Ludhiana, December 13
Despite their tall claims to the contrary municipal corporation officials have not bothered to stop wasting taxpayers’ money.

A glaring example is that the civic body has not appointed even a single official to monitor developmental projects costing Rs 1 crore in five city wards after junior officers went on leave.

The matter was raised by councillors Rakesh Prashar, Sanjay Talwar, Ashok Bagga and BJP leader Om Prakash Ratra with MC commissioner AK Sinha on Monday.

They alleged MC officials were not taking interest in executing public projects effectively as a due to which the quality of work suffered, resulting in drain of public funds.

“This situation prevails in five wards of the city - numbers 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39, in which work worth more than Rs 1 crore are going on but there is no one to monitor it”, they added.

The councillors told Sinha despite of the fact that the work has been going ion all of these wards but without caring for it the subdivisional officer and the junior engineer supervising the work have been sanctioned long leave by senior officials which is not in the interest of the people.

“At the ground level only officials of the MC’s building & roads branch have to monitor the quality of work and if they are on long leave then how would the developmental works in the city go on.

Due to the absence of the proper monitoring already the work of the civic body is being affected”, the councilors stated.

Demanding immediate action, they urged the commissioner to issue appropriate instructions to the civic officials concerned.

Responding promptly, Sinha asked joint commissioner MS Jaggi who is in charge of the building & roads branch to look into the matter.

Ludhiana, December 13
The court of Additional Sessions Judge Manjinder Singh has convicted six members of a family in a dowry death case and ordered them to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years each.

Those convicted are Sulesh Jain (husband; Gokal road), Ram Parkash Jain (father-in-law), Satya Jain (mother-in-law), Mahesh Kumar Jain(brother-in-law, CRPF Colony, Dugri), Sharda Singla (sister-in-law) and her husband Tarun Singla (Patel Nagar).

Sapna Gupta, wife of prime accused Sulesh Jain, had committed suicide by consuming insecticide. She had left a suicide note levelling allegation of maltreatment and harassment against all the accused.

A case under Sections 304-B and 34, IPC, was registered on February 3, 2004, following the complaint of Harsh Gupta, brother of the deceased.

He told the police that his sister married Sulesh in 1998 and was forced to live separately on rent after being constantly harassed for dowry.

On February 1, 2004, he spoke to his sister on phone and she told him that she was being harassed by her in-laws. When he tried to contact her the next day, it yielded no result. He then sent his brother-in-law, Sanju, to look her up, but the door was locked from inside.

On coming to know of it, he along with the other family members went there and entered the room by breaking the window. The body of the victim was lying on the bed.

She left a note saying that the maltreatment started after the interference of Tarun Singla, a bank employee. She also said her husband had taken away 30 tolas of gold from her. He was also pressuring her to take a heavy loan and she was under stress.

The prosecution examined nine witnesses to prove its case. However, the accused pleaded innocence. 

Ludhiana, December 13
The authorities of Northern Railway seem to have virtually washed their hands off from the huge backlog of hosiery goods booked through railways for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and several North-Eastern states even as the peak winter season is on, and in another few weeks time, there would be no takers for heavy woollen garments.

Peeved over the parcels from the railway station moving out at a snail’s pace, the manufacturers and traders of hosiery goods and knitwear have been impressing upon the railway authorities to make additional wagons available for early clearance of piled up parcels, without much response so far.

Desperate to make sure that their goods reached the destinations without any further delay, the affected manufacturers and traders are either seeking the help of lease holders of railway wagons, which obviously cost them a bit more, or else sending their packages to certain originating points of the trains on which the goods are intended to be booked.

Sources at the railway parcel office confirmed that a large number of local hosiery manufacturers and traders were sending their goods to stations like Amritsar, Jammu and Ferozepur, depending on the destination of the goods.

“The parcel vans in most of the trains are already full when UP and Bihar-bound trains arrive here and the wagons can hardly take any more parcels with the result that backlog keeps increasing,” sources said.

Railway officials admitted that divisional-level authorities had failed to make timely and adequate arrangements for speedy clearance of seasonal increase in traffic of hosiery goods. However, they claimed that for the past few days, one additional parcel van, at an average, was being made available. “As on date, some 1,000 parcels are pending for despatch to various destinations and booking till November 30 has been cleared,” they added.

