Ludhiana, July 4
After a delay of more than a month, the flyover near the Sidhwan Canal bridge on Gill Road was finally inaugurated by PWD Minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon today. The flyover, which is part of the Sidhwan Canal expressway project, will give respite to residents commuting on the expressway as well as Gill Road.

On March 31, Dhillon had announced that the flyover would be opened for vehicular traffic by May 30, but it got delayed. The PWD officials claimed that the delay was due to imposition of the model code of conduct for municipal corporation elections.

The Sidhwan Canal expressway project is already running behind schedule and the PWD Minister had announced that the project would be complete by October this year.

During the construction of the flyover, the traffic had to be diverted towards the Arora Cinema side, leading to traffic jam on Gill Road.

"Now that the flyover is open to traffic, it will reduce traffic congestion on Gill Road. Besides, those who want to go towards Doraha will just zip through the bridge without even disturbing traffic on Gill Road," said Sharanjit Singh Dhillon.

Giaspura maintains low profile
Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and MLAs Simarjit Singh Bains and Balwinder Singh Bains hogged limelight during the inauguration of the flyover. Interestingly, Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura was seen "less interested" during the function and preferred to stay alone most of the time. During the function, Dhillon and Bains brothers were sitting in the front row, Giaspura preferred to stand in the crowd. During the recent Vidhan Sabha elections, Balwinder Singh Bains had defeated Giaspura from the Ludhiana (South) constituency. Bains has contested as an Independent but later joined the Akali Dal.

Project details
The foundation stone of the Sidhwan Canal expressway project was laid in 2009. The Rs 318 crore project has a 26.9 km four-lane road with carriageway on each side from Doraha to Ludhiana-Ferozepur Road and a bypass for traffic going to Ferozepur. This project has a total of nine bridges, which include five canal bridges, two railway overbridges and two flyovers.

Water wastage goes unchecked
Even as the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has been penalising residents for wastage of water, several gallons of water was wasted during the inauguration ceremony of the flyover. A tanker was seen spraying water on the flyover before of the inauguration function. 

Ludhiana, July 4
City resident will have to shell out more for violating traffic rules as the state government. A fresh notification in this regard has been issued and new rates have been fixed for the on-the-spot challan of vehicles. Police official of the rank of assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and above are authorised to challan the vehicle.

Ludhiana, July 4
A number of youngsters with tattoos on their body were disqualified during the Army recruitment rally at Guru Nanak Stadium as the Army Recruitment Rule disqualifies them on medical ground.

More than 2,000 aspirants out of around 8,000 who turned up at the recruitment rally for past three days were disqualified because they had tattoos on various parts of their body.

Lions, tigers and eagles were the most popular tattoos. The rejected aspirants admitted that they had tattoo on their body as they believed it gave them a 'macho' look.

"I play kabaddi in my village and every kabaddi player supports a tattoo. It is in fashion and leaves a strong impression. Prominent sportspersons, wrestlers and film stars have tattoos and I believe they look attractive," said Rajinder Kumar from Moga, who was shown the door by the Army recruitment staff even before he could compete in the 1,600m race.A majority of the aspirants were not even aware that tattoo on the body would led to their disqualification.

Amanpreet Singh of Ropar, who had a tattoo on his chest, said: "I was not aware of the rule. I got the tattoo done during my visit to Chandigarh recently."

Director (Recruitment) Col MS Mahar said: "We had received instructions from the headquarters that individuals with tattoos should not be recruited. Besides, tattooing is hazardous to health, the pictures on the body does not go with the ethos of the Indian Army."

Rabbon Uchhi (Ludhiana), July 4
A quiet village on Payal-Malaud Road, Rabbon Ucchi is now on the historical map of Punjab. It's the village of Baba Maharaj Singh, who had taken on the British might even before the First War of Independence. July 4 is observed as the Martyrdom Day of Baba Maharaj Singh.

The youngsters of the village are aware that on the martyrdom day every year, a 'deewan' is held on the premises of the village gurdwara. But beyond this, they know no more.

"I have no idea that Baba Maharaj Singh was a freedom fighter," says Baljeet Singh, a Class X student.

Most of the youngsters have similar views. "Baba Maharaj Singh is a martyr. I do not know how and why he attained martyrdom," says Sukhchain Singh, a Class IX student. For the youth of the village, 'freedom struggle' doesn't ring a familiar bell. They have always known freedom and have known it so well that they have no idea what it means. "Freedom struggle?" asks a boy with a quizzical expression on his face. He's not used to being asked the question and the answer eludes him.

