Ludhiana, April 4
The tough posture adopted by the traffic police over the past one month has generated a whopping amount of Rs 38.52 lakh to the state exchequer between March 1 and 31. Besides, accidents in the city have decreased up to 20 per cent.

The data available with the department shows that 1,640 vehicles were towed away in March by the traffic police and Rs 8.20 lakh was generated by the department as fee while the recovery society generated Rs 6.52 lakh. In the CPRC (government fund), Rs 1.94 lakh was deposited.

As far as the challans are concerned, a total of 18,782 challans were issued to owners of two-wheelers and four-wheelers in March.

The defaulters had to pay a whopping amount of Rs 31.98 lakh as fine to the District Transport Office (DTO) and the courts. The amount generated at the spot (fine) has come out to Rs 6.54 lakh.

With all these fines/penalties, the state exchequer received an amount of about Rs 38.52 lakh. Also due to the strict measures adopted by the traffic police, the accident rate in the city area has decreased up to 20 per cent.

ACP Traffic Swapan Sharma confirmed that revenue had seen an increase of about 1.35 per cent in the last two months. “Still, a lot has to be done to improve the traffic situation in the city and we are trying hard to streamline it. Residents need to bring forth the desire to follow the traffic rules and we are going to act tough with the defaulters,” he said.

Ludhiana, April 4
The Lalton Division of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has served a demand note of Rs 55 lakh upon Bains Alloys, a firm owned by independent MLAs Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains, who successfully contested as rebel SAD-B nominees from Atam Nagar and Ludhiana South Assembly segments respectively.

Some eight teams of officials of enforcement wing of the PSPCL, drawn from different districts of Punjab, had conducted intensive checking of half a dozen large supply (LS) and two medium supply (MS) industrial units in the Gill Assembly segment under the administrative jurisdiction of Lalton division barely a day before the results of the Assembly segments were to be declared after counting of votes.

dring inspection of furnace unit owned by Bains Brothers, the raiding party had removed two energy meters that were sent to the meter examination (ME) laboratory for inspection. "The seals of the meters were found intact during examination and the energy meters were also tested as correct," an official of the PSPCL said.

However, based on the observations of the inspection report of the enforcement wing, the PSPCL found Bains Alloys being involved in unauthorised use of electricity. "A furnace unit was found working at a place other than where the load for this particular unit was sanctioned, which is irregular and amounts to unauthorised use," observed the PSPCL officials.

Crying foul, Simarjit Singh Bains charged the ruling SAD-B leadership with masterminding the raids on his unit a day before the counting of votes for Assembly polls. "Now that the official SAD-B candidates have lost both the assembly seats (Atam Nagar and Ludhiana South), the frustrated SAD-B leaders are trying to build more pressure on us by harassing us.

Talking to The Tribune, Bains claimed that all the electric installations, energy meters in his unit were found in order during the inspection. "And after nothing wrong was found in the two energy meters removed from our premises and tested in the ME Lab, the PSPCL has been made to serve a demand notice on frivolous technical grounds," he said.

Bains added that he intended to file a defamation suit against the Chief Engineer of Central Zone of the PSPCL, who had issued and signed the demand notice to his firm.

Ludhiana, April 4
The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) has started the fogging operations to check the spread of diseases during summer, but it has forgotten Ganda Nullah here, which is choked with polythene bags and garbage, hampering the flow of sewage. A large portion of this nullah has either been encroached upon or markets have developed alongside it over the years.

The markets in the old city that have come up along the nullah are Talaab Bazaar, Namak Mandi, Sadar Bazaar, electronics market, a part of Akalgarh Market and books market. In some areas, the MC even laid a road after covering the nullah.

It is learnt that due to encroachments, shops that were initially constructed on a six-feet land now measure 14 feet and above in some markets.

Councillor Parminder Mehta, from whose ward most of the nullah passes, said: “Some shopkeepers kept extending their shops by gradually covering the nullah in front of their shops. Over the years, the nullah disappeared. We get to see it only during the monsoon season when it gets choked.”