But with 1,000 to 1,200 parcels of hosiery goods still being booked at the railway station here every day, the suppliers do not feel very optimistic as things stand now.

“The assurance of railway officials to clear the backlog in the next few days does not appear realistic as the backlog has been steadily increasing with each passing day. And if it takes couple of more weeks for the hosiery garments to reach their destinations, the peak purchasing period will be over by that time, the goods will be stuck with the dealers and our payments will also be delayed,” rued Rajinder Jain, a hosiery manufacturer.

Ludhiana, December 13
In what seems like a lesson from the past, a number of city schools are mulling over cancellation of the 12-day annual winter break for their students. This, say school authorities, would serve the pupils good in case, like previous years, schools have to be shut down owing to severe weather conditions in mid January.

However, sources revealed that discussions in this regard were still in the nascent stage and nothing had been finalised yet.

Requesting anonymity, a local school head, said, “Some schools in parts of Punjab and Haryana have decided to cancel the winter vacations keeping in view the previous years’ experience when schools were closed for over 10 days in January owing to harsh winter conditions.”

She went on to add, “Last year, the schools remained closed for a good 12 to14 days after the winter break due to fog and dipping temperatures, causing a major setback to studies.”

Refusing to take a chance this year, the school head conceded that she had decided to consider cancellation of the winter break to enable teachers to complete syllabi of various classes.

Another school principal remarked, “December conditions are generally bearable but January has repeatedly proved to be harsher which is why schools are directed to shut down for few days till temperatures get better. I think it is better to cancel the winter break in December because anyway, thick fog will force us to close down operations in mid January.”

Most school heads agreed that there should be no winter break for higher classes at least.

Teachers, too, are happy with the proposal, which will save them last-minute rush to complete the course.

Students, however, seem to be disappointed about the idea of losing their “much-deserved” winter break followed by the extended “harsh winter” holidays.

“Christmas and New Year’s are such fun occasions and definitely call for holidays. Cancellation of winter break is unjustified,” rued Viraaj Syal, a class VII student.

Another one added, “Every year, I pray to God for thick fog for at least a few days so that my school calls for special “winter” holidays after the break is over. But seems like the school does not want to give us some more days of fun.”

Ludhiana, December 13
There was high drama at a function held in the city today by the district chapter of the Indian Medical Association when physicians supporting rival groups, which are contesting the upcoming IMA elections, exchanged allegations and even hurled abusive language at each other.

Some doctors standing for “coveted” posts in the association called the function a violation of the "election code of conduct" as the current district IMA executive had organized the event in collaboration with its chief election commissioner, Dr Iqbal Ahuja.

The irony in the situation was not to be missed. Doctors from all over the city had gathered to celebrate the “achievements” of the Ludhiana IMA, which has been adjudged as the "best IMA branch" in Punjab.

The trouble began when Ahuja’s name was announced. He was conferred with the "lifetime achievement award" by Punjab IMA yesterday at a function in Kapurthala.

Dr Manoj Sobti, a neurosurgeon from the city interrupted the proceeding stating that he too was honoured in the same function for having been awarded by the state for "service to the mankind" but the IMA executive chose to ignore his name.

Sobti also complained though he was the serving secretary of the state IMA but he was referred to as the “former district president of the IMA”.

Thereafter, a doctor raised objection to Dr Narottam Dewan (the present IMA president) addressing the media persons and giving a detailed account of their executive's achievements adding, "He is heading a group and is listing achievements so as to formulate the opinion of voters."

Visibly embarrassed, a senior doctor from the city said, “I was shocked to see my colleagues stooping so low as doctors are considered to be the most civilized and tolerant of all the professionals but such behaviour brings shame to the whole community."

The group headed by Dewan consists of Dr Hardeep Singh, president elect Dr Satish Nauhria, Dr SC Garg, Dr RP Singh and Dr Satish Ohri, all of whom are contesting the district IMA elections.

The rival group includes Dr Kulwant Singh, Dr DP Singh Arora, Dr Raj Kumar Sharma, Dr Balwant Singh Hunjan, Dr Karanvir Goel, Dr Narjit Kaur and Dr Ashish Saxena.

