Ludhiana, February 10
Pointing a finger at Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) for its failure to send the removed or replaced energy meters to the ME lab for testing, a citizen group has demanded a vigilance probe into the bungling which could have caused a massive loss of revenue to the power utility.

On the basis of the information obtained under the RTI Act, the city-based Council of RTI Activists has sent a complaint to the Chairman and Managing Director of the PSPCL against the grave lapse by the officials who failed to send more than 600 energy meters, which had ben removed from the premises of consumers of different categories, to the ME lab for testing in order to detect the tampering of meters.

According to the procedures laid down by the PSPCL, all the removed or replaced energy meters have to be sent to the ME lab within one week for testing in the presence of the consumers, and in case of tampering or broken seals, cases of power theft are made out against the consumers which involve imposition of penalty depending upon the average consumption.

According to the information provided by the Deputy Chief Engineers of East Circle under Central Zone, 180 defective energy meters were still to be sent to the ME lab. Similarly, in the West Circle also 443 energy meters which were removed from Aggar Nagar (158), Janta Nagar (49) and under the APDRP scheme (236) have not been sent to the ME Lab for further testing and subsequent action, if any.

In the complaint lodged with the CEO of the PSPCL, Rohit Sabharwal, president of the the Council of RTI Activists, has apprehended that the failure to send the removed or replaced energy meters to the lab for testing could be due to some ulterior motives of the field staff who might have struck deals with the consumers concerned under the pretext of saving them from the penalty for theft of electricity, and thus causing huge loss of revenue to the PSPCL.

The council has urged the PSPCL top brass to order a vigilance probe so as to fix the responsibility of the guilty officials who failed to get the energy meters tested, which is a statutory requirement, and thereby caused loss of revenue which could have accrued from detection of theft of electricity in the case of tampered energy meters.

Ludhiana, February 10
Hard work coupled with consistent performance resulted in Pranav Chopra's selection as a member of the Indian badminton contingent to participate in the upcoming Thomas Cup slated to be held at Macau in China from February 13 to 19.

According to a communique from the Badminton Association of India (BAI), Pranav Chopra, a trainee of the Ludhiana Badminton Academy has been chosen to play in the doubles category in this prestigious event. His partner will be Akshay Dewalkar from Maharashtra.

It is pertinent to mention that Pranav has performed exceedingly well in the national as well as international badminton tournaments in the recent past, where he competed in the junior section.

Pranav's achievement won accolades for himself as he grabbed bronze medal at Bulgarian Open Badminton Tournament where a number of world-seeded shuttlers were seen in action. He also finished at the podium clinching a silver medal in the Swiss International Tournament, held later last year.

He gave a stunning performance winning gold medal in the TATA International Badminton Tournament where the pair of Pranav and Akshay overpowered world number 26 and seven times national champions pair of Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar.

The BAI has sent Pranav abroad where his training under the watchful eyes of world-famous coaches polished his game further.

Talking to The Tribune over the phone, Pranav expressed hope that he, along with Akshay, would bring laurels to the country.

Ludhiana, February 10
The Basant is in the air, weather is in perfect balance in the idyllic state in transition from nippy to sultry, the sun is pleasant and warm before it turns searing, the gentle breeze has the tickle of winter and the warmth of the sun. The Basant lingers on and the air of expectancy of Valentine’s Day imbues love and romance.

With the change of the weather, the everyday life is also seeing the change. Anil, a resident of Basant Vihar, says the best part about this weather for me is that there is no sweat and no shiver. One is weather-free in this season, and thus everything seems to be pleasant.

While there is still some time before the exams begin in March, Guddu, who studies in class IX, does aerobics and power yoga in this fine weather. In winter it was getting difficult for me to get out of the bed early in the morning, but now with the weather changing, I go for a walk in the morning and do power yoga to improve my fitness and concentration, early in the morning. Govind, who studies at SCD Government College, says earlier he used to go to a gym late. Now, he hits the gym at 5.30 in the morning.

Couples and friends are making the best of Valentine’s Day fervour by attending dance classes and spending more time together. Some dance studios like the Sangita Institute of Performing Arts and Amit Verma’s Footloose Academy are also offering free entry to dance workshops to make people refine their dance steps to jazz up the Valentine’s Day parties with salsa, chacha, tango and gain fitness through aerobics and power yoga. “With the Basant on, we’re celebrating the season by learning new dance steps,” says Rishabh, who is attending dance classes for Valentine’s Day.

