Ludhiana, November 3
Sidhwan Canal, which passes through the city, is fast going the Budha Nullah way. The canal, which could easily be developed into a major tourist attraction or a place for evening walkers, is choked with polythene bags and garbage.

The city is already facing problems due to the polluted Budha Nullah and it seems that the district administration and other government authorities have turned their blind eye towards Sidhwan Canal.

As the flow of water in Sidhwan Canal has been stopped for the construction of the Sidhwan Canal expressway (from Ferozepur Road till Doraha), heaps of garbage and polythene bags can be seen dumped in the canal.

Col Jagdish Singh Brar, president of the NGO, Maha Sabha Ludhiana, said the city boasts of several people who keep organising events to save environment. "But I wonder why no one is coming forward to clean Sidhwan Canal. The canal is dry these days and it can be cleaned easily," he added.

When contacted, Mayor Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria said the canal would be cleaned. “The irrigation department is responsible for cleaning the canal and I will urge the Superintending Engineer of the irrigation department to get the canal cleaned. Besides, we will also take up the matter with NGOs who are working in this field," said the Mayor. 

Ludhiana, November 3
The police has challaned 338 vehicles and impounded 37 during separate nakas set up in the city and on the periphery.

Giving details about the special drive, Ishwar Singh Commissioner of Police said 34 nakas were set up in the city and eight on the periphery during the special drive. A total of 540 police personnel were deputed to check vehicles and suspicious persons.

Besides the Ludhiana Commissionerate, the police from Jagraon, Khanna, Sangrur and Jalandhar (Rural) had also set up nakas and about 2,249 vehicles were checked during the drive.

"A total of 37 vehicles without proper documents have been impounded. We will check these vehicles with the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data. Besides, the police also recovered unaccounted money worth Rs 12.49 lakh from two persons namely Prabhjot Singh and Amandeep Thapa. They failed to provide the details of the money,” said Ishwar Singh, adding that during the drive, many persons with criminal background were arrested. 

Ludhiana, November 3
With the arrest of Deep Raj Singh, a resident of Daad village, the police claims to have solved the murder case of Maninder Kaur, a 21-year-old shift manager at the KFC, whose body was found in a vacant plot at Basant Avenue on August 7, 2012.

Giving details, Ishwar Singh, Commissioner of Police, said the weapon, a .12-bore rifle, which was used to commit the crime, was also recovered from Deep Raj's house. "The accused, Deep Raj, about 27 years, is a diploma holder, but is into drugs. Though he is married to his brother's widow and has two children, he secretly married another girl, Sandeep Kaur, who was Maninder's friend and shared a PG accommodation with her," said Ishwar Singh.

He added that Deep Raj was a proclaimed offender (PO) and even his family members (parents) had disowned him. Deep Raj used to visit his girlfriend, Sandeep Kaur, in the PG accommodation, which she shared with Maninder Kaur and all became friends. Though the police is interrogating the accused, it is believed that Deep Raj might have killed Maninder for money as her gold chain and gold ring were also missing.

Though Sandeep Kaur had already been arrested from a city hotel when she tried to commit suicide by cutting her wrist, but Deep Raj was absconding since then. It is also believed that Deep Raj and Sandeep Kaur (both drug addicts) also fought regularly over petty issues and when Sandeep Kaur tried to end her life, Deep Raj escaped from the hotel room.

It may be mentioned here that 21-year-old Maninder Kaur was from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur and was working at the KFC, a multinational chain selling non-vegetarian food products. She was allegedly shot dead by Deep Raj along with Sandeep Kaur on August 6 evening and the body was dumped in a vacant plot in Basant Avenue. The victim was living in the Basant Avenue area as paying guest and used to commute on a scooter.

"We were continuously after Deep Raj and today we caught him. Sandeep Kaur is already lodged in jail," said Ishwar Singh. 