Meanwhile, Ahuja said, “The reaction of some doctors was just a misunderstanding that had been taken care of. It was a function to celebrate the achievements of the IMA and doctors”.

Ludhiana, December 13
A meeting called up by the Municipal Corporation (MC) authorities to mull strict action against the illegal religious hoardings remained inconclusive.

A high-level meeting for discussing the issue of religious hoardings was held at the office of the MC Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura in which Additional Commissioner Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar, who is the in charge of the advertising branch, also took part. According to the sources discussing the issue, the Mayor raised concerns over the increasing illegal hoardings in the city which was defacing the city adding that even the mushrooming up of the religious hoardings also needed to be checked. In the meeting, the Mayor also asked the officers of the civic body to suggest appropriate action by which the religious hoardings could be checked, added the sources.

The sources said that though the Mayor asked the officers to ensure action against illegal hoardings but Brar clearly told him that for the effective continuation of drive against the illegal hoardings,interference of the politicians and other affluent persons should be minimised. She also told the Mayor that they were ready to start the drive against illegal hoardings, especially the religious ones but for that no pick and choose policy should be adopted, added the sources. The sources said that she asserted that for religious hoardings the MC too must come up with some concrete policy.

The sources further asserted that as the top brass had failed to take any decision regarding the strategy to be adopted against illegal hoardings so the meeting was over without any concrete decision. 

Ludhiana, December 13
The issuance of notices by the Municipal Corporation (MC) on roads and bypass, in compliance with the orders of the Punjab and Haryana Court to implement the PUDA Act, has unsettled councillors. Fearing that they may lose their vote bank, they have requested the top brass of the civic body to reconsider the matter.

The building branch of the MC issued the notices in zone A on Friday and Saturday. Keeping in view the elections ahead, councillors of the ruling SAD apprehend that the move would have a negative impact on the electorate.

Councillors Ranjit Singh Dhillon, Ajit Singh Dhillon and Jasbeer Singh Beera met Mayor Hakam Singh Giapsura today to discuss the matter.

The Mayor asked them to accompany him to the office of the MC Commissioner, AK Sinha. They asked the Commissioner to reconsider the matter as it would result in “losing” several buildings in the city. They said if the PUDA Act was implemented, a large number of people would be rendered homeless.

Sources, however, revealed that the Commissioner told the delegation that since the orders were from the High Court, there was no scope for reconsideration and a policy regarding it could be made only at the state level.

The Mayor confirmed that they had met the Commissioner to discuss the issue. “But we are helpless as the matter pertains to the entire state,” he said.

Ludhiana, December 13
A speeding SUV Endeavor rammed into a parked Zen car outside College of Basic Sciences at the campus of Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) this morning. After hitting the car the SUV rammed into the college building. However, no casualty was reported.

Paramjit Singh, ASI, PAU police station, told The Tribune that the SUV was being driven by a resident of Model Town Extension. “The driver was reportedly drunk. He has been sent for medical examination at the Civil Hospital and the report is awaited. The case will be registered once we get the medical report,” said Paramjit Singh.

The faculty, staff and students, however, expressed shock over the incident. Senior vice-president of the PAU Employees Union Lakhwinder Singh Sandhu, who was an eye-witness, reportedly caught the driver on the spot and said the speed of the vehicle was more than 100 km per hour.

“By the grace of God, the SUV rammed into the car first, otherwise many employees and students could have lost their lives. We caught hold of the person driving the vehicle. He was under the influence of alcohol. The owner of the vehicle reached the spot and informed that the accused was his driver. He also said the driver was washing the vehicle and he had no clue how he reached at the campus,” said Sandhu, further adding that the person driving the vehicle was wearing a suit and a neck-tie. “He certainly did not look like a driver,” he said.

Sandhu also pointed a finger at the security lapse. He said, “The security persons check the employees and students thoroughly at all gates. But the SUV had a hooter, which means it belonged to some VIP.

How could security persons allow someone entering campus like this? The lapse needs to be checked for safety and security of thousands of employees and students,” said Sandhu.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 13
Bus conductors providing psychotropic substances to passengers under the guise of returning them change against ticket fares has now become a common occurrence on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla route. The conductors do not appear to hesitate in handing over painkiller tablets and other mind altering drugs to passengers - young and old - on board buses.