Markets have more to offer with the changing season. End-of-the-season sales are a cause of cheer for shoppers.

Ludhiana, February 10
The incident of killing of teacher by a student in Chennai has sparked a debate in the city schools about the root causes of such intransigence, unruliness and increasing sensitivity towards rebuff and whether students should be given leeway by changing educational system.

"There was a time when teachers were looked at with awe and respect. The respect emanated from the discipline and power that a teacher used to have over students. With the radical changes in the education, students have been made ‘sacrosanct’ in schools and teachers have to dance to their whims and fancies," said a female teacher. Let alone the use of a rod, a mild rebuff makes their tempers run high, which are followed by litany of complaints by parents, she says.

"These incidents are the consequence of giving too much freedom to children. Reducing pressure on children can only make them intolerant of stress or any disciplinary action," said Anita, who teaches in a private school.

A lack of fear for teachers in students’ minds have also diminished their respect, says another teacher. I think the old school system is the best and the implementation of discipline for a young mind is a must to channelise their energies in the right direction, says Rohit, teacher with a private school.

The changing values because of the changing atmosphere around the young minds are also a cause of such incidents according to some teachers. The exposure to violence in the guise of video games and the attitude of permissiveness reflected by the media these days are only increasing the complications for a teenage and adolescent mind, burdening them subliminally, said Hema, another teacher.

Ludhiana, February 10
The government school authorities have been facing a shortage of male staff to combat a different kind of problem. If the alarming rise in the incidents of indiscipline in the schools is any indication, the government schools have been finding it difficult to control growing indiscipline among students.

Since 2009, the recruitment of male teachers on the basis of merit against female category staff has been very low and due to these conditions, the decorum of the schools has disturbed very much. It may be noted that in 2009, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had given a verdict on the petition of Neelam Rani and others, after which the clause differentiating between the male and female teachers at the  time of recruitment was struck down.

After this clause was struck down, the male teacher's ratio decreased a lot in the department and some of the teachers are alleging that students of higher secondary classes can not be easily control by female staff.

"The schools need a balanced staff of male and female teachers, as male teachers are known for their strict behaviour and on the other hand female teachers are having soft approach towards students. Apart from that students’ psychological problems are well managed by a male teacher," said a teacher of the local government school.

Dr Khushvinder Kumar, renowned educationist, said: "There might be some exceptional cases of male teachers’ effect on students as female teachers are well versed in handling students".

He said it is not a unidimensional reason for not having decorum in the schools but quite a few other factors are also responsible for the prevailing indiscipline. He said with a rise in the number of female teachers, the concept and approach of rote learning has gained momentum.

Ludhiana, February 10
Resentment continues to prevail among the non-teaching employees of Punjab Agricultural University over the delay in the release of their salary. Protest rallies and marches are a routine affair on the PAU campus. The PAU Class IV Workers Union has been protesting since February 3.

The employees take out a two-hour rally everyday and shout slogans against the Punjab government for turning a blind eye towards their plight. “These employees have no other alternative but to hold protests as there is no one to address their problems. The government should release their salary as it becomes difficult for them to run their households,” said Manjot Dhaliwal, a student of BSc agriculture.

“The official work is being affected. The authorities should accept their demands,” said a PAU official. Vice-president of the PAU Employees Union Lakhwinder Singh Sandhu said, “We do not have any other option. Steps should be taken to tide over the problem. Our salary should be released at the earliest.”

Ludhiana, February 10
Panic spread in Sarabha Nagar area after the authorities of a kindergarten located on the Sat Pal Mittal Road found a piece of paper on which it was written that the school would have to face dire consequence if it organised a function which is to be held in a few days.

The incident came to light here this evening when the school authorities received an anonymous letter.

The letter also had a mention of Osama Bin Laden. The writer further went on to state that if the school authorities would go ahead with its decision of organising the function, it would have to face dire consequences.

The school authorities went in a tizzy and informed the police about the incident. The police sounded an alert and the area was cordoned off, which further led to a traffic jam.

A search was conducted in the school. It is one of the top schools in the city, with wards of police officials, bureaucrats and industrialists studying there.

However, the police has termed it a cheap prank by some mischievous elements.

Meanwhile, the school authorities denied having received any letter. They added that police personnel were deployed in the area as a senior police official wanted to get his child admitted to the school.

Kulwinder Singh, ADCP-III, said the prankster would be nabbed soon.

Ludhiana, February 10
“Ectopia-2012”, the three-day annual inter-batch cultural extravaganza being held at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), entered its second day today. The event was inaugurated by treasurer of the DMCH Managing Society Satish Sanwalka Gupta yesterday.

