Ludhiana, June 13
In an accident, the parents of 12- year- old boy, who was crushed to death by a private bus at the bus stand here today, affected a compromise with the bus driver.

The incident took place this morning when the boy indentified as Akul Shekh was collecting rags at the bus stand. Alam Shekh, who lives in a shanty located close to the bus stand, reached a compromise with the erring bus driver.

Sources said that the compromise was made for a few thousand rupees. However, the investigating officer feigned ignorance. “I do not know how much money the victim’s parents have taken from the bus driver. My job is to record the statement and I have done that,” said the investigating officer.

A resident who was instrumental in striking the mutual settlement said, “It was just an accident, the driver was not at fault. He was reversing the vehicle and could not spot the child who was collecting rag from nearby. The victim’s parents are poor and they don’t have money to fight a long legal battle. It is good that they have been compensated for the loss.” The investigating officer said the driver of a private bus was reversing the vehicle when the boy was crushed to death. The driver could not spot the boy.

Commuters raised the alarm and informed the police about the incident.

The parents also reached the spot. The mother of the victim was inconsolable. She justified the move of her husband and said the registration of a case against the driver could not bring back her son.

Ludhiana, June 13
Out of the 31 members of the revenue department advisory committee, only five attended a meeting held by the panel at Bachat Bhawan here today. The committee members complained that they were not informed about the meeting.

As many as 13 district advisory committees, said to be the brainchild of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, were formed by selecting people from different walks of life, so that the selected group of people could further bring the problem to the notice of the officials for timely redressal.

Kultar Singh Jogi, a member of the general council, said that only two persons were informed about the meeting.

“Two of us, Kanwar Jatinder Singh Bajwa, secretary, Youth Akali Dal, and I were informed about the meeting. We further informed three others members. The official did not even bother to inform the other members about the meeting,” Jogi said.

On the other hand, Bajwa said that the advisory committee members were losing interest due to the lackadaisical attitude of the officials.

“It has been three years since I have been fighting for transparency in “patwarkhanas”. I have been requesting the officials to paste the rate list of “farad” and ”Intqual” (mutation record) outside each patwarkhana, but so far the officials have not been able to affix the rate list, for reason best known to them. Patwarkhanas have become a den of corruption and affixing the rate list will counter bribery in the department at some level,” Bajwa said.

“Patwaris are never found in their offices. The government should make some arrangement to ensure the attendance of patwaries in office. A chart should be made and the timing of the patwaries should be pasted outside the patwarkhana so that the residents are can meet them if need be,” said Jogi.

Rupinder Singh Sandhu complained that after registry of land, the “farad” was not being sent to the house of the purchasers. He complained that the residents had to shuttle from one office to another to collect farad.

Ludhiana, June 13
To dissuade liquor contractors from indulging in overpricing of beer, the excise and taxation department has given relaxation of Rs 5 and now the price of chilled beer stands at Rs 80 per bottle. An extra Rs 5 is being charged by tavern owners as chilling charges. New rate lists pasted outside the vends read as strong beer priced at Rs 75, chilled beer at Rs 80 (chilling charges Rs 5).

"We have given a relaxation of Rs 5 to the liquor contractors as they charge extra Rs 5 for chilled beer. Even those selling cold drink charge extra money for chilling then why not they. We have given a relaxation of Rs 5 so they are selling chilled beer at Rs 80. But they are not allowed to charge more than Rs 80. Earlier, cases were reported where beer was being sold for Rs 100 per bottle, so to curb this practice we have allowed them to charge an extra Rs 5 as refrigeration charges," said Kanwalpreet Brar, DETC.

A vend owner at Pakhowal road said, "We are charging an extra Rs 5 as refrigeration charges. Even for cold drinks shopkeepers charge extra for chilling. Light beer is priced at Rs 70 while Rs 75 is fixed for strong beer and in addition to this we charge Rs 5 for refrigeration," he said.

Lalit Sood, a consumer, said, "Charging Rs 5 for refrigeration is fine as earlier the customers were overcharged and beer was sold at Rs 100 per bottle. Shelling out Rs 5 extra is a better option than paying Rs 25 as earlier," he added.