MC Joint Commissioner AS Sekhon said the nullah was cleaned every year before the start of the monsoon season. “Now, we are waiting for the next finance and contract committee (F&CC) meeting so that funds could be allocated for the cleaning of the nullah,” he said.

Ludhiana, April 4
The ongoing examination of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) has become a holiday package for some teachers of government schools as they enjoy leave on “off” days (when there is no exam) in between two exams. According to the directions of the Director-General School Education (DGSE), teachers have to attend schools on days when the examination is not conducted.

According to sources, it is a common trend among teachers that once a teacher is deployed on examination duty, he or she comes back to school only after the completion of the examinations. On the other hand, government schools of the district are facing a shortage of teachers because the PSEB has deployed teachers on examination duty.

Punjab education department officials said if any teacher did not join school when an examination was not being conducted, action could be taken against the teacher concerned.

“It is a common practice during examination days that teachers remain absent from the school on ‘off’ days of examination. No teacher union raises this issue, which is directly causing loss of studies,” said a teacher, requesting anonymity.

“Most of the time, the board examinations of Class X continues for a month. In all these 30 days, teachers are deployed for only eight to nine days for examination duty. But the teachers do not attend classes for the entire month. This practice should be stopped,” said a teacher.

Charanjit Singh, Deputy District Education Officer, said: “We know about these types of irregularities among teachers. Instructions are very clear from the DGSE’s office about this. If any teacher is reported absent from school on the off day of examination duty, the department would take strict action.”

Ludhiana, April 4
The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation officials are in a tizzy as some miscreants are regularly “attacking” low-floor buses, which are successfully running under the City Bus Service project. Two such attacks have been reported in the last few weeks, where the windows were broken by throwing stones while the buses were en route to their destination.

The first incident took place near Salem Tabri on February 20 and the second one at Shaheed Sukhdev Interstate Bus Terminus on March 7. The MC reported both these incidents to the police department but as the attackers were “unknown” persons, no action could be taken in this regard.

Ever since the City Bus Service started in the city on December 17, it has been running successfully. At present, a total of 10 low-floor non-AC buses are plying on only one route -- Shaheed Sukhdev Interstate Bus Terminus to the Jalandhar bypass -- and each bus is generating an average daily revenue of Rs 6,000.

A large number of people have started preferring these buses over auto-rickshaws because these are safe as well as comparatively cheaper. As a result, auto-rickshaw owners are suffering losses.

An MC official said on February 20, when a bus was passing through Salem Tabri, a motorcycle stopped in front of the bus. “Two persons got off, pelted the bus with stones and ran away. Till the time the driver and the conductor got off the bus to chase them, the duo had already sped away.

“The second incident took place when one of our driver’s was inside the bus terminus. At around 10.30 pm, when he was looking for space to park the bus, someone on the top of the flyover started throwing stones on the bus. In this incident, the rear glass was damaged,” a senior MC official said. Later, both these incidents were reported to the police department.

Such incidents are not only causing financial loss to the MC, but also causing harassment as it takes the civic body several days to arrange spare parts (front and rear glass windows) for the buses from Kolkata.

As these buses have been specially manufactured under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, spare parts cannot be purchased from the open market. Ordering even a single piece, takes even more time as the company urges the MC to purchase such parts in bulk instead of a single piece.

Two such incidents have taken place in the last few weeks, where people pelted stones on these buses, which led to the breakage of the front as well as the rear glasses.

Baljit Singh, manager of City Bus Service, confirmed the occurrence of such incidents and said it seemed to be the handiwork of those people whose business had been affected due to the City Bus Service. “I have asked all the drivers to remain vigilant while driving the vehicles,” he said.

Ludhiana, April 4
Nirmal Kaur is not an extraordinary girl and she did not do any thing unusual, but the thing that differentiates her from others special is her fighting sprit to join a male dominating training course of horticulture supervisor training.

