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Rain, lightning, squall plunge city into darkness
Ludhiana, May 22 Belying the claims of top brass of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited of strengthening the distribution network in the mega city, power supply was disrupted in residential localities along the Ferozepur Road, Chandigarh Road, Jalandhar bypass, GT Road and Pakhowal Road for hours together immediately after rain had started. Residents in Civil Lines, residential complex in Punjab Agricultural University, Haibowal, Chander Nagar, Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar, Shamsher Avenue, Upkar Nagar, Kitchlu Nagar, Kidwai Nagar and most parts of the old city localities had to stay without power for several hours, some of them for the whole night, as it was on Sunday morning that power supply could be restored to affected localities. Snapped LT cables in Punjab Agricultural University complex forced a large number of residents of type 10 houses and many others in adjoining residential blocks make do without power supply for almost 36 hours. “Right after the mild storm and drizzle on Friday night, the power supply was disrupted and we had to stay without electricity the whole night, then all through Saturday. The power supply was restored at around 9.30 am on Sunday,” said Dr Neena Chawla, a resident of 10 type residential block in PAU. The plight of residents in many parts of Haibowal and Chander Nagar was no better as quite a few LT lines and PVC cables were snapped disrupting power supply to more than a dozen colonies. According to Kulbir Singh, senior executive engineer of City West division, and spokesperson of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, initially some 30 to 35 per cent feeders were affected due to adverse weather conditions since Friday night. But most of them were made operational within a few hours. The same thing happened on Saturday night, but not more than 5 per cent feeders remained shut down for the whole night that, too, due to major damages to cables or a few transformers. “Field and supervisory staff remained on their toes right from Friday night due to inclement weather. As of now, the situation is normal in the city,” he claimed. |
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Showers bring down temperature
Ludhiana, May 22 Jagtar Singh, a resident of Street No 4, Passi Nagar, Pakhowal Road, here had a narrow escape when lightening struck at the rooftop of his house. “It appeared as if there was some bomb explosion. We were shocked and scared. It happened around 11 pm last night and the rooftop was damaged, windowpanes were broken and there were cracks in the walls. By grace of God, squall disrupted the power supply and we were all saved,” said Jagtar Singh. Meanwhile, as per weather reports, the temperature has come down by almost 8 to 9 degrees Celsius due to a sudden change in weather. Experts predicted that in the next 24 hours, the weather conditions would remain the same with partial clouds and mild rainfall at some places. The maximum temperature in the city came down to 34 degrees Celsius, which was about 44 degrees Celsius about three days back, giving much respite to the residents. As it was Saturday night, residents were seen enjoying the rain and relishing food on roadside eating joints at areas like Ghumar Mandi, Ferozepur Road, Model Town, Sarabha Nagar and BRS Nagar. As it was a “lovely” and “pleasant” weather for residents, a majority of them preferred not to switch on their air-conditioners and fans/coolers. Radhika Moudgil, a homemaker, said if such weather conditions prevailed for some more days, schoolchildren would get respite. “Summer vacation will start in schools this month, if such weather persists, school kids will be able to enjoy their holidays,” she said.
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Majority of kidnapping cases those of elopement: Police
Ludhiana, May 22 "Initially, the cases are registered to be that of kidnapping, but when the police investigates the matters in detail, it is found that a majority of boys and girls (both minors and adults) leave their homes on their own wish," said Ishwar Singh, Commissioner of Police here. As per available data, in the year 2010, the city police registered 108 cases of "kidnapping", out of which 23 were found to be fake while seven cases were settled during the investigation period. In 68 cases, the girls and boys had left heir homes on their own. Out of the total number, the genuine cases of kidnapping were 29. Similarly in 2011 (current year), 33 cases of kidnapping have been registered so far. Eight minor and three major girls left their parents on their own wish, while the parents got the cases registered under kidnapping. Six cases were settled after compromise took place between the parties, when the "kidnapped" persons were rescued. Out of these 33, 16 cases were genuine kidnapping cases. Investigations reveal that a majority of such cases were that of "affairs" and "friendships" in which girls and boys left homes willingly and were scared of their parents' anger. Assistant Commissioner Police Nilambri Jagdale said, "There can be many reasons behind these registered cases. In some cases, parents know about the friendship of their wards, but they remain unaware that the friendship of their wards had ‘crossed the limits’. In other cases, parents fix up the marriage of their wards to which the latter disagree and prefer to run from the circumstances. A social stigma is also attached here. If a girl runs with her lover and the family knows about it, parents feel ashamed to tell the truth to society and they get cases registered under kidnapping."
