Ludhiana, October 17
The Laddowal police recovered a Mauser pistol, a revolver and a ‘desi katta’ from the three young men on a motorcycle who were arrested at a ‘naka’ (checkpost) at Chahrra Chowk on Hambran Road today morning, according to ADCP III JS Sidhu.

Police officials with the weapons seized. Tribune photos

The suspects were identified as Ravinder Singh, a resident of Kaddon village, who was carrying the pistol and seven live cartridges, Gurjit Singh of Ghudani village, who was carrying the .32 bore revolver and six live cartridges, and Sukhdeep Singh of Barwala village who has a ‘desi katta’ and one live cartridge.

Sidhu stated the police action was “significant keeping in view the Dussehra festival and could have averted a major incident”.

Meanwhile, ACP Narinderpal Singh said the youths were being interrogated. "We suspect the three might have been involved in criminal activities in the past. Hence they’ll not be let off before they divulge all details," he added.

The cops also arrested a resident of Ghaloti village, Gurwinder Singh, at another police checkpost and recovered a ‘kamanidar’ knife from him.

Ludhiana, October 17
Hundreds of hoardings/ unipoles put along major roads in the city in a haphazard manner pose a threat to commuters. In the absence of any check, many hoardings in the middle of the roads are in a poor condition.

Most of these newly installed hoardings display photographs of the city’s MPs and MLAs belonging to various parties, who instead of keeping a check, have become “star attractions”.

Today, a major tragedy was averted as a huge unipole fell in the middle of the road at the busy Bharat Nagar Chowk. A pedestrian had a narrow escape.

Vinod Kumar, a salesman, said: “The hoarding was tilted. We respect all religions and hoardings inform us about the events to be held in the city, but those responsible for putting up these on roads should do a better job of installing these. This is one of the busiest chowks in the city and pedestrians cross the hoardings all through the day.”

A senior municipal corporation official said on the condition of anonymity that a majority of the recently put up hoardings were illegal. “We are helpless. We cannot question anyone as the leaders, ministers, MPs and MLAs are all smiles in these posters. Do you think we have the right to ask the leaders anything? Many companies are objecting as some religious posters have been pasted on their advertisements without permission. Our officials also prefer to look the other way,” he rued.

Such posters have been put up at Bharat Nagar Chowk, Dandi Swami, Domoria Bridge, Fountain Chowk, near the bus stand, Pakhowal road, Malhar road, Sarabha Nagar, Model Town, Janakpuri, Jagraon Bridge and Bhai Bala Chowk, among others.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 17
The state government has finally answered persistent appeals and protests demanding recognition of the sacrifice of 35,000 Sikhs who laid down their lives fighting Ahmed Shah Abdali’s forces on February 5, 1762.

The foundation stone for the Bara Ghallughara memorial, to be built at cost of Rs 9 crore, will be laid at Rohira village near here on Monday. Spread in over 50 bighas, the memorial will include an ultramodern Sikh History Museum, tower with 100 feet high shaft and gates and structures commemorating brave Sikhs warriors, including Jassa Singh and Charat Singh.

All link roads leading to the memorial have been recarpeted. The administration has already declared a public holiday under the Negotiable Instrument Act on Monday.

Bara Ghallughara, as it is known in the local dialect, is situated at Rohira, 3 km from Ahmedgarh towards east. The natural monument has been standing concealed under a canopy of acacia trees.

On February 4, 1762, Abdali directed the Nawab of Sirhind to attack Sikhs at Kup Rohira from the east. Ammunition and ration of Sikhs were stored at Guram village and they were surrounded from three sides. Eleven Sikh confederacies were compelled to face 22 Afghan armies comprising 2.5 lakh soldiers. Contrary to the expectations of Sikhs, Baba Alla Singh joined the Afghans. Sikhs were aware of the fact that their strength was too small to combat the Afghan army, yet they chose to face bullets.

Jassa Singh, Charat Singh and Shukracharya showed unmatched valour and patience. So skillful was Charat Singh in the art of shooting that he was assisted by five persons in loading guns.

Unfortunately, Abdali succeeded in attacking from the rear. A large number of Sikhs sacrificed their lives in the battlefield and a small number reached Hathur by sunset. At least 10,000 children were burnt alive by the enemy when they were hiding in desolate grassland near Mooma Gehlan.

Historian Noordeen Bilouch wrote that even Abdali was impressed by the valour of Sikhs. It is unfortunate that such an important historic place has become a pasture for cattle. Sant Fateh Singh erected the pennant there in 1962 with the efforts of Baba Kehar Singh Musafir.

