection in couture with a touch of elegance and modernity from Jaipur. Her treasure chest reveals the exquisite art and craft of Rajasthan. Fusion of heritage into a contemporary garment for the modern woman in the cascades of colours and textures, this is her ode to the traditional art form.

Wedding Asia is expecting participation from Ranas Legacy, a leading manufacturer and supplier of designer and wedding saris, lehangas, salwar suits, men’s sherwanis, bandhej, lehariya sarees and pashmina shawls.

Zebaish stands as a brand unparalled in its rich confluence on a path of perpetual growth, with its single-roof, male fashion solutions.

Be it the fabric, the cut, the colour combinations the designing or the styling of its product, everything at Zebaish is exclusive.

Also present is a designer who is renowned for evoking is a passion placed deep within each pattern. She has a spirit that evolves itself with detailed attention and obsession to create beauty. Deeply inspired the rich heritage of Indian artisans, designer Puja Mittal is totally open to contemporary styling.

Harleen is also displaying their extremely feminine and romantic designs in the expo. Their styles are for a self-determined woman who is chic and loves fashion for its magnificence.

They try to blend the twin styles of contemporary and traditional fulfilling the needs of today’s bride out of a selection of trousseau and formal wear.

Amit Talwar under his brand name Adonize Fahsion is displaying his Indo-western creations for women with a unique blend of western cuts and Indian embroideries.

Deepa Kapoor has been a legendary name in the world of fashion. Her designs are there for unmatched and unconventional. She is at Wedding Asia with her latest collections that will make all heads turn.

Apart from them numerous other reputed and class apart from brands like Paridhi, Akriti Creations, Niwaj Creations, Zari by Anjani Dhawan, AIDA, Fashion Studio, Ablaze, Madhav Khanna of Studio M, Tek Chand Ved Prakash, Cut X 2, Anu Kumar of Saboori Creations and many more.

The exhibition also offers a unique opportunity to view the brightest and best jewellery collection that the country has. Kanak Jewellers, leading manufacturers of emeralds in India Jewels Emporium, Umrao Jewels, Boutique De Jewels, Charon Diamonds, Valini, Dillano, are displaying their artistic pieces of jewellery.

Home Décor is another most required segment for complete wedding package. Rasberrie dealing in bedcovers, quilts, cushions, runners, table linen, bed linen, duvet covers, etc, they have items for all occasions and are specialized in doing wedding trousseaus.

Maninder S. Sethi, a sapient creator of this mega wedding show explains, “Wedding Asia is a premium show for premium people where we endeavour to bring all the innovative, creative and quality brands together at a common platform for the shopaholics. Our high-profile exhibitors would receive twofold benefit out of this show as they will tap their kind of right target audience and they would generate lucrative business deals too. At the same time, style-savvy people will get the best of the best deals. Wedding season is at the peak during these exhibitions all around India, so these in timely designed shows will fulfil the requirements of sellers and buyers in a profitable manner.”

Ludhiana, July 31
Two youths were arrested for their involvement in motorcycle theft at a check point at Aarti Chowk.

Gurjinder Singh, alias Goga, a resident of Himmat Singh Nagar, and Baldev Singh, alias Fauji, a resident of Dhulkot village, used to steal bikes and sell these to scrap dealers Barinder Kumar and Balram Kumar.

Barinder is a resident of Tibba Road, while Balram is a resident of Dehlon.

Seven motorcycles were recovered from the accused.

Barinder Kumar used to dismantle the stolen vehicles and sell their parts.

Ludhiana, July 31
The District Legal Services settled 900 cases during the quarterly lok adalat held under the supervision of its chairman-cum-Sessions Judge SP Bangarh here today. The lok adalat was also held in Jagraon, Khanna and Samrala sub-divisions. The judge said the cases involved settlement of amount worth Rs 4.39 cr. In all, 1,510 cases were placed before different Benches of the adalat.

In the city courts, 540 cases were settled with persuasions amongst parties, involving an amount of over Rs 1.82 crore.

The cases were taken up by 10 benches headed by Additional Session Judges Karamjit Singh Kang, JS Chouhan and Munish Singal, judicial magistrates Lukhwinder Kaur, Raman Kumar, Rajwinder Singh, Yukti Goyal, Balwant Singh, PS Kaleka and Gupreet Kaur.

At Jagraon, three Benches headed by Additional Civil Judge JS Marok, and judicial magistrates Girish and Ravi Inder Singh settled 202 cases out of 225 involving an amount of over Rs 66 lakh.

Additional Civil Judge Balwinder Kumar and judicial magistrate Gurmit Tiwana headed Benches at Khanna and settled over Rs 1.4 cr.

At Samrala, two Benches headed by Additional Civil Judge HS Lekhi and judicial magistrate Harsimranjit Singh settled 59 cases involving an amount of over Rs 48 lakh.

Cases of all categories except non-compoundable ones were settled by the lok adalat.