Ludhiana, June 13
The arrest of five persons from Kharar, who were entering Chandigarh after creating a ruckus in the Salem Tabri area during the civic polls that led to the murder of Gurvinder Singh, alias Bunty Bajwa, former Sarpanch of Bahaduke village, has yet again brought to the fore that anti-social elements were taking shelter in City Beautiful.

Suspects identified as Vikramjit Singh of Mansa, Jaswant Singh of Talwandi Sabo, Navjit Singh of Harike, Jaspreet Singh and Gagandeep Singh were travelling in SUV bearing the registration number of Chandigarh and were nabbed from Kharar while trying to enter Chandigarh.

The five suspects were said to be the accomplices of the main accused Karanbir Singh, who allegedly shot dead Bunty Bajwa during the civil poll in Salem Tabri.

After killing Bajwa the accused had opened fire and damaged over 10 vehicles to scare away the crowd. During the investigation, it has come to light that the accused were planning to hide in Chandigarh.

The accused said that they opted for Chandigarh to hoodwink the police, as the City Beautiful was considered a high-security area and the investigating team would not have suspected that they were hiding there.

It has also come to light that the main accused Karanbir Singh alsoused to live in Chandigarh. Karanbir was lodged in Burail Jail in connection with a criminal case.

It was in Chandigarh that Karanbir had formed the gang to settle scores with Bunty Bajwa.

The civic polls gave Karanbir the opportunity he was looking for. He along with his gang member killed Bajwa. The police is suspecting that Karanbir might be hiding in Chandigarh.

Recently, the Fathegarh police nabbed the All Players Gang, notorious as Fortuner Gang, that was behind several high- profile robberies, including Rs 47 lakh Bonn bread Rs 19 lakh Kitty bread robbery case, that took place in the city.

During the investigation it was found that the members of the Fortuner Gang had occupied two apartments, one in Sector 39 and the other in Sector 55.

The police even questioned the owners of the two apartments and asked them whether they knew about the activities of the gang members.It is learnt that the accused paid nearly Rs 20,000 as rent for both the houses.

Officials said that the arrest of the member of the Fortuner Gang had shocked the resident of the locality.

“The gang members used to live a lavish life and the residents were thinking that they were spoilt brats of nouveau riche, they were aghast when they came to know about their activities,” said the investigating officer for Fathegarh Sahib.

Ludhiana, June 13
Since the price of gold is skyrocketing, people are indulging in the sale of gold to earn some quick buck. Gold in India is regarded as an investment and whenever a family is in need they sell it. Recently, the metal has recorded an all-time high price, so the people are making the most of it.

"Many people are coming forward to sell their gold, especially gold coins. It is not that they are in need of money but they are doing so to earn some easy money. Since the gold price is skyrocketing they are taking it as an opportunity to make some extra money," said Ram Parkash, a jeweller at Ghumar Mandi.

He said people are not only selling their gold ornaments and other stuff in silver too. Consumers are trying to make maximum out of the situation by selling silver since most of the old silver ornaments and pieces like vases, utensils are not used today," he said.

Another jeweller, Kishore Kukreja from Sarafan Bazar said that daily he received at least two customers who wanted to sell off their gold coins or old gold ornaments. They felt it was a suitable time to sell off their old ornaments and make some easy money.

Subhash Jain, a customer, said he usually bought gold coins when the price of gold was towards the lower side and sold them off when the prices were high. "I sold two of my gold coins this season earned a handsome amount. Whenever the price of gold will see a lower trend I will buy more coins and wait for the right time to sell them off in the market," he added.

Mandi Ahmedgarh/ Payal/ Dehlon, June 13
Even though the Supreme Court of India had declined to lift the ban on sale of tobacco products in plastic sachets, traders are playing with lives of innocent people, including children and elderly men, by selling ungraded chewing tobacco in polyethene sachets.

These sachets are also available at many tuck shops near educational institutes despite the law forbidding the sale of tobacco products within a radius of 100 metres of these organisations.