Hailing from Wadala Granthian village of Gurdaspur district, she is passionate about horticulture supervisor training at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). Two years ago, Nirmal sent her application for admission for the course but it was rejected just because she was a girl. The course has 25 seats. But there was a myth about the course that only boys could be part of this training. The PAU authorities responded that they could not accommodate girls in the class.

After the rejection of her application, Nirmal had tried at PAU Regional Center, Gurdaspur. Last after the completion of "Gardening Class" from Gurdaspur, Nirmal tried again at Punjab Agricultural University and finally succeeded.

Talking about her final attempt, Nirmal Kaur said, "I was committed for the course as I met Vice-Chancellor and told him about my desire. Finally, he granted me admission in it."

"Now I am single girl among 24 boys. I have not faced any problem during the course. It is my wonderful experience and I am happy that I got admission after long struggle. I strongly believe that there is nothing that man can do and women cannot," said Nirmal.

Ludhiana, April 4
School bags having cartoon characters like Superman, Spiderman, Barbie dolls, Ben 10, Doremon, Pokemon and Hannah Montana are becoming a hit with students. Bags with various characters and popular television shows for children can be seen in the markets.

These characters can be seen on pencil boxes, notebooks, tiffins, files and folders. “Children are so crazy about cartoons that they want these characters everywhere, whether it is clothes, bags or stationery,” said Navpreet Singh, a parent.

“My seven-year-old will not settle for any other bag. He wanted the same Doremon bag that his classmate had last year,” he said.

My daughter was insistent on a Hannah Montana bag, said Nitika Sood, whose daughter studies in Class III. “These kids are living in a world of cartoon characters,” she added.

Nishu, a resident of Dev Nagar, said, “Children these days are not so excited about the new session or books. They wait for the new session so they get the new bags and stationery with their favourite cartoon characters.”

“Most of the bags in demand these days are those with cartoon characters and children shows. For girls, it is Hannah Montana bags, and for boys it Ben 10 that are selling the most,” said a store owner at Ghumar Mandi.

“These bags are coming in various qualities, as all manufacturers are cashing in on the cartoon craze amongst children,” he said. Though some of the schools are giving their own bags to children, but those in demand are with cartoon characters.

“I like the Spiderman bag. I want to buy it because all my friends have a Spiderman bag,” said Supreet, who is going to join Class V.

Ludhiana, April 4
Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Malwinder Singh Jaggi has directed his staff to prepare a final list of all buildings constructed in violation of the PUDA Act by Sunday. After the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the MC had decided to start an anti-encroachment drive against around 2,500 buildings in different parts of the city that have been constructed after 1995, are in violation of the PUDA Act and are within 5 meters from the main roads.

The MC had planned that all these violations had to be removed before April 15. the MC had sent notices to all such violators in March and after scrutiny of replies filed by building owners, Jaggi has now directed its staff from the building branch to conduct physical checking of all such buildings. After physical checking, the MC will go ahead with the drive and demolish all such buildings.

The MC will be carrying out the drive on roads- from Jalandhar Byepass Chowk to Sherpur Chowk, from Sherpur Chowk to Delhi Road Octroi Post, from Samrala Chowk to Chandigarh Road Octroi Post, from Jagraon Bridge to Ferozepur Road Octroi Post, from Jalandhar Byepass Chowk to Jalandhar Road Octroi Post and from Gill Chowk to Gill Road Octroi Post.

The MC officials found that more than 50 per cent of the violations exist on roads, starting from Jalandhar Byepass Chowk to Sherpur Chowk. But the MC might start this drive from the Jalandhar Byepass side, which falls in Zone A of the civic body.

Taking a note of illegal encroachments as well as the PUDA Act violations on prominent city roads, the MC had decided to demolish all structures that were within 5 meters distance from the main roads. A comprehensive survey in this regard was carried out by the Building Branch officials of the civic body and around 2,500 such violations were identified in different parts of the city. Notices were served to all violators twice.

