Ludhiana, March 31
It was undoubtedly midnight madness as the city burst into celebrations soon after the Indian team registered an emphatic 29-run victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the World Cup semifinal.

Mad frenzy spilled on city roads. The atmosphere was electric and the city celebrated the occasion like Diwali. The dead of the night was lit up with the bursting of crackers.

Overzealous youths holding the Tricolour hit the city roads. A majority of the youths were perched atop their vehicles, while some were seen dancing on their vehicles. Cops also joined the party and danced with local residents to celebrate the Indian victory.

The streets which usually wear a deserted look at night were full with vehicles. Serpentine queues were witnessed at all hang-outs of the city.

“No one was allowed to pass without dancing for at least a minute. And so, to get one’s way out of the crowd at the earliest, one had to dance whether they liked it or not,” said Sunil Dutt, who was out on a road to celebrate the success of the Indian team. It was hard to describe the joy of the fans. Many were holding guitars and performing on streets.

“Diwali has come seven months early. I have never seen so many crackers bursting during the month of March,” remarked Lalit Bahtia, a shopkeeper.

The traffic police did not become a party-pooper and requested the youngsters to clear the way. But the route was cleared only after the cops shook a leg with the youngsters.

Ludhiana, March 31
The thrilling World Cup encounter between Indian and Pakistan proved too hard to handle for noted singer Yudhvir Manak, son of legendry singer of yore Kuldip Manak, as he suffered a cardiac arrest and went into a coma.

He was rushed to the Hero Heart Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) for treatment. His condition was stated to be serious and he slipped into a coma due to the delay.

It is learnt that the condition of Yudhvir deteriorated while he was watching the Indo- Pak encounter following which he was rushed to the hospital.

"After suffering cardiac arrest he was in the same state for almost 45 minutes, as a result the oxygen to the brain was obstructed and the patient slipped into a coma," said chief cardiologist Dr GS Wander.

Yudhvir had been suffering from cardiac problem and was undergoing treatment. The family of Yudhvir was tightlipped and refused to divulge any information.

Ludhiana, March 31
While the exams of all undergraduate classes will start from April 2, students, especially boys, are having a tough time concentrating on studies as Cricket World Cup matches are on.

With “time-management”, several students believe that they can “cope-up” with the present situation.

Time management With “time- management”, several students believe that they can “cope-up” with the present situation. With India scheduled to play the final match against Sri Lanka in Mumbai on April 2, several students have already starting preparing for the next eexam in advance.

As per Panjab University date sheet pattern, the examination of all undergraduate classes, including BCom, BBA, BA, BCA and BSc will start from April 2.

The examination for all postgraduate classes, including MA, MBA, MSc, MCom and MCA will, however, start from April 15 and exams for all the classes will get over by May 15.

Various centres have been made by PU to accommodate students to take their exams. The local teachers and teachers from other districts have been put on duties for smooth conduct of exams.

But those students, whose exams will commence from April 2, are disappointed, as they are not being able to watch the entire telecast of many matches in a relaxed manner. Shubhdeep Singh, a student of SCD Government College, said: “There has been a great craze for cricket in India. We are not able to concentrate on our studies. Cricket is the talk of the town and in times like this we are finding it difficult to concentrate on books. I was not able to study for more than two-hours yesterday due to India-Pakistan match.”

With India playing final match against Sri Lanka on April 2 in Mumbai, several students have already starting preparing for the next exam to be held soon.

“Since long we have been preparing for the exam on April 2. Since the final match will be on the same day. I have already started preparing for next exam to be held on April 7. If we are smart enough to manage our time, the studies will not suffer at all,” said Nikhil Jain, a student.

Ludhiana, March 31
In a startling development an unidentified flying object said to be carrying “aliens” crash landed near Sahnewal in the early hours of Friday morning. Estimated to be the size of five cargo ships, this elliptical object that emitted an “intense white light encircled the fields before it went down with a thud. No one is believed to have been killed or injured and the area has been cordoned off by a large contingent of the Punjab police that has been rushed to the site.

Right after the crash, radio signals were severely disrupted with cellphones going off the air for several minutes. Experts from the department of space and the Atomic Energy Commission, sleuths from the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) and crack commandos of the army’s special forces are believed to be on their way to the site.

Top government officials said the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), the US space agency, had been informed and senior scientists were expected to arrive at the scene soon.