Gill Assistant Commissioner of Police, Gurpreet Singh Sikand, said he had directed all beat officers to initiate action against violators in such cases are brought to their notice by residents or NGO's.

“Though nobody has yet approached us with this problem, we will take action after coordinating with authorities in health department,”€� said Sikand.

Investigations revealed that chewing tobacco is being sold in open market in gross violation of the directions of the apex court of India. Though big tobacco companies had shifted to paper bags after the apex court declined to lift the ban on sale of tobacco products in plastic bags last year, petty traders, with intention to make handsome profit, started selling the product in plastic bags.

These sachets carrying ungraded chewing tobacco are available for Rs 5 each at almost all grocery shops.

Investigations further revealed that many households in the region are engaged in supplying these sachets to the market. While these suppliers earn a significant profit by selling crude tobacco, available at Rs 30 to Rs 40 per kg, for Rs 3 to Rs 4 per packet to shopkeepers; retailers earn upto 50 to 70 per cent profit by selling these for Rs 5 to Rs 6 each.

To befool authorities some suppliers get 'lime pack' printed on the sachets. Though the MRP on these packs is printed as 50 paisa, they are sold for Rs 5 each.

Confirming the observations, Rajinder Kumar, office bearer of a tobacco manufacturer company, said their organisation would seek intervention of administration to check the supply of ungraded tobacco products.

Ludhiana, June 13
Next time you give examinations at PU make sure that your answersheet is presentable as it might be preserved for other students for reference. Panjab University is mooting a proposal on the lines of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to preserve the flawless answersheets.

The proposal has been by a PU senator Dilip Kumar to PU Vice-chancellor, sent on behalf of the evaluators. It has been recommended “to upload the best attempted answersheets or model answer sheets by citing the case of the answersheet of Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India.”

An examiner once wrote on the answersheet of Dr Rajendra Prasad, "Examinee knows better than examiner" and the answersheet was eventually preserved a century ago".

This will help other students to have a fair idea on how to attempt questions during examinations, said the teachers.

AK Bhandari, PU Registrar said, "The suggestion of evaluators is a welcome move. The CBSE has been following a similar mechanism. If the evaluators identify such papers for us, we will definitely preserve them and upload such model answersheets on different subjects from different colleges on the university web portal. It will serve as an example for other students on how to write a paper in a neat and clean way."

There are certain extraordinary students who write their papers so well that the examiner cannot find a reason to deduct a single mark. The best attempted sheets must be kept aside as samples. The flawless answer sheets should be uploaded on the university portal which will prove as an inspiration for others, added a lecturer from a local college.

Khamano, June 13
Fed up with the poor supply of domestic gas by an agency, several residents here blocked traffic on Ludhiana-Chandigarh Road near Ranwan village.

Led by Balvir Singh, a resident of Bilaspur village, the protesters alleged that they are not getting LPG cylinders on time. They have to wait for several days despite booking the cylinders on time.

The protesters alleged that they are forced to stand in long queues in this scorching heat due to the poor supply. They have to leave their works in order to get one cylinder. Yet the employees of a gas agency at Morinda are not paying any attention to their demand.

The residents said they booked the LPG cylinders on May 30 but are still waiting for the cylinders. Adding to woes, the gas agency officials have asked them to wait for another week. They also alleged that agencies charge Rs 10 to deliver cylinders to customers’ homes. But now, the customers have to wait in long queues to collect them.

They alleged that the workers of the gas agency are selling the cylinders on high rates illegally.

Sub-inspector Darshan Singh reached had spoken to the management of the gas agency, who assured that they will deliver the cylinders on time. Only after the assurance the protesters let the traffic flow.

Many suffered due to the roadblock. Satwant Singh, who was going towards Chandigarh in his car, said he had a time-bound work in Chandigarh. Due to the roadblock, he was later for half-an-hour.

Although the police diverted some vehicles through different routes, several others were stranded in the blockade.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 13
Situation turned tense here yesterday with various localities in the town calling a bandh to show solidarity with Malwa-organisations who have been protesting against reports of cow slaughter in Joga village of Mansa district.