A meeting in this regard was held on March 2 and it was decided to start the drive from March 6. But due to counting of votes for Vidhan Sabha on that day, the drive had to be postponed. Later, several delegations had met Jaggi and urged him to give them time so that they could demolish the buildings themselves.

Malwinder Singh Jaggi chaired another meeting yesterday and directed all staff of the building branch to visit all such buildings and prepare a final list by Sunday.

Ludhiana, April 4
Although the public procurement policy for micro and small enterprises lists 358 items exclusively reserved for the procurement from small-scale sector yet these are hardly procured from the MSEs. As a result, the bigger units are earning quick bucks.

Some of the items included in the list are nuts and bolts, hand tools, water tanks, steel furniture, cotton hosiery, blankets, diesel engines upto 15 HP, PVC pipes and cables, fire extinguishers, power invertors, garments and many other types of electrical appliances.

"There is a list of 358 items that are exclusively reserved to be supplied to all the central ministries, departments and public sector undertakings by the small-scale manufactures only but this practice is hardly followed," said Badish k. Jindal, president of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association.

We have even written a letter to Virbhadra Singh, minister of MSME, requesting him that the small-scale manufacturers can only supply 358 items to the government departments but the medium and large-scale companies are illegally supplying these items to the departments concerned. "The matter should be taken care of so that small units get their share of supplying items to the government departments," he said.

Adding further Jindal said a majority of these 358 items are procured from Punjab so the strict adherence of the policy will help in developing the small-scale industry.

Another small-scale industrialist, Naveen Garg, said these 358 items should be procured from the small units only as it would give a give a boost to them.

"It has been seen that sometimes even departments are also not aware of the reservation and it is openly flouted by them. Stern action should be taken against such those departments that are disobeying the guidelines of the government," said Garg.

Ludhiana, April 4
Deputy Commissioner, Rahul Tiwari while addressing a meeting to overview the arrangements for the procurement of wheat said, this year they were expecting nearly 9.22 lakh tonne wheat to arrive in the grain markets of the district.

Tiwari said, "All the arrangements for the procurement of wheat have been done and farmers will face no difficulty in the grain markets. We have set up 102 centres for the procurement where different procurement agencies like Markfed, Punsup, Warehouse, Punjab Agro, FCI and Pungrain have appointed their staff. Tiwari adding further said all the agencies have made arrangements for the storage of wheat and have been directed by the administration to clear the dues of the farmers immediately after the purchase. 

Ludhiana, April 4
The annual credit plan of the district was launched today by Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari here today at Bachat Bhawan. The credit plan was prepared by Punjab and Sind Bank being the lead bank of the Ludhiana district.

All 46 banks having 644 branches in Ludhiana district have been given the targets for disbursement of credit to the public/entrepreneurs in different sector for advances.

This plan will be one of the largest district credit plans of the country. During last year, 60 new bank/branches have been opened in Ludhiana district.

Tiwari while addressing the meeting said maximum loans should be distributed to agricultural sector and its allied occupations like fish farming, poultry farming, diary farming and floriculture.

Chief lead officer Jeet Singh while speaking on the occasion said the bank was running a rural self-employment centres and till date 917 poor families had been given free training.

Ludhiana, April 4
To make the beekeepers independent, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) is focusing more on marketing strategies for selling honey. This will also help the beekeepers to compete with private companies and brands available in market.

The PAU authorities are emphasising on small farmers of the state to adopt beekeeping as diversification and explore the possibility in the local market. Punjab state has more than 30,000 small and big beekeepers. Some of them have succeeded in getting international status in this business.

Major proportion of the production is exported to other countries as the Indians consume honey mostly as medicine not as meal.

A big section of beekeepers from small farmer is still not satisfied with the occupation as more often they fail to sell their product at the market rate. Yadwinder Singh a beekeeper said, "Honey exporters buy honey from the farmers at very less prices."

The PAU authorities admit that there was difference between procurement and sale price. According to the business management experts of PAU, marketing is also important for the beekeeping.

Now entomology, business management and marketing departments collaborating together found that packaging and labeling was very essential for the proper marketing of honey.

