Ludhiana, October 23
In a major breakthrough, the city police has arrested the kingpin of a pan-India gang involved in extortion. The accused, posing as a travel agent, was extorting money from innocent youths.

Wanted by the Nepalese police and the Bhopal, Kolkata and Punjab police in cases of international fake currency smuggling, kidnapping of four persons for extortion, the kingpin of the gang was nabbed here today.

The accused, identified as Rajbir Singh Yadav, a resident of the Jassian road, was arrested on a tip-off by an informant.

Recently, the Bhopal police had raided his hideout in the city, but failed to nab him.

ACP Swapan Sharma said Rajbir, along with his accomplice Hindu Yadav, was running an emigration agency in Bhopal and used to kidnap innocent youths and extort money from them on the pretext of sending them abroad. Three other persons from Bhopal, Sanjay Kumar, Bablu and Vicky, were also involved in the racket.

Four months ago, they called a youth from Patiala, Mukul Rai, to Indore on the pretext of sending him abroad. As soon as Mukul reached Indore, they kidnapped him and kept him in a room.

Mukul was given sedatives. They procured SIM cards of Canada and forced Mukul to speak to his family members.

Mukul told his family members that he had reached Canada and was keeping well. Mukul asked his family to give Rs 5 lakh.

Rajbir send his accomplices, who collected the money. They forced Mukul to call up two of his friends and tell them that he had reached Canada.

Khamano, October 23
A newlywed bride was strangled to death allegedly by her bridegroom on the very first night of their marriage. Later, the groom also tried to commit suicide by cutting the veins of his arm. He is struggling for life at the PGI in Chandigarh.

Sukhwinder Singh, brother of the deceased and resident of Manimajra near Chamkaur Sahib, told the police that his sister Manpreet Kaur (21) got married to Kesar Singh of Bathan Kalan village on Sunday.

He said the duo was engaged about two years ago. On Monday, the family had happily sent the bride to her in-laws' place. However, on the very first night of their marriage, there was some "trouble" and Kesar Singh allegedly strangled Manpreet Kaur to death. He alleged that his sister was murdered for dowry.

The situation remained tense as a large number of residents of Manimajra reached Bathan Kalan village, but the police controlled the situation.

SHO Ajit Pal Singh said Kesar Singh attempted suicide by cutting his veins and was fighting for life at the PGI in Chandigarh. He said after receiving information, he, along with some other officials, reached the spot and found Manpreet's body lying on the bed. Blood was spotted near the body.

Fatehgarh Sahib SP(D) Gurpreet Singh and some other police officials also visited the site. The body was taken to the Civil Hospital, Khamano, for a post-mortem.

The Khamano police has registered a case under Sections 304-B, 308 and 120-B of the IPC against Kesar Singh, husband of the deceased, his brother Jaswinder Singh, his sister Rekha Rani and his brother-in-law.

The SHO said Manpreet's body was handed over to her parents after the post-mortem.

Ludhiana, October 23
The Dairy Development Board and the district Health Department have found more than 50 per cent samples of milk adulterated in Ludhiana. This has lent credence to the Centre's statement given to the Supreme Court regarding adulteration of milk.

The board had collected 1,870 samples of milk by organising 47 sampling camps in all MC wards this year. According to Deputy Director, Dairy Development Board, Dilbag Singh, they found 950 samples of milk adulterated.

"We do door-to-door collection of samples during camps. Besides, around five to seven samples are sent to our office daily. In a majority of the samples, we found that water had been added to milk. Cases of adulteration increase when there is a shortage of milk, especially during the festival season," Dilbag Singh said.

According to officials of the Health Department, after the implementation of the Food Safety Act, they examined food under two categories, substandard and unsafe.

Food Safety Officer Harpreet Kaur said, "Generally we conduct raids on commercial setups. We have found milk samples to be substandard. Besides, some products have been found to be unsafe. Powder was also found in some samples of milk."

Ludhiana, October 23
The Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) will conduct a draw of lots for the allotment of residential plots of 125 sq yard each to eligible applicants in the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar scheme on Pakhowal Road here on October 30. The applicants, who had deposited the earnest money for these plots way back in 1979 and 1982, have been waiting for the allotment of plots for the past more than 30 years now.

According to LIT Executive Officer Avtar Singh Azad, the possession of residential plots to the allottees could not be given till now as the land meant to be used for this purpose had come under the City Centre project, which has since been abandoned due to litigation.

