Ludhiana, October 19
Ludhiana's iconic Clock Tower turned 106 today. The tower continues to be one of the most important landmarks of the city, but the clocks on this tower do not tick anymore.

As the city around this landmark flourished over the years, Clock Tower seems to have lost its sheen, courtesy: Ludhiana Municipal Corporation and the state government.

The civic body officials claim that the clocks get jammed as birds sit on its hands. "The design of clocks is such that birds love sitting on their hands and the machine stops working. The design of clocks is more than 100 years old and we cannot change it or cover the clocks," said a senior MC official.

The tower has always remained in news for one reason or the other. In September last year, the hands of one of the four clocks had gone missing. In February last year, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation had spent Rs 7 lakh on the beautification and maintenance of Clock Tower. At that time, the MC had got the interiors and exteriors of the Clock Tower whitewashed. Similarly, the building and roads branch installed fancy grills to give it an aesthetic look.

When contacted, Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria expressed surprise the clocks of the tower were not in working order. "I will look into the matter and ensure that the clocks are made functional. I will speak to the technical staff and see if the clocks can be covered," the Mayor said.

Not only Clock Tower, several other landmarks and places of entertainment in the city have vanished over the years. The city once had a boating facility and a zoo at Nehru Rose Garden in the Civil Lines area.

Raikot, October 19
In a bizarre incident, a widow from Noorpura village was allegedly shot dead by her father-in-law and his brother when she resisted their attempt to stop her from watering crops from the common tubewell installed in the fields.

The Sadar police has launched a hunt to nab the suspects after registering a case under Section 302 of IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of Arms Act. The deceased has been identified as Jagpal Kaur and the accused as Ajit Singh and Avtar Singh of Noorpura.

Investigations revealed that Jagpal Kaur had been looking after her fields after the demise of her husband Narinder Singh a few years ago. Besides facing professional problems, she had to waste resources for saving her land from members of her in-laws family, including her father-in-law.

She preferred to look after the routine chores herself and had gone to fields to run the common electric motor installed in her fields today.

However, Ajit Singh and Avtar Singh, who were already present in the fields, stopped her from operating the motor and warned her of dire consequences. But Jagpal Kaur advanced towards the tubewell, the action which allegedly infuriated Ajit Singh and his brother. Ajit Singh allegedly fired at her from his gun and she died on the spot.

A police party led by Mohan Dass, SHO, Sadar, reached the spot, but the assailant managed to flee.

A special investigation team (SIT) was constituted comprising SHO, Sudhar, Rajesh Kumar and SHO, Raikot.

Kehar Singh, DSP, who supervised the investigations, said police teams have been sent to raid probable hideouts of the suspects, but no arrest was made till evening today.

The body of the deceased was handed over to her parents after postmortem.

COMMUNITY

Festive spirit grips city
Manav Mander
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 19
It's that time of the year again when skinny jeans and spaghettis are replaced with traditional 'ghagra cholis'. Salsa or belly dancing workshops do not attract the youth anymore, but it is the dandiya and garba classes that pull them. City pubs are no longer the most happening place as the young brigade is flocking to various venues organising dandiya nights.

Navratras are no longer confined to the Gujarati or Marwari communities, but Punjabis too are taking keen interest in the festival. And the Navratras fever has already gripped the city, with denizens enrolling themselves in dandiya and garba workshops and attending some special events and contests.

This is also reflected in the rising number of people enrolling for dandiya classes and garba workshops in the city. Seerat started organising workshops on dandiya from last year. "People in the city go with the flow. Now that Navratras are going on they are coming to attend the dance workshops. Everyday, I get nearly eight to 10 queries while three batches are already in progress," she said.

"Whether it is Diwali or Navratras I like to dress traditionally. I have got designed three traditional outfits that I will be adorning on the three-day dandiya nights being organised by our society," quips Ishika, a resident.

Owners of various stores in the city, too, reported a rise in the sale of traditional outfits during the period. Pritam Shah, proprietor of a traditional apparel store at Ghumar Mandi, said, "Sales increase by 50 per cent during Navratras and we get special stock of "ghagras", "chaniya cholis" and "kedias" from Gujarat."

Ludhiana, October 19
The UPA government's decision to reduce the number of subsidised LPG cylinders to six has put consumers in a fix.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, had issued a notification in this regard on September 14.

One of the consumers said, "We are left wondering whether the notification has been implemented as per financial year or calender year."

Aman Dhir, A homemaker, said,"I don't know whether I will get a cylinder on subsidised rate as I have already got eight cylinders this year."