In 1967, Gurmukh Singh, a renowned industrialist of Ludhiana, took the initiative to renovate the place and Baba Santa Singh of the Budha Dal took charge in 1974, which was handed over to a committee formed by the ‘sangat’ of the area.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, October 17
Unmindful of the consequences of the pollution caused by the immersion of undesirable components into water bodies, thousands of devotees from the town and surrounding localities converged on the banks of the Bathinda, Abohar and Sidhwan branches of the Sirhind canal today to immerse ‘sanjhi’, worshipped at houses for the past 10 days.

Even as various courts in the country had banned the immersion of undesirable substances, including idols made of plaster of Paris, into water bodies, considering the pollution caused by the non-biodegradable substance, devotees from both agrarian and urban societies started converging on the Jandali, Jagera, Sudhar, Kaind and Kalyan bridges over the canal, near here, around 4 am.

Some enthusiastic groups reached there dancing to drum beats. While some families carried the material to be immersed on their heads, others came in two-wheelers and four-wheelers.

Interestingly, a majority of the devotees were unaware of the relevance of immersing ‘sanjhi’ into water bodies.

Even doctors, advocates and teachers were seen performing the ritual of lighting ‘diyas’ and immersing those along with cow dung and clay models into the canal.

While some polluters regretted having contaminated water, others justified the ceremony, claiming that the pollution caused by religious ceremonies was nothing in comparison to that caused by industrial units.

“What is wrong with the immersion of a handful of clay once a year? After all, we have been keeping the tradition alive to promote art and preserve cultural heritage,” argued Deepak Sharma, office-bearer of a religious origination.

Dr Bhupinder Singh Bedi, a social activist, said the increase in population and deviation from joint family norm had aggravated the problem.

“Only one set of ‘sanjhi’ components was immersed by a joint family earlier, but now, with families having split, the number of sets to be immersed had increased. Instead of promoting the art of preparing clay models at home, people buy readymade ‘sanjhi’ from the market and instal it at their houses,” he elaborated.

The occasion was transformed into a fair. Farmers and vendors did good business by selling sugarcane and toys.

Ludhiana, October 17
Over 500 activists of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) today held a “shastra march” in the city to mark Vijay Dashmi.

The march commenced from Harcharan Nagar and passed through several localities, including Ranjit Park, Kashmir Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, New Shivaji Nagar, before concluding at the starting point.

Addressing workers, Krishan Sharma, regional convener, Swadeshi Jagran Manch, empahsised the need for making society as well as the country strong and prosperous.

“Only strong persons and nations can survive in the world in a respectable manner. To make society strong, it is necessary to eliminate differences based on caste, religion, region and economic status, while at the same time inculcate patriotism and nationalism among people,” he stressed.

Tracing the objective behind establishment of the RSS by DR Hedgewar in 1925, other speakers claimed that after being ridiculed and facing staunch opposition, the ideals of the RSS had now become widely acceptable.

“It was the work done by the RSS that had led to the awakening of the Hindu community and agitation for construction of Ram temple, Ram Setu and creation of Amarnath Shrine Board were other achievements of the RSS.”

The RSS functionaries asked its cadres to take a pledge to make the country strong and prosperous on the auspicious day of Vijay Dashmi.

Among those present were Ram Lal, Sah Vibhag Pracharak, Gaya Dutt Parashar, Yash Giri, Sanjeev Kumar and Dalbir Nanda.

Ludhiana, October 17
An amount of Rs 779,933 will be distributed among delegates of the Offset Printers Association, who visited IPEX at Birmingham under the International Cooperation Scheme of the MSME Ministry. The grant-in-aid would be distributed on the second day of the exhibition, Print Art, to be held in the city.

Parveen Aggarwal, president of the association, said the visit to IPEX was organised by the North India Printers Association. He stated that at least 60 exhibitors from across India would showcase their products during the exhibition, to be held on October 23, 24 and 25. — TNS

Ludhiana, October 17
Come October and festivities fill the air. Dasehra or Vijay Dashmi, the first big festival of the season, was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety across the city today. Ram Lilas were held at various places and concluded with the burning of the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad. The city witnessed the burning of the effigies at nearly 35 places. Lights, fireworks and huge melas were organised and huge crowds were seen buying bow and arrows and relishing jalebis and samosas.

At Daresi ground, the 99-ft effigy of Ravana was set afire. People from the peripheral areas also visited the ground which wore a festive look.

Shri Durga Mandir Committee, Urban Estate, Phase-1, also celebrated the festival with pomp and show. The effigies were made to rotate so that everyone could see them.

