Ludhiana, March 26
With the city expected to witness an almost complete shutdown next Wednesday, residents are ready to pay any amount to get their hands on a ticket for the crucial India-Pakistan cricket encounter scheduled to be held in Mohali. Black marketers are raking in moolah by jacking the price of tickets, whose unavailability has put officials wielding power in the World Cup matches in a spot.

A senior member of the Ludhiana District Cricket Association had to switch off his cellphone after he received hundreds of calls asking him to arrange match tickets.

"From where can I get the tickets? Soon after India beat Australia in the World Cup quarterfinals last Thursday I began receiving calls from anxious friends asking me to come up with tickets for the India-Pakistan semifinal in Mohali. Soon politicians and highly placed bureaucrats asked for tickets. I finally decided to switch off my phone as I was in no position to arrangeso many tickets and I didn’t want to spoil my relations with any one of them," he said.

Some tried their luck by going all the way to Mohali to buy tickets for the match but with no success. "The two ticket counters at the stadium were closed even though people had lined up outside. Black-marketers were also making a fast buck by selling tickets for ten times their actual prices. A ticket costing Rs 1,000 was being sold for Rs 2,500. Eventually I had to return empty handed," said Sunny, who deals in mobiles phones.

On the other hand some local industrialists were ready to pay any price to get hold of a ticket. Honey Singhal, a plastic tape manufacturer, said he was willing to shell out a handsome amount of money for securing a ticket. "It would be better to watch the cricket match in the stadium along with my family instead of idling away time at home as my workers have already taken a holiday on March 30," he added.

Ludhiana, March 26
Security has been put on high alert in the wake of the Indo-Pak World Cup match to be held in Mohali on March 30.The government railway police (GRP), CIA and other investigation agencies carried out a surprise search operation at the railway station at midnight yesterday.

The search, which began at 12.30 am, continued till the wee hours. Though the DSP, NPS Chhina, who was leading the team, termed it as a routine check, sources confirmed that the intensive operation was conducted following intelligence alert.

Security was beefed up at the railway station following reports that many fans from Pakistani were expected to take the rail route to reach Mohali via Ambala for the all semifinal clash.

The police checked the luggage of passengers, besides conducting a check at tea stalls. Later, the police party inspected the parking area and impounded nearly 20 unclaimed vehicles.

“The check was mainly conducted to keep a tab on the increasing strikes by the Jaherkhurani gang. Also, we are cracking a whip on people who are indulging in the illegal trade of goods lifting. Earlier, we used to conduct the search during the day, but this time we decided to do so at night,” the DSP stated.

Asked if the search had anything to do with the impending India-Pakistan encounter, he said: “Surprise searches usually coincide with big events. We had conducted a massive operation on January 26. The India-Pakistan match was also a reason behind the search.”

The government railway police conducted a search in the Golden Temple Mail. The frisking came as a surprise for many passengers who were fast asleep and were told to wake up and show their luggage for inspection.

Ludhianavis are not overly anxious about the India-Pakistan semifinal match. They are certain of India’s win. Some of them wanted to catch the action live in Mohali, but were disappointed at the exorbitant prices at which tickets are being sold. Tribune correspondent Anil Kumar interacted with some cricket buffs to know what were their expectations from Team India in the crucial match against Pakistan.

Ludhiana, March 26
The mounting excitement and hysteria over the World Cup cricket semifinal match between India and Pakistan scheduled to be held next Wednesday in Mohali has consumed city residents and housewives are no exception. Their patriotic fervour appears to be suddenly running high and they have requested family members not to “disturb” them during the entire match.

The Ludhiana Tribune spoke to some of the housewives who said they were eagerly waiting for March 30 to see the battle between "traditional rivals" and India winning over their archrival.

Ritu Dhanda, a homemaker, who has just returned from Lahore, Pakistan where she had gone in connection with an exhibition, said: "The day when India beat Australia I was in Pakistan and my friends there had hoped India would win that crucial match. They wanted the semifinal match to be played between India and Pakistan. They not just congratulated me but wished me luck for the March 30 match. At the same time they claimed their cricketers would win over the Indians. We’ve all kept our fingers crossed. If India wins I owe them (Pakistani friends) a party on my next visit to their country", said Dhanda.

