Ludhiana, October 12
Two days after a man was lynched in the Janakpuri area, the police cracked its whip on erring police officials and transferred them to the Police Lines.

The police today sent three officials — Janakpuri chowki in charge ASI Shamsher Singh, munshi Davinder Singh and constable Parvinder Singh, to the Police Lines, while another constable, Kuldeep Singh, has been sent to the Daresi police station.

Mandeep Singh, SHO of the Division No. 6 police station, confirmed the development. He said all policemen at the chowki had been transferred and replaced by other officials.

The action was taken as the man was lynched in the migrant quarters located in the backyard of the Janakpuri police chowki.

The man, who trespassed into a house, has not been identified as yet. "We have questioned residents, but none of them has ever seen the man who was lynched," said the police official.

Family members of the persons, who were arrested in connection with the lynching of the man, have claimed innocence.

"What would you do on finding a burly stranger standing in the courtyard in the dead of the night. Had they not attacked the thief, he would have attacked them. My husband and all others living in the locality are innocent. They attacked the man in self-defence, resulting in his death," said Meenu, wife of Talwinder Singh, who is among six men booked on a murder charge.

On October 10 , a suspected thief was tied to a tree trunk and lynched.

Ludhiana, October 12
The pen-down strike by excise and taxation officials has taken a toll on traders. Though employees returned to work in the afternnon, no work was carried out duirng the morning hours. The strike was being held against the "rude behaviour" of an Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner.

Wednesday was a state holiday and on Thursday and Friday the employees went on strike. Now, the offices will be shut on Saturday and Sunday.

Traders, who had come to the office to get their work done today, had to return disappointed due to the pen-down strike.

“The whole week went like this. Either it was a holiday or the employees were on strike. I have been making the rounds of the office since Monday, but my work is still pending. It is not an easy task to commute daily from Mandi Gobindgarh. I have to get some rectification done in my VAT returns and now I will be able to get the work done only next week,” said Suresh Prabhakar, who came to the excise office this morning.

Jatinder Khurana, a taxation lawyer, said the work of his clients was getting delayed due to the strike. "Excise officials have literally become inaccessible. In the morning, they were on strike. When I again went to the office in the afternoon, they were busy in a meeting. Work is suffering due to their callous attitude. With the last date for filing quarterly VAT returns approaching, they should be easily approcahable," he said.

Gurcharan Singh was also disappointed after visiting the office and finding that the employees were on strike. “We hardly get to meet the officials. Sometimes they are on field duty, the other day it was a holiday and now the strike. Since it is an important department linked with business and trade, they should understand their moral responsibility and shun away from such strikes,” he said.

Another trader, Lalit Khanna, said, “I had come yesterday and the employees were on a pen-down strike. Same was the case this morning. Traders are suffering. If we are late in filing the returns, we have to pay a penalty,” he said.

Work pending
The whole week went like this. Either it was a holiday or the employees were on strike. I have been making the rounds of the office since Monday, but my work is still pending. It is not an easy task to commute daily from Mandi Gobindgarh. I have to get some rectification done in my VAT returns and now I will be able to get the work done only next week.

— Suresh Prabhakar

Khanna, October 12
The Machhiwara police has recovered the body of a migrant girl, Seema, who fell into the Sirhind canal along with two other girls on October 7. The mishap had taken place when the girls had gone to take a dip in the canal in connection with with the Jeetia Parn festival.

Since the day of the mishap, several migrant labourers were manning some spots in the Sirhand canal to find the bodies. ASI Malkit Singh, chowki in charge, Behlolpur, said some migrants manning the Garhi bridge noticed the body of a girl in the canal and informed the police.

The body was taken out of the canal and handed over to the parents of the girl after a postmortem. Seema was the elder among the two sisters, both of whom along with their friend Cheeku, had slipped into the canal waters. Cheeku's body was recovered yesterday. The body of the third victim is yet to be recovered.

Ludhiana, October 11
An 18-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan at Jattan village in the Kum Kalan area here today. The deceased has been identified as Manpreet Kaur and was reportedly suffering from depression. Her father Bhajan Singh said the girl committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan. The incident took place when no one was present in the house.

The police has recorded the statement of Manpreet's father and has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC. Meanwhile, three persons lost their lives in different parts of the city while crossing railway tracks. According to officials of the Government Railway Police, none of the accident victim has been identified so far. They said it was yet to be ascertained whether they committed suicide or died in accidents.

Ludhiana, October 12
The ongoing "shradhs" have failed to deter the spirit of shoppers in the city. Only those who want to shop for auspicious occasions like marriage and other ceremonies are shying away from visiting the markets.