Inferior quality candies, plastic goods and ballpoint pens are among the items being sold by unauthorized conductors in both privately and government run buses.

The monetary loss incurred by passengers is in addition to the extra money they have to shell out on account of buses not completing the journey for which they have purchased tickets.

Admitting bus conductors’ tendency to return change for the money tendered for fare in the form of items of daily use, district transport department officials claimed conductors had been directed to keep sufficient coins and currency bills of all denominations.

“Only one conductor in proper uniform is allowed to sell tickets in each bus”, the officials stated, responding to passengers’ allegations of unauthorized conductors creating a nuisance in buses. Investigations revealed travelling by bus on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla road had turned into a nightmare for passengers, especially those who began or ended their journey at the Ahmedgarh bus stop. Besides paying extra money for broken journey due to non-reaching of long route buses at local bus stop, the passengers were forced to accept poor quality goods in lieu of balance up to Rs 10.

To add insult to injury some bus conductors do not hesitate in handing over odd items, which include even prohibited and “scheduled” drugs like painkillers and cough syrup bottles to passengers. Any resistance by the latter is quelled by those accompanying the conductors.

Citing a number of examples, Ravinder Sharma alleged some “goons” accompanying the conductor of a PRTC bus (registration No: PB19 F0309) warned him of dire consequences when he refused to accept painkiller tablets in lieu of change of Rs 4 while travelling from Dehlon to another town. “I along with other passengers had to pay an extra amount to reach Ahmedgarh as the bus did not go there”, he added. In a similar case though transport officials had asked the owner of a bus service to sack an erring driver in a similar case besides slapping a Rs 500 on him, the violations continue unchecked.

Acting on a complaint filed by a “social activist” of Chhapar village, Sikandar Singh, senior government officials instructed the Ludhiana district transport office to ensure all bus operators complied with the regulations stipulated in their route permits. However, no action was ever taken against those flouting the norms.

Ludhiana, December 13
“Rural Punjab reports a very high incidence of diabetes, high-blood cholesterol level and obesity. These, in turn, manifest as cardiac problems”. Dr Harinder Singh Bedi, head of cardio vascular and thoracic surgery at the Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, made the above observations at the free cardio-vascular counselling, detection and prevention camp.

The camp was jointly organised by the Christian Medical College and Hospital and the Mata Kaushalya Devi Pahwa Charitable Hospital in Hambran village.

A very high incidence of heart and vascular disease was noted in this rural area to which Bedi said " about 35 per cent of the heart patients from villages need to undergo surgery . The camp was held to try and look at the reasons for this apparent discrepancy," said Bedi.

Though it is true that villages have a non-polluted environment and the pace of life is generally relaxed but at the same time there has been a gradual change in lifestyle.

The hard manual labour is now being done mostly by migrant workers while the cholesterol rich diet remains as before. Consequently, the body is unable to metabolise all the calories consumed leading to deposits in the arteries. Also urbanisation of rural areas is taking place, and so the urban-rural difference is decreasing and more and more rural people are getting this disease, observed Bedi.

India in 2010 accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the global heart ailments as per WHO statistics. It is also seen that Indians have heart problems at younger age with smaller coronary arteries; diffuse distal disease, multi-vessel disease and higher incidence in women. This could be due to the rising incidence of drug addiction among rural youth.

The analytical study during the camp revealed that people with heart disease in rural Punjab received slower care than people in the cities and were more likely to die before reaching a hospital. Heart attack rural patients head to hospitals in buses or tractors rather than ambulances, and pay for the treatment out of their own pockets because of ignorance regarding the health insurance.

Bedi stressed on the benefits of addressing the root cause of heart disease in Punjab. Punjabi diet is very rich compared to that of the population living in the southern part of the country. It is for this reason that we are witnessing people at young age getting heart attacks, the expert said.

Eat less fried food, less butter and ghee. Exercise daily for around 45 minutes and reduce stress in life, suggested the cardiac surgeon.

The team included Dr A Gupta, Dr Prashant, Dr Meenu, Dietitians D Dhillon and Nitya, Yoga Acharya Nirmal Singh, staff nurses headed by sister Balwinder Kaur, Emmanuel and William.