Rajan, who was on his way to deliver an LPG cylinder, said,"Confusion prevails among the residents regarding the supply of cylinders. I am fed up with their queries."

Naveen Talwar, president of the Ludhiana LPG Distributors Association, said, "Three cylinders will be supplied to households between April 1 and September 30 while consumers will get the remaining three cylinders between October 1 and March 31.

If a consumer gets a cylinder that was booked in the last week of the sixth month, he or she will get it on subsidised rate, but if the fourth cylinder is delivered in the same period, the consumer will get it on non-subsidised rate."

He added, "We have been instructed to issue three subsidised LPG cylinders to each consumer from September 2012 till March 31, 2013, as the current financial year will end on March 31, 2013. Talwar said, "If anyone needs more than six cylinders in a year, he will have to shell out more."

When asked how much the seventh cylinder would cost, Talwar replied,"As the value of dollar and international crude oil keeps changing, the price of non-subsidised cylinders will vary accordingly."

Ludhiana, October 19
The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has finalised the Detailed Project Report (DPR). The updated DPR has been submitted to the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, Punjab Infrastructure Development Board, and state local bodies department.

Now, a copy of the DPR will be submitted to the Government of India for its approval because even the Centre will be giving its share for the construction of the project.

For the past several months, the work for updating the DPR had been going on in the DMRC office. The earlier DPR was prepared by the DMRC in 2008 and was to be updated because four years had passed since it was prepared. The DPR prepared in 2008 had calculated the cost of project to be Rs 8,705 crore, but now it is expected to be around Rs 10,300 crore.

That is why, the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation conducted a fresh survey and discussed it during a meeting held in New Delhi on August 22. It was during this meeting that it was decided that the DMRC officials would visit the city and take stock of both the corridors. On August 27 and 28, a DMRC team visited both the corridors in the city so that the updated DPR could be finalised.

MC Commissioner and managing director of the Ludhiana Metro Rail Corporation Rakesh Kumar Verma said he was yet to study the details of the updated DPR."After studying the DPR in detail, we will send it to the Centre for approval," claimed Verma.

Ludhiana, October 19
Members of the Ghumar Mandi Chowk Shopkeepers’ Association staged a dharna on National Road against the one-way traffic at Ghumar Mandi today.

About 50 shopkeepers of Ghumar Mandi, led by Lokesh Bactor, held a protest. The shopkeepers shut their business establishments and raised slogans against the police. The rued that while diversions had been removed from both sides — Aarti Chowk and National Road — following protests, barricades were still installed at Ghumar Mandi Chowk for the diversion of traffic.

The protesters said they were running losses due to barricades as it was difficult for customers to reach their shops. “It’s a festive season and perhaps the only time to make brisk business. But due to traffic diversion, customers cannot reach our shops,” said a karyana store owner.

The traffic at Ghumar Mandi and adjoining roads came to a halt this morning due to protest against the route diversion. The dharna was lifted following an assurance by ACP (Traffic) J Elanchezhian. It is learnt that ACP (Traffic) decided to hold a meeting with the shopkeepers at Ghumar Mandi to resolve the issue. 

Ludhiana, October 19
A day after the DNA sample of a sarpanch facing rape allegation was collected by the police, the complainant cried foul and alleged that the sample was not preserved.

She said it was kept in the house of the inquiry officer (IO) and not sent to Hyderabad. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered the Ludhiana Police Commissioner to take DNA samples of a sarpanch to establish the paternity of a 17-year-old girl.

The action followed after a woman residing in Hawas village approached the High Court claiming that the sarpanch, Mann Singh, had allegedly raped her, following which she got pregnant and gave birth to a girl child.

Villagers claimed that the woman and the sarpanch were in a relationship, but parted ways later on. The sarpanch rubbished the allegations.

He said,"She is levelling allegations against me at the behest of a villager, Sukhdev Singh. I have agreed to undergo the DNA test. I am cooperating with the police."

Mann Singh added that the woman was levelling baseless allegations against the police as she knew that the DNA report would prove her wrong.

Ludhiana, October 19
Following a number of complaints, the Jagraon police has issued directions to the owners of 67 marriage palaces. Jagraon SSP Ashish Chaudhry said, "There are a number of marriage palaces on the Jagraon-Ferozepur Road due to which commuters have to face a lot of inconvenience. Traffic jams are a routine affair on the road."

The owners have been told that vehicles should be parked on the palace premises and not on the roadside.