An octogenarian from the village observes Bhai Maharaj Singh's struggle for freedom was a saga of sacrifice and till his last breath, he remained determined on his path. "It is a pity that children don't know the stories of martyrs. These stories could have instilled the value of patriotism in youngsters," he adds.

Octogenarian Santokh Singh suggests that youngsters should read the eight-page booklet titled "Bhai Maharaj Singh", published by the Sikh Missionary College. "It's a biography of the freedom fighter who till the very end of his life was unswervingly devoted to his goal of fighting the might of the British. He died in incarceration at Singapore," he adds.

Ludhiana, July 4
RITES, a Government of India enterprise, has recently submitted a Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP)for Ludhiana of around Rs 45,928 crore in the next 20 years (till 2031).

Officials of the MC and the district administration are going through the detailed project report for fixing the priority of the projects proposed in the CMP.

The cost of the entire plan is estimated at Rs 45,928 crore, of which Rs 2,766 crore have been proposed for the first phase, to be completed by 2015. Besides, Rs 23,795 crore have been proposed for up to 2021 in phase II. The phase III will be completed between 2021 and 2026 with an expenditure of Rs 10,249 crore and the final phase IV will be completed in 2031.

The first phase will include projects like improvement of existing bus terminal, improvement of the existing freight terminal, parking, foot overbridges, intersection geometric improvements, medians, footpaths, road widening, new link roads and upgrade of regional and widening of roads, Metro, upgrade of rail tracks, railway overbridges, railway underbridges, park and ride facilities etc.

Metro is proposed to be introduced in phases II, III and IV costing around Rs 6,826 crore, Rs 7,940 crore and Rs 6,642 crores.

The current population of Ludhiana planning area was around 24 lakh. Large scale urbanisation and rapid growth of vehicles had put stress on the existing urban transport system in Ludhiana and the problems had become unmanageable.

An official said: "The Comprehensive Mobility Plan will enhance the connectivity as well as the pattern of future physical and economic growth. At the same time, the amount proposed by the company in next 20 years is about Rs 46,000 crore. If such plan is to be introduced, regular grants will be required from both the Central and the Punjab governments. Improvements can be done but the only problem is about the resources at the moment." 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 4
Failing to receive adequate power supply for preparation of fields for transplantation of paddy, farmers of the area have shown inclination towards direct sowing of the crop under supervision of experts of the state agricultural department.

Appreciating enthusiasm shown by paddy growers, the department has announced to provide incentives in the form of fertilizers and insecticides to the paddy growers adopting the water-saving technique.

The farmers led by Gurinder Pal Singh of Sihar village approached the experts and staff posted at various offices for providing them necessary expertise so that they could sow the paddy crop without waiting for the rains to come.

Acknowledging the tendency, block agricultural official, Dr Varinder Jit Bhandari, said the farmers of villages falling under the Dehlon block had shown warm response to the direct sowing technique of paddy during a group demonstration organised at Sihar village today.

“When the farmers were told no extra equipment or investment is required for the direct sowing of paddy and seeds are to be sown with usual drill at the depth of 2-3 cm, they showed inclination to adopt the technique,” said Dr Bhandari.

The farmers appreciated that only 20-30 per cent of moisture in soil was required for direct sowing and no watering was needed before cultivation.

Dr Bhandari further said the department had announced to provide zinc sulphate fertilizer and required pesticides to the farmers adopting the 
technique.

Realising the need of conservation of water and power, a team of experts launched an awareness movement by organising meetings at various villages of the region. The farmers of Malaudh and Ramgarh Sardaran also showed keen interest in the technique.

Ludhiana, July 4
There is an alarming rise in cancer cases among young generation in India. Dr JS Sekhon, head division of medical oncology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, said, “In today’s fast growing environment, there is a major shift in people’s lifestyle, add to it the competitive nature, which results in stress. Overall the lifestyle of individuals has changed to such an extent that they depend more on unnatural habits of relieving stress.”

“Cancer is curable if detected early, but there is hardly any health conscious regime that our population follows,” he added.

The most dreaded cancers amongst women are breast cancer and cervical cancer. One of the reasons for the breast cancer as highlighted by Dr Sekhon is late marriages among females, lack of breast feeding, etc.

There has been a lot of technological innovation in cancer treatment globally, but is it available in India and if at all available it is for the upper class with high income, as cancer treatment is expensive.

Dr Sekhon said the government should take initiatives in terms of financial support for poor patients either through NGOs or any other source. — TNS

Ludhiana, July 4
Power cuts are not only creating havocs in the lives of people in general but they are also hampering work at the sub-post office in Model Town. The only generator at the post office lies defunct for about a month now, which is leading to inconvenience for residents, staff and postmen.

