Ludhiana, August 29
An undertrial facing rape charges and a close relative of personal assistant (PA) of a state Cabinet minister has again landed in trouble for allegedly possessing a mobile phone in Brostal jail.

Paramjit Singh (32), who claims to be the brother of Harpreet Bedi, PA to Jail Minister Hira Singh Gabria, was allegedly nabbed by jail officials during a search late last night.

According to sources, the jail police seized a mobile phone. Following the incident, Paramjit was reportedly shifted to an isolated barrack.

Meanwhile, the jail officials are tightlipped about the incident and refused to divulge any detail.

Borstal jail Superintendent Prem Kumar Garg expressed ignorance about the incident and said the matter was not brought to his notice yet.

While Deputy Superintendent Kawalpreet Singh Cheema confirmed the development and said, "A broken gadget, which looks like a mobile phone with battery, was seized from Paramjit.

The recovery of alleged mobile phone has yet again brought to the fore how VIP inmates enjoy comforts while in jail.

It is alleged that Paramjit and the jail police have been at loggerheads for the past few months and it is suspected that the jail police have shown the recovery of mobile to frame him.

It may be recalled that on May 6 Borstal jail Assistant Superintendent Jagmail Singh and three wardens, Harnek Singh, Darshan Singh and Jagdev Singh, reportedly beat up Paramjit, in the jail hospital after the latter was suspected to have been possessing a mobile phone. All four-prison officials were booked under Sections 323, 342, 325, 506 of the IPC and were bailed out subsequently. They were later suspended.

The Jail Guard Association staged a dharna and protested against the government for suspending the four policemen. It is learnt that both parties affected a compromise and the punishment of the four policemen was relaxed.

Following the incident, Paramjit was recuperating in Borstal jail hospital. It is learnt that he was recently shifted to Borstal jail, which led to the problem.

Harpreet Bedi, PA to Jail Minister Hira Singh Gabria, maintained that Paramjit was related to him but he had snapped ties with him following the rape charges against him.

Ludhiana, August 29
The gastro outbreak in the city slums has taken an ugly turn, with 50 new cases surfacing in migrant-populated localities of Dhandari Kalan.

The total number of gastro patients has gone up to 350 and patients are still pouring in at private hospitals and at the medical camps put up by the department of health and family welfare in Sherpur and Dhandari Kalan.

A total of 11 deaths have been reported from the affected areas in and around Sherpur and Dhandari Kalan in the past three days.

Looking at the gravity of the situation, Ludhiana deputy commissioner Rahul Tewari today called an emergent meeting wherein the Ludhiana municipal commissioner AK Sinha and civil surgeon Dr Satwant Bhalla were categorically asked to take immediate measures for cleanliness and treatment respectively.

The civil surgeon took a tour of the affected areas followed by the supervision of the treatment being given to the patients in the medical camps organised in Sherpur and Dhandari Kalan. District health officer, a paediatrician and district epidemiologist were also present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, people in Ishwar Colony feel that the health department was inept to deal with gastro/diarrhoea outbreak, as the limited number of workers could not reach across to the patients in every locality. "The health workers should go from door to door with medicines followed by immediate transportation of the seriously ill patients to the civil hospitals in Ludhiana and Sahnewal," said Vipin Gupta, an area resident.

The ludicrousness of the cleanliness campaign carried out by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (LMC) was evident from the lifting of garbage from the open dump in Deep Nagar on one side and simultaneous dumping of fresh garbage on the same site by sweepers.

Gastro outbreak is an annual feature in ward numbers 13, 14, 15 , 16, with water contamination and poor sanitation conditions being the obvious reasons as has been cited by the district epidemiologist Dr GP Mangla in his recent report. The copy of the report had been sent to the Ludhiana municipal commissioner AK Sinha long before the rainy season, but to no avail.

Ludhiana, August 29
Controversy surrounding the embezzlement of relief fund meant for the riot victims has intensified further with the members of 1984 Sikh Qatl-e-Aam Peerit Action Committee led by Charanjit Singh meeting Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil and demanding a CBI probe against Surjit Singh, president, Danga Pirit Welfare Association.

Charanjit Singh claims that the Governor has appointed the state’s home secretary to probe into the alleged assault that took place on August 20, in which he and his supporters sustained injuries following a clash outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

The Governor has appointed secretary (Disaster Management) Jaspal Singh to probe into the case of embezzlement of funds meant for the riot victims.