Professor PK Suneja, department of entomology, PAU said, "We consider marketing is very essential thing for the beekeeping. We have taken some imitative with the collaboration of Bee Keepers Association and PAU Kisan Club. Some of the beekeepers designed attractive packaging and labels to attract the customers in the local market. We also recommend pouches of honey, gift packs that should be introduced in local market."

Associate professor Ramandeep Singh department of business management said, "Bee keeping is a subsidiary occupation. Maximum subsidies are required in this business.

If any one wants to adopt beekeeping, he has to work individually on production, storage, transportation, consumer requirement and marketing. Product, price, place and promotion are the essential P's for this profession to get profit."

Doraha, April 4
Examination fear has always haunted one and all. But for some, it is really a Herculean task. Talking to a handful of candidates, especially the women, who are at passing through difficult times, taking exams is in no way an easy affair. Manpreet (name changed) who was in the advanced stage of pregnancy and was appearing for BA I exams in a local college said that studies were taking a heavy toll on her. She was having multiple problems related to her present physical position but the family situation was such that she had to study at any cost.

“My husband is not settled in his job as yet and getting a degree shall enable us to handle the family responsibilities together. Although I, sometimes, feel that like a fish out of water yet I hope that everything is going to be fine at the end of the day. A woman should be prepared for all times as favourable weathers seldom last. I am no longer alone rather, I have to think brightly for my coming child too,” expressed the expectant mother.

On the other hand is Harpreet (name changed) a newly married candidate, who was taking her final year exams.

“Marriage takes a heavy toll on your future as it brings in its wake responsibilities, liabilities and compulsions which you cannot avoid. I had never wished to get married at such an early stage. As everybody else, I too had high dreams as far as my professional settlement in life was concerned but my hopes were dashed to the ground when my father not only thought, but married me off in a mere month’s time. I had no choice but to bow before the dictates of my parents who, probably, thought that they could not get a better match for their daughter,” she said. “Being single and focused was really great but after marriage when you have different mental levels to deal with and that too in an entirely different atmosphere, you are sure to get defocused. It is just I in the in-laws who understand what does education means to me and hence, I am studying in an entirely disagreeable setup,” she added.

Another newly wed who was taking her university exams feels that she was studying to make her family comfortable. “I have to score good marks come what may. There is literally no choice for me but to act as a sound financial support for my family and only a good qualification can come to my rescue. Moreover, being a housewife alone, is no longer acceptable,” opined still another candidate who has recently been married.

Ludhiana, April 4
Emphasis on spread of technology needs special attention to ensure farmers can ripe the benefit of it said director of extension education, Dr MS Gill, while addressing gathering scientists from Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Farm Advisory Service Scheme (FASS), outstations of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).

The participating specialists shared useful feedback with the PAU scientists. The need for more training by the KVKs on mat-type paddy nursery amenable to mechanical transplanting was emphasised. Dr Gill suggested that new small niches in barley, jaggery making, mushroom growing, and sericulture, turmeric, popcorn and baby corn should be identified and technical know-how on these should be imparted on the farmers.

It was also suggested that the technology demonstration units should be made effective by the KVKs.

To bring precision in the technology transfer, touch screen system was being installed in the KVKs with the support of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, said Dr Gill. He said each KVK would have an outlet for the sale of seed, other products developed by KVK and farm literature.

Ludhiana, April 4
Health and Family Welfare Minister, Madan Mohan Mittal, said that his top priority was to ensure friendly relation between the doctor and the patients. The minister said it during his maiden visit to the city, here today.

Mittal said, "I will ensure that the government hospitals, having testing facilities, conduct all the required tests of the patients and that the patients may not have to go outside for these tests."

Talking about the availability of medicines in government hospitals and dispensaries, he said, "It will be strictly checked that the medicines of the government hospitals are provided to the patients only. Cleanliness will be ensured at all the hospitals. If a hospital is dirty it means the patients under treatment, there, are getting infection."