Dr Abraham G Thomas, director of CMC and Hospital said that the outreach programmes were an integral and important part of the basic philosophy of CMC so that medical care could reach one and all in this region. 

Ludhiana, December 13
Bachelal (30) from Ludhiana and Sheetal Singh (41) from Jalandhar having lived with the social stigma attached to leprosy for years were oozing with newfound confidence after undergoing "reconstructive limb surgery" at Lord Mahavira civil hospital.

The surgeries were performed by the expert plastic surgeons from Mumbai, a special project undertaken by the district health authorities under the aegis of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Having studied till class VIII, Bachelal gave up his education as he suffered from leprosy that gradually resulted in deformation of his hands.

"It had become difficult for me to live a normal life with the deformity as people look down upon leprosy patients even today. But having undergone this reconstructive surgery today I am looking forward to a new life, " shared Bachelal.

Revealed, Sheetal Singh, the vegetable vendor from Jalandhar that it was like living with the lost prestige after his hands were deformed. "The surgery is a boon for me and my family as it will reshape my hands," said Sheetal.

As many as 38 leprosy patients had come from various parts of Punjab out of which 21 were selected for "reconstructive surgery".

The team of experts from Mumbai include Dr Rajat Kapoor, Dr Deepak and the noted plastic surgeon Dr Atul Shah.

Leprosy officer Dr Sangeeta Singh further stated that all 20 patients chosen for the surgery were between the age of 15-65 years. "There are six females and 14 males who are being paid Rs 5,000 each as a compensation for their occupational loss," said Sangeeta Singh.

Dr Yashpal Mehta, the officiating civil surgeon, said," The amount of Rs 3,000 will be given to every patient on the day of his/her discharge followed by Rs 1,000 on their first and second follow up, scheduled after four weeks and three months respectively," said Mehta.

NGO Samvedna has sponsored the food, and boarding for the leprosy patients and their attendants. 

Ludhiana, December 13
Members of the Loco Running Staff and Guards council staged a dharna at the office of the Assistant Labour Commissioner here today against what they described as gross injustice inflicted on them by the 6th Pay Commission.

Trade union leaders said assistant loco pilots were granted a grade pay scale of ` 1,900 as against ` 2,800, which they should have been allowed as per their qualification and working conditions. Calling for the removal of anomalies, they demanded a grade pay of ` 2,800 for assistant loco pilot, ` 4,600 for loco pilot (goods), ` 4,800 for loco pilot (passenger) and ` 5,400 for loco pilot (mail/express).

They urged the railway ministry, through the labour office, to enhance kilometre allowance from ` 170 to ` 320 and fixation of duty hours for a maximum of eight hours everyday. The divisional secretary of the Northern Railway Mazdoor Union, Daljit Singh, expressing solidarity with the agitating employees, criticised the policies of privatisation being followed by the railway board.

LUDHIANA: The Founder’s Day of Everest Public Senior Secondary School was held here on Monday on the school premises. Tributes were paid to Dina Nath Sharma, founder of the Everest Group of Institutes. Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura inaugurated the function. He said the group was spreading education with the sole mission of enlightening the poor and backward class students with the torch of knowledge.

Bikramjit Singh Khalsa, chief parliamentary secretary, inaugurated the main gate constructed at Hari Om Mandir, Moti Nagar, in the memory of Punna Devi, wife of Dina Nath Sharma.

Others present on the occasion were professor Harlal Singh, former director, Punjab School Education Board, Sunita Aggarwal, Deputy Mayor, Ludhiana, and Varsha Rampal, councillor.

An inter-school declamation contest was also organised. Students of various city schools participated in the contest and spoke on various topics, including ‘Budape ki dasha’, ‘Dulha to hoga par dulhan nahi’, ‘Ajoki nami peedi kidar nu’, and ‘Badal rahia kadran keemata’. Judges on this occasion were: national awardee Ranjit Singh, state awardee Dr Babita Jain, and Rajni Bala.

Rajinder Sharma, president of the Association of PSEB Affiliated Schools, Punjab, welcomed the distinguished guests and principals of various schools. Encouraging the students, he told them to cultivate the sprit of leadership and learn the art of elocution.