Whereas, Surjit Singh while slamming the allegation levelled by Charanjit Singh said, “He is not even a riot victim and by levelling false allegations he is trying to malign my image. I will not tolerate that and file a case against this fraudster.”

Meanwhile, the vigilance department has expressed its helplessness in checking the records of the riot victims and reportedly returned them to the district administration.

About 3,000 applicants clamming themselves to be the riot victims had sent their files to the district administration for procuring red cards.

However, during the preliminary investigation the vigilance bureau found 30 false cases.

The vigilance department reportedly initiated a probe into the matter following the arrest of clerk Kimti Lal on May 27.

The accused was working under the SDM (East) in the mini- secretariat. Lal had demanded Rs 95,000 from a riot victim, in lieu to clear the cheque for Rs 2 lakh.

The vigilance officials laid a trap nabbed Lal and his assistant.

Recently, members of the Sikh Qatl-e-Aam Peerit Action Committee had complained that people who were not even riot victims were getting the red cards made.

They had even brought the matter to the notice of the Union Home minister and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal following which a state agency was asked to probe into the matter. 

Ludhiana, August 29
"I spent all my savings to send my child abroad and, look, what have I got in return?" lamented Kulwant Singh, while holding the dead body of his 25 year-old-son, Rajveer, at a crematorium in the city today. The body arrived here from Australia last night.

Earlier, heartrending scenes were witnessed at the Gau Ghat gurudwara where wailing relatives had gathered. Rajveer’s mother, Manjit Kaur, and sister, Dolma Singh, were inconsolable and regretted the family’s decision to send him abroad.

According to the relatives, family members were devastated when they were given the tragic news of Rajveer's death in Australia. Manjit was seen requesting her husband to let her look at her son for the last time before his body was cremated.

"Since the time Rajveer went to Australia I was praying for his well-being. He was due to arrive in India on August 15 and promised me he would look for a suitable groom for his sister and solemnise her wedding. I had pinned all my hopes on him," said Manjit. Several residents of the Tajpur Road locality were present at the crematorium to console the family.

The cause Rajveer’s death remained the sole topic of discussion among the relatives attending the cremation. Kulwant, who runs a grocery shop, said he had yet to get a copy of the postmortem report. "I haven’t received any document from Australian officials stating the cause of my son’s death."

Rajveer, who had gone to Australia in December 2007, completed his hotel management course at an institute in Melbourne and then shifted to Brisbane. He later moved to Tweed Head in New South Wales and began working in a restaurant there.

According to Kulwant, some unidentified assailants ruthlessly thrashed his son at his home in Tweed Head on the night of August 8. Rajveer was taken to hospital and reportedly put on a ventilator for nearly a week, where he succumbed to his injuries on August 13.

"The world has come to an end for me. All my life I invested my savings on my son’s education hoping one day he would help me and lighten the burden on my shoulders. Now I’ve nothing left - neither money nor my son," said Kulwant.

Manjit and Dolma have demanded that the Indian external affairs ministry should pursue the matter with the Australian government and the culprits brought to book.

Ludhiana, August 29
Taxpayers who have been issued scrutiny notices for fiscal 2008-09 by the income tax department are a worried lot. Over 2,000 cases in the city have been selected through the computer assister scrutiny selection (CASS) in New Delhi.

Many taxpayers have yet to receive the notice. Those who already have will be required to produce account books, sale and purchase sheets, electricity and telephone bills and details of property investments. The department will scrutinise their income in detail.

Commenting on the notices a senior income tax department official said: "The cases are selected randomly through a computer. The name that comes in for scrutiny cannot be changed. According to the Central Board of Direct Taxes guidelines, if any case is selected apart from the CASS process it’s only on the recommendation of higher officials”.

Taxation Young Lawyers Association president Jatinder Khurana said the scrutiny notices have been issued in the city as well.

“Generally income filled by the tax payee is taken as correct but some cases for scrutiny are selected randomly every year. All the details should be provided to the tax professionals so that there is no problem during scrutiny. All the information should be furnished in income tax returns as the department also gets to know about the income from the other sources as well,” he said.

Jagtar Singh, a taxpayer, said random selection of cases for scrutiny served no purpose. "The income tax department should issue notices in only those cases where any discrepancies are found in the tax returns. Selecting cases randomly only causes harassment to taxpayers," he said.

