Ludhiana, October 9
In contravention of the guidelines of the Medical Council of India (MCI), doctors are indulging in the unethical practise of issuing advertisements in the electronic and print media.

The lax attitude of the Punjab Medical Council (PMC) has encouraged the doctors to even invest in “unipole advertisements”.

RG Stone Hospital in Model Town has given a unipole advertisement, highlighting the facilities available at the hospital. The commercial advertisement banned by the PMC mentions treatment for kidney stones, gall stones, enlarged prostates, uterus fibroids, prostrate cancer and hernia.

The hoarding mentions “Guinness World Records” and has some models posing as doctors, which is against the prescribed norms of the Medical Council of India.

Hunjan Bone and Joint Hospital, Model Gram, constantly places advertisements in the print media, mentioning the facilities available at the centre, including the specifications of the X-Ray machine, operating theatre and wards. But the photograph of Dr BS Hunjan, owner of the hospital, and the mention of “private and deluxe” rooms is uncharacteristic in terms of the medical profession.

The doctor also claims that it is for the first time in Ludhiana that hip and knee joints are being replaced through computer navigation surgery.

The IMA district president, Dr Narottam Dewan, said they were going to take up the matter of advertisements by corporate hospitals and individual doctors at the general house meeting. “Any advertisement highlighting the achievements is unethical, irrespective of the size of the hospital,” he said.

Ludhiana, October 9
Now, women have also joined the notorious league of highway thieves. In the latest incident, a four-member gang was nabbed after they took out cash from a bag of a doctor in a moving auto-rickshaw here this morning.

When caught, they threw the money inside the auto-rickshaw and claimed themselves to be innocent.

Kewal Krishan, a resident of Phillaur, withdrew Rs 1 lakh from a bank located near Clock Tower and caught an auto-rickshaw to reach his destination near Jalandhar bypass.

He said when the auto rickshaw reached near Chand Cinema, four women boarded the vehicle and sat in the auto-rickshaw.

The women, who appeared to be slum dwellers, were travelling along with their children. He said the women were frequently changing their seats to distract him.

The doctor came to know about the incident when he alighted from the auto-rickshaw near Jalandhar bypass and noticed that his bag was open and nearly Rs 50,000 cash was missing.

Kewal, stopped a motorcyclist and requested him to chase the auto-rickshaw.

The duo intercepted the auto-rickshaw near Kali Sarak. Sensing trouble the women threw the money in the auto-rickshaw and claimed themselves to be innocent.

Resident also gathered at the spot and alleged that the women were operating in the area. They further claimed the women were behind several incidents of “organised” theft.

The Jodhewal police reached the spot and detained the four women along with their children. Till the time of filing of this report the Jodhewal police was investigating the matter.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 9
The Jodhan police has arrested an organiser of a cultural group for allegedly abetting his wife to commit suicide two days ago. The man has been booked under Section 306 of the IPC. Extramarital affair of the accused was reported to be reason behind the marital discord .

Gurpreet Singh of Pamal village was arrested while he was trying to leave the area after abetting his wife Simran Jit Kaur to commit suicide.

Simran Jit Kaur, daughter of Satnam Singh of Ludhiana, got married to Gurpreet Singh about seven years ago.

Things went smoothly till the birth of youngest child after which, the husband allegedly developed illicit relationship with a few women associated with a cultural group being organised by him. Simran got suspicious about extramarital affairs of her husband when he started ignoring and insulted her in presence of his friends and relatives. Whenever, Simran asked Gurpreet Singh to mend his ways, he told her either divorce him or end her life.

Elders from both families had to intervene to make them bury their differences on numerous occasions. Satnam Singh alleged that Gurpreet used to insult Simran in the presence of friends and relatives of both sides.

“Instead of trying to satisfy us and boost morale of Simran, he (Gurpreet) used to tell her that she should die in case she did not like his relationship with other women,” Satwant Singh told the police.

