Ludhiana, August 20
The chairman and managing director of Punjab Power Supply Corporation Limited, KD Choudhry, today claimed that the power scenario would improve significantly within the next fortnight.

He said the industrial sector had been given more relief by way of total withdrawal of compulsory weekly off days while there were some restraints on domestic consumers who had to bear power cuts of about two hours during the day.

"Through revised regulatory measures we have now allowed the industry to operate for all seven days of the week during the day, and at the same time, we have been able to provide uninterrupted power supply to residential areas at night," he said.

Admitting that the PSPCL had a harrowing time this summer with a spurt in demand from all sectors and elusive rains, Choudhry said the prevailing gap between the availability of power and average daily demand was about 100 lakh units, which was being managed through cuts on domestic consumers during the day.

"The situation is being reviewed on a day-to-day basis and any further deficit caused due to failure of one or more units in the thermal power plants is managed with procurement of power on short-term basis," he said.

The PSPCL chief maintained that had there been no failure of rains, the power situation would have been reasonably good, if not comfortable. "The average growth in demand around this particular season remains at about 10 per cent, and we had made adequate arrangements to meet the demand. However, the growth in demand was recorded at 24 per cent which left the power utility with no choice but to impose harsh regulatory measures on a short-term basis," he said.

A long-term power purchase agreement made well in advance to meet the increased demand during summer and paddy sowing season had saved the situation for the PSPCL. "We have assessed the expected demand of power during September and October and adequate purchase agreements have already been signed at a marginally higher rate," he stated.

Ludhiana, August 20
A day after a couple was robbed of their car and gold ornaments at gunpoint on the busy Ferozepur road, the police today released sketches of robbers and launched a massive manhunt operation to nab the accused.

The incident took place late last night when two armed assailants robbed a businessman, Rishu Kwatra, and his wife and fled with their car and gold ornaments. Kwatra said he alighted from the car to answer nature's call, when two persons got off a vehicle and trained a pistol on his forehead.

They threatened him to either hand over the car keys to them or else they would shoot him. The victim gave them the keys. When his wife came to his rescue, the accused took her gold ornaments. The accused then fled towards Mullahpur in their Hyundai I-20 car. Kwatra then informed the police and his relatives about the incident. Later, residents protested against police inaction.

The Sarabha Nagar SHO said investigation was on and some suspects had been questioned. The police was scanning details of the gang that used to commit robbery on gunpoint. The details of gang members, who are out of jail on bail, are also being checked.

Ludhiana, August 20
Pushed to a corner following the increase in snatching incidents in the city, the police reportedly busted two gangs of snatchers who were operating in various parts of the city.

While three snatchers and a goldsmith were nabbed by the Salem Tabri police, the Division No. 4 police also caught two snatchers.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP-North) Swapan Sharma said the arrest of the accused would lead to a decrease in incidents of snatching. He said the accused identified as Rakesh Kumar and Sukhwinder Singh, residents of Tibba Road and Salem Tabri area respectively, were nabbed by the Division No. 4 police following a tip-off. One of the accomplices identified as Bharat Bhushan managed to escape, the ACP said.

The snatchers used to target the elderly visiting banks for depositing or withdrawing cash.

The accused had snatched a bag containing cash Rs 50,000 from Amarjit Kaur, wife of a policeman, while she was returning home after withdrawing cash from a bank located near Kailash Cinema.

Giving details about the modus operandi, the ACP said while one member of the gang used to keep an eye on the victim visiting a bank, the other two used to commit the crime. They were also caught on the CCTV camera.

Police sources alleged that the three were habitual offenders and had been in and out of jail for committing similar offences. During questioning, the accused confessed to having committed seven snatchings in different parts of the city.

The three accused nabbed by the Salem Tabri police are allegedly drug addicts. The accused Rohit, Navi and Pawan had created panic in the city with their repeated strikes.

The accused used to hand over gold ornaments to Miki, a goldsmith. Miki would melt them and take out gold, which he would sell in the market. The gang used to share the booty.

The police has recovered five gold chains and a huge amount of cash, besides sharp weapons, from their possession. 

Ludhiana, August 20
The widening of highways and Metro project may bring cheer to lakhs of commuters, but at the same time the poor conditions of link roads is a matter of concern. Residents of villages vented their ire against politicians, who after coming to power, do not fulfil their pre-election promises.