He said the Trust had decided to refund the earnest money to 124 allottees in 2003, but the matter was reviewed once again in 2005 when a decision was taken to

provide alternative plots to the successful allottees.

Azad said the possession of plots had already been given to nine allottees following court directions. Of the remaining applicants, another 43 were allotted plots through a draw of lots on September 17, 2012.

"The Trust will now hold the draw of lots for the allotment of residential plots of 125 sq yard each to the remaining 73 applicants, who had submitted the required documents and proof to substantiate their claims. The list of all eligible applicants has been put up on the notice board of the Trust," he added.

Azad, however, made it clear that allotment letters would be given to the allottees only after the draw of lots once they produced all relevant documents in support of their claim and fulfilled all conditions laid down under the rules governing the allotment of plots.

Ludhiana, October 23
Officials of the building branch of the municipal corporation today razed a structure constructed on government land in Street No. 7 at the Upkar Nagar locality in the Civil Lines area.

A team of civic body officials descended on the spot and pulled down a room which was constructed along the wall of the dead-end street. The land on which the structure had been set up was part of the public street and any construction on this site was unlawful, the officials asserted.

While the MC officials did not elaborate on as to who had encroached upon the MC land, area residents alleged that the room had been constructed by a retired police official, who resided in that street. However, there was no resistance from any quarter as the officials and machines of the MC went about demolishing the structure.

Ludhiana October 23
Education system in the state colleges seems to be gasping on borrowed breaths as the most of the colleges are being run by the guest faculty and part time lecturers, who do not have any job security and are paid for the hours they spend in the colleges.

Sources said, government colleges are facing sheer shortage of lecturers, as more than 50 per cent sanctioned posts are lying vacant in the government colleges.

It is a fact that strength of part time and guest faculty lecturers is more than that of the permanent lecturers in five colleges of the district.

SCD Government College, Government College for Women, Government College, Sidhsar, Government College Karamsar, Rara Sahib and S Government College of Science and Education, Jagraon are the five Government colleges in district.

More than 50 per cent posts are vacant at SCD Government College, oldest college of the city. Out of 125 sanctioned posts, around 58 posts are vacant. Meanwhile, Government College for Women has 86 sanctioned posts, in which around 44 are vacant. On these posts, 12 part time and 32 guest faculty teachers are present.

There are around 18 permanent posts at Government College, Rara Sahib, in which around 5 posts are vacant.

At Government College, Sidhsar, out of 10 posts only one lecturer is permanent. Ironically college is waiting for regular principal for years.

Part time lecturers have been working in the colleges and protected by Supreme Court protected.

However, guest faculty lectures have been working on Rs 7,000 and receive pay only for seven months in a year.

Jaipal Singh, an educationalist said, “Education is not in the priorities of our governments. It appears, as there is a conspiracy against the people of Punjab as the most important sector is neglected. Government should make a concrete policy to recruit permanent teachers.”

Ludhiana, October 23
The glitter and glitz is back in Ludhiana as the city readies for the festival of lights.

While some shopkeepers offer gifts, the others have announced discounts and special offers to boost their sales. "This is the perfect time for making purchases. People consider the festive season as not only the best period for discounts and special offers, but also the most auspicious time for making purchases," said Preeti, a resident.

"We don't spend on crackers and teach our children not to use these. Rather we spend on gifts and get smiles from loved ones and friends in return," said another resident.

Meanwhile, for some people, this is the time to make use of the savings of the entire year. "I have been waiting to purchase a tablet. Now, it is being offered as a free gift with an expensive product. I am saving at least Rs 10,000. Saving money and making purchases make this time of the year worth the wait," says Amit, a resident.

Corporate gifts and calendars as part of the Diwali package have already hit the market. A variety of decorative and ceremonial lights, including a range of Chinese lights, are selling in the city markets. Different kinds of laser torches that project playful lights are also available this year.

Stores in the malls are also offering discounts to boost their sales. "This is the most celebrated festival of the country, and the best time for shoppers to come out and spend heartily," says Gurpreet at a store in a mall.

Sudhar, October 23
Having succeeded in removing encroachments from common land measuring 34 acres at Rurka village, near here, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) has directed the officials at of block development office to develop the land for the use of residents of the area.

Appreciating the administration's move to provide better facilities to the villagers by developing the land, members of the Rurka civic body, led by Charan Kaur, felicitated ADC (D) Rishi Pal and BDO of Sudhar Navneet Joshi at a simple function organised at the village today.