"We held a detailed meeting with the owners asking them to follow instructions so that commuters are not put to inconvenience," said Chaudhry.

Ludhiana, October 19
The Golden Jubilee Inter-College Youth Festival of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), for the session 2012-13, kicked off here today. The students of the four constituent colleges of the PAU including College of Agriculture, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, and College of Home Science, are participating in the fest. Various events such as collage making, creative writing and cartooning were organised on the first day, in which the students demonstrated their talent and creativity.

The Chief Guest, Dr PK Khanna, technical adviser to the PAU Vice-Chancellor and officiating registrar, said that the spirit of participation was more important than winning prizes. Applauding the performance of the students in fine arts and literary events, he added that the participation in co-curricular activities helped in developing the personality. Dr Khanna gave away prizes to the winners and exhorted the youth to prosper and progress in various fields of life.

Dr DS Cheema, Director Students' Welfare, said that cultural events provide an opportunity to the students to express their thoughts and exhibit their innovative abilities. Although PAU was an agricultural university, the students had the passion and enthusiasm to participate and win laurels in different fields, he said. The panel of judges included experts from renowned institutions of the state.

Results

Collage Making — First: Anmol Toor (College of Home Science), Second: Gurwinder Kaur (College of Basic Sciences and Humanities), Third: Gulab Kumari (College of Agriculture)

Creative Writing — First: Karaminderbir Kaur (College of Agriculture), Second: Ajit Kaur (College of Basic Sciences and Humanities), Third: Aakanksha Melkani College (Basic Sciences and Humanities).

Ludhiana, October 19
City lawyers will boycott the local courts tomorrow. The have been demanding the withdrawal of withdrawal of evening court.

District Bar Association president Jagmohan Singh Warraich, secretary GS Sodhi and vice-president Ashok Sharma stated that the proxy counsels had been deputed for all advocates.

The association has imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 each on two lawyers, who had reportedly appeared in the courts on the last Saturday, when the call of boycott of courts was given. 

Ludhiana, October 19
A two-day solar energy fair, with focus on tapping alternative sources of energy, commenced today.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Dr Rishi Pal Singh said 30 per cent subsidy was being provided by the government on projects for energy generation from alternative sources and bio-gas plants.

He said the solar fair would go a long way to apprise the people with equipment used in generation of solar energy by providing complete information on cost, sources of procurement and details about claims of subsidy. Exhorting the people to go for solar power generation.

Dr Rishi Pal added that bio-gas plants were a better alternative to LPG as bio-gas was comparatively very cheap, totally pollution free and and a natural product. — OC

Ludhiana/Sahnewal, October 19
Teachers of colleges affiliated to Panjab University, Punjabi University and Guru Nanak Dev University have decided to observe strikes and dharnas in the coming days, the first of which was organised today.

JR Prashar, president, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union, said: “The first such rally of Punjabi University area was held at Patiala today.”

“The teachers working in colleges affiliated to Punjabi University took mass casual leave and held rally at Patiala,” he said.

“The second rally will be held at Amritsar at October 30 and the teachers working in colleges affiliated to GNDU will take mass casual leaves. The teachers working in colleges affiliated to Panjab University will also take mass casual leave and organise a dharna. This would be followed by a massive state-level rally at Chandigarh in the third week of November. In the meantime, PCCTU will form a joint action committee consisting of Management Federation, Principal Federation, PCCTU and Non-Teaching Employees Union,” he said.

Dr Kuldip Singh, general secretary of PCCTU, said: “Apart from implementation of pension and gratuity scheme, the agitation will focus on certain other pending just demands as lifting of ban on recruitments, which was imposed in 2005, inclusion of teachers under service security act of 1974 and UGC pay revision arrears to aided as well as unaided teachers as early as possible.”

Earlier, two-hour strikes were held in all the colleges affiliated to all the three universities of Panjab. The student community rued that the strikes would affect their studies.

Jagraon, October 19
Villagers in the adjoining areas have been facing a lot of inconvenience due to an indefinite strike called by the rural postal staff. The postal services in the rural areas have been badly disrupted due to the strike that commenced on October 16 under the banner of All India Gram Dak Sewak Union. The union is demanding the fulfillment of various long pending demands.

As the strike entered the fourth day, people who are completely dependent on the postal staff due to unavailability of private courier services were the most affected.

"Most of the private courier service providers do not accept letters and other postal material supposed to be sent to nearby destinations; therefore, we completely depend on postal staff for these kinds of services," rued Jatinder Singh, a resident of Kamalpura village near here.