Ludhiana, August 29
The Dugri police last night nabbed all seven members of a vehicle-lifters’ gang, which was led by a woman.

The accused identified as Jaswinder Kaur, her paramour Gursharan Singh alias Rinku, Tajinder Singh alias Tiklu, Bhupinder Singh alias Jimmy, Jagroop Singh alias Preet, Gurinder Singh alias Golla, Paramjit Singh alias Raj, all residents of different parts of the city, were nabbed by the Dugri police following a tip-off.

Tajinder Singh alias Tiklu, is the grandson of a retired jail superintendent. He was previously nabbed for stealing an Enfield bullet motorcycle and is currently out on bail.

Besides sharp-edged weapons, the police has also recovered two motorcycles and a car from their possession. Giving details, SHO Dugri Amandeep Singh said the gang was wanted in several cases of vehicle thefts reported in the recent past.

He said Manakwal resident Jaswinder Kaur was leading the gang. She used to lead the gang members during the time of theft. The SHO said it was Jaswinder Kaur, who used to sell off the vehicle. The gang reportedly struck at four places on August 20.The gang first stole a Maruti Ritz, but they had to leave the vehicle at Dugri after the car met with an accident.

Later the gang members stole two motorcycles from the Shimlapuri area and fled with a Toyota Qualis from Ghari Tarkhana located in Machiwara. Jaswinder Kaur had reportedly sold this vehicle to her sister's brother in- law for Rs 30,000.The SHO said the police was suspecting the involvement of the thieves behind the series of theft incidents that took place on August 20.

It is learnt that Jassa, one of the gang member, reportedly sustained injury on his face when the stolen Ritz car met with an accident. The injury on the face of the accused substantiated the claim of the police, following which the police laid a trap and nabbed the accused.

Ludhiana, August 29
Jonita Doda from Chandigarh who made it as a model, choreographer and heroine is all excited about her newly released Punjabi flick "Chak Jawana" with legendary singer and actor Gurdas Mann.

Unable to hide her excitement Jonita said, "It was great working with Gurdas Mann. He is a fabulous co-star and a very humble man. We shot at a stretch for 40 days in beautiful locales of Punjab and later in Mumbai. My character named Binny in the movie is a very subtle and docile girl. The movie has some great music as well," she said.

"I want to be known as a performer," quips the actress. Talking about the film she said it highlighted the problems and challenges of youth and families of Punjab. The well -scripted story of this film is very touching. The film is extremely entertaining with serious social drama with great music and good comedy. The film also deals with the sensitive issue of drugs among the youth.

Jonita, the new face of Punjabi cinema is also doing films down South. She has also worked for serials like 'X-Zone', 'Mission Fateh' and documentaries like Daldal, which was based on AIDS.

Confidence is something Jonita has in abundance. And armed with titles like Miss Himachal-1998 and awards from the Indo-Canadian Society and also by DN Academy Ltd for "Guldasta", an Indo- Canadian production she has a reason to feel hopeful about her career in films.

"Acting is something you are born with. Training does help in rounding up the rough edges, but one has to be natural on screen. So I did not feel I lacked much when I accepted the offer. So I am accepting different roles. I am exploring different facets of my personality," she says.

Ask her if she is experiencing that "small town syndrome" in the big city, and she asserts herself with confidence. "Besides modeling, I used to choreograph shows, which gave me confidence to try out anything under the sun. What I am today is because of the exposure I got in Chandigarh," she signs off. 

Ludhiana, August 29
Failure of the Punjab Government, facing a cash crunch, to release grant-in-aid to 400 government-aided schools across the state has the teachers fuming, as the latter have been denied their salaries for the past eight months.

Over 8,000 teachers of government-aided schools across Punjab are up in arms against the state government for denying them their basic right. This is not the first time the state government has failed to release the grant.

Talking to The Tribune, Raja Singh, president, Punjab Aided School Teachers’ Union, said: “We are being denied our basic right by the government. This is uncalled for. On earlier occasions, too, we had been denied our salaries due to paucity of funds.”

Education department officials revealed that grant-in-aid for 400 aided schools of the state comes to around Rs 52 crore per quarter.

“Grant for the quarter ending December, 2009 was distributed in April this year, after which the schools have not received any grant,” rued Singh, adding that in such scenario, it was getting very difficult for the school managements and staff to sustain.

Sources in the education department reveal that the delay has been due to the fact that the audit of funds utilised by schools is still pending. As per the procedure, the grant is released after the audit report is received by the education department.