Link roads to Ahmedgarh via Jodhan, Lohgarh Road and Narangwal Road, among others, are in a pitiable condition and commuters fail to get a smooth ride for several kilometres.

"The link roads to Lohgarh, Narangwal, Dhulkote and Sareenh are in a real bad shape. There are huge potholes and pits on narrow roads, which are not even 10 ft broad, giving a tough time to commuters passing through small stretches. Many times, vehicles get stuck in pits. At the time of the polls, politicians had visited us and we had made just one request -- to provide us good roads. But it has been more than three months, nothing has been done so far," complained Sardul Singh, a resident of Lohgarh.

Similar is the condition of link roads in Khanna. Roads from Khanna to Khamano, Loharmajra and Barhwali are no better. Monsoon only makes it worse. In case of poor visibility, two-wheelers can skid as the roads are full of potholes. Roads connecting over 60 villages are in a deplorable condition, but neither the authorities nor the state government is doing anything about it. Development is being done on highways, which is visible, but here we live in a sorry state," Sukhchain Singh from Loharmajra stated.

(Inputs from Mahesh Sharma, Jaswant Shetra and Gurminder Grewal)

Ludhiana, August 20
As fashion events are being organised in the city more frequently, these are serving well for students learning the intricacies of fashion industry.

Not only are they getting better exposure showcasing their design collections, but many of them are getting the hands of experience about the way the industry works. During the recently concluded Punjab International Fashion Week, most of the back end work was handled by young students pursuing fashion courses.

It was the first brush with the real fashion scene for many of them. Students were seen scurrying around, taking care of the dresses, models and assisting in various activities during the event.

Sharing their experience, the students said being part of the team was a good learning experience for them. Alisha Chopra, a second year student at INIFD, said the show-time was a busy time for designers, as effort in designing was showcased in a matter of minutes.

She said each student was assigned to look after a model and managing everyone, coordination was a great, she said. "We had to drape each model within the 45-second time slot, and it was very stressing and exciting at the same time," says Madhur Miglani, another student at the institute.

Vishesh Bansal and Amandeep said, "Managing teams under stress was a good learning experience, as the pressure rises at the back end as the show starts. It was great to see that the planning starts so early, as measurements of all the models are sent to designers much in advance," says Megha.

Students also formed acquainted with designers and models. "We made links with the designers and exchanged contact numbers, which would stand us in a good stead later in our career," says Avipreet. Many of them gave them designing tips as well, she says. The overall exposure was great, says Shivam Kakkar, as even the choreography, management of the fashion show are important to make it a success.

"Because fashion as an industry is much more organised in metropolitan cities, evolution of fashion culture in the city is helping young fashion talent in the city at all levels - exposure, creativity, experience," says a city-based fashion designer.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 20
To exploit the fact that devotees tend to donate liberally during religious functions, hundreds of drifters visit religious places to seek alms in the name of God.

The manner in which some physically challenged beggars are shifted from one religious place to another, makes office-bearers of religious organisations suspect that organised gangs are exploiting the pitiable condition of these beggars.

"Although, we do not mind people donating liberally to the poor and needy, there should be some check on promotion of begging as an organised profession," say Bimal Kumar Sharma and Munir Mohammad, office-bearers of religious organisations based in the town.

A large number of beggars, mostly migrants, are seen converging at various religious places during religious functions. They are normally the first to arrive at venues of religious functions and fairs. Suspecting pick-pocketing by a section of beggars, the police usually urges the devotees not to entertain them. The devotees, however, find it difficult to ignore elderly, women, children and physically challenged.

The police hesitates to deal with them with a stern hand, fearing protests by human rights organisations. Sukhdev Singh Virk, deputy superintendent of police at Amargarh, says the police, instead of being strict with the beggars, had deputed extra force at sensitive points during the festival season.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 20
After 30 days of rozas (fasting), it was time for the devout of the region to feast on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr today.

Earlier in the morning, clad in colourful garments, the devotees gathered at mosques in their respective localities including Dehliz road, and in the surrounding villages of Dehliz Kalan, Rohira, Kanganwal and Rasoolpur.

Before offering prayers, the community members gave alms to the poor. The festivities continued after the prayers as they distributed "sewiyaan" among their relatives and friends of all communities. Eid Milan programmes were also organised on the occasion.