According to assistant sub-postmaster Vijay Kumar, a complaint has been sent to the head post office and the generator has been repaired, but it broke down again. According to residents, the generator has been lying defunct for about a month, but nothing has been done about it.

Rajinder, a resident of Model Town, said every time he came to send a parcel at the post office, he was told to wait due to the power cut. “I had to send urgent speed post articles abroad, but as there was no power, I had to go to another post office. It is strange that the post office can’t have power backup,” he said.

Not only the customers, but officials and postmen also seem unhappy. With the power cuts getting too frequent, work keeps on piling up, officials concede.

According to RL Meena, senior superintendent of post offices, City Division, said the generator was repaired, but went off only a couple of days later and the mechanic took Rs 4,000 for repair and is asking for a higher quotation for repairing it again. “We are looking for a good mechanic to get it repaired,” he said.

Ludhiana, July 4
A 35-year-old inmate died under mysterious circumstances here today. He has been identified as Guramardeep Singh (35), a resident of Ram Das Nagar in Sarabha Nagar.

Gurmandeep was undergoing jail term in a theft case. He complained of stomach pain this evening following which he was rushed to a hospital, but was declared brought dead. Postmortem examination of the victim will be conducted tomorrow. It is the second death in the Central Jail in the past two days. Balwinder Singh, a convict in a murder case, died under mysterious circumstances yesterday.

Ludhiana, July 4
The government has extended summer vacations for secondary schools till July 8. The vacations for primary schools were extended a few days ago. The teachers have been asked to continue coming to schools.

The schools were opened from July 1. After the extension of vacations in primary schools, there was a demand among students, parents and teachers that holidays in secondary schools should also be extended on account of hot weather.

Students are elated at the decision. “I went to school for a couple of days. Due to extreme hot weather conditions, it was tough to spend time in the school,” said Varinder, a student of a private school. Cycling to and fro from the school in hot weather was very difficult. “I am feeling relieved that holidays have been declared till Sunday,” he said.

"Not only hot weather, but also frequent power cuts were adding to the problem in the school. It is good that holidays have been declared till next week. There is a hope that the weather will become less excruciating by that time," said Mandeep Singh, a student of class X.

Teachers are miffed that they had been told to come to schools. “I don't know why we have been told to come to schools when there will be no student," complains a teacher.

“It is confounding why the teachers of secondary schools have been told to come to schools in the absence of students,” said Sudarshan Singh, president of the Nakal Virodhi Adhiayapak Front.

"It feels iniquitous as the teachers of secondary schools will go to school, but the teachers of primary schools will not have to do so. There should be uniformity in orders," he said.

District education officer Paramjit Kaur said summer vacations in both the government and private school had been extended till July 8.

Govt College for Women

Phillaur, July 4
Phillaur administration has launched a massive operation against the sand mafia engaged in illegal mining from the Sutlej river beds in the Phillaur sub-division.

Several officials of the mining department and local administration, headed by Phillaur SDM Jasbir Singh and assisted by the Phillaur police, conducted raids at Shagnewal and Miowal villages along with the Sutlej river banks where illegal sand mining was going on.

SDM Jasbir Singh said many persons involved in illegal mining, including Ramandeep Kumar of Mauli village, Mandeep Singh of Talwandi Kalan village, PS Ladhowal, Ram Vidhya of Pakhowal and Balbir Singh of Garrhi Maha Singh were arrested under Section 21, Mining Acts, 1952, during the raids. Several vehicles, including four sand-loaded tractor-trailers, one truck, two empty tractor trolleys as well as machinery being used for excavating sand were also impounded.

SDM Phillaur Jasbir Singh said the operation will continue in the coming days also," the SDM said.

He also said that a dump of more than 150 trollies of sand was also seized.

Ludhiana, July 4
The Ryan Group of Institutions organised an educational trip for its students to NASA. The students of Ryan International School, Ludhiana, not only had an authentic learning experience but also enjoyed the trip.

They were exposed to various programmes related to astronomy, which included robotics, shuttle launch, robot testing, rocket construction and rocket launch.

The students also had the privilege to meet an astronaut and visit Kennedy Space Centre Tour International Space Station Centre.

Around 30 students from the Punjab region grasped this golden opportunity and enriched their experience.

The students also had a fun time, as they visited Disney World, Hollywood Studio, museums and Universal’s Islands of Adventure.

Principal Parveena John said, “At Ryan, we understand the requirement of the present generation and rededicate ourselves to equip the students with the basic attitudes, core values and instincts, in addition to a relevant curriculum.”