Singh added that several other demands of the teachers had been pending since long. “Restoration of the pension scheme is another long pending demand. Besides, the government has been unnecessarily dilly-dallying the implementation of revised pay scales for teachers as per the 5th Pay Commission. The matter is pending since 2006,” he rued.

At least 95 per cent of aid in these schools comes from the government, while the rest is contributed by the respective school managements.

Ludhiana, August 29
Lending a helping hand to needy girl students and helping them achieve their dreams, an NGO, Bharat Vikas Parishad, Shivaji branch, gave scholarships to 76 meritorious needy girls at a function held at SD Kamla Lohtia College here today.

The event was presided over by Ashok Gupta, state convener, environment, while Bishan Swaroop Chopra was the chief guest.

President Suman Gupta, secretary Sunita Nohris, cashier Pawan Bansal, project convener Rashmi Sehgal, Narinder Bangia and Jahraj Gupta welcomed the guests. A cultural programme was also held. Project director Randhir Sharma said the NGO had been helping the needy girl students for the past many years to help them continue with their studies.

Meanwhile, at another function held at Bhartiya Vidya Mandir, Udham Singh Nagar, Bharat Vikas Parishad, Tagore branch, honoured 117 meritorious students of Class X (PSEB) from 18 schools of the city.

The students were given mementoes and certificates of merit by chief guest Sushil Maini, MD, Jai Bhole Steel Strips. Parents of top three position holders and principals of BCM Senior Secondary School, Focal Point; and RS Model School were also honoured for their contributions in the success of these students.

BCM Senior Secondary School principal Mangat Ram Mehta appreciated the NGO for encouraging the meritorious students. Bharat Vikas Parishad Charitable Trust secretary RP Gupta gave a message of “Save water, save life” to audience.

Also present were other members of the parishad, including district president, Dr JR Kaushal; district secretary Neelam Gupta; president of Tagore branch, Dr Vijay Laxmi Kapur; BR Maria, Adarsh Kundra, Prem Jain, Dr Babita Jain, trust president, Dr Kuldip; RP Gupta, Madan Bassi, JC Kapur and office-bearers of various branches of the parishad.

Ludhiana, August 29
Have you ever thought how your favourite characters in Club House Disney, Richie Rich, Doraemon, Shinchan, Pokemon and Tom and Jerry exhibit if there was no animation? Aided by digital graphics and powerful tools, animation has added a powerful dimension to the glitz and jazz, thereby lifting and enlivening anything from cartoon pictures to music videos.

Fantazia organised a seminar on animation, VFX by industry veteran Ritesh Khera, who is an independent 3D artist.

Khera has been working with studios like Maya Entertainment Limited, UTV Toons and Tata Elxsi Limited. He has been associated with projects like Jajantaram Mamantram (Hindi feature film), The Tale of Jack Frost (for BBC, UK), Neopets Game Cinematics, 7 Straight to DVDs for BKN Classics, Freej 2, Bratz, etc., on the posts of modelling artist, head of modelling department and lighting artist. He has recently worked on UTV Motion Picture’s animation film “Arjuna”.

Interacting with participants, Khera said, “Employment options for animators are opening up in many different arenas today. These days the animators can find work in feature films, TV, Internet as well as product design, visualisation, branding, architecture, medical animations and forensic laboratory department.”

The person who is well known wants to remain unknown due to his unobtrusive nature. He seldom attends literary or cultural meetings, never makes a show of his achievements and keeps his role in the political field a guarded secret. Not that he has anything to hide but he considers his choices a personal affair. He is a man of few words but in his writings he is explicit and assertive. He knows his mind, which is devoid of any dichotomy or indecisiveness. He is forthright and abstains from mincing his words in personal talks or editorials.

Dr Barjinder Singh Hamdard is the Editor-in-Chief of “Daily Ajit”, Jalandhar, the pioneer Punjabi newspaper. Prior to that, he was the editor of the Punjabi Tribune, Chandigarh. He started his career in the field of journalism with the blessings of his illustrious father, Dr Sadhu Singh Hamdard, the founder editor and publisher of Daily Ajit.

In 1969, after dong his postgraduation from Panjab University, Chandigarh, he started editing magazine section of the newspaper, as he was bubbling with new ideas and contemplating new ventures in literature. Then, in the words of Mirza Ghalib, “Kuchh aur chahiye Vussat meri Zabaan ke liye” (I need greater space for the expression of my thoughts and feelings), he entered the arena of Punjabi literature with his monthly “Drishti”, Jalandhar. That was the beginning of his endless craving for presenting the best for the literary circles.