Ludhiana, December 13
Seminar on taxation on real estate transactions under the Income Tax Act and legal issues on transfer of immovable properties and public awareness programme on environmental issues was organised by the Ludhiana branch of the NIRC of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

Kuldip Singh, Commissioner of Income Tax -II, Ludhiana, was the chief guest on this occasion.

The programme commenced with the welcome address by Ludhiana branch of chartered accountants chairman Hukminder Sahi. He welcomed the dignitaries and the audience and said the branch had been proactively organising various programmes for its members.

“We regularly involve our families in the affairs of the branch so as to collectively take the branch to new heights to make people aware about the need to save planet Earth from global warming,” Sahi said.

After that eminent speaker Sunil Arora from New Delhi deliberated on the topic “Taxation on real estate transactions under Income Tax Act” in detail. He also responded to the queries of the members.

Another speaker, Anil Aggarwal from New Delhi, explained the “Legal issues on transfer of immovable properties”. He said the government should liberalise the law relative to transfer of properties.

In the evening, public awareness programme on environmental issues was organised for members and their families. Swarndeep Singh from Inspirators International educated the audience about the environmental issues in India, including various natural hazards, particularly cyclones and annual monsoon floods, population growth, increasing individual consumption, industrialisation, infrastructural development and poor agricultural practices, which have affected India’s natural environment.

Ludhiana, December 13
The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in collaboration with Syngenta India organised the training programme on herbicide application techniques for Punjab at Majri (Samrala) village.

The training involved the participation of more than 200 dealers, village schoolchildren, farmers and scientists from Krishi Vigyan Kendras and agricultural department officials. In order to hone the skills of participants, Dr Surjeet Singh, professor of agronomy, PAU, explained them about the usage of recommended herbicides with proper nozzles and gave special presentations on application techniques.

Live spray demonstration with different spray equipment and nozzles was also given. The PAU experts advised the farmers to use right method for herbicides application on wheat in the coming days to avoid wasteful spray and adopt time management method.

Dr Jagraj Singh, deputy director, KVK, Samrala, informed the trainees about the training schedule planned to be organised by KVK. Dr Jagdev Singh Kular and Jagrup Kaur educated the farmers about integrated pest management on different crops and the seed production technology of crops.

Pritpal Sidhu, Regional Manager, highlighted the contribution of Syngenta for Indian growers for productivity enhancement through new technology disseminated by Syngenta. Free nozzles for proper spray were distributed among the farmers. Malwinder Singh Malhi gave safety message to growers and told them about the use of gloves and protective clothing.

Ludhiana, December 13
For the benefit of public in large and their awareness, Allahabad Bank organised a road show here yesterday with the auspices of its BRS Nagar, Ludhiana branch. Staff member of all local branches and zonal office actively participated.

During the road show bank officials disseminated benefits of various attractive deposit schemes and products, particularly recently launched 300 days term deposit, carrying 8 per cent interest (8.50 per cent for senior citizens), and facilities being offered by the bank at competitive rates.

Further advantage and concessions interest rate and other charges for availing loan under various retail credit schemes during the ongoing festive, bonanza to be concluded on December 31, was also briefed.

Ludhiana, December 13
The police had to resort to a mild lathicharge to disperse the crowd near Mela Ground, PAU, last night after fans of Katrina Kaif and Akshay Kumar were denied entry as the venue was packed to capacity.

Angry fans broke windowpanes of the offices of the Vice-Chancellor and the Estate Officer. Plants were also pulled out by the agitated crowd. Eyewitnesses said there was no proper security arrangement at the venue and people were pushing one another to have a glimpse of the actors.

Manu Kumar, a college student, said he had a pass, but as he reached late, he was denied entry. “It is embarrassing. I had a pass in my hand, but I was not allowed entry. There was no proper seating arrangement. After arguing with security personnel for over 25 minutes, I returned,” he said.

The actors were in the city in connection with the promotion of their upcoming film.

Commenting on the incident, senior faculty members of the university said educational institutes should not be used for such purposes. A faculty member, on the condition of anonymity, disclosed: “The PAU only provided its premises. We were not the organisers. Still, fans destroyed university’s property. The campus should be used for educational purposes. The PAU should have declined to hold the promotional film event.”