Iqbal Singh Jhoondan, legislator from Amargarh constituency, visited various places to greet the devotees who had turned up in large numbers to offer prayers.

Addressing the devotees, Hafiz Mohammad Nafis, who led devotees during the Namaz, and Abdul Rehman, the chief of the Ahmedgarh Jama Masjid, reaffirmed the belief of sacrifice among human beings. They said Islam preached peace and brotherhood among different communities. They regretted that certain leaders with vested interests were trying to identify Islam with violence and terrorism.

Ludhiana, August 20
To sensitise interns and resident students about the importance of medical certification of the cause of death, a guest lecture was held at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital.

Dr BL Meel, a forensic medicine expert based in South Africa, informed the attendees that proper death certification began with a fundamental understanding of the cause and manner of death. During the process of medical certification of the cause of death, it was incorrect to write heart failure, cardiac failure, cardiopulmonary arrest, respiratory arrest or brain death without mentioning the underlying cause of death of the patient, he said. In cases where the cause of death was unknown, the body should be subjected to medico-legal or clinical autopsy to ascertain the cause of death, he said.

Dr Meel said in cases of suspicious, unnatural deaths and other cases in which medico-legal autopsy was indicated, the last attending medical practitioner should not issue the death certificate. The case should be informed to the police and the dead body should be kept in a safe custody till it was forwarded for the medico-legal autopsy through a legal procedure, he said.

Ludhiana, August 20
Various departments of Punjab Agricultural University keep releasing advisories from time to time to check water-borne outbreaks.

But it seems that they are not aware of the accumulation of water at the rear of Student's Home canteen.

The stagnant water can result in the outbreak of dengue, malaria and diarrhoea.

The water tank mostly remains dry and the university authorities do not run fountains installed atop the tank.

But during monsoon, rainwater gets accumulated in the tank and the authorities do not drain it out. Plastic bags, glasses and dry leaves strewn around the tank worsen the situation.

The tank has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. One can also see fungus on the surface.

Meanwhile, students are worried for their health and requested the PAU authorities to maintain proper sanitation on the campus.

"Stagnant water can lead to diseases. The university authorities should take care of such things," said a student.

"The authorities should get the tank cleaned up," said another student.

The university's estate officer, Jaskaran Singh, did not respond to calls. 

Ludhiana, August 20
It seems interesting when one comes across a doctor who documents "the faith" of devotees in Almighty.

It is Dr BS Shah, Medical Superintendent of a hospital, who recently came up with a documentary on ‘kanwariyas’, the devotees of Lord Shiva.

He stumbled upon the idea while he was on his way to Dehradun on July 16. Dr Shah said,"When I reached Ambala, I came across many ‘kanwariyas’ who were coming back from Gangotri after filling their containers with "Gangajal" for pouring it on Shivlingam. Many were differently abled but were submerged in divinity. It was at that moment when I decided to make a documentary on these devotees."

For the 40-minute documentary, Dr Shah has interviewed many devotees from different states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and narrated the whole concept behind their pilgrimage. It will not be wrong to call this documentary as one man's show as it has been edited as well as supported with facts and figures by him all alone.

Dr Shah said, "In 2004, the number of ‘kanwariyas’ was 55,000 and in 2012 the number reached 1 crore. It shows the increasing faith of these devotees in Lord Shiva and perhaps this is the reason why I named this documentary as "The Faith". I will release it soon and give it to all temples of the city.”

Earlier, it was in 2003 when the physician made a documentary film on Pure Aryans "The Seed (Pure Aryan Blood)”.

Dr Shah, who retired as the professor of pathology and Medical Superintendent of Dayanand Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana, is also an office-bearer of more than 12 organisations and has also some good literary books to his credit. This includes a Punjabi novel on partition “Bewas Parindhe”. It has also been translated in Hindi and Urdu also. For this, he also got J&K State Award in 2003 in May. Recently, he also penned down a book “Dhund Wich Guachey Lok”. However, he has also written books, including "Semen Analysis — Practical Spermatology" and "Over View of Haematology”.

Jagraon, August 20
Thousands of saplings planted by the forest department, Punjab, a few months ago have been destroyed by some unidentified miscreants. The department has decided to move the court in this regard.

Officials of the forest department held a meeting to discuss the issue.