“Kujh Patre” (some pages), a semi-autobiographical fictional work, was hailed for introducing a new narrative mode in Punjabi literature. In it, he revealed the state of mind of a young man, who wanted to conquer the world by scaling the hillock of his longings. Nothing seemed to be beyond his reach but the horizon kept on receding with every big stride towards the destination. Even now the poetic mind is weaving its magic in literary endeavours and musical renderings of Urdu and Punjabi ghazals and songs. The aspect of his being a good singer was revealed quite late to the pleasant surprise of his admirers. At heart he loves life, with all its aesthetic manifestations. Singing soulfully, he links his sensibilities with those of the entire clan of the lovers of beauteous forms in the universe.

Barjinder Singh has been devoted to Punjabi language, literature and culture all through his life and in the days to come, he wants to see his dream of the supremacy of Punjabiat come true. His mind has been attuned to the spirit of service to the mankind and the courage of expounding the doctrine of truthful living.

In journalism he has set new standards of honesty, fairness and integrity. His editorials are literary in essence, while they are logical in content. He is the person who favours the causes, which are just and the individuals who are above board. He never compromises with his basic principles and time-tested concepts. He is a man of strong likes and dislikes, as these are based on facts. At the same time, he believes like TS Eliot that decisions are subjected to revisions with the passage of time.

“Punjabiat da Alambardar” (The flag bearer of Punjabiat) is a recently published book edited by Amarjit Singh (AKS) and published by Vartmaan Prakashan, New Delhi. Forty eminent litterateurs, thinkers and admirers have contributed their articles on various aspects of the personality of this print media magnate.

Payal, August 29
Having lost their daughter as there were no adequate funds for her medical treatment, a migrant labourer family of Nizampur near here has sought financial help for treatment of their only son.

The patient, 12-year-old Tej Partap Singh, is suffering from chronic pulmonary disease caused due to perforated lungs. Though the family had got his operation done from a renowned research institute in Chandigarh, the doctors said now there was a need of another surgery to save his life.

Tej is the only son of a migrant labourer who despite having exhausted all his finances has not been able to arrange enough money for the surgery again.

The child’s father, Varinder Singh, is not ready to give in as he is hoping against hope to save his son from the clutches of death, for which he is already availing contributions from villagers.

Avtar Singh has sold everything to give life to his ailing son and now he is left with no alternative but to seek help from good Samaritans.

The boy has to undergo surgery within few days, as the doctors have warned ofdire consequences if there is any delay. Some villagers have shifted the child to the hospital for preoperative procedure but surgery will be undertaken only after enough funds are available.

Tej’s younger sister had died of dengue earlier, as the family did not have enough money for treatment. Volunteer donors can contact the family on telephone number 98557 29970

Ludhiana/Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 29
Jewellery outlets in the area have begun wearing a deserted look due to fluctuating gold prices and flood-like situation in the region.

To keep the show running, some jewellers have announced to waive labour charges on gold and diamond ornaments, a trend observed for the first time in the past years.

‘Satta’ on the yellow metal being a major factor behind the uncertainty in their business the jewellers of the area have urged the Union Government to impress upon authorities in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) come to their rescue.

Investigations by the Tribune revealed that prospective buyers of gold ornaments had started restricting and staggering their purchases in past weeks.

Flood-like situation in the region has also resulted in slump already prevailing due to fluctuation in price of the metal. The demand has so drastically reduced that some jewellers, with intent to retain their old customers, have announced certain discounts, including waiving of labour charges, that comes out be in thousands in heavy ornaments.

Normally jewellers charge Rs 50 per gram as labour for gold ornaments and Rs 250 per gram for diamond ornaments.

“Though it is not viable for us to continue the discount for a long time, we have announced to waive labour charges on gold and diamond ornaments for at least one week,” said Amint Dhanda of Krishana Sons Jewellers adding some middle class families had availed the discount.

Maintaining that forwarding trading and ‘satta’on gold resulted in unprecedented uncertainty in their profession, Balwinder Verma of Khurad Jewellers and Kumar Pal Jain of Sarafa Bazar, Ludhiana, rued that the successive governments had failed to watch interests of goldsmiths and jewellers.