Majority of localities in Mandi Ahmedgarh and surrounding villages observed complete bandh.

As soon as the shops were opened in the morning, activists and office-bearers of certain Hindu radical organisations started gathering at Bhagat Singh Chowk. After staging a rally and dharna there, they marched through streets and markets. They raised slogans against the civil and police administration and accused them of helping and shielding those involved in ‘killing’ cows.

The protesters later marched through Gandhi Chowk, Galla Mandi, Railway Road, Chaura Bazar, Main Bazaar, Bazaar Bajajan and Sabji Mandi. Vehicular traffic remained suspended for more than three hours.

Though no untoward incident was reported from any of the localities, situation became tense when some traders tried to defy the bandh. In retaliation, protesters burnt old tyres belonging to a shopkeeper to make them close down their shops.

Though no protest march was organised in rural areas, Kup, Kanganwal, Jandali, Baurhai and Chhanna observed partial bandh.

The protesters led by office-bearers of the Bajrang Dal, Ahmedgarh Ekta Manch, Vishav Hindu Parishad, Samay Seva Samiti, Har Har Mahadev Sangh, Bhartiya Mahavir Dal, Gobind Gau Dham Gaushala Kaind, Sewa Bharti, and Shree Ram Mandir Trust handed over a memorandum to executive magistrate Jaspal Kaur at her office at Tehsil complex. They demanded strict punishment for the alleged ‘killers’ of cows and action against officials who supported the suspects.

Ludhiana, June 13
A Shiromani Akali Dal candidate has alleged that his rival candidate from the Congress used unfair means to win the elections. Manpreet Singh Manna, SAD candidate from ward number 39, has alleged that Congress candidate Sanjeev Talwar won the MC elections by getting fake voting done. Talwar has, however, refuted the allegations.

Manna (22) was also the youngest candidate of the state to have contested the recently held municipal corporation elections on a party ticket. He lost the MC elections to Sanjeev Talwar of the Congress by 194 votes.

While addressing a press conference here today, Manpreet Singh Manna alleged that Talwar managed to get fake votes polled in his favour in booth number 9 and booth number 10.

“The school, where these booths were located are owned by Talwar’s friends and we had met the returning officer, Babita Kaler, on May 30 and had requested her to change the venue because we knew that Sanjeev Talwar would use illegal means here. But all our requests fell on deaf ears and the venue was not changed. Not only this, Talwar’s family members are having double votes- in ward number 39 and ward number 48. Besides, we have come to know that around 200 such double votes exist in the ward,” alleged Manpreet Singh Manna.

Two other Independent candidates from ward number 39, Harmanjit Singh and Jasdeep Singh, also alleged that Sanjeev Talwar used unfair means to win the elections.

Sanjeev Talwar, Congress councillor from ward number 39, clarified that he had met the returning officer, Babita Kaler, on May 27 and had urged her to rectify the voter list because it contained some double votes of his family members. “I even have a written copy of it and moreover people of my ward know my family members very well and that is why, they will never be able to poll the votes twice. Now that Manna has lost the elections despite indulging in anti-social activities, he is cooking up baseless stories to prepare ground for filing an election petition. Besides, he is not able to digest that he lost from that particular booth where he lives,” claimed Talwar.

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer Rahul Tewari said the election process had already been completed. “We have sent all records to the State Election Commission and if Manpreet Singh Manna has any objection to it, he can file an election petition.”

Ludhiana, June 13
Three days after his defeat in the Ludhiana municipal corporation elections, senior Akali leader Harish Rai Dhanda stated that he had accepted the verdict given by the residents of ward number 28 and would not go in for either some appeal or recounting of votes.

"Due to some miscommunication after the counting of votes on Sunday, I was told by one of my supporters that I had won by 51 votes, but later on when the votes were counted, I came to know that I had lost by 276 votes," he said.

A visibly sad Dhanda, who is otherwise always full of energy, said he had chosen ward number 28 to contest the MC elections because he was sure that people of that ward would accept him.