"Gone are the days when people used to postpone their shopping plans due to shradhs. This year, we haven't seen any decrease in the number of shoppers visiting our store even during the shradhs," said Ram Parkash, owner of a silk store at Ghumar Mandi.

Pallavi, a student pursuing graduation at a local college, said, "I am not aware that people do not shop during shradhs. My mom goes for shopping regularly, irrespective of the shradhs. I believe every day is a creation of God, and such traditions do not have much meaning."

Jampacked malls, especially during the weekends, is a testimony to the fact that people no more believe in staying away from shopping during the shradhs. "We haven't seen any decrease in the number of people coming for shopping during the shradhs. People come here to enjoy, shop and relax, and they are doing it as usual," said a garment shop owner at one of the malls.

"Though puja is performed in our house during the shradhs, we do not believe in abstaining from shopping during these days. It is only gold and expensive things like cars that we prefer not to buy during the shradhs. Other shopping such as buying clothes is being done as usual," said Pooja Tandon, a city resident.

Ludhiana, October 12
Now, traders will have to get their software updated for the department concerned has made certain changes in the e-form to be filled in for the filing of value added tax (VAT). All those who are gearing up for the filing their quarterly returns need to update their software.

The last date for the filing VAT returns for the quarter July-September is October 30.

"Now that the last date for the filing the returns is approaching near, the department has made certain changes in the e-form. It could have done it a month earlier so that we have ample time to get our software updated," said Jagdish Kumar, a trader.

"Now, we will have to purchase the new software to get the returns uploaded. Every few months, the department brings in new forms. They should follow a set pattern and some permanent solution should be found so that we are not required to update our software every now and then," said Jatinder Khurana, an advocate.

It is pertinent to mention here that the VAT rate has also been changed.

Kulwinder Singh said, "While we will have to pay extra VAT, at the same time we will have to spend extra money on purchasing the new software”.

"Today, when I was filing my quarterly VAT returns, I found that it was not uploading and later I realised that the VAT e-form has been changed. Now, I need to update my software for uploading the returns. The department should send some information in advance so that we are not taken aback at such abrupt changes," said Jashanjot Singh, another trader.

Ludhiana, October 12
Jail Minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur, who has been given the additional charge of Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries, visited Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) here today.

While addressing a meeting with the head of the departments and others, the minister said the promotion of animal husbandry was the need of the hour and experts should explore new opportunities in this sector.

"It is a new ray of hope if we develop the profession in a technical and scientific way," he said.

He appreciated the contribution of the university in spreading scientific information to farmers involved in animal husbandry. He emphasised the role of embryo transfer technology in producing quality milch cattle and lauded GADVASU and the State Animal Husbandry Department for doing an excellent work in this field.

Dr VK Taneja, Vice-Chancellor, highlighted the livestock scenario in the state and the role of GADVASU in promoting livestock farming in a systematic way.

Taneja reiterated the university's commitment to fulfilling the needs of livestock farmers as also to educating them through training programmes, the media and personal consultancy.

Further, Dr Taneja said there was a great potential of fisheries development in this region.

The minister showed keen interest in visiting various constituent colleges, livestock farms, veterinary hospital, surgical wing and the farmer information centre at the university.

Dr PD Juyal, Registrar, Dr RS Sahota, Director (Extension Education), Dr SNS Randhawa, Director (Research), Dr HS Sandhu, Dean, College of Veterinary Science, Dr SPS Sangha, Dean (Dairy College), and Dr Asha Dhawan, Dean (Fisheries College) accompanied the minister while he visited various departments.

Ludhiana, October 12
Though the Class IV staff union at the PAU had elected its president unanimously in the elections two years ago, this time youth leaders have decided to give a tough fight to union veterans in the elections scheduled for October 18.

Workers of both the groups have started their election campaigns. Meetings and rallies are going on and the election manifestoes will be out soon.

There are around 650 permanent Class IV employees at Punjab Agricultural Universities in which 554 are the voters.

The both factions, the PAU Fourth Class Employees Front (Guram) and the PAU Fourth Class Youth Front, have their own election manifestoes to attract the voters.

Avtar Singh Guram, presidential candidate of the PAU Fourth Class Employees Front (Guram), said: "During the nineties there were around 1,300 Class IV employees at the PAU but now there are only 650 regular employees at the university. Due to this fact, the Class IV employees are overburdened. We will pressure the university authorities for the recruitment of more staff. Our single-room flats are not in a good shape. We will get them renovated".