Ludhiana, November 3
The parents of a Class VII student of Atam Devki Niketan located in Kidwai Nagar have alleged that two teachers of the school today gave corporal punishment to their son. The parents alleged that their son was slapped repeatedly by two teachers, due to which he slipped into depression.

But the school authorities refuted the allegations and maintained that the child had hit another student with a pen which was why the teacher scolded him and slapped mildly.

The child's father, Jatinder Khurana, who is an Income Tax advocate, said, "I wonder why the school authorities slapped my son when they knew that corporal punishment was a crime? This is not the way students should be treated in schools," he lamented while adding that his son was not at fault.

When contacted, school principal Mridul Abhilash stated that Khurana's son had hit another student with a pen during the second period. "When the class teacher came to know about it, he scolded the child, but he instead of feeling sorry, misbehaved with the teacher in front of the entire class. Due to which the class teacher slapped him mildly. She then called the coordinator to report the matter, but the child misbehaved with her as well," she claimed.

The principal said the student called up his parents. "They came along with other parents and misbehaved with all of us. The entire class knows that the child had hit another student with a pen and what if that student got injured? The parents should understand that we treat all children equally. Moreover, this is not for the first time that the parents have created a scene in our school," stated principal Mridul Abhilash.

Jagraon, November 3
The festive season has resulted in chaos on roads in the town. Though the flow of traffic was never smooth in the town, it has become more chaotic due to a large number of people visiting the town.

Even though the local shopkeepers are quite happy as the sales have witnessed an increase, the local residents seem disappointed as they have to face inconvenience while commuting on the roads.

The local residents lamented that the visitors often parked their vehicles on roadsides which led to traffic jams.

The visitors blame lack of parking space in the town for the chaos.

Though the local police has been making efforts and a large number of police personnel have been deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

Jagraon DSP Surinder Kumar said, "Failure on the part of the local municipal council in removing encroachments has worsen the situation."

MC president Baldev Krishan Dhir said the council launched anti-encroachment drives on a regular basis.

Ludhiana, November 3
Jewellery, bridal attire, watches and accessories were displayed during a wedding and lifestyle exhibition, Wed Bells.

Lehngas worth Rs 10 lakh were put on display. These were designed and made by Jagraon-based "lehnga house". Virat Sharma, the designer of the lehngas, said these were hand crafted and it took him more than six months to create these.

Monty Kohli from Red Tag, who brought brands like CK, Burberry, Ralph Loren, Inc said international brands did not participate in exhibitions. "It is only the second time, I am bringing them to an exhibition," he said.

Apart from brands and designers from other cities, local designers also brought their creations.

Caterers also exhibited their food preparations. Augustas Das said, "Normal cakes available in the market are too fluffy," he said. 

Ludhiana, November 3
People of the state are still in love with traditional attire and other equipment, which were an integral part of rural life, in medieval Punjab.

In the ongoing CII fair, phulkari is the centre of attraction for visitors. The department of small scale industry has exhibited various designs and other household items during the fair.

Apart from phulkari, manual chakki, madhani, utensils, charkha and sculptures depicting the rural life of Punjab are also catching the fancy of visitors.

Officials of the small scale industry department said brand phulkari was an initiative to promote the culture of Punjab.

Davinderpal Singh, deputy general manager of the department, said, "We have received a good response. People love to buy traditional and cultural symbols."

Gurbaksh Singh, an exhibitor, said, "NRIs and people from rural background buy our items to decorate their living rooms. These remind us of our rich history, culture and tradition."

Ludhiana, November 3
The week-long inter-college youth festival concluded at GADVASU. Dr Baldev Singh Dhillon, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, was the chief guest on the occasion while Dr VK Taneja presided over the function. Punjabi Singer Sarbjit Cheema performed in the youth festival. Dr Charan Kanwal Singh, organising secretary, said 200 students participated in 36 events. College of Fisheries, College of Veterinary Science, College of Dairy Science and Technology participated along with School of Animal Biotechnology, Veterinary Polytechnic College Kaljharani, Bathinda, and Khalsa College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Amritsar.