Ludhiana, April 4
As the petitions filed by Sutlej Club members Sanjiv Dhanda and Navtej Singh Natt challenging the recently held elections of office bearers were withdrawn by them a couple of days ago, recounting of votes for the post of bar secretary was conducted last evening.

Navtej Singh Natt and Sanjeev Dhanda, who had contested for the posts of the bar secretary and general secretary respectively had lost to their opponents. Natt, who lost the election by a margin of five votes, had filed an application with the court demanding recounting of votes.

Prem Chand, subdivisional magistrate, Phillour, and returning officer for the club elections, got the recounting of the votes done as a goodwill gesture in reciprocation to the withdrawal of the court case by Natt.

The recounting of votes was conducted at the club in the presence of the returning officer, Natt, winning candidate Rakesh Kapoor in the club office at about 7 in the evening, Chand said. The proceedings were also videographed, he said.

The returning officer said since the margin of victory for the post of bar secretary was very narrow, anyone could have doubts. "Although the counting has been done twice already, it was done the third time to quell any doubts about the conduct of the elections being above-board," he said.

"It was good that the case was withdrawn, it would have made little difference to the outcome though because we would have filed a reply in court," said Chand.

Ludhiana, April 4
The festival of Baisakhi was celebrated at the Lakshmi Ladies Club with fervour. It was the first festival after the installation of the new team at the club. The women of the club were all attired in the traditional Punjabi suits dressed-up with panache. Their gatherings added the charm to the evening as they danced on the beats of the dhol. The stalls were bedecked with the theme of Punjab.

A fashion show, depicting Punjabi costumes, was appreciated by the audience. Manmeet Mann of Nritya Academy choreographed it.

President, Neeta Sood, emphasised on the need to preserve and revive our culture to pass on the legacy to the next generation and highlighted the importance of our culture. Tambola games added the traditional "kitty" fun to the celebrations.

Ludhiana, April 4
Jagmohan Singh Warraich proved his metal by winning the coveted post of president of the District Bar Association (DBA), in the annual elections held, here today. He won the elections by defeating his nearest rival candidate Vijay B Verma with a margin of 54 votes.

Warraich secured 592 votes and Verma secured 538 votes. The other two contenders for the same post namely ND Chopra got 460 ballots and Ravinder Singh Grewal secured 257 votes.

Supporters of Warraich had started dancing much before the official announcement. When the result was declared, the supporters lifted him on shoulders and garlanded him.

Jagmohan’s candidature was strongly backed by members of ex-Bar Council Chairman, Harish Rai Dhanda, ex-DBA president Naval Kishore Chhibber, Harish Narang, DBA vice-president JS Miglani, Rana Surat Singh, SP Sharma, HS Miglani and Sachin Arora.

Assistant returning officer, Mandip Sidhu, apprised that out of 2116 votes, 1829 were polled. He said that the election remained peaceful under the strict vigil of around 50 policemen.

Gurvinder Singh Sodhi was elected as secretary by defeating his opponent, Parminder Pal Singh Ladi, with a margin of 248 votes. Sodhi received 1029 votes and his opponent secured 781 votes.

Showing good sportsmanship, Ladi congratulated Sodhi over his victory.

For the post of vice-president, Ashok Sharma was declared the winner. He defeated his nearest contestant RK Battish with a margin of 83 votes. Ashok got 662 votes, Battish got 579 and another contestant Yashbir Chowdhary got 547 votes.

Aman Sharma became joint secretary of the DBA by defeating his rival candidate Davinder Pal Singh with a margin of 610 votes. Aman got 1200 votes and Davinder Pal got 590 votes.

Gurjinder Singh Sahni was elected as finance secretary. He defeated his rival candidate Sukhvinder Bhatia with a margin of 155 votes. Sahni got 969 votes, whereas Bhatia secured 814 votes.