Gurpreet Singh, who was still in the police custody, denied charges levelled against him and maintained that undue interference of members of his in-laws’ family, was major reason behind depression. 

Ludhiana, October 9
The police has beefed up security following two major incidents of robbery and theft in the city over the last two days. Surprise checks are being conducted and the police is verifying documents of vehicles.

The police, however, claimed that the robbery and theft incidents were concocted. Kawal Kishore, an iron trader, created panic on Thursday when he claimed that two armed youths had robbed him of Rs 10.5 lakh. Following the incident, another businessman claimed that some unidentified thieves stole a bag containing Rs 3.5 lakh from his car on Friday afternoon.

“There are many unanswered questions which raise suspicion on the credibility of their claims,” said the Commissioner of Police, Ishwar Singh.

Raising doubt on the claims of the trader, he said: “Why did the snatchers take the risk of ferrying the trader to various parts of the city before entering a secluded, narrow lane to take away the cash?”

Commenting on the complaint of Manoj Kumar, who claimed that thieves a stole bag containing cash from his car, the Commissioner said: “I came to know that a CCTV camera was installed outside a shop. I hope it has captured the images of culprits stealing the bag, but how could they take the bag in the presence of the driver?”

Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 9
Even as AIDS continues to claim more and more lives, those concerned with educating the masses about the causes and consequences of the dreaded virus, still shy away from exhibiting publicity materials prepared and distributed for the purpose.

What to talk of wearing caps, blazers and T-shirts carrying slogans against the menace, office-bearers and volunteers of NGOs, claiming association with the state and national committees on the AIDS control programme, do not use writing pads, stationery and other items of daily use.

Though the subject has been included in the syllabus of schools and colleges, a majority of teachers consider its illustration a taboo.

Thousands of posters and banners are lying in stores of organisations. Though some publicity material was displayed in corridors of health centres run by the Punjab Health Systems Corporation, these were rarely read and comprehended by visitors.

Dr Bhupinder Singh, a social activist and former district ayurveda officer, said the malady which was preventable had acquired the shape of an international problem. “We should not shy away from discussing AIDS and its transmission with children. Discussion can bring about a lot of positive change,” he said, regretting that the concern of senior functionaries was restricted to attending seminars and functions.

He is one of the few who wears T-shirts and caps distributed by an organisation in this regard. “Regrettably, lot of publicity material goes waste due to the mindset of the office-bearers and volunteers of NGOs fighting against the menace. I do not find anything wrong in wearing this T-shirt that was presented to me and hundreds of other volunteers at a function organised to spread aware among people,” he said.

If people feel uncomfortable wearing or using material carrying reference of AIDS, they should not accept these from the organisers, he added.

Ludhiana, October 9
Seasonal downturn has forced the poultry producers in the region to slash rates as the demand has gone down due to Navratras.

The industry normally experiences a temporary lull during Navratras, which is considered a period of abstinence. "Every year, the festival brings jitters to us. Although the demand dips, there is no slowdown in the production, especially layer, and we are saddled with huge stocks," says Darshan Singh, a poultry farmer.

Another poultry farmer Sanjeev Bassi says the demand of all poultry products dips by 80-85 per cent during Navratras. "This year is no different. The demand for poultry products is at an all-time low," Bassi added.

However, low demand has not affected the prices of eggs whereas those of broiler and live chicken have been slashed by at least Rs 15 per kg, says Bassi.

Poultry farmers of the region say that during Navratras, stockists from other states like UP, Bihar and West Bengal look towards Punjab for their supply of eggs. "They pull our surplus production to reap benefits after Navratras when the demand sharply rises and so will the prices," said another poultry farmer, Sukhchain Singh.

Mullanpur Dakha, October 9
With the government clearing the sewerage and water supply project, residents of this town and its surrounding areas can hope for better civic amenities. The project will be completed within 15 months. The government has also sanctioned ` 12-crore grant for this project.