They urged the Union Government to impress upon authorities in the SEBI to come to the rescue of a vocational community, which was forced to forgo even its labour charge to keep their shops and showroom open.

Ludhiana, August 29
Abhishek Rai and Kritika Sharma won the title of Mr and Miss Shan-e-Punjab 2010 respectively.

Rahul Sharma and Ajit Singh were first and second runner-up in the male category while Baljeet Kaur and Diksha Sood were runners up in the female category.

The competition had three rounds. First was traditional round in which girls came dressed as brides and boys as bridegrooms.

In the second round it was traditional Punjabi look round while in the third round they had to wear indo-western clothes. — TNS

Ludhiana, August 29
The ghazal night organised by the Adeeb International Club yesterday was a treat for music lovers in the city. Audience enjoyed the resonating voice of Mukesh and his wife Namrata, young singers from the city.

“Mein pal do pal ka shayar hun,” “Kisi nazar ko tera intezaar aaj bhi hai” and “In ankhon ki masti ke mastane hazaron hein” from Hindi film “Umrao Jaan” added to the spirits of the evening.

Club president, Dr Kewal Dheer said each member of the club were fans of Sahir Ludhianavi. The club members comprise industrialists, professionals and intellectuals from all walks of life.

Dr Ravinder Vatsyayan, an ayurvedacharya from Ludhiana, while lauding the songs sung by the couple said, “Very few singers can do justice to the lyrics penned by Sahir Ludhianavi, who is unsurpassable after all these years.”

Ludhiana, August 29
A six-year-old girl, who fell down from a height in March, had sustained pelvic and vaginal injury. Due to this injury, she had suffered complete loss of her urethra (urinary tube for passing urine), which dissociated from bladder and a passageway developed between the urinary and reproductive path due to the accident.

In such a condition, the victim loses control over urination, and urine keep leaking out all the time. The girl was suffering with this distressing condition for the past six months when she was brought to Dr Ashish Koura, consultant urologist, SPS Apollo Hospital here, for treatment.

According to Dr Koura, condition of the patient was very tragic and the only solution was to reconstruct the complete urethra. "Reconstruction of the severely damaged urethra is a technically challenging and requires considerable surgical expertise and decision making."

In a complex surgery- lasting about four hours- her urinary and reproductive paths were separated and new urethra was made out of her bladder. This neo-urethra was then brought out near her normal natural opening to give her feeling of a normal child. She is doing well after surgery and passing urine in normal manner.

Dr Koura remarked that the severely damaged female urethra is a rare occurrence in childhood. "Regardless of the cause of urethral damage, the diagnostic and therapeutic challenges to the surgeon are considerable. The goals of surgical correction are to construct a urethra that permits the painless, unobstructed passage of urine, and is of sufficient length to ensure that the patient does not void into the reproductive organ.

Ludhiana, August 29
Ivanna Institute of Hotel Management (Ivanna IHM) organised a salad festival here today, in which hospitality students made a wide variety of salads and smoothies.

The students of the institute pursuing diploma and degree in hotel management under the PTU distance education mode participated in the contest, where they made salads using different vegetables, fruits, chicken, eggs and other meat products.

Some salads prepared were - tropical chicken salad, Greek coleslaw, honey glazed apple and cheese salad, murg and cone salad, cold cuts, deviled eggs, egg and potato salad, Russian salad, roasted pepper and paneer salad, paneer with peppery orange dressing, macroni and peanut salad, minty waldroffe salad, vegetable crudites with assorted dressing, Mongolian warm salad, potato scoops with sour cream, egg mayonnaise, daikon and bhallots (in Japanese mayo), mast va khiar, chicken Hawaiian salad and game and grape salad with aromatic vinegar.

Smoothies prepared included - mango smoothie, cucumber and green chilly smoothie, orange smoothie, tomato smoothie, burrani smoothie, litchi smoothie, honey and ginger smoothie, butterscotch smoothie, mint smoothie and strawberry smoothie.

Chief parliamentary secretary Harish Rai Dhanda, Punjab, presided over the festival and tasted innovative preparations of salads.

The festival was visited by various hoteliers from the town. Chefs and other personnel from kitchen and service departments of different hotels also visited and appreciated the efforts of the staff and students of Ivanna IHM.

Shailender Khatri, Vandana Pawar and Col Ravi Kapoor judged the preparations of the students and award for top three preparations were given to Mandeep Singh, Sandeep Kumar and Rahul Chohan.