Ludhiana, April 4
A monthly meeting of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Kisan Club was held at the College of Home Science here today. About 250 farmers attended the meeting. PPS Pangli, president of the club, said with the efforts of PAU

Vice-Chancellor, Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon, a “Seed and Nursery Production Wing” had been set up in the club, the first meeting of which would be held on April 25-26. Farmers can get their names registered with general secretary Amarinder S Poonian and in charge of the club Dr TS Riar for the membership. Pangli said the next meeting of the club would take place on May 3 at Dr Borlaug Wheat Auditorium of the university. A “Commemorative Award for Best Extension Service” was instituted in memory of Prof Balwant S Pangli.

Ludhiana, April 4
As jewellers have gone on an indefinite strike to protest against the hike in excise duty and imposition of consumer tax, narrow alleyways of Sarafan Bazar have been wearing a deserted look since weeks.

Dharampal Verma, for whom it is a family business, sits in front of his tiny shop with shutters down.

Weighing the impact of the budget proposal, he said the business had already gone down and with these taxes it would dip further. “Our margins will go down further,” said 67-year-old Verma.

Another jeweller Suresh Jain from the same bazaar whose shop along with others have been shut since weeks in protest over the new tax regime, said “We fear the return of “Inspector Raj” set. We will be harassed in the name of inspection,” he added.

Harmohan Lal, a sixth-generation shopkeeper at his family’s shop in Sarafan Bazar, said he would not be able to understand the complexities of new taxes. “Although we are facing huge losses due to the strike, we have no other option left. If the new taxes are levied, people will leave the business,” he added.

Small jewellers are ready to bear the losses rather than accept the taxes. Higher gold taxes can make imports of cheaper items from Thailand more attractive as they carry only a 1 per cent import duty.

Meanwhile, Anand Sikri, president of the Ludhiana Jewellers Association, was in Mumbai to attend the meeting of Gems and Jewellery Association of India. “Presidents of all associations from across the country came to attend the meeting and decided to be firm and continue with the indefinite strike till the taxes are rolled back.

Ludhiana, April 4
He looks like a foreign tourist with flowing beard and lose short hair with a camera in hand. Only when he starts speaking in the colloquial Punjabi, that he becomes the “desi” boy and desi shutterbug. Harpreet Singh better known as Harp Farmer is all set to unveil his photography exhibition at MS Randhawa Exhibition Hall at Punjab Agricultural University on April 9 titled “Colours of Punjab.”

The exhibition captures various facets and hues of rural Punjab, including the fields, farmers, landscape of the state. He is a software engineer from the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Pune. But he's too passionate about photography to go for anything else and photography is his passion. He has made small films and released them online on his website. "It all started when my brother sent me a point and shoot camera from Abui Dhabi. I got hooked on to it and it became a passion for me," he said. "Now the passion is turning into profession and my camera has also improved with the time," he said.

Ludhiana, April 4
Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashish Choudhry, has ordered closure of meat/chicken shops under Section 144 tomorrow on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti. The DCP said since Mahavir Jayanti was a religious occasion, slaughtering animals on the day would be inauspicious.

The sale and purchase of meat/eggs/chicken or other non-vegetarian products will not be allowed anywhere in Ludhiana Commissionerate, said Choudhry.

Ludhiana, April 4
The district administration has asked the representatives of educational institutes (colleges, schools, universities etc) to constitute anti-ragging team sqauds and the list with names and telephone numbers of the team must reach them (administration) by April 10. Besides, each educational institute needs to provide a common number (telephone), which should be attended to round the clock so that the student in need can easily lodge his/her complaint on that.

A meeting on this issue was held with police officials and representatives of various Educational Institutions by ADC Pradeep Aggarwal at Bachat Bhawan today. — TNS

Ludhiana, April 4
Yoga, the ancient wisdom of meditation and fitness of mind, body and soul, seems to be witnessing resurgence in the city. Upmarket gyms and fitness centres are adding yoga in their fitness regimen. Yoga studios and centres exclusively for teaching yoga bear the testimony to the trend. Television shows like Yoga Sutra and Yoga City are only adding the style quotient to the age-old practice.