Meanwhile, Harbhajan Singh Barewal, presidential candidate of the PAU Fourth Class Youth Front, said: "We have promised workers that we will ask the authorities to pay our arrears. Moreover, we will make effort to get the daily-wage earners regularised”.

Ludhiana, October 12
Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) today held a protest under the leadership of Kirandeep Kaur, president of the ASHA Workers Union, at the Civil Surgeon’s Office, Ludhiana. Later, they submitted a memorandum to the PA of MP Manish Tiwari.

Addressing the agitators, Kirandeep Kaur said: "We demand that the ASHA workers should be given salaries and not commission. Six ASHA workers, who were earlier working at the Civil Hospital, Payal, have been replaced with new ones on the plea that according to the new rules, educational qualification of ASHA workers is class XII and not matriculation. We demand that those ASHA workers should be reinstated."

Manjeet Kaur said they had submitted memoranda to all the Punjab MP and demanded that our demands should be fulfilled. She said in case our demands were not fulfilled, we would hold a protest at the Parliament House in Delhi on December 19. There are 18,667 ASHA workers in the state.

Ludhiana October 12
Despite all the efforts of Punjab Agricultural University and the Agriculture Department, farmers of the state have been burning stubble. In the absence of a suitable alternative farmers are not willing to adopt the methods suggested by the university. Therefore, Punjab Agricultural University is going to introduce technology for producing biogas from paddy stubble.

The PAU claimed that the technique would be effective to reduce air pollution, caused by the burning of paddy stubble. For the final trial of the biogas technology, a plant is under construction in the fields of the PAU. According to the PAU officials, biogas will be produced by decomposing the stubble in the absence of oxygen in the plant.

Although the PAU has introduced a number of such products and methods as alternative to burning of stubble, yet these measured failed to attract the farmers of the state.

Moreover, despite a huge subsidy on cow dung based biogas plants, farmers did not adopt the technique .

Sukhdev Singh Kokri, a member of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) said, "Farmers are well aware about the ill-effects of stubble burning but we don't have any alternative. All the methods suggested by Punjab Agricultural University and the government are irrelevant. Moreover, we do not expect much from the new stubble-based biogas plants." How a debt-ridden farmer of the state could install these plants, which were still in the experimental stage, he added. The government and the PAU should work on farmer-friendly alternatives, Kokri said.

Jagraon, October 12
Members of the Technical Service Union of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited held a protest against the imposition of spot billing scheme at Sidhwan Bet today . A large number of employees of the department took part in the protest.

While addressing the employees Kulwant Singh Dholan, president of the union, said with the introduction of the scheme future of hundreds of electricity bill distributors and meter readers, hired by the department, had been endangered.

"The imposition of the spot billing will ruin the lives of the contractual employees. These employees have been providing services for the last 15 years but now the scheme would render thousands of such employees unemployed," added Dholan. The employees urged the government to intervene into the matter. The protesters threatened to intensify their struggle if the management of the corporation failed to take its decision back. 

Jagraon, October 12
Continuing its drive against illegal mining and smuggling of sand from the Sutlej riverbed in the areas where mining has been banned, the police has confiscated five tractor-trailers near Sidhwan Bet.

The police has impounded two motorcycles apparently belonging to the persons involved in illegal mining of sand at the scene. They managed to escape during the raid.

A case has been registered against unidentified persons at the Sidhwan Bet police station. The raiding team was headed by ASI Jaspal Singh.

Jaspal Singh said: "On seeing the police party, the persons, who were mining the sand from the river bed fled the scene, leaving behind five tractor-trailers and two motorcycles. Though we chased the suspects, they escaped taking advantage of the darkness," he added.

Ludhiana, October 12
Tanya of DAV Public School, BRS Nagar, Sonali Baweja of Aspire Academy and Nimish of Bal Bharti Public School won in their respective semifinal matches to secure berths in the final in the sub-junior girls, cadet girls and cadet boys' sections, respectively, in the 23rd Prithipal Singh Memorial Open Table Tennis Tournament being held at the Punjab Agricultural University campus here today.

In the cadet girl's section, Sonali outplayed Sarabjeet Kaur of Green Land School, Chandigarh road, 11-5, 11-9 and 11-7 to reach final where she would take on Tamanna from Green Land School, Chandigarh road, who got the better of her school mate, Mehak in straight sets 11-6, 11-8 and 11-6.