Another homemaker, Kajal Beri, said the match between India and Pakistan was an eagerly awaited event. "When India plays Sri Lanka, Australia or England I’m not much bothered. But when it’s with Pakistan the patriotic feeling just comes out automatically. I wish the Indian players just concentrate on the game and win over their archrivals. Our prayers are with them (Indians). The match becomes all the more special as it’s being played in Punjab", she added.

Coming out of the shadow of "traditional wives", homemakers are more active in surfing the Net or watching TV. Sudha Kochhar, a middle-aged housewife, said she had no knowledge how this "crazy" game was played but she enjoyed every moment of it as her husband and sons "screamed" throughout the game while watching TV.

“These days discussions on strategies to be adopted by the Indian cricket squad have already begun in homes throughout the city. I feel proud to see the patriotic fervour among the younger generation. I’ve been asked to pray for the Indian team. My family believes India always wins if I watch the entire match with my family. In the event it wins I’ll be richer by Rs 10,000 that my family members have promised to give me ", said another excited housewife.

Meanwhile, people have already begun talking about parties in case India beats Pakistan. "I owe throwing a lavish party to my husband's friends and their wives if India wins next Wednesday. We’re expecting the Pakistani prime minister and other dignitaries to see the match in Mohali. This is undoubtedly a prestige issue for Indians - winning over Pakistanis. In fact, for us it’s the final match of the 2011 World Cup", said Vasundhra, a newly married girl.

Ludhiana, March 26
Member of Parliament (MP) Manish Tewari, chairman of the district vigilance and monitoring committee, came down heavily on the department of health and family welfare for the continual absence of the Ludhiana Civil Surgeon from committee meetings.

He asked district family welfare officer (DFWO) Dr Sanjeev Hans (the official representative of the health department) to convey his displeasure to the Civil Surgeon, Dr Satwant Bhalla.

“This is the third consecutive absence of the Civil Surgeon from the meeting of the district vigilance and monitoring committee meeting which amounts to violation of official protocol. We will write to the Punjab Chief Secretary to delete the Civil Surgeon’s name from the list of members of the committee,” Tewari said.

The MP categorically said the committee did not need the health department’s representation if the Civil Surgeon failed to appear in person in the next meeting.

Not in a mood to let go of thorny issues pertaining to fund utilisation, the chairman made a crisp query on the “social audit” of various beneficiary schemes undertaken by the union government as was promised by Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tewari in the last committee meeting.

ADC (D) Pradeep Aggarwal said in answer to the expression of interest, four students from the anthropology department of Patiala University and three NGOs had come forward and were already working on the project.

Raman Subramanyam, a committee member, asked the ADC (D) for a report on the controversy over the gram rozgar sewaks, to which the official said a show-cause notice had already been served on 10 gram sewaks. He said their contracts would not be renewed.

The DC, giving details of the NREGA scheme, stated that it had become a vicious cycle as able-bodied persons were not coming forward and the women who were working were unable to do the required work and were paid less. 

Ludhiana, March 26
After maintaining silence over the “bifurcation” move initiated by the state government and the Punjab Agriculture University’s reaction over it, authorities of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) broke their silence and said today that PAU alumni/ union/PAUTA gave an impression as if the vet university had “an eye” over a piece of land owned by the PAU.

Authorities and the board of management of GADVASU said, “The university doesn’t want an inch of the land owned by the PAU. The former’s demand that consolidation of existing land be given to GADVASU as mentioned in The GADVASU Act 2005, instead, was justified.”

Dr KS Sandhu, DSW-cum-Estate Officer, GADVASU, said it would be beneficial for both universities to plan their future growth and demarcate the piece of land.

“We are getting some funds from the state government and the ICAR for hostels construction and we are prepared to leave our hostels for the PAU. In return, we will only demand that piece of land to be given to the PAU. It is important for any university to have different buildings and lands adjacent to each other with boundaries well demarcated. Presently, all buildings and hostels are intermingled with each other and it is not possible to demarcate from where one university is starting and other ending,” said Dr Sandhu.

He added the GADVASU authorities tried to resolve the problem through negotiations with PAU authorities but when nothing came out of it, the university requested the state government to intervene only for consolidation and not for getting an additional piece of land.

“An attempt will be made to arrive at a solution which is acceptable to all, otherwise present system will continue. It is unfortunate that some elements are giving wrong impression that not an inch of land will be given to GADVASU which was never demanded by us,” said Dr Sandhu.

KS Sidhu, member, Board of Management, PAU, said the university had already established its identity internationally. Now, it was GADVASU’s turn to prove their mettle. “For any growth, expansion is must. And GADVASU is providing options to Punjab farmers to diversify in other fields. It is not a fight between two institutions, it is for growth of both varsities/farming community in the state,” said Sidhu. 