"We all knew that ward number 28 is predominantly a Congress stronghold, but I had this feeling that people would accept me, but I fell short by a few hundred votes. During my campaigning, I received overwhelming support of people from all walks of life, but I respect people's mandate,"he stated.

When asked about the confusion over the result, Dhanda clarified, "The person who was noting down the booth wise total votes noted down wrong information or there was a goof up while calculating the votes. But I was told that I have won by 51 votes and soon after my supporters started celebrating. Later, when I came to know that the result was not in my favour, I accepted it. I must clarify that there was no recounting of votes," said Dhanda.

Sources within the Akali Dal said ever since Harish Rai Dhanda made up his mind to contest the MC elections from ward number 28, some senior leaders had suggested that he should contest from some posh area of the city. "But he went ahead with his own decision and lost," said the leader.

Ludhiana, June 13
Many gardens in the city seem to be having a date with palms these days. Date palms are finding roots in home gardens. Although these have been available in the market for the last decade or so, these are finding a favour in homes and gardens.

There was lesser awareness about the beautification of gardens earlier, it is now that people are shelling out money on home gardens, says Lt Col RN Kapoor, who has a nursery in Baddowal. So the demand for these date palms is also seeing an upswing, he adds.

Although Ludhianvis have always been splurging on cars, clothes or other lifestyle products, but it is only in the last few years that the gardens are on the luxury list. People have now started spending on garden ornaments and expensive, exotic varieties of plants and trees like date palms as well, he says.

He says date palms cost between Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000. Apart from their exotic and aesthetic value, date palms are considered a status symbol. These palms are slow growing and can grow up to 10 to 15 feet. The good thing about these palms is that, these are one of the very few trees that can be transplanted from one location to the other and mortality is very little. Procedures have to be followed for the transplantation though, he said. Not only homes, but even real estate developers get these in their resorts and colonies.

A resident said one doesn't have to wait for years for these trees to grow, for these one can add a touch of luxury and elegance to his or her home readily. And of course, apart from the beauty, you have dates to relish too, she adds. 

Ludhiana, June 13
Additional Deputy Commissioner Neeru Katyal Gupta today directed all heads of the government departments to appoint nodal officers who would redress the grievances and problems of the general public. She also wanted that these nodal officers be asked to coordinate with the members of departmental consultative committees and also send prior intimation of the meetings to the members of the committees.

Presiding over a meeting of the consultative committees of the departments of excise and taxation, public health, police, education, health and revenue at Bachat Bhawan here, she said persistent absence from the meetings of the consultative committees could lead to the removal of the members concerned.

While emphasising that the departmental consultative committee had been set up, the government with the sole purpose of redressal of the complaints of the members of public, the ADC told the heads of the departments to ensure better presence of non-official members while also taking up issues or problems raised by them in the meetings or otherwise, on priority.

The members raised several issues and grievances being faced by the people with respect to the working of police, excise and taxation, education and public health with main focus on lack of safe drinking water supply in the rural areas. Officials of the public health department told in the meeting that they would take 200 water samples from villages every month and all possible steps would be taken to check contamination of drinking water.

Ludhiana, June 13
The advisory committees of the departments of electricity, irrigation, welfare of backward and scheduled castes, municipal amenities, urban infrastructure, food and civil supplies and cooperatives today discussed the grievances being faced by the public in day to day dealing with these departments while also reviewing the progress of various welfare schemes launched by the state government.

In a meeting of the advisory committees held at the Circuit House here today, under the presidenthsip of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), Rishi Pal Singh, a non-official member of the advisory committee on electricity, Jatinder Pal Singh Saluja, pointed out that Punjab State Power Corporation Limited was demanding change of land use certificate in mix land use areas like Shimlapuri and Janta Nagar localities for grant of new power connections or extension of load of the new connections.

"The municipal corporation staff is not prepared to issue change of land use certificates which is making it difficult for small industrial units to get new connections or get their existing load extended," he complained while also drawing the attention of the PSPCL authorities towards a precariously leaning electricity pole right in front of Sacred Heart Convent School near Leisure Valley in Sarabha Nagar locality.