Kohara, October 17
School owners of the area have cried foul over the verbal orders of the Ludhiana transport department asking them to hand over at least two buses to the department for ferrying Akali activists to a rally at Kuprohira.

Some school owners, on the condition of anonymity, said they had been asked to spare their buses on October 18, which is a working day.

They say they will have to face difficulty in ferrying children to the school in the absence of school buses.

They have expressed fear that if they refuse to tow the line, they will bear the brunt of the transport department.

It is the third time in a month that the department has demanded buses from local schools. Schools had spared buses on October 3 for Sahnewal rally and on October 9 for Chappar Chirri rally.

Bus drivers have also been directed to reach the designated stations a night before the rally.

School authorities say the government should engage private transport companies, which have more buses, for the purpose.

They have demanded that they be exempted from sparing their vehicles for tomorrow’s rally.

However, district transport department officials denied the allegations that they had forcibly taken buses and said it was a voluntary decision of the schools.

Ludhiana, October 17
Kundan Vidya Mandir celebrated its founder’s day today in the memory of Rai Sahib Kundan Lal. A function was organised in the school auditorium. The campus was beautifully decorated.

Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh was the chief guest. He was accorded a war welcome by management, principal and administrative heads. He also planted a sapling.

The school’s Iron Eagle club presented a guard of honour to the chief guest.

The function started with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by the chief guest.

The celebrations involved songs, musical drama, instrumental music and folk dances.

Principal Rajiv Nagalia read out the school’s annual report.

“The Road Safety Book” compiled by the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate was released by the chief guest.

A multimedia presentation on Road Safety Rules was presented by vice-principal Navita Puri.

Ishwar Singh addressed the audience and appreciated students, teachers and management for organising the event.

Those present included school manager Ashwani Kumar, Dr Lajpat Rai and other members of the school managing committee.

Ludhiana, October 17
Students of Arya College brought laurels to the college by winning 29 prizes in the Panjab University Zonal Youth and Heritage Festival held at SCD Government College. The college won eight first positions, nine second positions and 12 third positions.

By winning these prizes, Arya College, Ludhiana, became the second highest prize winner of the youth festival in which 11 co-educational colleges of Ludhiana district participated.

One-act play “Ik Kudi Zindgi Udeekdi” staged by the college was adjudged best play of the Zonal Youth Festival, while Pallvi Saluja bagged third prize in acting. The college bagged first position in group dance (general), while Richa was awarded third prize in dancing.

In classical dance, Pallvi Saluja put up a mesmerising performance in kathak and won the first prize. In collage-making, Deepanshu made the college proud by getting the first prize.

Rupali Sharma, Ruchika and Kulwinder Singh bagged first prize in mehandi, phulkari and folk dance, respectively.

Winners of various group and individual items were honoured in the college auditorium.

Ludhiana, October 17
Public display of affection (PDA) like holding hands, cozying up in class, hugging and kissing are fast becoming a common sight on school campuses. The younger generation considers it cool, but the practice has educationists and parents fuming.

“Holding hands and hugging or kissing as part of greeting is not bad. I feel that times are changing and these things are acceptable today. When my parents can greet their friends, both male and female, what is wrong if I do? Moreover, models, film stars and socialites also greet each other like that. So why can we not do so,” wonders a 14-year-old girl.

Another 16-year-old girl adds, “By holding hands or hugging, we are not harming anyone. But the school authorities are against it. Recently, a girl and a boy of my class were made to stand in the sun for over two hours for pecking each other on the cheek, which was unfair. They did not harm or kill anyone. They like each other and were just showing their affection.”

“The concept of girlfriend and boyfriend is not new to our society and neither is physical intimacy. Why is this hue and cry being raised by schools when a boy kisses his girlfriend in the playground during the lunch break? Doing so in class, while the teacher is present, is not called for and no one does it,” justifies a 17-year-old boy.

Adds another teenager, “If the school authorities stop us, we will do it outside. The acceptance of changing trends is necessary for schools. If this is how they continue to treat us, we will hardly grow up into human beings with healthy minds.”

Principals and teachers, however, hold a different view. “Friendly handshakes and hugging is acceptable, but there has to be an age and a limit to it. Many boys and girls are often seen holding hands in more than a friendly manner or hugging in some remote corner of the school campus,” says a school head, adding that the behaviour is unacceptable within school limits.

Another school principal says, “Spotting a teenaged ‘couple’ hugging, cuddling and kissing is no longer an uncommon sight on school campuses. Not only this, another common thing in schools is girls and boys being caught from washrooms, indulging in unacceptable behaviour.”