Officials working in various government departments, banks and other organisations in the rural areas are also finding it hard to carry on their routine work due to this strike.

Jarnail Singh, president of Jagraon block of All India Gram Dak Sewak Union, said the strike would continue till the government fulfils their demands.

Ludhiana, October 19
The women forum of the Ludhiana Management Association organised a programme "Ludhiana Cares" to bring the members of the association and NGOs working in the region together at the same platform.

The session was arranged with a view to connect many NGOs, form linkages and build bridges with people associated with philanthropic causes.

The programme was attended by professionals in various fields, NGOs and volunteers engaged in the betterment of society. Various NGOs were introduced in the session and the spheres of work they were engaged in were also told.

More than 50 NGOs from the city participated in the event, said Harpreet K Soin, chairperson of the women forum of LMA and VP, HSBC Bank

Paramjit Kaur, a member of the forum and principal of BCM Arya Model School, spoke on the benefits of working together.

"The move will help NGOs in pooling resources, utilising manpower, creating pressure groups for bringing about the change and making joint pool for raising funds," she said.

A discussion was also held on the launch and usage of social media to enable individuals, NGOs and institutions to connect, share knowledge and information, debate critical issues and provide support to each other. A page on Facebook, Ludhiana Cares, has also been created.

"Any citizen or any NGO can approach and they would be given permission to join the page. Various organisations will collectively approach and spread awareness in schools, colleges, industry and corporate to join, volunteer and contribute to the efforts," said Maneet Dewan.

Ludhiana, October 19
Maple Bear Canadian Playway and Nursery School, Udham Singh Nagar, organised a rhyme competition to mark Dasehra. Children recited different rhymes on the theme “Nature”. Over 100 students participated in the event. Mothers and grandmothers of the children also attended the event. Principal Veena Aggarwal wished parents and children and informed the children that Dasehra signified the victory of good over evil.

Saraswati Modern School

Dasehra was celebrated at Saraswati Modern School on Humbran Road here today. The function started with the lighting of the lamp by chief guest Rekha Vij of Ram Sharnam. Attired in saffron and colourful dresses, students presented semi-classical dance performances depicted various aspects of the life of Lord Ram. Rekha Vij exhorted the children to follow the path shown by Lord Ram.

BCM Kindergarten School

BCM Kindergarten School celebrated Dasehra on its premises here today. The school campus was decked up with flowers and buntings. Children came in fancy attires related to the festival. School manager SK Mehta and principal DP Guleria encouraged the students by quoting the inspirational examples of the victory of goodness over evil from the epic Ramayana.

Navratras celebrations

A function was held to celebrate navratras at Rising Stars School on Friday evening. The function started with lighting of the lamp, followed by prayers. The school director Ravi Nandan Sharma and principal Sonia Sharma welcomed the chief guest, councilor Mamta Ashu, and Hemu Saggar, a senior Congress leader. Dandia and garba were performed by mothers of children studying in the school. The school principal thanked the parents for attending and participating in the function. Prizes were also given to children and mothers.

Recitation competition

A recitation competition was organised at Cherubs The Preschool here today. Children, dressed in colourful attires, recited beautiful rhymes in front of judges and guests. The props also enhanced their creativity. It was an excellent opportunity for them to gain confidence. Navpreet Panesar and Shikha Pahwa were the judges. The best performers were given trophies and certificates and all the participants received participation certificates. First prize was shared by Ankesh Yashvir and Sanan Arora; second prize was given to Jalnidh Kaur and Krishika Uppal; and third prize went to Izzara Jodhan. Consolation prizes were given to Bikram Singh, Prabhleen Passi and Ridaan Sharma.

Principal awarded

Manjit Kaur Makkar, principal of Guru Gobind Singh Public School, Daad, has been awarded “Indira Gandhi Shiksha Shiromani Award” by Indian Solidarity Council. She was also given “Certificate of Education Excellence” for her outstanding achievements and her remarkable efforts in the field of education.

Doodling competition

Students of Classes I to X of Ryan International School, Jamalpur, participated in a national event that offered a unique opportunity for students to showcase their talents by designing and creating doodles for the organising company. Principal Parveena John congratulated Google for this innovative thought that ignited the creative zeal among the students.

Community Helpers’ Day

Apple Tree Preschool, BRS Nagar, celebrated Community Helpers’ Day here today. The students came dressed as doctors, teachers, gardeners, lawyers, postmen, policemen, engineers, tailors, bakers and vegetable sellers. The students acted out the characters they were dressed up as -- a doctor checking patients, a postman delivering letters, etc. Principal Komal Sareen said such role playing helped students to get better understanding of work done by other people.