"It was after senior officers, supervised by Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tewari and Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Rishi Pal, held meetings with the office-bearers of the village panchayat, that they started persuading the encroachers to free the land for common cause," said Joshi, adding that the process was completed peacefully. 

Ludhiana, October 23
The process of making Aadhaar unique identity cards is likely to start by the end of this month after a long hiatus of eight months.

According to Swaraj Kaur, Senior Postmaster at the Head Post Office, the IT company, which has been associated with the postal department for carrying out the work of enrolment of UID cards, has been sent a notification regarding the resumption of the process by the department.

According to sources in the IT company, the process of setting up the system for the UID cards enrolment is on the track and enrolments are likely to start by the end of this month.

Since the first phase was over in February, the post office officials had been saying that the process would resume from April. But, it has been in limbo for a long time as the postal department did not receive any notification regarding the resumption of the process.

During the initial phase of the pilot project, two IT firms were hired by the postal department for the job. But, only one company, Smart Chip, was assigned the work, according to Navneet Verma, company’s operations head for the state.

According to an official, the post office had been receiving constant inquiries about UID cards since the process was stopped. "We had thought that the initiative of the government had been derailed, but it is good that finally, it is going to resume," a resident said.

Ludhiana, October 23
Eyebrows were raised and lips stretched for smiles at the same time, as the star cast of the movie Power Cut led Jaspal Bhatti at the start of the press conference started singing the song recounting the benefits of the power cuts, turning electric wires into clothes line, for the lovers not visible in the dark, the owls smiling sitting on the power cables. Handfans swinging, lanterns in hand, the star cast of the movie including Zafar Khan, Surilie Gautam, Meet Milade, assistant director Jasraj Bhatti apart from Jaspal Bhatti told about the upcoming movie about the problem of power cuts, endemic in the region.

The movie is not only on a satire on the dismal state of power cuts but also about the power games amongst politicians weaved around a romantic story.

Even the characters have been given comical names as even the protagonists have been named Bijli and Current the lineman named Khamba Ram and Bhatti himself plays the role of “Bhand” and Savita Bhatti plays the role of Mrs Bhand.

Talking about the movies, he said that typical Punjabi movies are picking up singers as actors, and directors have a hard time with singers stiff at acting, but he has cast trained actors in the movie, he said.

The movie was shot in Piniya village, near Neelon, he said. Talking about coming to television, Bhatti said as long as humour is there, he is ready to work with any form of media. When asked if he would like to come to Big Boss, he said that there is no humour, and he refused when he was offered to do the reality show in the first couple of seasons.

Ludhiana, October 23
Hours after the sortie, their hearts were still aflutter with the euphoria they experienced during the flight, eyes still beaming with excitement, wonder and delight, a faint smile and dream to take to skies again, the schoolchildren had seen while sitting in the cockpit most others only imagine.

Over 16 schoolchildren from eight schools were taken to Sahnewal airport by the NCC air wing and gave them the experience of flying in the air in microlight aircraft as each of them got the chance to sit next to the pilot. 10 minutes in the sky and it was the most exciting experience of their lives. “Flying at the height of 500 feet was awesome. People seemed like ants and buildings as small as bricks,” says Divjot Singh, wide-eyed. “Although I felt a bit of fright at the start of the flight, but after that it was very enjoyable and it was just awesome flying in the air,” he says.

“It was breathtaking. Flying above the amazing, stunning scenery of fields 600 ft high was a dream come true,” says Divnoor Kaur, a student of Guru Nanak Public School.

For Harmanpreet Kaur of Nankana Sahib Public School, it was the greatest moment of her life. It was a thrilling, extraordinary experience, says Deepanjali Singh from Sacred Heart Convent School.

They are already convinced about the career they want to follow. “I want to join the air force and become a fighter pilot,” says Paramvir Singh, a student of Malwa Khalsa School. The thrill and the career aim found echo in most of the students.

“The purpose of the sortie was to motivate children about joining the NCC and lead a disciplined life. Schoolchildren generally think that the NCC is all about parades and wearing a uniform, but we wanted to make them experience and know the opportunities that the NCC Air Wing provides,” said Wing Commander SS Kaila, No 4 Punjab Air Squadron NCC.

Ludhiana, October 23
The "Golden Jubilee Inter-College Youth Festival" of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), entered fourth-day with the organisation of competitions in Shabad Gayan (solo and group), quiz, one-act play, mime and mimicry. The brilliancy of the young minds was tested during the quiz competition.