Interestingly, parents are divided on the issue. While some find hugging and pecking to be normal among young children and as on offshoot of adult social etiquettes, others term it as unacceptable at such a young age, and that too, at school.

“Children in growing years should not be smothered so much that they are forced to rebel. A little hugging and pecking should be allowed as part of social behaviour,” says a mother of two teenaged girls.

Expressing a different view, the mother of a teenaged son and daughter says, “The school authorities are right in checking such behaviour among students. We send our children to school to study, not to indulge in this. They can do all that when they are old enough.”

Experts say eight out of 10 children indulge in various acts of PDA. However, the degree and intentions behind the acts vary according to their age.

Students in the age group of three to eight years do so mostly with no clear intention and as an extension of the loving and affectionate behaviour they witness at home between family members.

Those in the age group of eight to 16 years engage in such behaviour for reasons like influence of western culture through movies and television serials to satisfy curiosity about the opposite sex.

There is yet another category of young adolescents who simply indulge in it because of peer pressure. Teenagers in the age group of 16 to 18 years, however, are widely believed to be indulging in it for purely sexual reasons.

Not shockingly, students of private schools are ahead of their counterparts in government schools. “Children from well-to-do or middle class families have more exposure than the ones from lower classes,” opines an educationist.

Interestingly, many educational institutions have installed CCTV cameras on their premises, including classrooms, laboratories and corridors, and outside washrooms, to check the growing menace of PDA in schools.

Dehlon, October 17
Merry-go-round for children, wheelchair for physically challenged and elderly people, recreation corner, fully-furnished separate waiting hall for women — elements that usually make up a theme park or a fairground are in fact part of the local police station, in a departure from the menacing outlook generally associated with police stations.

Unlike other police stations where detainees squat on floor, proper bedding and mattresses have been provided to make their brief stay comfortable.

Those coming to seek justice are no more required to get their applications written from a typist as a policeman has been deputed to do this job for free.

Though residents of the rural area falling under the jurisdiction of the Ludhiana Police Commissioner are yet to acclimatise to the corporate-like functioning of model police stations, policemen here are busy updating targeted facilities for both complainants and suspects.

Though authorities at the police station maintain the exceptional facilities are being provided as a goodwill gesture, it seems they are preparing for some competition.

Sources suggest the authorities have to select one best police station from the entire district. Model police stations at Sarabha Nagar, Sadar police station and Sahnewal besides Dehlon Police station are in fray.

Extra facilities have been added to the local police station recently. Presuming that visitors may include women, children, elderly and physically challenged persons, the authorities have made special arrangements to cater to their needs.

Comfortable sofas and chairs at fan-cooled waiting halls — separate for men and women — have given a different look to the police station. Children accompanying visitors, instead of hassling their parents to return home, will remain busy playing on the premises.

Three newspaper stands, separate magazines for males and females and a special counselling room for women are in process of renovation.

Direction signs displayed on all four roads connecting the town with Ludhiana, Malerkotla, Raikot and Sahnewal facilitate people coming from other areas to reach the police station without asking for the way.

The entire area under the police station has been divided into beats and each beat has been assigned to a beat officer. Each beat officer will have details about residents, buildings and other places in the area.

For the convenience of complainants, a beat chart has been installed at the police station to give complainant a clear idea, where he has to file his/her complaint. SHO Harvinder Singh Cheema says Assistant Commissioner of Police Narinder Pal Singh Ruby has supervised the whole project.

Ludhiana, October 17
Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), the erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board, is set to take up IT and infrastructure development to provide better customer services and bring about qualitative improvement in power supply in the state.

Stating this here yesterday, PSPCL chief executive officer KD Choudhry claimed that the ongoing work on installation of energy meters on pillar boxes in the rural areas of the state would be completed by December. The step will go a long way in curbing the menace of power theft as energy meters would no longer remain within the residential premises of consumers.

Choudhry was here to take stock of work on IT and infrastructure development projects in central zone.

Interacting with officials of the rank of chief engineers and deputy chief engineers, he issued directions to speed up work on underloading of overloaded transformers both in towns and rural areas so as to cut down incidents of tripping and load shedding. The work on deloading transformers is expected to be completed by March, 2011.

He said several projects were under way on computerisation of customer services, setting up of customer care centres in small towns and upgrade of existing sub-stations in the state.

“In central zone (including Ludhiana) alone, a sum of Rs 484 crore is proposed to be spent under the centrally-funded restructured accelerated power development and reforms programme (RAPDRP). Out of this, Rs 200 crore would be spent on IT projects, while the rest of the funds will go towards upgrading existing sub-stations and setting up new sub-stations wherever required.”