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Woman’s earrings snatched
Ludhiana, May 22 In a recent incident when ASI Gurdial Singh tried to nab criminals during a search operation, fires were shot at him, following which he was admitted to DMCH in a serious condition. In a snatching incident, which took place at Durgapuri, Haibowal, early this morning, a middle-aged woman, Shanti Devi was injured, while two snatchers on a motorcycle took away her gold earrings. Surdul Singh, a septuagenarian, said, “If a police official could be attacked and criminals could get away with it, what can we do to curb the crime? We prefer not to go alone outside.” The residents said morning walkers remained easy targets for snatchers, who were young between the age group of 20-35 years. “In today’s incident, the police reached the spot after two hours. We are mentally disturbed and scared,” rued Raghubir Singh, another area resident. Though women prefer to remove all jewellery, including bangles, gold chains, rings, etc, while going for walks, the snatchers injuring a woman for a small pair of earrings has come as a rude shock for the residents. “We need to be protected by the police. The snatching cases have increased. Today, snatchers injured a woman, tomorrow they can slit their throat in an attempt to snatch a chain,” said another resident.
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Repair of Sahnewal-Kohara road
Sahnewal,May 22 Officials of PWD (B&R), Ludhiana, said strengthening of the road would be done with 50 mm thick bituminous macadam on which 25 mm thick semi-dense bituminous concrete would be laid. “The work is likely to start in mid June and shall be completed in two months,” added the official. The road was last repaired in 2005. Thousands of vehicles commute on the road everyday. Several mishaps have reportedly occurred on the stretch. In the absence of re-carpeting, the condition of the road has only worsened with time. The road connects Kohara and surrounding villages to the Dehlon-Ahmedgarh route. The authorities concerned have done nothing to improve the condition of the road. Moreover, people residing in villages like Jandiali, Ramgarh, Ucchi Mangali, Nichi Mangali, Jhabewal, Sahibana, Pangalian, Barwala, Kot Gangu Rai, Heearn, Laton Dana, Laton Joga, Katani Kalan use the road to reach Sahnewal. The Punjab Infrastructure Development Board has approved the proposal of constructing a new road from Ludhiana-Chandigarh road to Sahnewal airport. A sum of Rs 3.20 crore will be spent on the road. Width of this road will be 5.50m. PWD (B&R), Ludhiana, will be floating tenders. Similarly, a case pertaining to axing of trees has been sent to the forest department for approval. This road will lead to Sahnewal airport. The project will be completed in eight months. Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, chairman, Punjab Agro Industries Corporation, and in charge, Sahnewal assembly constituency, thanked the Punjab Deputy Chief Minister for sanctioning the two important projects.
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Italian food festival on
Ludhiana, May 22 The festival will offer lavish dinner buffet on all 10 days with primi piatti, petto di pollo con zafferano e limone (chicken breast with lemon zest and saffron), cream di asparagi con pane tostado al agilo alla maniera italiana (Asparagus soup with Italian garlic bread), pollo stufato con olivo (chicken bites) and Italian strawberry cheese cake being the main attraction. “The cuisine of Italy is as rich as the lifestyle of the nobility and as delicate as the graciousness of Italy hosts. Hence, Italy cuisine is linked to royal households,” said executive chef Vishal Chandok. “The most important aspect of Italian cuisine is the ratio of spices to be used in each dish which has to be precise in order to bring out the delicate flavours,” added Chandok. “Pizzas and pastas are considered to be the key highlight of Italy and continues to be the most popular dishes because of its richness and taste due to the perfect blending and mingling of its ingredients,” added the executive chef.