Ludhiana, March 26
Peeved over the apathetic attitude of the Union government towards their demands, the Northern Railway Pensioners Association vehemently criticised the anti-pensioner policies of the UPA in a meeting held here today.In his inaugural address in the 13th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association, Sher Singh, founder of the body, said there was no facility of emergency treatment at any recognised hospital for pensioners.

He also asserted that the department must provide treatment at doorsteps to all pensioners who had crossed the age of 65 years. Another leader of the union SM Sharma raised the issue of office accommodation to the association, which had been rejected by the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM).

He criticised the Railway administration for not replying to correspondence of the association.

Daljit Singh, divisional secretary of the All Indian Railway Men’s Union, who was the chief guest, assured the pensioners that he would take up the issue of allotting the room with the DRM along with the issue of better medical facilities for the aged pensioners.

Ludhiana, March 26
Teachers, who are working as sports instructors at Bhartiya Vidya Mandir (BVM) School, Kitchlu Nagar, are being made regulate vehicles entering the school premises. Unable to say no, these sports instructors are left with no option other obeying the school authorities.

This exposes how private schools in the city have been exploiting well-qualified teachers.

Baljeet Singh Gill, director, school’s sports department, was also found standing near the entry gate and requesting visitors to cooperate with them while parking their vehicles. “We are just taking care of those coming to attend today’s parent-teacher meeting.”

While pointing towards a man, who was directing vehicles outside the entry gate, Gill said: “We have two handball coaches and a hockey coach serving as sports instructors. Sports sessions have been cancelled due to the examination.”

Santosh Mehra, principal, BVM School, said teachers used to tell gatekeepers to work properly. “The sports instructors were at the gate to help parents. They were not appointed to manage the parking lots,” Mehra added.

Ludhiana Tribune approached a few sports instructors working in various private schools to seek their views on this issue. Amardeep Singh, a sports teacher, Guru Nanak Public School, Doraha, while accepting that they were being exploited said all school authorities behave like this with new sports teachers.

“I have in six years of my service come across numerous instances wherein I was told to act like a gatekeeper. I refused to act like one every time. I am a qualified teacher not a gatekeeper,” said Amardeep, a hockey coach and former national level hockey player.

Another sports teacher, Manmohan Singh, who is serving at the Sacred Heart Convent School, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, said private schools try to take full advantage of sports teachers in the name of regulating discipline.

“Fortunately I have not come across any such situation. School authorities exploited one of my friends in this manner. Sports teachers can produce extra ordinary sportspersons. They should be left to do their job,” added Manmohan.

Ludhiana, March 26
The state government will soon be providing the services of radio autorickshaw cabs to city residents.

The government had in November 2010 drafted a policy regarding the introduction of LPG and CNG-run radio autorickshaw cabs in the city, after which a notification was issued recently.

For initiating the cab services in the city, the authorities concerned have invited applications from operators till March 31. Sources in the transport department said there would be a centralised control room for the auto service and the fare would be fixed by the government.

In the initial phase, four operators will be chosen and a minimum of 100 autorickshaws will be introduced in the city.

Harmail Singh, Additional Transport Commissioner of Punjab, said the move would not only help in providing a better public transport system, but also the autos would not cause pollution.

Around 40,000 autorickshaws ply every day in the city. But in the absence of any check, these cause a lot of pollution. The government had proposed to introduce a city bus service, too, but it still has to be launched.

Ludhiana, March 26
The Union Bank of India today unveiled its first solar powered “Voice enabled biometric rural ATM” at Ghawaddi village. The ATM was inaugurated by executive director of the bank SS Mundra and general manager Lalit Sinha.

This ATM is a result of research and development efforts of IIT, Chennai. The ATM works on solar power, has low power consumption of 40-100 W, can work on single phase power connection, has the ability to work without air-conditioning and has support for both biometric and PIN-based transactions.

These features make it an ideal solution for rural environment, where power supply is a critical factor and literacy levels are low.

The biometric ATM developed by the bank will have centralised authentication support. Biometric card holders of the bank will soon be able to use their card the ATMs of other banks.

Ludhiana, March 26
It is raining first for the Sadar police station as soon after becoming the best police station in the country it has added another feather in the cap of the city police by standing first in Asia during the visitor week competition organised last year.