Mandal president Baljit Singh Benipal said the officials of the department had decided to approach the Punjab and Haryana High court in this regard. Besides, the officials had also decided to hold marches to create awareness among the masses, he added.

Benipal said following instructions issued by the state government, the employees of the forest department had planted around 27,000 saplings on 197 acres belonging to the forest department outside Kot Umra village near Sidhwan Bet.

"But unfortunately the saplings were uprooted by some unidentified miscreants a few days ago. Though we brought the issue to the notice of the higher authorities as well as the Deputy Commissioner, Ludhiana, immediately after the incident, no action has been taken against the culprits so far," lamented Benipal while alleging that "the miscreants who uprooted the plants from the forest department land were being shielded by some leaders of the ruling party."

Benipal said the forest department had evacuated the 197 acres from illegal occupants with the help of the police department and planted around 27,000 saplings.

During the meeting, the employees of the forest department decided to move the High Court.

Besides, the employees also decided to stall development works in Ludhiana mandal till no action was taken against the persons who uprooted the saplings.

Ludhiana: A freshers' party, Aagman -2012, was held at GGN Institute of Management and Technology to welcome newcomers. Students played various games and danced to the tune of rocking numbers. They enjoyed balloon balancing.

Lecture delivered

Shrish Mudgal, manager, market development, Business Standard Limited, Chandigarh, delivered a lecture on "Challenges Ahead for Young Managers" at Kamla Lohtia SD College, Ludhiana. Mudgal spoke on competitive work environment and its challenges like stiff competition, professional efficiency and target-oriented work. He suggested certain measures for being successful managers in the times to come. He highlighted the importance of reading newspapers for general awareness and exposure in the changing era of technology and market and expressed it as the mantra of success for updating knowledge and gaining confidence.

Awareness programme

GHG Harparkash College of Education for Women, Sidhwan Khurd, organised an environment awareness programme to promote eco friendly and sustainable development. Dr Baljeet Kaur Gill, principal of the college, highlighted the aspects of environmental preservation and hazards of imbalance occurring in ecosystem due to environmental degradation.

Talent hunt

Khanna: Mata Ganga Khalsa College for Girls, Kottan, organised "Talent Hunt &Teej Festival". Students participated in various activities with zeal. Pakkhi making, phulkari embroidery, crochet and rangoli making were also held.

Teej celebrated

Samrala: Tiyan Teej Dian festival was celebrated at Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College for Women, Jhar Sahib. MP Bibi Paramjit Kaur Gulshan was the chief guest while Bassi Pathana MLA Justice (retd) Nirmal Singh was the guest of honour. College students presented ghori, sithnia, tappe and lok geet, apart from giddha and some other cultural activities. Prabhjot Kaur was crowned Miss Teej during the contest. College principal Dr Paramjit Kaur Tiwana honoured the guests.

Industrial visit

The Training and Placement Cell and Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE), Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology, organised an industrial visit for MBA students to Verka Milk Plant, Ludhiana. Jyoti Sharma, training and placement officer, and faculty members accompanied the students. Students were apprised of the working of the plant. — TNS

Ludhiana, August 20
If those managing the drug de-addiction centres are to be believed then youth within the age group of 16 and 40 years are falling prey to drugs. In a majority of cases, the drug-addicts belong to the middle class.

Gurneet Singh, who has been associated with the de-addiction centre, being run by the Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle, here said that they had 15 beds hospital and over 10 beds were always occupied.

Mostly the addicts are males in the age group of 16 to 40 years, who are either brought here by the parents or wives. A majority of these patients are either into habit-forming drugs (capsules, cough syrups etc) or are habituated to smack, heroin that are comparatively expensive.

“Besides giving them medicines and light diet, we try to do counsel them. They are given a healing touch through gurbani and meditation. If patients stay here for over a month, we feel that we have been achieved 50 per cent success. The rest depends on their family environment and will power", said Gurneet Singh.

Another care-taker of a de-addiction centre here said that it was so disturbing to see mothers getting medicines for their teenaged daughters. "Our centre is for males. While many mothers, whose daughters are either in class XII or pursuing degree courses and are addicts, come to us and ask for medicines. Due to social stigma, they can not get them treated openly. In many cases even the fathers or elder brothers do not know about their daughters being hooked on to drugs. The girls consume capsules, smack, Iodex, Vodka, Bacardi etc", said the caretaker.