Talking about the event, Manmeet Sodhia, director, said, “Salads are a hot favourite healthy food item at restaurants and fast food joints all over the world. Different sauces, seasonings and spreads add to the taste in fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and poultry used. With very little cooking and more of tossing with flavours, these fat free food items are gaining popularity among all health conscious people. This fest is aimed at giving all foodies a taste of the best salads.”

Ludhiana, August 29
International Institute of Fashion Design organised a workshop on interior designing here. Aman Aggarwal, the brain behind Charged Voids-a leading architectural consultancy, was invited to share the nuances of fine design and render valuable tips to budding interior designers of the institute.

He conducted a day-long workshop on design development and research and methodology. Aggarwal is a qualified architectural graduate from Chandigarh College of Architecture. He has worked on various prestigious projects such as Bhuj Memorial, IIM, Ahmadabad Housing.

The workshop commenced with an introductory session.

He also provided rational solutions to curious interior design students.

Aggarwal utilised the opportunity to discuss design ideas and methodology of presentation of designs.

Aggarwal said the most essential element was the freedom to think logically. He motivated students to establish their own firms if they wished to make their dreams come true. He also shared his experiences and challenges that he had had to face in life.

On his design inspirations, Aggarwal said, “An interior designer or architect need not move out of India to look for inspiration, designs or materials. The historical monuments of India are epitomes of highly appreciable designs and are enough evidence that craftsmen here are unique and unmatched.”

Ludhiana, August 29
Tightening the noose around fish sellers selling banned Thai mangoor fish openly in various parts of the city, the fisheries department today conducted raids and seized a cache of 7 quintals mangoor fish from Sherpur market.

The seized cache of fish was destroyed by the fisheries department officials.

Along with the fish, a tortoise belonging to endangered species, was also seized from the fish sellers. The raids were conducted in collaboration with the Punjab Fish Farmers' Association president Kanwaljit Singh Sidhu.

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, deputy director fisheries, RK Verma, said, "The mangoor fish is unfit for human consumption and is a danger for more than 50 aquatic species. That is why it has been banned." "However, despite the ban, it is openly sold in unauthorised fish markets as well as other parts of the city," Verma added.

Interestingly, the health department had been on the look out for the fish sellers selling mangoor fish for sometime now."Following a tip off this morning, and a wait of over four hours, we were successful in confiscating the fish but the sellers managed to flee from the spot," he said, adding that the fish sellers had left behind their Mahindra jeep and two fish nets. The police was immediately informed, he said.

"The fish nets are very expensive and cost around Rs 40-50,000. We are hopeful that the fish sellers will come to the department office to take their nets back. Their interrogation will provide us important leads into the illegal trade. An appropriate action will also be taken against the culprits," Verma said.

Meanwhile, Kanwaljit Singh Sidhu urged the state government to direct the DCs of all districts to check the village ponds for mangoor culture and destroy them.

"The borders of the state should also be sealed to prevent imports from Delhi, Kolkatta, Haryana, and UP. This step will put a curb on mangoor culture in Punjab," he said.

The fish sellers had been selling fish openly despite the orders of the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner to steer clear the slum areas of the city from unauthorised fish markets in the wake of the filth that it added to the garbage responsible for the outbreaks of diseases in the city. The fish market was functional in full swing today and a large number of factory workers were buying fish in Sherpur.

Ludhiana, August 29
Dehlon wrapped up hockey titles in the boys as well girls’ sections in the three-day Inter-Block Games (U-16) organised under the Panchayat Yuva Krida and Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA), which concluded at Guru Nanak Sports Complex here today.

Dehlon also emerged champion in kabaddi in the boys’ section.

In hockey (boys), Sudhar and Doraha secured second and third positions, respectively, and in the girls’ section, Pakhowal and Ludhiana (I) finished runner-up and third, respectively.

In kabaddi (boys), Sidhwan Bet got second position and Doraha finished at third place, while in the girls’ section, Ludhiana (II) romped home as champion, followed by Dehlon and Raikot, respectively.

Khanna and Jagraon emerged victorious (volleyball) in the boys and girls’ sections, respectively.

In the boys’ section, the second and third places went to Machhiwara and Ludhiana (II) and in the girls’ section, Raikot finished as runner-up, while Ludhiana (I) stood third.