With the objective of providing better customer services, the PSPCL will set up computerised customer care centres in 47 towns and will offer services like bill collections, accepting applications for new connections, extension of load and shifting under one roof.

“We have also taken up a project for installation of microchips on energy meters of large supply consumers and will be connected to the main server of the PSPCL so that the supervisory staff can have access to consumption pattern of the consumers at all times and effectively check theft of power,” Choudhry stated.

Ludhiana, October 17
Up in arms over the state government’s policies relating to the power sector, in particular its failure to sign the tripartite agreement it had promised following the unbundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board, members of the PSEB Engineers’ Association (PSEBEA) on Friday held a protest in front of the office of the central zone chief engineer on Ferozepur Road.

Earlier, addressing a news conference, PSEBEA president HS Bedi, its secretary Bhupinder Singh and other functionaries of the association said the zonal-level protests would continue till the first week of November. “Thereafter, from November 8 to 13, power engineers all over the state will observe ‘work to rule’, which will be followed by a massive state level protest march”, they added.

"If the government fails to see reason and doesn’t take effective steps to meet our pending demands, the engineers will be forced to resort to a strike," Bedi said.

Charging the management of Punjab State Power Corp Ltd (PSPRC), the company formed after PSEB was disbanded, as well the government with “betraying” the employees and engineers, Bedi said the delay in signing the tripartite agreement to safeguard the service conditions and payscales of employees was “deliberate”.

"Not only this, the government’s assurance to make PSPRC put aside Rs 250 crore in a separate provident fund to ensure pension and other retirement benefits has failed to materialise till now. To add to the uncertainty prevailing over the future of PSPRC employees, funds amounting to Rs 2,000 crore lying in the employees provident fund were utilised by the erstwhile PSEB for capital works," the association functionaries alleged.

Castigating the government policies on the power sector, the engineers were sore over handing over the work of setting up all proposed thermal power stations to private firms. "It’s a short sighted decision that will have serious repercussions in the long run," Bedi remarked

He claimed the government had done a “volte face” at the last moment as it had been decided in principle that the 2,640 MW thermal plant at Gidderbaha would be executed by the state sector provided PSPCL could arrange funding at its own level. "The PSPCL management had secured a nod from Power Finance Corp for funding the proposed thermal project. However, the state government went ahead with signing an MOU in great haste with National Thermal Power Corp without even waiting for the report of the group of ministers, to which the matter had been referred”, he added.

Bedi pointed out when all the new thermal power projects being set up by the private firms in Punjab become operational, the state's share in the total power generation will be reduced to a mere 19 percent. “This could lead to private players dictating the terms and even higher tariffs for consumers, since private firms operate on the principle of earning profits”, he added.

Mullanpur Dakha, October 17
A family of Gureh village has donated a fully-equipped ambulance in the memory of their forefathers.

The management of the Bhai Gurdas Sewa Society, Adda Chaukimaan, will maintain the ambulance. The ambulance was presented by the family members led by NRI Gurmel Singh Gureh to SSP Ludhiana (rural) Gursharan Singh Sandhu at a function organised at the village recently.

Emphasising the need for ambulance, speakers, including Sandhu, patron Baba Bhan Singh and society president Jagmel Singh said a lot of lives could be saved if timely help reached accident victims.

The speakers appreciated the role of the family in initiating development activity in the village.

Ludhiana, October 17
Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, skaters stole the show, bagging 16 gold and 28 silver/bronze medals, in the XIII District Open Roller Skating Championship that concluded at the skating rink in Sarabha Nagar today.

The two-day championship saw participation of over 120 boys and girls from various schools.

The players in under-six, 6-8, 8-10, 10-12, 12-14, 14-16 and 16 and above categories competed in quard and inline events both in the rink and on the road.

Students of Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar, bagged 12 gold medals and 32 silver/bronze medals to finish second in the competition.

Participants from DPS, Sat Paul Mittal, Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, BRS Nagar, DAV Public School, Guru Nanak International Public School, Kundan Vidya Mandir, BCM Arya Senior Secondary School, BVM School also bagged prizes.

Results: Quard (10-12 girls): 1 Anjleen Kaur, 2 Jasleen Kaur, 3 Prasha Seth.

Quard (8-10 boys): 1 Utkarsh, 2 Gurbir Singh, 3 Sankalp Sharma.

Quard (12-14 boys): 1 Kushagra 2 Lovepreet, 3 Gurkirat.

Quard (12-14 girls): 1 Gurman Kaur Pannu, 2 Simran Sidhu, 3 Japmehar.