Sanwalka lauded the efforts of students and members of the DMCH Cultural Committee for organising the programme. Principal Dr Daljit Singh declared the meet open. Chairperson of the DMCH Cultural Committee Dr Sandeep Puri welcomed guests. More than 300 students participated in various events like sketching, mehandi and tattoo making. A debate on “Children are not bad, it’s the parents” was held. Skits were also presented.

Results

Debate: Pukhraj (batch 2011) 1, Vibhushit (batch 2009) 2, Akshjot (batch 2007) and Rishu (batch 2009) 3; skits: Batch 2007 1, batch 2008 2 and batch 2011 3; group songs: batch 2011 1, batch 2007 2 and batch 2009 3; solo songs (men): Rishu (batch 2009) 1, Praful (batch 2007) 2 and Gurminder (batch 2011) & Gurvir (batch 2010) 3; (women): Madhurima (batch 2008) 1, Anmol Sidhu (batch 2011) 2 and Ripujit (batch 2009) and Devanshi (batch 2011) 3; sketching Parjeet Kaur (batch 2010) 1, Anita (batch 2007) 2 and Jaskaran Singh (batch 2008) 3; mehandi: Monica (batch 2010) and Aina (batch 2009), Gurkamal (batch 2007) and Mehak (batch 2007) 2 and Parjeet (batch 2010) and Mini (batch 2011) 3; tattoo making: Puneet Singh (batch 2007) 1; Nimrata (batch 2008) 2 and Jasgun (batch 2010) 3.

Dehlon, February 10
The police has started a probe into the murder of a septuagenarian woman at her residence in Dharaur village.

Though kin of the deceased alleged that she was killed with an intention to rob the house, an amount of Rs 20,000 that was withdrawn by her from a bank, was lying near the body and the miscreants had not stolen anything from the house. Though the exact cause of the death of Kartar Kaur will only be ascertained after the postmortem, the police suspects that the miscreants might have hit her with a sharp-edged weapon.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Kartar Kaur had gone to a bank situated at Kohara village to withdraw Rs 20,000 from her savings account after her son and daughter-in-law left for work in the morning. While it is being suspected that the crime was committed at around 12.30 pm, the family came to known about the incident only after 3.30 pm when Kartar’s daughter-in-law, who works in a school, returned home.

The main door of the house was found open and the victim was lying in a pool of blood.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Sikand said a case under Sections 302 and 392 of the IPC was registered against the unidentified accused. He added that a special team was also constituted to probe the matter.

Ludhiana, February 10
Lawyers have started gearing up for the annual polls of the District Bar Association, Ludhiana, scheduled for April 4. The elections to all the District Bar Associations across Punjab and Haryana will be held on the same day.

Today, it was the last day for depositing annual subscription fee for lawyers, the condition for becoming eligible for casting vote.

Around 600 lawyers today deposited their subscription fee. President of the DBA Ashok Mittal and its secretary Gurkirpal Singh Gill said 2,205 lawyers had deposited their fee. Last year there were 2,162 voters.

For the coveted post of president four aspiring contestants have started campaigning. They are Jagmohan Singh Warraich (former president of the DBA), Vijay B Verma and ND Chopra, both former vice-presidents of the DBA, and Ravi Grewal, for secretary of the association.

Ludhiana, February 10
"Aab-e-Hayat" a Sufi evening was organised at Sanat Wali Dargah in Kitchlu Nagar by the Takshashila Education Society in collaboration with Delhi Public School.

During the event, Sudarshan Sharma was honoured for classical singing. More than 300 students attended the event. Sharing different aspects of Sufi music, he said that Sufi music was all about the praise of the Almighty God. Ustad Nile Khan with his troupe gave a mesmerising performance. He sang the classical song of “Dama Dam Mast Kalandar”. A noted classical vocalist Sundanda Sharma was also presen.

Ludhiana, February 10
Ganga Acrowools presented its “Autumn Winter Yarn Collection 2012-13” here today. Leading manufacturers from the city attended the presentation that focused on new products- “Warmie” (high bulk, bright and soft acrylic yarn), “Angora Like Yarn” and “Low Pill Yarn”.

Dr Ravinder Verma, managing director, Ganga Acrowools, said the company exported yarn to more than 40 countries.

Amit Thapar, another partner, said the company’s turn-over was Rs 150 crore and in the next five years, it planned to expand further.