“Through such projects, we aim at facilitating the students with first-hand knowledge, attitude and social value, which enhance their personality development,” she added.

Ludhiana, July 4
Edusat and ICT coordinators were called back to work within a few months after they were "relieved" from the non-teaching work. They were relieved from the non-teaching work after the new Education Minister took over. Keeping in view their experience in implementing projects, they have been called to join again.

According to instructions sent by Director-General, School Education, Kahan Singh Pannu, in every district, one Edusat coordinator and one ICT coordinator would be deployed for the implementation of the projects. Preference would be given to those coordinators who have already worked on the projects, the instructions say, as they have been given operational training, trouble-shooting training and refresher course earlier. However, the decision to call coordinators back after they were told to join back in schools is drawing sceptical reactions from the faculty members.

According to a teacher, the department makes such shortsighted decisions. They should contemplate the pros and cons before making the decisions, rather than making and revoking the decisions time and again. — TNS

Ludhiana, July 4
Although a lot is being done for education from providing grants, upgrading infrastructure, updating syllabi and research, but not much is being done by the government for career counselling.

Career counselling is a crucial part of the education system.

“This is a void that has not been filled for about 20 years. There used to be a talk about the need for career counselling, but this is a segment where little has been done by the government,” says Prof PS Bhogal, teaching political science at Arya College.

Some of the companies take psychometric tests and aptitude tests before recruitment, trying to test whether the person, who opted for a particular course is fit for the job or not, which should be the other way round - giving tests and guiding the students about joining the right course he or she is fit for, he said.

Madhur, a student, said it was difficult to decide which subject to opt for, as at one point, it seemed opting for any stream was difficult.

In the absence of career counselling services in the city, students and parents, unsure of which streams to take up, seek help of astrologers and they try to guide the students looking at their horoscopes. A city-based astrologer admitted that he received many clients seeking guidance about the perfect stream for a child to follow, particularly the courses they should take up.

Teachers say although they try to guide the students, this is a specialised role and only professionals who are experts with the latest techniques for testing the aptitude and newly emerging career choices can perform this job.

According to Prof PS Bhogal, there should be counsellors, but these should not be affiliated with the colleges, as the colleges can tend to misguide the students in order to fill the seats, according to their choices. The quality professional career counselling services in the city is need of the hour to help the students make the right choice about the career and thus the subjects they should choose, he said.

Ludhiana, July 4
The 25-year-old mechanical engineering student of Schedule Caste (SC) category, who was denied provisional degree certificate and detailed mark sheet by the college authorities, can now heave a sigh of relief as a good Samaritan has come forward and offered him a financial help.

The joy of Kuldip Singh from Bhogpur near Jalandhar (100 km from here) knew no bounds when a city-based philanthropist Yash Giri came forward and assured to submit the fees of four semesters, which is approximately Rs 1.5 lakh.

Kuldip said he was denied the mark sheet and provisional degree certificates as the SC scholarship funds of four semesters were not released by the department concerned.

“I received a call from the Deputy Commissioner’s office here this morning. I was given the mobile number of Yash Giri. The philanthropist told me that he will submit the fees of four semesters. Giri further said whenever the funds will be released by the government, I can pay back the money to him,” said Kuldip.

The plight of Kuldip was highlighted in these columns (SC student ‘denied’ degree) on July 2.

It is learnt that Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari has been instrumental in bailing out Kuldip from career-wrecking situation.

Sources said after reading the news item, the Deputy Commissioner convinced Yash Giri to pay the money for a noble cause.

Ludhiana, July 4
Two more suspected cases of dengue were reported today. Both of the suspected patients have been admitted to DMC&H. The patients are from Kapurthala and Daad village in the district, respectively.

Till now a total of eight cases of dengue have been confirmed. Two suspected cases from Jalandhar and Jammu and Kashmir have been reported earlier 
as well.

Civil surgeon Subhash Batta said he had already instructed officials to act as a team with the officials of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation and keep a check on sanitation conditions in their respective areas and report to MC officials. They should also keep in touch with the area councillor in order to help prevent spread dengue.

The reports of dengue cases are sending chills down the spine of residents, as the rampancy of dengue fever last year haunt many.

“I have unpleasant memories of the fever last year. It was terrible to be lying in effete with the platelet count dropping steeply,” said Manjit Singh, a resident of Dugri.

"We hope that the administration and medical teams will take measures to prevent the problem this year,” he said.