Children make homes for animals

An animal home-making activity was organised for the students of Classes I and II by Ryan International School, Dugri. Students made homes for animals using ice-cream sticks and card boards, with techniques like foil paper pasting and cutting. Students were told to develop a compassionate attitude towards animals. The headmistress, Ritu Syal, said such activities encouraged the students to use their artistic talents.

Football tournament

Amrit Indo Canadian Academy is hosting a two-day Ludhiana Sahodya Schools Complex (West) Football Tournament that started here today. About 18 teams of various schools, including Jesus Sacred Heart, Jatindera Greenfield, Eastwood International and Blossom Public School were seen in action on the first day. Teams competed in under-14 and under-17 categories. March past and PT display marked the commencement of the event. In the inaugural match, Amrit Indo Canadian Academy defeated Blossom Convent School.

Dance competition

A child participates in a solo dance competition at GMT Public School in Ludhiana on Friday. Photo: Inderjeet Verma.

A solo dance competition was organised in the kindergarten block of the GMT Public School here today. Students of Pre-Nursery to Class II participated in this competition. Directors of the school KS Thind and JS Thind were the guests of honour on the occasion. A performance by Nursery students on the song “Chamak Chalo” captured the attention of all the students. Several other performances including bhangra, Hindi pop and Bollywood dance numbers also mesmerised the audience. Principal Amarjit Dhaliwal along with the coordinator, Sunita Pawar, encouraged the students. The winners, Sanjana of UKG-B, Lancy of Nursery-A, Harshika of LKG-B and Ishpreet of LKG-D were given certificates of appreciation.

Jagraon, October 19
The Ludhiana (Rural) police has arrested three persons for an alleged gang rape of a minor girl. The arrests were made about five months after the crime involving gang rape of the 10-year-old girl. The accused have been identified as Bittu, Raj Kumar and Sukhna, all residents of Mullanpur Dakha.

The girl was allegedly kidnapped from her residence at Prem Nagar in Mullanpur on May 3 this year. On the very next day, the police registered a case against the three persons on the complaint filed by her father. The police, however, failed to arrest any of the accused.

According to sources, frustrated over the failure of the police in arresting the accused, the family members of the victim girl met senior Congress leader Sunil Jakhar who brought the issue to the notice of Punjab Governor.

In the meantime, the Meerut police recovered the victim and reunited her with her family members on October 10. In her statement before the court, the victim alleged that the accused abducted her from her house in connivance with some political leaders of Mullanpur.

After abducting her, the three accused took her to a factory in Ludhiana where she was molested. Later on, the accused made her sit in a train bound to Meerut.

According to the victim, some accomplices of the accused took her off the train at the Meerut railway station and tried to sell her to some unknown persons. She however managed to escape.

SSP, Ludhiana (Rural), Ashish Chaudhry said a police party has also been sent to Meerut for further investigation. He further said that during the initial investigation, the police did not find any proof about involvement of any political leader in this case.

Khanna, October 19
A 46-year-old woman of Rasulra village was killed after the scooter being driven by her husband was hit on the rear side by a truck near Lalheri chowk on the GT Road. The victim, Surinder Kaur, fell near the rear tyres of the truck due to the impact and was run over by it.

Her husband Lakhvir Singh had a miraculous escape, as he fell away from the truck and remained unhurt. Police has registered a case against truck driver Ahmad Meer. — OC

Dehlon, October 19
The local police has arrested a truck driver of Boothgarh village in Hoshiarpur district and seized a substantial quantity of poppy husk from his possession and the truck used in the crime.

Gurpreet Singh Sikand, Assistant Commissioner of Police, said a team led by Amandeep Singh Brar, SHO, Dehlon, had nabbed Ranjit Singh Rana for allegedly distributing narcotics in the area.

Besides seizing six bags of poppy husk, weighing 120 kg, the police has also recovered equipment used in measuring the contraband and packing materials.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused used to bring the contraband from drug peddlers active in trans-Sutlej area.

He would then transport it to localities of this region and distribute the same among labourers and addicts by organising vends at deserted places alongside link roads and canals.

He was intercepted by the police at Gopalpur Drain Bridge on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla road.

Bhadson, October 20
Both the accused in the murder case of Shivani Bansal, who was killed over three years ago, have been convicted. Patiala court will be awarding them the sentence on Monday next week.