Mono-acting: Honey Goyal (College of Veterinary Science) 1; Navjot Singh (Khalsa College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Amritsar) 2 and Alisha Chhabra (College of Fisheries) 3; skit: Khalsa College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Amritsar, 1; College of Veterinary Science 2 and College of Fisheries 3; mimicry: Honey Goyal (College of Veterinary Science) 1; Sandeep Singh (Khalsa College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Amritsar) 2 and Aparna (College of Fisheries) 3; one-act play: Team of College of Veterinary Science 1; team of School of Animal Biotechnology 2 and team of Vet Polytechnic, Kaljharani, Bathinda 3; best actor: Hasanpreet Singh (Vet Polytechnic, Kaljharani, Bathinda); best actress: Ravneet Ghumman School of Animal Biotechnology; mime: Khalsa College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Amritsar, 1; College of Veterinary Science 2 and School of Animal Biotechnology 3.

Ludhiana, November 3
City artists displayed their work at Ludhiana Art Beat in a residential township on Canal Road. About 30 local budding artists exhibited their work as part of the art competition. Local artists and art enthusiasts like Sonia Sanwalka, Samita Gupta, Rekha Arora, Picky Arora and Amita Gupta were the jury for the competition.

The exhibition was inaugurated by noted Indian artist Kalicharan Gupta. Works of reputed artists such as Bose Krishnamachari, Gigi Scaria and Arun Kumar were
also exhibited.

It was a good platform for local artists, as they got another opportunity to display their works of art, said Parveen Kumar, a city-based artist.

Chanpreet, another local artist, said paintings exhibitions should be organised in Ludhiana frequently, as these would give fillip to art as well as local artists, she said.

Works of various art genres and forms and paintings were displayed. A budding artist from the city, specialising in pointillism painting technique also displayed the work. "This is a very interesting technique. The work looks different. Although I started with painting and sketching, gradually my interest in pointillism grew. The texture and colours that come through this form are fascinating. Although, the technique requires a lot of time and patience, the results are brilliant. That's why I chose to specialise in this genre of painting," says Meenu Mahajan, a local artist.

Another artist specialising in the pattern and texture, Harpreet Kaur, said the intricate texture always looked brilliant.

Works of artists like Paramjeet Kaur, Mridhu Jain and Navdeep Kaur were put on display.

Rachna Sidhu, who specialises in pencil drawing, exhibited her artwork on the theme of freedom.

Other artists chose to depict contemporary and current themes in their art. Sonam Jain for instance expressed the impact of changing dynamics on common behaviour.

Ludhiana, November 3
Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari informed that in compliance with the orders given by the Punjab and the Haryana High Court at Chandigarh in CPW NO. 7178 of 2011 and CPW No. 21924 of 2011, lists of riot victims have been made for being considered for allotment of flats/houses by the government.

All interested may see the lists displayed at the Guru Nanak Bhawan, Ludhiana, from November 4 to 7, 2012, from 9 am to 5 pm and claims/objections regarding entries in the lists be given during these days.

The lists can also be seen at website www.ludhiana.nic.in with link DP Master List 2012 latest.

Apart from giving claims/objections, if any name is not in the list then the same person may, along with attested copy of his Red Card, apply at Guru Nanak Bhawan on the given dates for considering his name.

All applications/objections/claims should be given in twp copies and proper receipt should be taken from the dealing clerk at Guru Nanak Bhawan.

No extension and time will be given as the matter is time bound, said the Deputy Commissioner.

Ludhiana, November 3
Mail traffic from the postal offices in Ludhiana has become more than double in the wake of Divali. The number of mails has witnessed an increase.

Although the popularity of greeting cards in common usage has declined to a large extent, thanks to the increasing use of mobile and Internet. But, a number of corporates still continue to send the festive greetings in the formal way.