The Bureau of Paranormal Research & Extra Terrestrial Activities in Denver, Colorado immediately released reports of some “alien spacecraft” signals being detected in the area of the Indian subcontinent. A bureau team is expected to arrive in the city in a special jet on Thursday.

First reports received from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said the recent Supermoon activity could be the reason behind “pushing” the UFO towards the earth. "The moon’s gravitational pull, which was the biggest in nearly two decades only last week, is likely to have waylaid the spacecraft," said T Rangarajan, who heads ISRO’s special projects cell.

Noted scientist Yash Pal said the UFO could probably be a “reconnaissance ship” and that there could be more such UFOs on the way. "The size of the ship that crashed in Punjab is small. It means it's an offshoot vehicle. The mother ship could be nearby," he warned.

Ludhiana, Match 31
Fearing delay in development works in the city might jeopardise their prospects in the coming Assembly elections, leaders of the ruling BJP have met the Mayor and MC Commissioner to pressurise them for starting development works.

The leaders, including Subash Dawar and RD Sharma, wife and mother of whom are councillors, met Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura, Commissioner AK Sinha, Senior Deputy Mayor Praveen Bansal on the sidelines of the Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) meeting here.

At their meeting with the top brass of civic body, the leaders rued that due to delay in development works, they were facing huge criticism from residents, which was not in the interest of the ruling SAD-BJP alliance. They also rued that civic officials were deliberately not including files related to the development works of the BJP.

They said the F&CC must ensure that the work orders of projects of the building and roads (B&R) branch, the tenders for which had been invited earlier, were issued at the earliest so that the work in their wards could started soon.

The leaders said though the F&CC was giving its nod to works of the operation and maintenance branch, it must also start work on laying of roads and streets, which had not been added to the agenda of the committee meeting.

However, pacifying the leaders, the F&CC members assured them of approving the works of the B&R branch shortly.

The members even announced that the next meeting of the committee would be held on April 7 to discuss and approve the works of the B&R branch.

Senior Deputy Mayor Praveen Bansal said they would hold the next meeting soon to approve the works of the B&R branch.

However, he said, the civic body was already starting a large number of development works in the city and there was no question of the SAD-BJP alliance suffering on account of lack of work in the coming elections.

Ludhiana, March 31
The Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to transfer technology of evaporative cooled (EC) room and structure to a Gurdaspur-based entrepreneur.

The institute’s innovative technologies provide low cost and effective storage to farmers and entrepreneurs.

After getting the technology, Dr Jatinder Singh, general manager, Krishan Food and Seed Processing, said they were growing mushrooms at a large scale. “Recently, we have started constructing green house in the area of 9,000 square yards for growing vegetables and flowers. The EC room and structure will help to increase the shelf life of fruits and flowers and also we will use them as growing chamber for mushroom cultivation during off season,” he added.

Storage of fruits and vegetables, being a perishable commodity, is of paramount concern to reduce losses after their harvest. The increase in shelf life could avoid disadvantage of price fall during the glut seasons. In order to solve farmers’ problems, CIPHET has come out with innovative solution.

While EC room, which is a double walled structure with wet sand in between, could store two tonnes of fruits and vegetables, the cooling padded EC structure has the capacity of five to seven tonnes- ideal for bigger storage requirements.

The EC room developed at the cost of around Rs 70,000 would store fruits and vegetables up to two tonnes. Dr Sangeeta Chopra, senior scientist, who has developed this room, said it could maintain humidity as high as 85 per cent and temperature remains 12-15 degrees Celsius lower than the outside temperature.

Director CIPHET, Dr RT Patil and head of transfer of technology (TOT) division, Dr Deepak Raj Rai said CIPHET also provided technical support after transferring technology.

Ludhiana, March 31
Taking note of the complaints lodged by local residents at a meeting of the grievances committee chaired by Deputy Commissioner recently, the MC Commissioner has asked the civic body officials to ensure that the complaints are properly addressed.

During a meeting of the grievances committee held a few days ago, under the chairmanship of DC Rahul Tiwari, in which MC Commissioner AK Sinha was also present, certain members had raised complaints with the authorities.

Taking cognizance of the complaints, Sinha held a meeting with senior officers of all branches of civic body and gave directions to ensure that the complaints were addressed.

He asked the officials of the operations and maintenance (O&M) branch to ensure that the de-silting of the Buddha Nullah was done regularly and in a proper manner so that people did not face any inconvenience.