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Ludhiana Scan Dr Rajoo Singh Chhina, dean academics, and professor and head of gastroenterology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, recently visited Louisiana Medical University in Shreveport, US, and delivered a talk on “Liver diseases in India”. Dr Chhina met university chancellor Robert A Barish and initiated talks for study exchange between the two institutions. Dr Chhina also presented a paper on “Leptospirosis - Is it a predisposing factor for liver failure”. Indian Overseas Bank is celebrating its platinum jubilee year. The bank has 62 branches in the city. A door-to-door campaign was launched on Sunday by the bank officials to urge customers to open new accounts in the bank. Training programme
The department of cardiac surgery, SPS Apollo Hospitals, held a health consciousness training programme on cardiac problems and their prevention at Bhamian Kalan on Saturday. Dr RP Singh, consultant cardiology, said: “Punjabis were highly prone to diabetes, blood cholesterol and obesity. These in turn manifested as cardiac problems. Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally, killing around 7.1 million people each year. India is expected to account for 57 per cent of world’s heart diseases cases by 2011.” Studies indicate that Indians have elevated level of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while also suffering from a deficiency of HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), leading to a greater risk of heart disease. Also, environmental factors like low birth weight, malnutrition possibly predisposed Indians to increased risk of diabetes and heart attacks in adulthood. Preventive check-up tests for identification of risk factors, healthy lifestyle, education, creation of pathways to quality services of cities and practitioners with a documented referral process could help curb the disease. Blood donation camp
As many as 31 youngsters donated blood during a blood donation camp organised by the Terrorist Victims Association, Punjab, here on Saturday. The camp was held under the leadership of KK Bawa. The aim was to pay tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv remembered
The District Congress Committee, Ludhiana (urban), organised a number of functions to mark the 20th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on Saturday. During a seminar on drug addiction, DCC president Pawan Dewan administered an oath to the youth to fight against the curse. Dewan said Rajiv was instrumental in introducing the age of 18 for the youth to exercise their voting rights. He distributed books and fruits among the needy children. Congress leaders including Surinder Dawar, Leena Taparia, Dimple Rana, Sushil Malhotra, etc. were among those present. Meeting held
Vikramjit Singh and Anil Kashyap were appointed president and general secretary of the Apex Club, Ludhiana, during a meeting here. Club’s global ambassador Ian Willy Oates and CS Naidu attended the meeting. They said the club existed in nine countries and strove for serving society and maintaining mutual brotherhood. Rally by Youth Cong
The Youth Congress unit of the Sahnewal assembly segment organsied a rally-cum-training programme for its workers here on Sunday. PPCC general secretary Vikram Singh Bajwa condemned the coalition government in Punjab for misrule and excesses committed on people. He said if the Congress returned to power in the next Assembly elections, the SAD-BJP alliance would be made to pay for their highhandedness. In four and half years of their rule in Punjab, the state had been pushed to bankruptcy, while ministers had made their personal fortunes. Congregation by Namdharis
Followers of the Namdhari sect from different parts of Punjab and other adjoining states held a congregation at Namdhari Shaheed Smarak in Field Ganj here on Sunday. They offered prayers for the well being of their spiritual head Jagjit Singh, who has not been keeping well. The followers noted with concern the crisis facing the sect and prayed for the early recovery of their spiritual head. Album released
Kulvinder Singh Johal’s album “Folk Star” was released here on Friday. He was first introduced to the music scene through the album “Word is Born”. Johal’s music extended beyond boundaries when he teamed up with Punjabi MC for “The Land of Five Rivers”. This was used by the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), as the theme tune for Punjabi wrestling superstar “The Great Khali”. Johal was born and brought up in Punjab and went to the UK in 1981 and settled in Derby. “Dilshaad Akhtar is my all time favourite singer and I love to hear and sing folk music,” he said. In the past, Johal had teamed up with Sukhjit Singh Olk and sung three singles in an album. “After tasting huge success in the UK, Johal has now launched his debut solo album in India in collaboration with Indya Records,” said Kanwal Kohli, founder of Indya Records. Sahnewal Scan