Another member Gurmel Singh Sanghowal said the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for release of tubewell connections for panchayat land on priority, are not being followed by the PSPCL, and the officials were creating unnecessary obstacles. Swarn Singh Darera urged the power utility to enhance the 20 KW power connections being released to small industries to at least 40 KW on the pattern of states like Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra. He also wanted removal of electricity poles located in the middle of roads from Partap Chowk to Basant Park to facilitate smooth flow of vehicular traffic.

Raising problems of the overflowing water from the water course from Samrala to Sahebana, Joga Singh sought immediate action to check wastage of water which was also causing damage to roads along side. Sukhdev Singh, another member of advisory committee of the irrigation department, said poor drainage facility led to accumulation of rain water on old bridge and Jagera bridge with the result that roads were damaged.

The meeting also reviewed the progress of welfare schemes and the officials of the welfare department were directed to cut down the delay in processing of the cases so that intended the benefits reached the intended persons well on time.

Ludhiana, June 13
Panic gripped Model Town after an unidentified body was found on a roadside near Sidhwan Canal Bridge here today.

The incident came to light here this evening when commuters spotted the body and informed the police about the incident.

The deceased appeared to be a middle-aged man. The reason behind the death could not be ascertained.

Resident complained that the police instead of taking the body in its possession paid a customary visit and left the body unattended. Even the emergency ambulance staff left the scene.

Ludhiana, June 13
Children are learning tricks and expressions during the ongoing theatre workshop at Punjabi Bhawan organised by Balraj Sahni Rang Manch.

The month-long workshop has theatre personality like Tarlochan Singh teaching the children about different facets of theatre. About 15 students are being trained at the workshop, out of which eight are girls.

Tarlochan Singh, who has also acted in movies like Shaheed-E-Azam Bhagat Singh, Tabahi is training the students. The students are preparing for a play ‘Hai Ni Dhiye Morniye’ which is based on the theme of importance of girl child.

In the two-hour workshop, the students are taught about facial expressions, body language, voice control and variation apart from other nuances of acting.

"Voice is very important part of acting. Often voice snaps as you try to speak and recite dialogues loudly. That’s why, practice is crucial . It is important to be audible enough for a large audience while controlling voice and adding variation," Tarlochan Singh said. Because of this, basic exercises like voice control and facial expressions become the starting points in theatre for an artist, he added.

“We make the students practise on the initial musical notes to let them be loud and also use stomach to bring in that punch in their voice.”

He said apart from acting, students also learn how to arrange and learn to work as one team. Bal Kishan, an old student who is also teaching at the workshop, said such workshops are a great way to learn acting.

Ludhiana, June 13
The Punjab Chapter of Indian Medical Association (in-service wing) has uphold the decision of Punjab Cabinet to give 15 per cent “higher-qualification allowance” equal to five increments in pay of all the specialist PCMS doctors and demanded it as basic pay for all purposes.

In a press note issued here today, Dr Balwinder Kumar, state chairman of IMA in-service wing, Punjab, said the state government has recognised higher skill of specialist doctors in the PCMS service and the Punjab Cabinet committee has provided benefit of 15 per cent higher qualification allowance equal to 5 increments in pay of all the specialist doctors. He said this should be treated as basic pay for all purposes for calculation of other allowances as same manner as increments. This benefit should be provided to all the postgraduate doctors. Dr Balwinder Kumar also reacted on the released list of officials authorised for red beacons on vehicles and said that Punjab government has discriminated the medical officials. ––TNS

Ludhiana, June 13
The news of demise of legendary ghazal singer Mehdi Hassan in Karachi today left his fans and admirers in the city saddened.

City-based Urdu poet Sardar Panchhi said that Hassan was one of the few ghazal singers who maintained pure Urdu pronunciation unlike many other known singers.

According to Surjit Patar, a Padma Shri awardee, the ghazal singer had a moving voice that mesmerised listeners.

Hassan belonged to the renowned Kalawant Gharana, known for dhrupad genre of singing.