Ludhiana, December 13
Yashi and her elder sister, Dhriti, both students of Alpine International Public School, hogged the limelight, clinching three and two titles, respectively, in the Ludhiana District Table Tennis Tournament that concluded on the Punjab Agricultural University campus here yesterday.

After wrapping up titles in the cadets and sub-junior girl’s sections, Yashi went on to clinch the title in the junior girl’s section also.

In the final, Yashi overpowered her sister to bag the top honours. She won the first set 11-5, but was made to fight for each point in the next one which she eventually won 11-9. In the third set, Dhriti gave Yashi many anxious moments before going down 12-14 that cost her the match.

However, in the women’s final, Dhriti avenged her defeat as she tamed Yashi in four sets to lift the title. Dhriti won 11-8, 12-14, 11-7 and 11-9.

In the junior boy’s final, Shubham Grover fought tooth and nail against Sandeep Singh whom he edged out 11-9, 14-12, 7-11, 11-13 and 11-8 and fetched the title.

In the men’s singles, Manpreet outplayed Bhavuk 11-8, 11-7 and 11-5 to win the title.

SSP Vigilance SS Mand distributed the prizes. The Ludhiana District Table Tennis Association honoured upcoming paddlers on the occasion, including Yashi, Dhriti, Jashandeep, Harnoor and Shung Ming who represented the state in the national championships in 2009 and 2010.

Ludhiana, December 13
Navneet Kaur (u-14) of Panj Garian sports wing, Kulbir Kaur (u-17) of Gurdaspur and Suman (u-19) also of Gurdaspur won 100-m sprint in their respective age groups to emerge as the fastest runners on the third day of the 56th Punjab State Schools Athletics Meet-2010 being organised by the Punjab Education Department at Guru nanak Stadium, here today.

In the boys’ u-17 years section, Sewa Singh of the Panj Garain Sports Wing outpaced his rivals to romp home winner in the 100-m race and was adjudged the fastest runner.

In discus throw (boys u-19), Gurmeet Singh of Jalandhar proved too good for his opponents and won the gold medal. The second and third positions were bagged by Harpreet Singh of Ludhiana and Manpreet Singh of Bathinda, respectively.

Results

1500-m race (boys u-19):1 Sukhjeet Singh of Gurdaspur, 2 Gurjinder Singh of Mansa and 3 Gur Lal Singh of Patiala.

800-m race (boys u-17): 1 Dharminder Kumar ofr Ludhiana, 2 Loveinder Singh of Gurdaspur and 3 Harpreet Singh of Jalandhar.

300-m race (girls (u-19): 1 Sharanjeet Singh of Gurdaspur, 2 Bhupinder Singh of Sangrur and 3 Bhavneet Singh of Patiala.

800-m race (boys u-19): 1 Gurjot Singh of Jalandhar, 2 Harpreet Singh of Gurdaspur and 3 Manpreet Singh of Bathidna.

800-m race (girls u-17): 1 Kujeet Kaur of Kairon wing, 2 Prerna of Patiala and 3 Navjot Kaur of Kairon wing.

Long jump (boys u-14): 1 Ranjit Singh of Faridkot, 2 Rishi Sahni of Bathinda and 3 Manpreet Singh of Tarn Taran.

5000-m race (girls u-19): 1 Jaspreet Kaur of Ludhiana, 2 Paramjeet Kaur of Sangrur and 3 Amandeep Kaur of Hoshiarpur.

100-m race (girls u-14): 1 Navneet Kaur of Panj Garian sports wing, 2 Sunit aDevi of Rup Nagar and 3 Manpreet Kaur of Jalandhar.

100-m race (girls u-17): 1 Kulbir Kaur of Gurdaspur, 2 Rajpreet Kaur of Mansa and 3 Khushpreet Kaur of Kairon wing.

100-m race (boys u-17): 1 Sewa Singh of Panj Garaian sports wing, 2 Gurbux Singh of Ludhiana and 3 Mukhtiar Singh of Amritsar.

100-m race (girls u-19): 1 Suman of Gurdaspur, 2 Manpreet Kaur of Kairon wing and 3 Rajinder Kaur of Jalandhar.