The competition was conducted by Altus Global Alliance, in which 6,000 civilians visited in over 1,100 police station, to assess the services provided by the police.

The commissioner of the police IG Ishwar Singh would receive the honour during a special function to be organised on April 4 in Amritsar.

The police station, which looks more like a theme park, has become a hit among the children. Kindergarten children are being taken to the police station to acquaint them with the working of cops.

A merry-go-round for children, wheelchairs for physically challenged and elderly people, a recreation corner, fully-furnished separate waiting hall for women, LCD screen for recreation and information -- elements that usually make up a theme park or a fairground -- are a part of the police station, marking a difference from the menacing look generally associated with police stations.

Ludhiana, March 26
With no prior information education and communication (IEC) activity in slum areas and the official announcement coming just a day prior to the event, the cancer awareness and screening camp on Cancer Day turned out to be nothing more than a formality.

The health department made the formal announcement about the camp through the office of the district public relation officer (DPRO) on March 25, which appeared in the newspapers today.

With the city having been listed in the top-five districts of the state with high incidence of cancer, raising awareness about the disease, including its screening and treatment, has to be the top priority of the department of health and family welfare.

At the same time, the cancer awareness and screening camp is part of the Rs 20-crore special corpus for cancer patients in the state as was announced by the Punjab finance minister in the recent state budget.

However, Dr LS Chawla, former Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), while referring to the Punjab health ministry’s plan said the need of the hour was to initiate special projects to carry out extensive study in the belts having maximum cancer patients and appoint cancer specialists in government hospitals.

Provision of drugs and chemotherapy at government hospitals would be the right answer to the problem, said Dr Chawla.

Interestingly, leaflets carrying information on cancer were being circulated to patients coming to the hospital only. “I had come here to see a relative admitted to the general ward and learned about the cancer screening camp. Neither was any leaflet distributed in our area nor was there any banner to disseminate information,” said Radha Kumari of Ambedkar Nagar.

Assistant Civil Surgeon Dr Yashpal Mehta said excessive use of alcohol tobacco consumption, injudicious use of pesticides, marriages of minor girls, late marriages followed by late child bearing were the main causes of oral, lung, abdominal, breast and ovarian cancer.

“We have the facility for mammography, Pap smear and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC), which the patients have availed in today’s camp,” he said.

The facility of some tests at Lord Mahavira Civil Hospital followed by free treatment has come as a boon for patients like me. I had tried getting treatment at various places, including PGIMER, Chandigarh, but to no avail. Now, I do not have any money and have come to this camp with the hope of finding treatment to my ailment under the scheme of the state government

— Yashodha, suffering from oral cancer

Ludhiana, March 26
Taking note of widespread irregularities in the ticket reservation counter of the local railway station, the authorities have charge-sheeted two reservation employees after excess cash — Rs 34 and Rs 32, respectively — was recovered from them during a surprise check.

Acting on complaints by passengers that the railway staff at the ticket counters did not give back the balance to them after purchasing tickets, the commercial wing of railway had decided to keep a vigil on its staff around Holi.

A special team comprising ADME (Ferozepur) AS Atwal and Ranjeet Kaur CMY (Phillaur) made a surprise check at the railway station on March 20. During the checking, the officials found excess money of Rs 34 with Kamalpreet Kaur, a booking clerk deputed at the current booking counter. Similarly, they found an excess payment of Rs 32 from enquiry reservation supervisor Uma Shankar.

However, sources said Uma Shankar allegedly threw away the money when the team came for checking.

During the checking, the team also found Rs 800 less with Janta Ticketing Booking Services Agency meant for giving unreserved tickets near the railway station.

The team even detected some undeclared cash with the agency, which according to the rules was not permissible.

In its report submitted to senior divisional commercial manager Brajesh Dharmani, the team recommended strict action against the two employees and the agency.

Taking note of widespread irregularities, Dharmani has charge-sheeted the two erring railway employees.

Similarly, Dharmani has also ordered the imposition of fine on the agency for not following the rules of the railways.

Dharmani confirmed that they had charge-sheeted both erring railway employees, adding that fine would be imposed on the agency that was flouting the norms.

He said they were committed to ensuring transparency in the department. “We will continue with random checking in the future also so that irregularities can be traced,” he added.