Punjab Agro Industries Corporation chairman Sharanjit Dhillon inaugurated three link roads here on Saturday. These roads were sanctioned from his discretionary quota. Dhillon inaugurated the link road from Khanpur to Rattan-Ghumana, constructed by the Public Works Department. He also inaugurated the link road on the banks of the Satluj, near Satiana village, constructed by the PWD in a time period of three months. A sum of Rs 15 lakh had been spent on the road. Similarly, a road in Fathegarh Jattan village was inaugurated by the SAD’s assembly constituency in-charge. Reappointment
Former SDM Pritam Singh, who retired on March 31, has been reappointed on contract to the post. The post had been lying vacant since his retirement. He will serve till December 31. He took charge on Saturday. In all, 151 PCS officers are currently working in the state against 310 posts. Of these, 12 will retire by December 31 and 25 will be promoted, bringing down the number of officers in the state to 113, it is learnt. Phillaur Scan The Hope Society for Health and Humanity organised a one-day leadership training camp for the office-bearers of the society. The members participated under the chairmanship of president Dr Hardip Shahi. The speakers urged the participants to raise awareness among people about healthy living. The organisers also asked people to associate themselves with the society and work for social welfare. The organisers and coordinators of the camp appreciated the learning capacity of the campers and urged them to work hard for the cause. Society secretary Dr Gurjit Singh and coordinator Harminder Singh Gill highlighted the aim of the society. NRI singer Sukhdev Natt regaled the audience with his songs. — Tribune Reporters
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Sharjah invites traders for investment
Ludhiana, May 22 To apprise the industrial fraternity of Ludhiana of various trading and business opportunities that Sharjah International Airport Free Zone offered, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), along with Sharjah International Airport Free Zone (SAIF Zone), held an interactive session on Friday.
— TNS
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Fund-starved MC pays
Rs 22 lakh extra for power bill
Ludhiana, May 22 The board officials then sent an additional bill of Rs 18,45,650 to civic officials who, after paying one-third of that amount (Rs 6,15,225), approached the electricity board’s dispute settlement committee. The latter rejected the MC's complaint and asked it to deposit the remaining bill amount at the earliest. However, instead of going to a civil court regarding the matter, the MC officials decided to pay up. In an audit report of the civic body, procured by a local NGO, Council of RTI Activists, it has been stated the MC should have approached a civil court instead of paying the bill amount of Rs 22,16,829. The report stated the electricity board’s dispute settlement committee was not the final authority that MC officials had approached. "They could have challenged the panel’s decision in a civil court. The change of connection under the head “non-residential supply” to that of “streetlights” was proposed by the electricity board’s audit wing, which cannot decide the tariffs charged from a customer. The municipal corporation official concerned didn't consult any official in MCs legal department and instead wrote to make payment to the electricity board," the report said. The audit wing asked MC officials to fix responsibility of the official concerned, due to whom the civic body had to pay an extra amount of Rs 22 lakh to the board. When contacted MC commissioner AK Sinha clarified the bill amount was paid without filing an appeal in a civil court after taking due legal opinion. "The bill amount was deposited because we thought it was the right thing to do instead of approaching a civil court," he said.
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A rural wedding in style!
Ludhiana/Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 22 The centre of attraction in the marriage was showering of paper petals by a small plane that had been engaged by the family of the groom. Though the enthusiasts had to wait for a long time, the sky and lawns of the marriage palace were covered with ‘paper petals’ scribbled with “Harkomal weds Inderjit”. Both the groom and the bride belonged to peasant families of Lalton and Kaind villages in Ludhiana district. The groom, Harkomal, is an NRI working at a store in Spain and the bride, Inderjit, is a graduate in IT and holds a diploma in software. Gurmit Singh Bassi, elder brother of the groom, said he had arranged the show for the pleasure of his brother and sister-in-law. “As marriage is an event that comes once in a lifetime, we wanted to make the moment a memorable one for everyone attending the function. Had the celebration taken places during night, huge amounts would have been spent on illumination and bursting of crackers,” said Bassi, maintaining that the family had avoided wastage of energy and pollution of environment by switching over to the plane show.