Shivani Bajwa, who runs such a studio by the name of Yoga Sutra, says that Yoga provides a soulful experience not only for body, but also nourishes the soul.

"I joined gymnasium, and became fitter, lost weight. After some months of workout, my body became muscular and turned in shape. I was happier, yet an emotional gap remained. The sense of fulfillment came only after practising yoga," feels Rohit, a resident of Civil Lines, who goes for yoga classes every morning.

Although the concept of yoga studio was more common in metros like Delhi yet the realisation about the fitness through yoga was also dawning to the city says Bajwa. Here though, more people join such classes more after they get the weight problem, she says.

Rather than waiting for problems to occur before stepping into a fitness regime, she said that Yoga was an antidote multitude of problems like asthma, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, and even cancer. "Through Yoga therapy, you could overcome psychosomatic ailments, control your mind and deal with emotional turmoil," she says. "These can be more shattering than physical ailments as they affect not only mind but also the physical being," she said.

"That is in part why yoga needs to be taken up in a professional manner. Discipline and professionalism in the practitioner and teacher both is very important," she says, citing the need for a special studio. For the studio she has incorporated some alternative therapies and techniques like Pilates for improving the experience.

Performing Yoga in a disciplined and professional way, one does not get exhausted but rather all charged-up, energised and rejuvenated to take on your day, said Shivani.

Mandi Gobindgarh, April 4
On the complaint of Ramesh Kumar Bansal, son of Ram Gopal Bansal, a resident of Mandi Gobindgarh, the local police has registered an FIR against Krishna Agricultural Steel Works, Dharam Mill Road, Mandi Gobindgarh, and booked Pawan Kumer, Krishna Devi, Bimal Kumar and Deepak Kumar, all partners, under Sections 415, 420 IPC.

The complainant stated that the party used to borrow money and return it along with interest. An amount of Rs 1,72,84,334 was due towards the party. It gave two cheques for Rs 50 lakh of the HDFC Bank, Mandi Gobindgarh, dated October 11, 2011, and second cheque for Rs 2 crore dated October 20, 2011, of Panjab National Bank, Mandi Gobindgarh, but both the cheques were dishonoured. In HDFC Bank, the party had no balance while the PNB returned the cheque on the ground that the payment had been stopped by the party. Thereafter, the alleged accused party did not pay the money. The complainant lodged a complaint with the police following which an inquiry was marked into the case.

No arrest has been made so far.

Ludhiana, April 4
Kawalpreet Kaur took to swimming like a duck to water. A student of Class XII at Guru Nanak Public School, she is dogged in her determination to be a great swimmer.

"No one in our family has been in sports. All of them have been into academics and business. But I want to lead the way to sports," said the 16-year-old. Although she wasn't sure about which sport to choose, but as a swimming pool facility was near her house at a community centre in Dugri, she just took the plunge five years ago and never looked back.

Her moment of pride came when she participated in school games in 2010. She clinched three golds in 50m, 100m, 200m. “I was totally surprised when I got three gold medals in my first-ever tournament," she said.

In the next tournament at the junior state level competition held at Jalandhar last year, she won golds in 50m, 100m, 200m butterfly; 400m freestyle and 20 m individual medley, breaking the record of the past 20 years.

She won two bronze medals in the national school games last year and was declared clinched eight medals in the Women's state championships, including five golds, a silver and two broze medals in addition to the cash prize of Rs 14,000.

She has her eyes on the next state level competition coming up. She goes to MC swimming pool every morning at 4.30 and work out for three hours. The practice resumes after school when she again practise for two hours.

Her father Narinder Singh, businessman, said, “We came to know about her talent when she first swam. The coach there had said she has talent. I am hopeful that she would play the Olympics.”

But the state government needs to do more to support and encourage the sport and sportspersons, he said.

Her coach Amandeep Kaur said she is a good swimmer and has a bright future.

She admires Bishakha Singh, another coach, and Australian swimmer Stephany Rice.Talking about her dreams, she said, "At present, my goal is to play at international level."