Prof Gurbhajan Singh Gill, president of music academy, recalled that ghazal maestro had once performed in the city at Lodhi Club. He performed with such elan that the memories were still vivid, he said. Gill said that with his passing away, a void has been created that cannot be filled.

Urdu fiction writer Dr Kewal Dhir said he had met the ghazal singer a few times, and was always impressed with his politeness. There was a deluge of tweets from both sides of the border from people as well as celebrities. City residents also expressed their condolences and grief online.

Ludhiana, June 13
Hereditary and emotional factors are leading to obesity according to Food and Nutrition experts of the Punjab Agricultural University.

"In the last two decades, there has been dramatic rise in obesity across the globe. It is estimated that nearly 250 million people in low and middle income countries suffer from obesity. The hereditary and emotional factors such as boredom, loneliness, depression or sense of social rejection are responsible for overeating leading to obesity," observed the experts.

The rapidly increasing prevalence of obesity indicates that many people are at risk of diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease, they said.

They underlined the need to create awareness among the population about the risk and causative factors of obesity and its preventive measures.

An expert, Dr Balwinder Sadana, said that obesity occurs when the energy intake is more than its expenditure. The combination of changes in the dietary and activity pattern, especially an increase in high-fat, energy-dense diets, and sedentary lifestyles are some of the key factors responsible for more energy intake, she said.

Protection of honey bee colonies during summer

The entomology experts of the Punjab Agricultural University have emphasised the protection of honey bee colonies from harsh summer heat. Imparting tips for the honey bee management in the month of June, they advised that suitable arrangements be made to place honey bee colonies under thick shade of trees or artificial alternatives.

The Head of Department of Entomology, Dr Balwinder Singh, said, “To meet the increased water requirement, put a few sticks, bushes, etc. in the water tanks of tube wells for the bees to sit on while lapping the water. This requirement can also be met by providing water in earthen pots and keeping these under the legs of hive stands.”

Jagraon, June 13
Panic gripped Lakha village near Jagraon when a man allegedly opened fire on his younger brother over a property dispute last evening. However, the bullet fired by Balwinder Singh missed the target.

Sources said Gurwinder Singh had been urging his elder brother Balwinder Singh and father Ranjit Singh to give him a share of the ancestral property for long. Yesterday, Gurwinder Singh visited Balwinder Singh, who lives with his father, and asked them to give him his share.

Following which Balwinder Singh, his father Ranjit Singh, along with Bahadur Singh, went to Gurwinder Singh's place and started arguing with him. This led to some heated arguments between both the sides and in a fit of rage Balwinder Singh pulled out his revolver and allegedly opened fire on Gurwinder Singh. The bullet, however, missed the target and hit the boundary wall of the house and Gurwinder Singh saved his life by fleeing the place.

Soon after this, a police team reached the spot. The police has also recorded the statement of Gurwinder Singh. The police has arrested the accused and recovered the shell of the bullet. A case of attempt to murder has been registered against the trio.

Ludhiana, June 13
As many as 35 aspirants participated in the trials conducted by the Ludhiana District Swimming Association at the municipal corporation swimming pool near Rakh Bagh here today.

The trials were held to select sub-junior swimmers (boys and girls) born in 2000 and 2001 in the U-12 category and those born in 2002 and 2003 in the U-10 category.

The selection committee comprising Apinder Singh Grewal, Wawakaha Singh, Amanpreet Kaur and Ajay Sharma adjudged the aspirants and selected a total of 17 swimmers.

The following are the selected swimmers.

Group III boys: Sahib Singh Sidhu, Gurkirat Singh, Sidak Grewal, Anmol Jindal, Arhaanrattan and Soahil Singh; Group III girls: Anant Kaur Virk, Ankruti Singla, Jaskiran Kaur, Pavit Sofat, Palak Garg and Shranidee Sharma; Group IV (boys): Yatharth Kapoor and Sahil Sabharwal; Group IV (girls): Bhavjot Kaur, Bhavya Kapoor and Ria Khosla.

The selected swimmers will represent Ludhiana in the 27th Sub-Junior Punjab Swimming Championship scheduled to be held at War Heros' Swimming Pool, Sangrur, on June 17.