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Newly carpeted road dug up again by MC
Ludhiana, May 22 It is not only the wasteful expenditure being incurred by the Municipal Corporation, which has caused a lot of resentment among residents of the area and shopkeepers, but avoidable delay in execution of the project which has almost been abandoned as of now. “The contractor, who was awarded the work for laying new sewerage lines for diverting the disposal of waste from the nullah to sewage treatment plant at Bhattian, carried out the digging work for just two to three days, and thereafter disappeared. The debris, construction material and sewerage pipes lying on the road have become a nuisance and also caused huge loss to shopkeepers,” laments Bunty Arora, president, New Shivpuri Shopkeepers’ Association. A few residents and shopkeepers said, “Even though the Municipal Corporation has been citing acute financial crunch whenever they had approached for the construction and maintenance of roads and streets, but digging up of a newly carpeted road projects lack of coordination among officials of the engineering (B&R) and the operations and maintenance (O&M) branches of the civic body. If the sewerage had to be diverted and new sewer lines laid, the Municipal Corporation ought to have done it before undertaking the re-carpeting work.” Area councillor Ajit Singh Dhillon, however, defended the project saying diversion of sewerage disposal (flowing into the Budha Nullah) has been necessitated on the orders of Punjab and Haryana High Court. The work had to be undertaken due to the ongoing project of the six-laning of the National Highway No 1 (GT Road). On the slow pace of work, he said, the matter would be taken up with senior Municipal Corporation officials. Officials of the operations and maintenance (O&M) branches of the civic
body said just about 150-metre of the re-carpeted road had been dug up, which would again be re-carpeted after the sewerage disposal system was properly laid.
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Sale of cut fruit goes unabated
Ludhiana, May 22 Standing at busy public places near dusty and broken roads of the city, these small shopkeepers are selling cut fruits, including watermelons, melons, papayas and mangoes, full of dust and bacteria while the consumers are becoming an easy prey to it. District Health Officer Dr Jagpal Singh blames the delay in implementation to the ongoing strike of clerical staff while Dr Charanjit Uppal, health officer of the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, said powers had been delegated to the staff. According to sources, “Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari and Civil Surgeon Dr Satwant Kaur Bhalla jointly issued the instruction under the Epidemic Act about a month ago banning the sale of cut fruits.” Passing the buck to the Municipal Corporation, District Health Officer Dr Jagpal Singh said, “We are already facing shortage of staff as we have only 4-5 sanitary inspectors with us. However, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has at least 40-50 sanitary inspectors with them who could easily check these fruit vendors.” Dr Charanjit Uppal, health officer of the MC, said: “We got instructions in this month and have already delegated powers to the Chief Sanitary Inspectors. By Tuesday we will start this campaign.”
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Plays, choreography mark cultural function
Ludhiana, May 22 Earlier, the event started on an auspicious note wherein the students sought blessings of Lord Ganesha in the form of a well-synchronised dance sequence presented with finesse and grace, which was followed by “Green Brigade”, a ramp walk depicting the need to protect ecology and environment. Thereafter, the students presented a confluence of various Indian classical and western dances, which left spectators spellbound. “Kaalbaleia”, a form of folk dance, was also presented wherein young girls and boys performed daring acts while showing the culture of the sweltering deserts of Rajasthan. “Mime” presented by the students brought fore the degrading moral and ethical values, which stirred the minds of audience and forced them to think and introspect. Another play, “Kudiyan- Aaate Diyan Chidian” was a satire on the increasing atrocities and crime against women, notwithstanding their extraordinary achievements in all spheres of life. The English play “Change: The law of nature” gave an insight into the world of today’s youths and the dire need to understand their point of view instead of forcing our decision on them. DCM Rockers, the school rock band, enthralled the audience with the fusion of English and Hindi numbers. The students played various instruments with ease and precision. The live wire “bhangra” and “Malvai giddha” set the atmosphere alive with electrifying performance put up by the students, which was followed by traditional giddha, showcasing the enthusiasm of village belles in the rural hinterland of this border state.