“To scale new heights in life, be artistic, innovative and creative,” he said, while distributing the prizes to the winners. Jatinderpal Singh, Assistant Commissioner, Ludhiana, presided over the evening session.

Appreciating the energetic performance of the students in the youth fest, he motivated the youth to connect themselves with the cultural heritage of Punjab. He congratulated the prizewinners of various events.

Earlier, welcoming the dignitaries and the participants, the Director of Students' Welfare, Dr DS Cheema, said that youth fest gives a glimpse of rich culture of Punjab and other states as well.

Results:

Indian Group Song-1. Agricultural Engineering and Technology 2. Home Science 3. Basic Sciences and Humanities. Western Group Song-1. Home Science 2. Agricultural Engineering and Technology 3. Basic Sciences and Humanities. Western Solo-1. Harman Mehta (Agriculture) 2. Jasreman Singh (Agricultural Engineering and Technology) 3. Mankiran Kaur (Home Science). Light Vocal Solo-1. Sunanda (Agricultural Engineering and Technology) 2. Yograj Singh (Agriculture) 3. Ramneek Singh (Agricultural Engineering and Technology). Quiz-1. Basic Sciences and Humanities 2. Agriculture 3. Agricultural Engineering and Technology. Shabad Gayan (solo)-1. Baljit Kaur (Agricultural Engineering and Technology) 2. Harmanpreet Kaur (Agricultural Engineering and Technology) 3. Sumita Bhalla (Home Science). Shabad Gayan (group)- 1. Agricultural Engineering and Technology 2. Home Science Agriculture. — TNS

Ludhiana, October 23
Day three of the PTU Inter-Zonal Youth Festival started with the vaar singing, folk orchestra, on the spot painting, quiz (final), cartooning and Punjabi folk dance. Prof Hari Singh, former principal of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana, and Er HS Gill, former selection grade superintending engineer, Border Road Organisation, were the guest of honours. Dr SM Kant, observer, Punjab Technical University, was the chief guest for the valedictory function.

He gave away the prizes and congratulated the participants who won the awards and also appreciated the efforts made by the other participants. He said that these festivals inculcate a positive personality amongst the youngsters.

Results:

Var singing: DAVIET, Jalandhar first and BBSBEC, Fatehgarh Sahib second. On the spot painting: IET, Bhaddal first and SBSSTE, Ferozepur second. Cartooning: DAVIET, Jalandhar first and SBSSTC, Ferozepur, second. Punjabi folk dance: DAVIET first and SBSBEC second. BBSBES, Fatehgarh Sahib, and DAVIET, Jalandhar, were the joint winners of the overall trophy of the PTU Inter-Zonal Youth Festival-2012 and LLRIET, Moga, was runners-up. — TNS

Ludhiana: Khalsa College for Women, Sidhwan Khurd, organised an Extension Lecture on 'Rights Related with Youth' in the college premises here on Tuesday. A large number of college students participated in the lecture organised by the department of political science of the college.

Dr Supinder Kaur, senior lecturer Institute of Law Ludhiana visited as the key resource person during the occasion. While delivering her lecture during the occasion, Dr Supinder stressed on the right use of freedom as well as rights offered by our constitution and need of awareness of laws made for welfare of the general people. — TNS

Ludhiana: With the commencement of the festival season, home scientists of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) have advised homemakers to give priority to festive cooking and home cleaning and decoration. Dr Kiran Grover, an expert, said that during festivals, markets are flooded with sweets, dry fruits and bakery products. Because of increase in demand, some unscrupulous traders sell spurious and adulterated food products.

Besides, these may not be prepared hygienically and sometimes contain harmful food colours and preservatives. Sweets are sometimes packed in cardboard boxes derived from waste paper/rags which are likely to be infected with microorganisms and are hazardous for consumers' health. She advised the public to avoid purchasing sweets prepared from khoya, inferior quality fat/oil, and excessive food colours.

The best option is to consume and exchange dry and fresh fruits and homemade sweets/cakes to enjoy healthy festival season, she suggested, while saying that besan burfi, ladoo, petha, shakarpara, seerni, mathis, fried peanut and cake can be prepared well in advance and stored in airtight containers. Dr Sukhminder Kaur advised keeping herbs such as tulsi, mulathi, banfashan, cinnamon and cardamom at home for use in case of cold and cough. Referring to festive clothing home furnishing, Dr Harinder Saggu said area rugs/durries could be used to cover up unattractive areas in a room.