Sunil Kalra and Umesh Pathak of Ludhiana, who were booked for killing and destroying Shivani’s body after robbing her of Rs 28 lakh on November 11 in 2009, were convicted by Additional Session Judge KC Gupta in Patiala today.

Shivani had disappeared from her home at Bhadson on the day of murder, and her husband Litesh Bansal and mother Kanta Rani had lodged contradictory reports with the police. While Litesh lodged a missing report, her mother accused him of allegedly killing her.

Investigations revealed that her paramour Sunil Kalra had talked to her on that night. Sunil and his accomplice had later admitted to having killed Shivani on the same day and thrown her body in a canal near Machhiwara. The police had recovered Rs 15.5 lakh from Sunil’s house and Rs 9.59 lakh from that of Umesh.

Ludhiana, October 19
Ashwani Kumar, a kidnapper, who escaped from the police custody on October 16, surrendered in the court at Moga today.

Ashwani had kidnapped 13-year-old Sukhdev Singh, alias Manu of Moga, on October 8, who was later rescued from Jalandhar on October 9.

It was on Tuesday evening that Ashwani (45), tried to kidnap eight-year-old nephew of Congress councillor Sanjay Talwar and was about to take an auto-rickshaw.

However, the child managed to flee and raised the alarm. Residents nabbed Ashwani and took him to the Kitchlu Nagar police station.

The residents were in for a shock when ASI Surinder Singh, in-charge of the Kitchlu Nagar police station, reportedly told them to bring the man in the morning as Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal was in the town.

The ASI reached the Kitchlu Nagar chowki after receiving a rap from Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh. ASI Surinder Singh and two other policemen took Ashwani for questioning. However, Ashwani managed to escape from the police custody.

"Taking disciplinary action against the erring policeman, the Commissioner suspended the ASI," said Gurveer Singh, SHO, PAU.

Soon after receiving information, ADCP- III Joginder Singh, ACP Gurpreet Kaur Purewal and SHO Gurveer Singh, pitched tent in Moga.

On Thursday, Ashwani's wife stated that her husband was under depression as he had suffered losses in business.

The Moga police knew that Ashwani was a resident of Moga, but no effort was made to arrest him.

Ludhiana, October 19
Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, and Saraswati Modern School, Hambran road branch, registered authentic victories in the Ludhiana Sahodaya School Complex (LSSC) Cricket Tournament being organised by the education department at the Green Land Stadium, Manj Phagowal, on the Ludhiana-Jalandhar road.

Sacred Heart Convent School drubbed Green Land Convent School, Dugri branch, by 134 runs while Saraswati Modern School beat Nankana Sahib Public School, Gill road, by seven wickets to advance into the next round.

In the first match, Sacred Heart Convent School hoisted a big total of 175 runs for the loss of three wickets in the allotted 20 overs. The main contributions came through Varishab and Mayank who scored 60 and 57 runs, respectively. Green Land Convent School's innings culminated in 10.5 overs at 41 runs. Not a single batsman could reach double figure.

For the winning side, Eshan was the most successful bowler who captured three wickets for 10 runs in three overs. Varishab and Shivam claimed two and one wicket, respectively.

In the second match, Nankana Sahib Public School were restricted to a modest total of 55 runs in 14 overs in which Manveer made 13 runs while Vipun scored 10 runs.

For Saraswati Modern School, Piyush bowled three overs and grabbed four wickets for 17 runs while Harpreet took two for nine in four overs. Saraswati Modern School achieved the target in 10.3 overs after losing just three wickets. Ankit chipped in with 18 runs and Gurwinder contributed 12 runs to anchor their team to rome home victorious.

In another match, GMT Public School, Jalandhar bypass branch, defeated Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar, by 41 runs.

Batting first, GMT School scored 117 runs losing six wickets. Nikhil top scored with 22 runs, followed by Ashish and Rishab who made 20 and 12 runs, respectively.

Chasing the target, Guru Nanak Public School were all out for 76 runs with two overs to spare.

For GMT School, Gaurav, Akshay and Shivam excelled with the ball. Gaurav secured four wickets while Akshay scalped two and Shivam too one wicket.

In the fourth match, Guru Nanak International Public School, Model Town overwhelmed CFC Public School, BRS Nagar by 108 runs.

In reply to Guru Nanak International Public School's score of 166 runs (Lovejot-38, Harmeet-35 and Manvir-28), CFC Public School could muster only 58 runs in 15.1 overs.