He also asked them to lay emphasis on the cleaning of bridges at nullahs so that the proper flow of water was ensured. Similarly, he directed the officials of the O&M branch to ensure that complaints of residents regarding water supply and sewerage were addressed on priority.

On complaints regarding widespread encroachment in the city, he asked the officials of the building branch, especially the Senior Town Planner and Municipal Town Planner (MTP), to remove illegal structures causing problems for the residents.

Ludhiana, March 31
The decision of Punjab government to regularise the services of rural medical officers who are working on contractual basis since five years under various Zila Parishads of Punjab has been welcomed by the people living in rural areas of Punjab.

Lajwanti, sarpanch of Bija village, said this step would encourage doctors to do better work, which would be a boon to the rural population of Punjab.

Sarpanch Surjit Singh of Panjrukha village, sarpanch Jeet Kaur of Kannian termed the decision as a benchmark in strengthening the rural healthcare system of Punjab.

“It’s not possible for the people living in villages to afford the expensive treatment at private hospitals, so the next step of the government should be to upgrade the village dispensaries,” Surjit added.

Dr.Anand Malhotra, RMSA organising secretary, said the Punjab Rural Development department had called upon the RMSA to send the details of the 
doctors so that the procedure of the regularisation can be commenced soon.

Manpreet Singh Ayali, chairman, Zila Parishad, Ludhiana, welcomed the step taken by the Punjab Chief Minister to regularise the rural medical officers. “It will help the rural population and rural doctors needed recognition for good work.”

Ludhiana, March 31
Germany-based professional biker Denial Rall interacted with students of Sat Paul Mittal School here today.

He taught the students about various fundamentals of biking.

Rall also performed a few actions before the students on the school premises.

He said people follow three paths for gaining good health- doctor, diet, and exercise.

“Cycling is a fantastic workout. It not only enables us to derive pleasure, but also goes a long way to ensure our overall fitness,” he added.

His 30-minute bike show amazed the students inspiring them to learn such actions.

The performance was followed by an interactive session wherein Rall shared his experiences.

Lt Col (Retd) Dr DB Sharma, director Sat Paul Mittal School, encouraged the students to engage in physical activities to keep their mind and body fit.

Ludhiana, March 31
The Bollywood numbers and leading Punjabi songs charged the atmosphere even more when city residents enjoyed India’s victory over Pakistan in the crucial semifinal match at Mohali yesterday.

It seems the sound generated through musical instruments, including drums, trumpets, horns and whistles blown by the enthusiastic crowd was enough to “encourage” the Indian cricket team to register their win against Pakistan.

Glued to their seats for nine hours, those watching match in elite clubs and hotels enjoyed every minute of the game.

They could not stop themselves when organisers started playing “Chak de India”, “Singh is King”, “Yaar anmulle hawa de bulle” numbers after India’s victory. From small kids to youngsters, women and senior citizens, everyone was holding the national flag.

At Sutlej club, there was maximum rush of cricket-lovers. The lawns were packed to the capacity of about 2,000 members and their dependents. At the end of the match, children, kids and youngsters were seen climbing on chairs/tables to do bhangra. The dance being performed by cheer-leaders called by organisers from Delhi made the atmosphere more exciting. While Varinder Sehwag played the memorable innings, the cheer-leaders entertained the audience and there were shouts and screams all over.

While Indian team members were taking wickets, drummers played the drums and tricolour was seen everywhere.

The members were so much into the game that a small kid was lost in the crowd. After an announcement was made by DJ, the mother came to pick the child. Radhika Garg, a homemaker said: “Even cricket fans in Mohali could not have enjoyed the game like the way we did. We have made the plans to watch the final between India and Sri Lanka here at club lawns.”

Besides Sutlej club, residents thronged other clubs, including Nirwana, Lodhi Club, Ludhiana Club, Park Plaza, Fortune Klassic etc to see the match on big projectors.

The organisers at clubs and hotels had made elaborated arrangements of drinks, snacks and dinner for the members.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, March 31
Assistant governors and district committee chairmen of the Rotary District 3090 resolved to contribute their share in conservation of natural resources and talent promotion among the youth during the business year commencing on July 1, 2011.

Besides coordinating with the administration for constructing rainwater-harvesting plants, each Rotarian of the district will adopt at least one child for education. All members of the Rotary families will plant and grow trees on special occasions, including birth and marriage anniversaries.