This was announced by Manpreet Singh Ayali, chairman, Zila Parishad, during a function organised by office-bearers of the civic body here yesterday.

Ayali said the work on the project would formally start after Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal formally inaugurates it. Rank and file in the department had been directed to expedite the process so that the project gets completed within the stipulated time.

“We will ensure that the residents start availing the facility even before the deadline set by the Chief Minister,” said Ayali adding that he had directed officials in the civic body to coordinate with the commissioning agency.

Problems associated with the solid waste management were also discussed and it was recommended that a treatment plant should be installed in the town. Ayali presented a cheque for ` 50 lakh to former president Parminder Singh Goga.

Ludhiana, October 9
The 52nd Panjab University Zonal Youth and Heritage Festival of Zone-A, Ludhiana, was inaugurated today at SCD Government College.

Over 1,500 students from 12 colleges will participate in 43 cultural events to be held over a span of four days from October 9 to 12.

Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura inaugurated the fest.

Dr SM Kant, director, Youth Welfare, Panjab University, Chandigarh, presided over the morning session. He said such festivals were an excellent opportunity for students to discover their latent talents. Several well-known film artistes and IAS officers had got a new direction in their lives due to such festivals, he said.

The first day's event included geet, ghazal, cartooning, poster-making, shabad and bhajan recitation, rangoli, painting-on-the-spot, still life drawing, clay modelling, instrumental and orchestra music, vocal music, folk songs, group songs, collage making. 

Mullanpur Dakha, October 9
A youth has been booked for forcibly taking possession of a property worth crores belonging to his NRI father.

The police has registered a case against the accused following an inquiry conducted by the Commissioner of Police.

Raj Preet Singh was booked for allegedly grabbing more than 350 bighas and a house situated in the town belonging to his NRI father Pritam Singh Deol. The suspect, along with his accomplice, had taken possession of the property worth crores about a year ago when the complainant had gone to Canada.

Failing to get the suspects booked, Pritam Singh Deol moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court had authorised the Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana, to probe the matter.

Senior functionaries in the police department led by the Commissioner investigated the matter and found the complainant to be legal owner of the property in connection. Finding substance in complaint lodged by Deol, the Commissioner directed the SHO concerned to initiate action against the accused after registering the case.

Ludhiana, October 9
Prabhdeepak Singh finished ahead of others to win the title in the 100m freestyle event for boys (13 to 15 years) on the first day of the annual swimming competition being organised at Sutlej Club, here today. A large number of club members, their spouses and dependants are taking part in this competition.

Shinjini Tiwari, first lady of the club and wife of Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, inaugurated the competition. Vaneet Randev, sports secretary, Sutlej Club, along with other office bearers, was present on this occasion.

RESULTS

Boys (13 to 15 years) 100m freestyle- 1st Prabhdeepak Singh, 2nd Anmol Khosla and 3rd Rajat Gupta; (9 to 10 years) 25m freestyle- 1st Ahan Kapoor, 2nd Avik Kuthiala and 3rd Nakul Mittal; (16 to 18 years) 100m freestyle- 1st Shivam Banwara, 2nd Suvrat Mongia and 3rd Sarthak Sharma; (8-9 years) 25m freestyle- 1st Suvrat Jain, 2nd Armaan Bhakoo and 3rd Vinayak Kansal; (11-12 years) 50m freestyle- 1st Sunny Jain, 2nd Arnav Galhota and 3rd Sanchay Gupta; (19-20 years) 50m breast stroke- 1st Jasneet Chawla; (22 to 25 years) 50m breast stroke- 1st Aneet Chawla.

Girls (9-10 years) 25m freestyle- 1st Prisha Thapar and 2nd Simratana Nota; (8 to 9 years) 25m freestyle- 1st Anchita and 2nd Nitya Talwar; (11-12 years) 50m freestyle- 1st Raunak Galhotra, 2nd Ananya Gupta and 3rd Arushi Malhotra.