Jagraon, August 20
With the local police working tirelessly to keep a tab on drug smuggling activities in the area, there has been a decline in the drug peddling activities. But some 'innovative' drug peddlers are still posing a challenge to the police with their new ideas to supply drugs to their customers.

Recently, the police had arrested some drug peddlers who had been using unusual methods to supply drugs to their customers. Only a couple of days ago, a police team arrested a drug peddler with huge quantity of habit-forming drugs from near the Kothe Khajura area when he was trying to smuggle the drugs to the area.

During the investigation, the accused identified as Ram Lal made shocking revelations. He confessed before the police that he was a fruit vendor by profession and used to supply drugs to his customers on demand. He also revealed that most of his customers were between the age group of 16 and 25 years, which also included school and college students.

After Ram Lal’s arrest, the police has become more vigilant are keeping a check on the vendors too.

In another incident, the Jagraon police had arrested a person with huge quantity of habit-forming drugs. The accused Sukhjivan Singh, a resident of Killi Chahlan village in Moga district, used to supply the drugs to his customers in a van which otherwise sold plastic home utensils. He also confessed before the police that most of his customers were school and college students and he used to supply the drugs to his customers on demand.

New modus operandis have been posing new challenge to the police as it isnot easy to trace the peddlers.

Surinder Kumar, DSP, Jagraon, admits that these kind of tactics are posing a new challenge to the police’s drive against drug peddling but he adds that these incidents are making the police more vigilant. "A policeman faces new challenges everyday and learns from them.," said Surinder Kumar.

Ludhiana, August 20
Taking a cue from the rationalisation policy of the state government that has fixed the student-teacher ratio in government schools; the midday meal workers in the district are also demanding appointment of cooks according to the strength of students in the schools.

Democratic Midday Meal Cook Front alleged that cooks were overburdened as one cook prepared and served food to more than 100 students.

"Cooks work for five to six hours in schools on a minimal pay of Rs 1200 per month that is never paid to them on time,� said Surinder Kaur Palahi, vice-president of the union. The workers were demanding minimum wages as per the labour laws, she said.

Cooks alleged that a number of times teachers expelled them without citing any reason. "We want that the district education officer should have the sole authority to expel us. The government should also reemploy the cooks who were expelled arbitrarily," Palahi said.

Another midday meal worker said they felt insecure as in case of any accident involving them on the school campus, the authorities did nothing. She demanded an insurance policy of Rs 2 lakh for every cook.

Ludhiana, August 20
Gatka is gaining popularity amongst the youth and those who are practising the martial art believe that it was high time the heritage art was looked at as a professional sport.

Started by Guru Gobind Singh, the 10th Guru, gatka is a very fast and energetic martial art, requiring skill, energy, pace and expertise of high order, says Satnam Singh, a practitioner.

But the art has been on the wane for a long time. But it has started seeing revival now. It is not only a sport but also a great cultural tradition.

It is being taken up by many as they want to maintain fitness. "It is a perfect way to maintain the mental acuity and physical fitness as the fast pace sport not only requires stamina, but also skills to attack and defend as real weapons are at play during the practice," says Amandeep Singh, a businessman.

Manjit Singh, from the Khalsa Gatka Akhara said that as the youth was going astray today, and this sport would help them focus on fitness. The art is exceedingly exciting, which would help the youth become physically stronger and mentally agile.

Learning the art also equips one in self- defence, according to another member of a Gatka club in the city. "Mastering the skill equips one in protecting oneself, and overpowering several attackers at the same time. This is a great martial art and should be promoted amongst youngsters," says Harjeet Singh.

"Gatka is not only a martial art, but also part of our heritage depicting the great tradition. It should be incorporated in school and college curricula, in sports tournaments and should be promoted," says Dr Davinder Singh Chhina, a cultural activist.

"Gatka as a game is a test of skill and acumen. It must be recognised as a sport and should be included in all state and national sporting events," says Aman, a sportsman.

Ludhiana, August 20
The sacred festival of Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated in the city today. Thousands of Muslims visited mosques and performed “namaz”.

"This is a pious festival, and we pray to “Allah” so that we may serve the humanity better," said Kareem, a resident. "This joyous festival comes after the rozas, when the Muslims keep fast to cleanse their mind and serve the underprivileged," he said.