District Governor Elect Amzad Ali said various district teams, led by their respective assistant governors, DTTLCs and DCCs had undertaken to ensure that efforts would be made to ensure that all constituents of over 70 Rotary Clubs situated in various towns of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan contributed their share in saving environment and promoting talent among the youth. "We have already coordinated with officials in the civil administration who will provide equipment for constructing rainwater-harvesting plants at subsidied rates. This besides replenishing depleting water table will help the administration solve waste-water disposal problem," said Amzad Ali while talking to the Ludhiana Tribune on conclusion of the Aaghaz, first training programme for district office-bearers recently.

With intent to save electricity, the Rotarians have been asked to replace traditional bulbs and tubes with compact florescent lamps and install solar voltaic panels at their residences and offices.

Jagraon, March 31
A 10-day annual NCC training camp organised at Air Force Station, Halwara, concluded yesterday with an impressive closing ceremony held at Gole Auditorium in Air Force Station, Halwara. Air officer Commanding AK Nabh was the chief guest. A large number of officials from Air Force Station, Halwara, took part in the closing ceremony.

A cultural programme was also held during which members of junior as well as senior divisions of Air Force Station, Halwara, left all the distinguished guests spell bound. Jawahar Navodya Vidalya was awarded the trophy of the best troop by the chief guest during the prize distribution ceremony. The chief guest appreciated the efforts of the participants. Commanding officer Air Force Station, Halwara, HS Gulati was also present.

Ludhiana, March 31
In times like today when inflation is sky rocketing, Rs 400 for a full school uniform of a middle standard student sounds a poor joke, but the Director General School Education (DGSE) and state project director has granted this amount to purchase a uniform, including a set of shirt, trouser (suit and dupatta for girls), sweater, shoes and socks.

DGSE has granted funds to government schools to provide school uniform to the poor students of classes Ist to VIIIth. But the authorities probably underestimated the market prices, as observed by principals of city government schools. According to school authorities, the manufacturer’s quotations are comparatively higher than that of the granted amount (Rs 400 per student).

Ludhiana has received around Rs 14, 3358 lakh under SarvaSiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for providing school uniforms to the poor students. According to a letter from the DGSE, the special grants are meant to provide school uniform, including a set of shirt, trouser (suit and dupatta for girls), sweater, shoes and socks. The beneficiary students include- general and scheduled castes (SC) category girls, boys of SC category and all boys of Below Poverty Line (BPL).

The school authorities are busy in finding appropriate manufacturers and further consolidating them to provide the stuff in just Rs 400 (per student) as prescribed by the authorities. Sanjeev Thapar, principal of Government Senior Secondary Model School, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, while talking to The Tribune said he received the grant a few days later. “I was surprised as it was a challenging amount to meet with the sufficient need,” said Thapar. “I contacted several manufacturers, but their quotations were comparatively higher. Not even a single trouser can be purchased in just Rs 400 and here we have to purchase the full uniform,” he asserted while adding that a shirt and a trouser can be purchased spending around Rs 600 for a student of Class VIII.

Appreciating a few manufacturers Thapar said: “Being kind to the poor students, one of the manufacturers has agreed to co-operate with us bearing a loss.” Thapar also suggested that the district authorities should be directed to purchase the material on bulk buying basis. Schools individually are facing trouble in managing the amount for the sufficient material. Malkeet Kaur, principal of government school, Sangowal, also lamented that the authorities should have surveyed the market prices of the products. She said: “We will buy as much as we can in the stipulated amount we have received.”

Malkeet Kaur further said: “I received the grant today and shared with the senior teachers about the amount which is, too, less.” Planning to spend the amount effectively she claimed to seek help of the village sarpanch. “Village sarpanch and a school teacher will observe the market prices, I am sure we can find some good shops to get the material on whole sale rates.”

“Our students get scholarships from the Nehru Sidhant Kendra. We have purchased clothes on whole sale rates from the Sahnewal markets, earlier. We got 1.5 meters cloth of trouser and shirt in Rs 250, similarly, we got sweater around Rs 150,” said principal Malkeet Kaur relating the task with her previous experiences.

She opined that the authorities should have stipulated Rs 700 instead of Rs 400. No funds have been given to the boys belonging to the BPL category. The authorities have strictly highlighted to purchase only the best quality. The guidelines read: “District education officer of the block primary education officers can’t instruct the schools specifying any particular manufacturer.”