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‘Teaching for no monetary benefit’
Sahnewal, May 22 Such is the dedication of Surinder that from the very first day of his retirement, he has been taking classes regularly. According to principal Kulwinder Kaur, “Surinder Singh is a gem of a person. He is an ideal teacher in the real sense. His dedication towards his profession and students is incomparable. Not even a single day has passed in all these years when Surinder Singh has failed to take classes, rather he has been more than regular.” “Sir is the best. Even if at times we are not in a mood to go to the school, we have to bow before his commitment and devotion. Our conscience pricks us that if he can come so that his students may not lag behind in studies in the absence of a teacher, we should at least show our indebtedness towards him by attending the classes regularly and not taking leave unless and until there is great urgency,” view his students.
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From schools
LUDHIANA: The graduation ceremony of kindergarten was organised at Green Land Convent School, Civil City, here on Saturday. The ceremony began with a dance item presented by children as a dedication to their mothers and teachers. Rajesh Rudhra conferred graduation certificates on the kindergarten graduates. School principal Jyoti Pujara congratulated the students and parents. The celebrations were marked with colourful dance performance and story show by the tiny tots. Parents’ workshop
A workshop on “Influence of family environment on students” was organised for parents of Montessori kids at Ryan international School, Dugri, here on Saturday. Resource person Bhallinder, director of SKS Immigration and Education Consultancy, delivered a lecture on family values. The tiny tots recited poems and mesmerised all present. Headmistress Harpreet Kaur said the aim of the event was to teach the children about strong family bonding. Investiture ceremony
DRV DAV Centenary Public School, Phillaur, held its investiture ceremony for the new academic session here on Saturday. The function began with a prayer and a motivating song. Rishabh Chanan and Jasdeep Kaur were selected as head boy and head girl, respectively. Other house captains, sports captains and cultural captains were also selected. All prefects and captains were adorned with badges and sashes. School principal Yogesh Gambhir advised the students to understand their responsibilities and shoulder them efficiently. Teachers’ workshop
BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, Ludhiana, conducted a one-day teachers’ self-empowerment workshop on “Strategies for quality improvement in social science education at middle level”. A total of 80 teachers from schools affiliated to the CBSE participated. The workshop was organised with an aim to give teachers a platform to share their own initiatives undertaken for improving social science and expose them to a range of approaches, good practices and concrete strategies. School principal Paramjit Kaur said, “Social science is especially important because it enables us to nurture citizens who are active and reflective members of society.” She emphasised on the need to bring a shift in social science classrooms from the child’s perspective and link children’s learning to everyday world. Hindi workshop
Kundan Vidya Mandir, Civil Lines, Ludhiana, organised Sahodaya Inter-School Hindi Workshop for all teachers teaching Classes VI-VIII. Ludhiana Sahodaya Schools Complex aims at teacher empowerment by such workshops. As many as 83 teachers from 35 schools participated in the workshop. Principal Navita Puri inaugurated the workshop. The workshop was divided in two sessions. In the first session - Discussion on barriers and blocks to teaching subjects - Vibha Sharma expatiated the difficulties, how to solve them and how to make teaching of Hindi interesting. In the second session, Brij Bala involved teachers in interesting activities, which may facilitate teaching of Hindi. Demo lessons by the peer group leaders were also given. Kho-kho
SDP Collegiate Senior Secondary School organised an inter-class competition. Two teams of 12 students each participated in kho-kho and displayed their sports spirit. Class XI was declared the winner. Principal Paramjeet Kaur Ghuman was the chief
guest and honoured the participants with certificates. — TNS
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BJYM marathon loses way, as residents run to stay fit