In the semifinals (cadet boys), Nimish proved too good for Parikshit, also from Bal Bharti Public School whom he outnumbered 11-6, 11-5 and 11-7 while Bhuvan of DAV Public School prevailed over Rishit of Bal Bharti Public School 11-5, 11-8, 4-11 and 11-9 to set up the title clash.

In the sub-junior girls’ single semi-final, Tanya defeated Kajal of Green Land Public School, Jalandhar bypass, 11-8, 11-6 and 11-6 and Apeksha of Green Land School, Chandigarh road branch, pipped Yashmilan of DAV Public School 11-5, 11-9 and 11-8 to secure their place in the final.

Ludhiana, October 12
HMV College, Jalandhar, and DAV College, Jalandhar, proved their supremacy to emerge champions in the women's and men's sections, respectively, in the inaugural edition of the IMG Reliance Punjab Colleges Basketball League that concluded at the Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

The final in the women's section played between HMV College, Jalandhar, and Government College for Women, Ludhiana, turned out to be a mismatch as the former dominated the proceedings throughout and wrapped up the issue eventually without much sweat (34-39).

However, in the men's section, DAV College, Jalandhar quelled a strong challenge put up by their rivals from Satish Chander Dhawan Government College, Ludhiana whom they overpowered 59-48 to clinch the title.

Manpreet Singh Ayali, MLA and chairman, Zila Parishad, Ludhiana, distributed the prizes among the player. The winners in both the sections pocketed cash prize of Rs 75,000 each while the team finishing as runners-up received cash prize of Rs 40,000 besides trophies.

Teja Singh Dhaliwal, honorary secretary, Punjab Basketball Association, along with other members of the association and coaches was present at the prize distribution function.

Jagraon, October 12
Boxers of the Shere Punjab Sports Academy Chakar near Jagraon added another feather in the cap of the academy by winning seven medals including five gold and two bronze in the Punjab University Inter College Boxing Championship.

As per the information given by Dr Balwant Singh Sandhu, chief administrator of the Shere Punjab Sports Academy, as many as seven trainees of the academy represented different colleges of the region in the championship concluded at Panjab University, Chandigarh, recently and clinched total seven medals including five gold and two bronze in different categories.

Dr Sandhu said in the boys’ event, academy trainee, Sukhdeep Singh, secured gold medal while Khushdeepak Kumar and Jagdeep Singh bagged bronze medals. "The girl trainees of the academy, on the other hand, gave much splendid performances during the same championship. Four girl trainees of the academy namely; Amandeep Kaur, Shavinder Kaur, Muskan Sidhu and Parminder Kaur clinched one gold medal each in different categories,” added Dr Sandhu.

As soon as the news of the achievements of the trainees of Shere Punjab Sports Academy reached the village, the whole village burst into jubilation. The villagers distributed laddoos among each other to celebrate the achievement.

The winner were given a warm welcome by the villagers when they arrived back after taking part in the championship. Later, a felicitation ceremony was organised in the academy to honour the winner players during which the villagers felicitated the winner players.

Ludhiana, October 12
Green Land Convent School, Subhash Nagar branch, and MGM Public School, Dugri, scripted victories to begin their campaign on a sound note in the Ludhiana Sahodaya Schools Complex Cricket Tournament being organised at Green Land School Stadium, Manj Phagowal on the Ludhiana-Jalandhar road.

In the first match of 20 overs each side, Green Land Convent School, Civil City branch, scored 81 runs in 17.5 overs. The main contributors were Harleen and Sahil who chipped in with 12 and 9 runs, respectively, while Paras and Sourabh made 7 and 6 runs.

For Green Land Convent School, Subhash Nagar, Vikas claimed four wickets while Ranvir got three wickets.

Green Land Convent School, Subhash Nagar, made the required runs in 12.2 overs after losing just one wicket. The architects of their win were Prince (24), Rahul (25) and Deepak (10).

In the second match, MGM Public School defeated International Public School, Sandhu Nagar by five wickets.

Batting first, International Public School could muster 95 runs in the stipulated 20 overs in which the main scorers were Shivam, Neeraj Gupta and Raj Kumar who contributed 15, 17 and 12 runs, respectively. For MGM Public School, Jatinder grabbed four wickets and Sahil took two.

MGM Public School achieved the target in 17 overs losing five wickets. Their innings revolved around Amit and Sachin who made 31 and 15 runs, respectively.

For the losers, Abhishek took two wickets while Davinder captured one wicket.

Ludhiana, October 12
RS Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, and Govt Sr Sec School (GSSS), Kumkalan, recorded their victories in the semifinal matches in the girl's section to book their berths in the final in the 4th Junior Ludhiana District Baseball Championship.