Ludhiana, July 4
A 17-year-old city lad, Davinderpal Singh, has been selected among the top 10 in a reality show running on a national TV channel, Sony. Davinderpal Singh is studying in class XII at Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar in Ludhiana.

He has been learning classical music from principal Sukhwant Singh for five years, where Ishmeet Singh (a reality show winner) used to learn music.

Now, the teachers and parents of Davinderpal are seeking votes from Ludhianvis to help him to bring laurels to the city.

Sukhwant Singh said, “Indeed those were pleasant moments for the family and teachers when he got selected among the top 10. Judges showed their confidence in Davinder. We are, too, confident that he will win the show.”

Surinderpal, uncle of Davinderpal said, “He is skillful in classical music and we are 100 per cent sure that he will won the reality show. We request the residents to encourage him by votes.”

Music is a tradition in Davinderpal’s family, as her mother used to recite kirtan.

Ludhiana, July 4
The Knitwear Club has shot a letter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal regarding the recent announcement made by the excise and taxation department.

Club chairman Vinod Thapar in the letter said the recent announcement made by the excise and taxation department, in which it stated that sales tax officials and inspectors will put their signatures regularly on bill books after checking their purchase and sale in their shops, has drawn flak from the industrial circles.

“This practice will definitely give birth to corruption, as the officials will threat the business community and affect the business. In terror, they won’t be able to run their business smoothly and it will create an atmosphere of regret, revolt and distrust for the department,” he said.

Further, president Darshan Dawar said this practice would create more obstacles for generating revenue for the government as well as for the industry in their way of advancement. At one side, the government boasts to reduce the rule of the inspectors, while on the other side, it is boosting it to make lives of the industrialists a hell with this practice.

“We strongly oppose this decision and on behalf of the knitwear industry, we request you to intervene in this matter and give instructions to the department to withdraw these orders to save the industry,” added Thapar and Dawar in the communiqué.

Jagraon, July 4
Taking serious note of the increasing traffic jams in the city, the police has chalked out a new strategy to ease out the traffic chaos of the city. The police has now decided to take a strict action against people, who park their vehicles on roadsides and other violators.

This plan was finalised during a meeting called by DSP Jagraon, Surinder Kumar, during which Jagraon traffic police in charge Kanwarpal Singh, a delegation of municipal council councillors and representatives of various NGOs were present.

During the meeting, the members of the delegation informed the DSP about the roads, which face frequent and long traffic jams. These roads include Tehsil road, Old Sabzi Mandi road, Kamal Chowk, Lajpat Rai road, Old Grain Market Chowk, Nehru Market, Railway road and College road.

The municipal councillors and members of the NGOs informed the DSP that the major cause of the traffic problems in the town is the haphazard parking of vehicles on different roads and illegal encroachments by shopkeepers.

The delegation also suggested ideas to the police to ease out the traffic problem on these roads.

DSP Surinder Kumar instructed traffic police in charge Kanwarpal Singh to keep a constant vigil on the roads that have been marked as the worst affected due to traffic and take strict action against violators.

Raising the issue of violation of traffic norms and wrong parking on the Lajpat Rai road, the members of the delegations informed the DSP that there are certain shopkeepers, particularly a samosa seller on this road, who allow the visitors to park their vehicles in front of their shops for a long time, which leads to frequent and long traffic jams.

Following this, the DSP instructed the traffic police to increase vigil on this road and take strict action against the people who are found violating the traffic norms.

Appealing to residents, visitors and shopkeepers to cooperate with the police, the DSP further stated that the police will not only challan violators but also impose heavy fines on the shopkeepers who allow people to park their vehicles before their shops.

Urging the shopkeepers to prevent the visitors from parking their vehicles in front of their shops in a lenient way, the DSP advised the shopkeepers to approach the police if any visitor do not cooperate and indulge in arguments with them.

Giving details of the plan, the DSP informed that the police in cooperation with the municipal council has arranged some parking places where people can park their vehicles. The areas where the parking facility has been made available include Raikot road, Lala Devi Chand Inn near Main Market, the road situated near Saravhitkari Senior Secondary School and under the railway over bridge on the Tehsil road.

Ludhiana, July 4
Thieves struck at a house of Manzoor Maseh in Jagjit Nagar near Sarabha Nagar and decamped with 27 tolas of gold, Rs 70,000 cash and other expensive items. Giving details about the theft, Newton Maseh, son of Manzoor Maseh, said he lived in a separate house, located close to the residence of his father. He said the tenant saw the door of the house broken on arriving. The house was ransacked and valuables were missing.

Newton further informed the police about the incident. Meanwhile, the police has registered the case and started investigation.