Ludhiana, May 22 Around 300 runners participated in the marathon, which was flagged off from Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan. The event apparently lost its aim, as a majority of participants said they just wanted to stay fit and did not know about the issues raised by the organisers. Although the bigwigs of the BJYM and the Bharatiya Janata Party addressed the gathering for over half an hour and slated the UPA government for rising corruption and inflation, the participants waited anxiously for the start of the race. The politicians who addressed the gathering included BJP state president Ashwani Sharma and Planning Board vice-chairman Prof Rajinder Bhandari besides others. Talking to the TNS, BJYM’s Atam Nagar unit general secretary Pushkin Attray said: “I have mobilised around 20 youngsters for the event. We are here to get slimmer.” While Satpal, a resident of Model Town, said: “I have come to see this gathering and not to run, as I have a severe back problem.” A group of youngsters, including Manpreet, Kulpreet, Jabarjang and Amarpreet, said: “We are here to run for fun. It’s conceivable to think that fuel prices will be lowered by organising such events.” While Neetu and Pawanpreet of Shahi Sports College, Samrala, said: “We are here to test our endurance.” Around 100 athletes participated in the event and each athlete was given a white T-shirt. The participants were also asked to pay Rs 50 for registration. However, no one was forced to pay. 3 runners cry foul
As the marathon ended, three runners questioned the manner in which the winners were decided. Sharwan Kumar, an athlete from Ganganagar, Gurjant Singh from Ferozepur, and Jitender Singh alleged foul play on part of the organisers in the way the winners were declared. BJYM district unit president Kantendu Sharma said: “We had hired two athletics coaches from Guru Nanak Stadium for the event. The coaches had announced the setting up of two checkpoints along the route. The participants were to be handed over a band each at these checkpoints. At the end of the race, each participant needed to have two bands. We also videographed the event to avoid any controversy. The top five winners were decided on the basis of these guidelines. The top three winners were given Rs 11,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 2,000, respectively, in cash prize. The fourth winner, a female athlete, was given Rs 5000, while the fifth one, again a boy, got Rs 2,000. The top five winners were: Sumit, OP Yasha, Sunni Kumar, Gurpreet Kaur and Prabhveer. Hitching a ride, or two!
As the race started at 7.18 am from Guru Nanak Dev Bhawan, a youngster (wearing a white T-shirt given by the organisers and white shorts) reached the Fountain Chowk and hitched a ride from a cyclist all the way up to Khalsa College for Women. From there, he joined the participants on foot. On reaching the Bhai Bala Chowk around 7.28 am, the boy again took lift from a white Maruti Zen car coming from the Ferozepur road side and got off just short of the second checkpoint. On reaching the finish line, he asked the organisers to be awarded a consolation prize for finishing sixth in the race. However, the organisers turned down the plea after getting confirmation from the traffic police personnel about the mode adopted by the runner. Rajinder Singh Sandhu (67), a silver medallist in the Asian Games in 5-km walk, said: “We are running to keep fit. But we surely are against corruption and if something good is being done in this regard, it is a healthy step.” Sukhdev Singh Dhaliwal (71), who retired as lecturer from the education department and won many awards in 5 km and 10 km walks, said: “I took part in the marathon to stay fit. It may be a political gimmick but such events should be encouraged.” |
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Local govt dept issues order against Cong councillor
Ludhiana, May 22 “At the same time, the matter be taken up at the level of the government for suitable action against Gurdip Kaur by issuing her a show-cause notice under Section 36 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976,” the order issued by secretary SS Rajput reads. An area resident, Gurwinder Singh Badesha, had filed a civil writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court after the
four shops had been constructed. Later, the court had asked the local government department to conduct an inquiry into the matter within two months. Both Gurwinder Singh and Gurdip Kaur were called
for personal hearing on April 15. During the hearing, Gurwinder stated that Gurdip Kaur, councillor from ward No. 61, had flagrantly abused her position as councillor by constructing shops in her residential property in violation of the building bylaws of the MC. The MC authorities had issued a notice to her and she had requested compounding of the unauthorised construction, but it was turned down and an order of demolition of the shops was passed. However, using her position, she went ahead with the construction of the shops. The authorities even sought police help for the demolition of the shops but the demolition could not be carried out and the shops were closed by the councillor by raising a wall in 2005. Gurwinder alleged: “Gurdip Kaur has now removed the wall and started business activity in the shops. The action of Gurdip Kaur is in gross violation of the building bylaws of the civic body. The demolition orders of the shops passed in this case have not been complied with under the influence of Gurdip Kaur,” he alleged. Gurdip Kaur said the issue was politically motivated. “Certain other people are behind this act and I will take legal opinion before making any comment. However, I want to clarify that the shops were constructed in 1998 when we renovated our house,” she said.