The action follows complaints by passengers to the railway authorities that staff at the ticket counters had not been giving back the balance to them after they purchased tickets. The commercial wing of the railways decided to keep vigil on its staff around Holi and found the two employees in possession of excess cashduring a surprise check on March 20

Ludhiana, March 26
Maximum number of cases of paedophilia take place in Goa, Jaipur and Agra. Ironically, a majority of the children who have fallen prey to prying eyes of paedophiles have been rescued by foreign tourists.

This finding has been made by Dr Sunil Khosla, professor of political science, Arya College for Boys here, who has been working on research project “Protection of Human Rights of Children — Study of Child Labour in India” given by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

The principal investigator, Dr Khosla, who has been granted Rs 6.83 lakh by the UGC to complete the project, said another unfortunate finding was that a majority of sexually abused children did not have successful marriages. Talking to Ludhiana Tribune, Dr Khosla said the most vulnerable age group for sex abuse was between 5-13 years.

“Though I am yet to conclude the project, the findings reveal that a majority of children are abused by their immediate relatives, including aunts/uncles and even grandparents. Most of the times, heinous crimes were perpetrated at homes. In the absence of proper enforcement of law in Goa, Agra and Jaipur, the number of such cases have increased in the recent times,” observed Dr Khosla.

He said there was an immediate need for awareness all over the world about the menacing dimensions and implications of paedophilia and child labour. Its impact had assumed staggering proportions, as the affected child lost his childhood and dignity.

“The effects of this exploitation are miserable, which relate to the health of the child. Due to poverty and exploitative tendencies existing in society, children are compelled to take up tasks that end up ruining their childhood and thus compelling them to lead lives in abject poverty and humiliation,” said Dr Khosla.

Meanwhile, a two-day UGC-sponsored seminar concluded at Arya College today. Speakers from Kerala, Shimla, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Kolkata shared their views. They spoke on children’s rights, childhood and educational reforms, concerns of childhood in domestic and transnational politics, sexual abuse and chid-trafficking in India, child-labour in unorganised sectors, and social and cultural practices regarding girl child. 

Ludhiana, March 26
As many as 10,556 cases involving compensation of Rs 13,58,98,936 were settled amicably by persuading the parties concerned during a mega lok adalat at the district courts complex here today.

Justice MM Kumar, executive chairman of the State Legal Services Authority, inaugurated the adalat.

He also inaugurated a legal aid clinics at the complex to provide free legal assistance to the needy.

The clinics will be headed by lawyers and final-year law college students.

Justice Kumar along with Sessions Judge SP Bangarh and State Legal Services Authority member secretary Munish Singal supervised the functioning of the 31 Benches set up to hear the cases. Each Bench was headed by a judicial officer, assisted by a lawyers and a social worker.

Addressing a gathering, Justice Kumar stressed the need for strengthening of lok adalats as an alternative dispute redressal system to the prevailing legal procedure of courts in all parts of the country to provide speedy and cheaper justice to people and ease the burden of huge pendency of cases in different courts.

He added that the disputes settled at the lok adalats were of permanent nature as no appeal could be filed against their decision.

Earlier, he was received by District Bar Association president Naval Kishore Chhibber, Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari, Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh, BK Goel, Sunil Dutt and judicial officers on his arrival at the courts complex.

Matrimonial disputes, motor accident claim cases, cheque bounce cases, Rent Act disputes, traffic challans, civil suits and appeals, some of them dragging for years, were settled at the lok adalat.

Ludhiana, March 26
The white substance, suspected to be a contraband, found from the possession of an undertrial on Thursday has become a headache for the city police as nearly three days after it was recovered, it is yet to identify the substance.

Taking preventive measures, the Tajpur road police today booked the undertrial, Narinder Kumar Aggarwal, a resident of Macchiwara, for possessing the substance weighing 400 gm, suspected to be a narcotic.

Narinder Aggarwal, who is already undergoing a jail term in a drug-peddling case, was arrested on Thursday while he was returning to the jail after attending a hearing in the courts complex.

During routine physical search, the jail guard found a packet of the suspected contraband on Narinder.

“We have shown it to experts but they have not been able to identify the substance. Today, we have registered a case and sent the substance to a laboratory to identify its nature,” said the in-charge of the Tajpur road police chowki.

Further, the jail authorities have formed a three-member panel to investigate the inmate’s allegations of being falsely implicated in the case.

Narinder has alleged that he was arrested on Thursday but the matter was reported to the police on Friday, 24 hours after being caught for possessing the suspected contraband.

The jail officials remained tightlipped over the episode and refused to divulge any information.