People of other religions also celebrated the festival, along with the Muslim community. "Festivals of all religions are celebrated with amity and mutual brotherhood in the city, and we pray for the religious and cultural harmony of all the religions," said Harman, a resident.

Shadow of Burma killings, are looming large over the festival celebrations this year. Maulana Habib-ur-Rahman Sani said that the festival promoted brotherhood and peace in the world. He said that the day was a gift from “Allah” for those who observed the rozas during the days, preceding the festival. He congratulated resident of Punjab and wished that animosity amongst all religions would end.

Ludhiana, August 20
Veteran actor and style-diva of her heyday Zeenat Aman was in the city on the concluding day of the Blender's Pride Punjab International Fashion Week. Visiting the city for the second time, she said that it was great to see fashion growing in a big way. The essence of Punjab had always been predominant in Bollywood, she said.

The actor said that she never brought any change in fashion and style consciously. Talking about Indian girls not winning international beauty pageants for a long time, the former Miss India said that Indian girls were the most beautiful in the world as they had beauty with brains and womanly grace. Factors like lobbying could be at play, she said.

Technology is changing day by day and multiplexes, cable, internet, have changed the very concept of cinema as they have now become widely accessible. Instead of the movies celebrating silver and golden jubilees are now becoming 100-crore clubs.

When asked about her beauty and fitness, she said that she found joys in small thing of life, and joys of life kept her rejuvenated. She said that she tried to remain humble and generous, so life became more pleasant. She said that she didn’t have immediate plans to do movies, unless there was some exciting script. Having two sons who are on the threshold of their careers and she didn't rule out their joining Bollywood, as it all depended on which way their careers moved, she said.

Residents were very excited to see Zeenat walking the ramp for designer Archana Kochhar. Seeing her in person for the first time, Rakesh Bansal was in awe. "I have seen all her movies and have been a great fan of hers. It is great to see her today. It is amazing to see that she still has the same charisma about even today," he says.

Ludhiana, August 20
It was time to relish myriad delicacies from various regions of the West Asia, South Asia and European countries, as the Ivanna Institute of Hotel Management organised the International Food Festival today. Students of bachelors’ degree in hotel management prepared delicacies like Japanese rice rolls, Mezzeh platter with Sahen meshqal, Persian appetizer, Lebanese Mucver and Falafel, Turkish Ful kibbeh and French Pate de foie vollaile.

In the soups and starters section, students prepared foods of countries like Japan, Korea, Singapore and Burma. In the appetizer section was the rich and varied cuisine of Lebanon, Turkey, Bahrain and Iran while the main course section had food items from France, Italy, Hungary and Russia.

Lebanese foods and their sandwiches, including Falafel and sauces of various kinds reflected their passion to indulge in food, said chef Mandeep, a faculty member at the institute. Singaporean food was an amalgamation of the East and the West, he said.

Fresh fruits and vegetables play a great role in Greek Cuisine. Turkish street food is delectable, he said. In Indonesia, food street vendors are very popular. Korea has many traditional dishes, dumplings being most common among them. Noodle soup is the national dish of Burma. Manmeet Sodhia, director of the institute, said that International cuisine was becoming popular amongst the elite crowd here. Gaining expertise in it would give students an edge, she said.

Various organisations and cells of the Congress party celebrated the 68th birth anniversary of Late Prime Minster Rajiv Gandhi at different venues in the city on Monday. President of District Congress Committee congratulated the congress workers during celebrations at the committee office. 

Ludhiana, August 20
On the one hand, the Punjab government is struggling to provide quality education to students while on the other it has decided to open sports centres in government schools.

As per sports officials, the government will open 700 sports centres throughout the state.

These centres will be established in those schools where emphasis is laid on co-curricular activities.

The education department will provide the basic infrastructure to these centres.

Earlier, schools used to collect funds from students, but now the government has exempted girl students and those belonging to Scheduled Castes from paying fee.

Ironically, a majority of students in government schools are from SC and Backward Classes. Due to the non-availability of funds, schools are not able to organise sports activities.

Now, the department is going to open sports centres in schools.

Ravinder Ravi, state sports organiser, education department, Punjab, said, "We have to shape up budding players."

Ajitpal Singh, assistant education officer, Ludhiana, said, "At least 70 centres will be opened in the district. The centres will provide a platform to budding players."