Mandi Ahmedgarh, March 31
Management committee of the Government Senior Secondary School, Kila Raipur, received a grant of Rs 16 lakh for expansion of institute premises.

The grant was presented by Dakha MLA Darshan Singh Shivalik and incharge SAD assembly segment Gill during a function on Wednesday.

The legislator also laid foundation stones of Guru Ravidass Dharamsala and waiting room at the village crematorium to be constructed for Rs 5 lakh.

Claiming that the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had directed legislators of his party to give priority to improvement of education in state-run schools, Shivalik affirmed that grants worth Rs 267 lakh had been disbursed among school committees.

Grant worth Rs 33 crore was distributed among civic bodies of other villages in Ludhiana, claimed Shivalik.

Ludhiana, March 31
A neck and neck contest between Parupkar Singh Ghumman and Ashok Mittal is expected for the coveted post of president of the District Bar Association (DBA). No stone has been left unturned to woo the 2,100 voters in door to door canvassing and both candidates are confident about emerging victorious in the polls scheduled for April 1.

On the last day of canvassing, Mittal accompanied by a large number of supporters including Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana members BK Goel and Harpreet Singh Garcha, ex-DBA president Hemant Kalia, DBA vice president ND Chopra, Keshav Rai Dhanda, Kapil Katyal, Suresh Shounik and Rajneesh Gupta went around the lawyers’ chambers to seek votes. Ghumman, flanked by a large number of lawyers including DBA president Naval Kishore Chhibber, ex-DBA chief Jagmohan Singh Warraich, Jaspal Chugh and Davinder Singh Saini, sought one more opportunity to serve the legal fraternity, listing his achievements made during his two-year previous tenure as DBA chief. His candidature was also backed by chief parliamentary secretary Harish Rai Dhanda.

Younger lawyers will be the decisive factor in the DBA polls, with over 700 having joined the profession in the last couple of years. Interestingly Ghumman and Mittal both claim to enjoy the support of a majority of young lawyers. The post of secretary will be contested between Gurkirpal Singh Gill and Ankur Ghai. Four lawyers - JS Miglani, Surinder Moudgill, SP Sharma and Vijay Sharma - are standing for the post of vice president. There will be a triangular contest between Sandeep Sharma, Suresh Kapoor and Sanjeev Sharma for the post of finance secretary. The returning officers appointed for the election said public prosecutors had been barred from casting votes. The city police commissioner has been requested to provide adequate security at the polling venue in order to avoid any untoward incident, they added.

Polling will begin at 9 am and continue till 4:30 pm without any lunch break.

Ludhiana, March 31
The Pakistani supporters proved to be bad losers, feel city residents and foreigners, who watched the two archrival battling it out for a berth in the World Cup final at Mohali stadium yesterday.

Several residents, who visited Mohali to watch the match while sharing their memorable experiences with The Tribune felt that it was more than a game for their brethren from across the border.

The residents who were standing beneath the enclosure of the Pakistani supporters complained the latter threw empty plastic shells at them, but the matter was soon resolved.

Fortunately, it did not take an ugly turn. “Indo- Pak rivalry is known world over. And Mohali cricket ground was no different. While the Prime Ministers of the two countries were exhibiting bonhomie with each other, arguments were being exchanged between the supporters of the two team,” said Pankaj Pahwa.

Rajesh Jhanji, exporter of engineering tools who along with his foreigner clients Geoffrey (60) of Leicestershire and George Macarthur (25) of Northampton in England, went to watch the semifinal match between India and Pakistan, termed the event as the biggest sporting event ever.

Jhanji said, “It was not the first time that India was playing against Pakistan, but this encounter was special, probably because both the teams were facing each other in the semifinals for the first time. The magnitude of the excitement could be gauged from the fact that Congress president Sonia Gandhi was seen jumping with joy after the victory of the Indian team.”

While giving a rather unbiased opinion Geoffrey said, “To be honest Pak supporter were little harsh on Indian fans and threw empty plastic shells at the latter. But after some time everyone indulged in the match. I met a couple, who belongs to different side of the border. While wife is a Pakistani and the husband is an Indian and both were supporting their respective nation team. While husband was hoisting a huge Tricolour, the wife was seen sitting in the Pak camp.”

George said the atmosphere after the match was electrifying. “I have never seen so many people thronging on road at midnight. All roads were jam-packed with vehicles. It took us nearly two hours to take our vehicle out of Mohali. Cricket is more then religion here.”