Ludhiana, October 23
Hockey is no more considered a game played in the scorching sun, and the floodlights, which were recently installed at the Olympian Pirthipal Singh Hockey Stadium, seem to have added a glamour quotient to it. But, the glamour quotient certainly carries a heavy price tag to it.

At the ongoing All-India Sahibzada Ajit Singh Hockey Championship Trophy 2012, the per day cost of running these floodlights is more than Rs 25,000. This includes the cost of diesel as well as the rent of generators.

Four poles of floodlights were installed when the Olympian Pirthipal Singh Hockey Stadium was renovated a few months ago. There are 32 bulbs of 2,000 watt each on a single pole.

And for lighting up these floodlights, four generators of 125 kilowatt each have been hired by the Sports Council of Ludhiana, which is organising the All-India Sahibzada Ajit Singh Hockey Champion Trophy 2012.

But organising matches in floodlights seems to be clicking because a lot of people, who usually come to Punjab Agricultural University for their evening walks, often stay there to witness matches.

While speaking to The Tribune, Hockey Olympian Ramandeep Singh Grewal, who is the vice-chairman of the Sports Council of Ludhiana, said of four daily matches held in the hockey tourney, two are held in floodlights.

“We could have organised the matches during day time also but just because the floodlights have been installed in the stadium, we wanted to add glamour to them. Besides we have seen that whenever matches are held in floodlight, more people come to watch these,” he added.

Dr Kulwant Singh Sohal, organising secretary of the Sports Council of Ludhiana, said one generator consumes around 25 litres of fuel in an hour, and two matches are held in a time frame of three and a half hours daily. “This means that the floodlights consume around 350 litres of fuel daily, which comes out to be around Rs 14,000 per day. Besides the rent of Rs 9,500 for the generator sets adds up to the cost of running the floodlights. But, when it comes to promoting hockey, money is certainly a very small issue for us,” he said.

Ludhiana, October 23
Springdale Senior Secondary School and Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, overpowered their respective opponents in the Ludhiana Sahodaya School Complex Cricket Tournament being organised at Green Land Stadium, Manj Phagowal on the Ludhiana-Jalandhar road near Laddowal here today.

Springdale School defeated BCM School, Dugri branch, by seven wickets while Sacred Heart Convent School prevailed over St Thomas Senior Secondary Public School by one wicket.

In the first match of the day, BCM School scored 96 runs in 20 overs. The main scorers were Anmol and Vipul who made 29 and 19 runs, respectively.

For Springdale School, Ramandeep and Gurkirat claimed three and two wickets, respectively, conceding 15 and 11 runs.

Springdale School surpassed BCM School's total in 14.2 overs with seven wickets in hand. Ramandeep scored 23 runs while Gurkirat chipped in with 18 runs to steer their team to wrap up the issue with over five overs to go.

The second match turned out to be a nerve-wrecking affair in which Sacred Heart Convent School came out victorious in a nail-biting finish.

Batting first, St Thomas School were all out for 79 runs in 17.2 overs in which Nikhil contributed 21 runs while Anmol scored 17.

For Sacred Heart Convent School, Varishab captured four wickets for 21 runs while Namih grabbed two wickets for 14 runs.

Chasing the target, Sacred Heart Convent School survived a scare but eventually managed to scrape past after losing nine wickets with eight balls to spare.

Mayank and Angad played consistent innings contributing 38 and 16 runs which came handy for Sacred Heart Convent School to register a hard-fought victory.

Ludhiana, October 23
The students of Government College for Women, Ludhiana, brought fame to their alma mater, clinching the title in the Panjab University Inter-College Basketball Tournament held on the PU campus, Chandigarh, recently.

This performance by the girl cagers from the local college was appreciable for they have won this title for the third time. Earlier in this month, the players of the college finished runners-up in the inaugural edition of the IMG Reliance Punjab State College Basketball League held in Ludhiana and pocketed a cash prize of Rs 40,000 besides the trophy.

In Chandigarh, the Government College for Women, Ludhiana, outwitted GGSW College, Chandigarh, outplayed Government College, Dasuya, and GCG College, Hoshiarpur, to bag the title.

Gurminder Kaur, Principal of the GCW, Ludhiana, has congratulated the girls. She also appreciated Prof Sharanjit Kaur and Prof Balbir Kumar, Head of the Department, Physical Education and in charge of the team, respectively, on this performance.