In kho-kho (girls), Sidhwan Bet, Jagraon and Ludhiana (I) secured first, second and third positions, respectively, while in the boys’ group, Doraha came out triumphant to bag top honours and Ludhiana (I) got second place and Sudhar finished third.

In football (boys), Doraha bagged the title, while Raikot and Ludhiana (II) secured second and third positions, respectively.

In the girls’ section, Pakhowal proved its class to clinch the title, followed by Ludhiana (I) and Raikot, respectively.

Jagraon won the title in the boys’ section (basketball), while Sidhwan Bet and Khanna secured second and third positions, respectively. In the girls’ section, Ludhiana (I) came out triumphant, while Dehlon and Jagraon finished second and third.

Hockey Olympian Hardeep Singh Grewal was the chief guest at the closing ceremony. He urged the players to emulate legendary hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand and concentrate on studies and sports simultaneously.

District sports officer, Ludhiana, Satr Pal Singh thanked the chief guest and congratulated the winners. Coaches of sports department, Punjab, and Sports Authority of India (SAI) Training Centre, Ludhiana, were also present on the occasion.

Phillaur, August 29
The Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) Feeder Tour will stage its fifth tournament of 2010 season at the Ranjitgarh Golf Club in Phillaur from tomorrow till September 1.

The tournament boasts a total prize purse of Rs 5 lakh and marks PGTI’s debut in Phillaur. The Feeder Tour is set to stage seven tournaments in 2010 season with Phillaur event being the fifth leg. The tournament will be played over three rounds of 18 holes each. The top 60 Order of Merit players on the PGTI did not qualify to play in this event.

Karnal’s Maniram Sharma, who won the second leg of the Feeder Tour, along with Manoj Kumar of Lucknow are some of the prominent names in the field. While Manoj is fourth on the Feeder Tour Order of Merit with earnings of Rs 91,458, Maniram is placed fifth at Rs 79,846.

Shaurya Singh of Delhi, the winner of the fourth leg of the Feeder Tour, leads the Order of Merit with earnings of Rs 1,43,288.

Padamjit Sandhu, director, PGTI, said, “It will be great to play in Phillaur. We continue in our efforts to take professional golf to all parts of the country and help create opportunities for the clubs and local players. The feeder tour events will help us in strengthening the foundation of sports in the country. I would like to thank the Ranjitgarh Golf Club, Phillaur, in partnering with us in staging this event.”

Rupinder Singh, secretary, Ranjitgarh Golf Club, said, “We are proud to host the PGTI Feeder Tour event at the Ranjitgarh Golf Club. This event is a result of the initiative taken by SK Sharma, ADGP and director, Punjab Police Academy. Sharma, president of the Punjab Golf Association and a keen golfer, has played a major role in promoting the sports in Punjab. The event confirms Ranjitgarh Golf Club’s status of being one of the best golf courses in Punjab.”

Ludhiana, August 29
In a battle of nerves, the Ludhiana Basketball Academy (LBA) faced a stiff challenge from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Club, Kotkapura, before coming out triumphant with a wafer-thin margin of just one point (89-88) in the senior men’s section in the fourth week matches of the inaugural edition of the Mahindra NBA Basketball Challenge League being held at Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

The winners were leading 39-38 at half time. Players from Kotkapura gave many anxious moments to LBA cagers, as the latter had to fight for each point. LBA eventually managed to scrape past 89-88.

Dilawar netted 33 points to enable LBA to snatch the victory, while Jatinder and Ranbir secured 23 and 14 points for the losers. In another match (men), the Amritsar Basketball Club defeated Guru Gobind Singh Club, Moga, 65-47 after leading 47-31 at the end of second quarter.

In the third match, Sangrur beat Gurdial Singh Arjun Awards Sports Club, Ludhiana, 56-43. Akashdeep and Jagroop scored 16 and 15 points for Sangrur and Gurdial Singh Club, respectively.

In the senior women's section, three matches were played, in which Hindu Kanya College, Kapurthala, along with Government College for Women, Ludhiana, and Amritsar Basketball Club recorded victories.

Hindu Kanya College pipped Government College Club, Ludhiana, 37-10; Government College for Women outplayed Sangrur 62-24 and Amritsar Basketball Club outclassed BBK DAV College for Women, Jalandhar, 53-21.

In the youth girls’ section, Hindu Putri Pathshala, Kapurthala, overwhelmed Bhartiya Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Kitchlu Nagar branch, Ludhiana, 40-2.