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Mullanpur ROB opened
Jagraon, May 22 The 705-metre-long overbridge on the Mullanpur-Raikot road was completed a few days ago but was kept closed to traffic as it awaited a formal inauguration. Though two-wheeler riders had already started using the ROB, the administration had blocked its entrances on both sides to stop its use by heavy vehicles. Talking to mediapersons after the ceremony, Dhindsa said the state government had augmented development works in the state. “A special programme costing over Rs 15,000 cr had been launched by the state government to strengthen the state’s infrastructure. Under the programme, big projects like construction of major roads, bridges and ROBs had been undertaken in various parts of the state,” he added. Dhindsa said Rs 3,500 cr was being spent to widen major roads to six lanes in the state. A sum of Rs 986 cr from the state budget had been proposed to improve the road infrastructure in the current fiscal year. “Also, Rs 350 cr would be spent under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna for the upgrade of 500 km-long rural roads. The state government has allocated Rs 30 crore for land acquisition under the scheme,” he added. He added that the work on 26 km-long four-lane expressway from Doraha to the Ludhiana-Ferozepur Road was under way.
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Cricket probables selected
Ludhiana, May 22 These probables will attend the training-cum-coaching camp at the same venue prior to the shortlisting of Ludhiana squad for the forthcoming championship. They are: Dipak Bansal, Gitansh Khera, Baltej Singh, Sunny Pandey, Sanchit Gosain, Akhil Aggarwal, Ravi Kumar, Amritpal Singh, Ashish, Abhinav Bhatia, Lalit Malhotra, Jayant Batra, Shivam Passi, Jashan Sidhu, Himanshu, Pankaj Goyal, Dushyant Kohli, Nikhil Chowdhary, Sandeep Singh, Harjit Singh, Nitish Malhotra, Abhishek Talwar, Pavittar Singh, Deepak, Nitish Sabharwal and Sagar Sharma. The selected probables have been advised to report to coach Charanjit at Arya College ground on May 23 at 4.30 pm.
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Easy outing for Sunday Morning Club
Our Sports Reporter
Ludhiana, May 22 The festival is being held to commemorate the 28th death anniversary of hockey legend and former captain of national hockey squad Prithipal Singh, who was assassinated on this day 28 years ago. For Sunday Morning Club, Sukwinder Singh netted three goals, while Gurdeep and Lakhwinder Singh accounted for two goals each. Deepak and Iqbal Singh contributed a piece each to complete the thrashing. For the losing side, Rawail Singh and Ravinder Singh sounded the board twice to reduce the margin (9-4). In another match in the senior group, Jarkhar Taj Resorts XI overwhelmed Hawks Club, Doraha, 7-4. Daljeet Singh scored a hat-trick, while Supinder Singh and Pargat Singh scored two goals each. For Hawks Club, the scorers were Baljit Singh (2), Raman (1) and Sangram Singh (1). Earlier, zila parishad chairman Manpreet Singh Ayali inaugurated the festival. Before the formal inauguration, players, organisers and the chief guest observed two-minute silence to pay tribute to the former hockey star. They garlanded the statue of Prithipal Singh.
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3 city athletes corner glory
Ludhiana, May 22 Amritpal Singh and Hardeep Kaur won gold medals, while Navjot Kaur bagged a silver medal to make their coach feel proud. Amritpal Singh won a gold medal in long jump. He was declared the best athlete. Similarly, Hardeep Kaur annexed a gold medal in hammer throw reaching the distance of 56.51m. Another trainee of Sanjeev Kumar, Navjot Kaur secured a silver medal in 100m sprint.
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Strike by contract coaches, staff on May 25
Ludhiana, May 22 Parminder Singh said the sports department had recruited the staff on contract in October, 2008 with an assurance that they would be regularised in due course of time. However, they were neither regularised nor given an increment, he rued. “We have requested the director sports, Punjab, a number of times to prevail upon the state government to bring the staff on the payrolls but to no avail,” Singh added. He said the staff contributed significantly towards various sports exercises like functioning of sports centres, sports wings, organisation of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Punjab State Games, First World Kabaddi Cup, Punjab Rural Sports besides other events. He urged the officials concerned to meet their demand and regularise them.
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Trials to select softball squads
Ludhiana, May 22 According to PN Passi, secretary, Punjab Softball Association, the selected players would have to attend preparatory coach camp at GNDU, Amritsar, to start from June 3.
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