"Generally, corporates choose the ordinary mail for its low cost. As they usually send the cards and articles in large volume, ordinary mail is more cost-effective for them. Because the ordinary mail takes longer than speed post or other parcel services, ordinary mails are sent a few weeks prior to the festival. So we are receiving a large volume of articles, mostly greeting cards now ahead of Divali," said an official at the postal department.

An official at the postal department said instructions about the segregation of greeting cards had already been received from the directorate.

As the festive season arrives, express parcel service Worldnet Express at the postal department is also being used. Discounted rates have been offered for the service for sending the articles up to 0.5 kg abroad. "The good part of the service as compared to speed post service is that it ensures delivery within a stipulated time. For instance, it promises delivery of articles in three days from Ludhiana to London," an official at the postal department stated. "So this service is also being used often in the festive season," he said.

Ludhiana: SS Channy, principal secretary, Technical Education and Industrial Training, Punjab, delivered the convocation address to the engineering graduates of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Ludhiana, here, on Saturday. In his thought-provoking address, Channy referred to the infirmities the technical education was suffering from in the country. He said, due to mushrooming of engineering institutes, the quality had become the first casualty. Only those institutions would survive which kept pace with the times and became industry oriented, and produced graduates who could compete at the global level. While lauding the giant strides made by Guru Nanak Dev college, he averred the significant milestones achieved by the college in terms of autonomous status by the U.G.C As many as 500 graduate engineers were awarded degrees on the occasion.

Poster-making contest

The NCC Unit of Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town, Ludhiana, organised a poster-making competition on the theme "Female foeticide and drug addiction" in collaboration with 3Pb Girls Bn, Ludhiana, here on Saturday. Principal Dr. Charanjit Mahal said that there was need to spread awareness about female foeticide and drug addiction. She advised the cadets to use energy (electricity) judiciously and to conserve it by changing their lifestyle. She also discussed the various methods to conserve electricity and also motivated the cadets to use non-conventional energy and bio-mass energy. Posters on various themes to conserve energy were prepared by the NCC cadets.

Placement drive

The placement cell of STEP (a PTU learning centre) Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College Campus organised a placement drive on Friday on the college campus. T.I.T Infotech (IT Company) visited the campus for the same. T.I.T Infotech has been a software development innovator providing full-cycle high quality services. The company selected nine students from the college.

Eye check-up camp

The PCTE Institute of Pharmacy in collaboration with an eye care centre, Ludhiana, organised a free eye check-up camp under the guidance of Dr Inderpreet Singh, medical director, Vasan Eye Care, Ludhiana, on the PCTE campus here, on Saturday. On the occasion, Dr GS Gill, director, administration inaugurated the camp where 270 people were examined. Precautionary guidelines were provided for managing eye infections. B-pharmacy students actively participated and learned about the management skills required in the eye hospitals.

Anti-corruption awareness week

GHG Khalsa College of Education, Gurusar Sadhar, organised an anti-corruption awareness programme in liaison with the Vigilance Bureau, Ludhiana. The Vigilance Bureau is celebrating the “Anti-Corruption Awareness Week” during which the bureau is conducting a campaign against corruption. Dr HS Brar, principal, welcomed the bureau on behalf of the managing committee, staff and students of the college.

New Punjab Day celebrations

The Sadbhavna Group of Colleges had organised a function for the celebration of New Punjab Day. On the occasion, students of B.Ed, M.Ed, ETT, nursing and D pharmacy participated in it. — TNS

Ludhiana: The 10th All-India Colouring and Mathematics Competition was organised by Ryan International School, Dugri. Students of all classes participated in the competition. The first round of the competition was conducted on the school campus on October 17.

Dance competition

Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar, won the Sahodaya Inter-School Group Dance Competition held at BCM on Saturday. Students from 22 schools participated in the competition. Principal Mona Singh congratulated the team and their teachers on their stupendous performance.

Halloween party

Maple Bear Canadian Playway and Nursery School, Udham Singh Nagar, Ludhiana, organised Halloween to mark the end of summer season and onset of winter. Students came dressed as ghosts, spiders, skeletons, witches, clowns and angry birds. The campus was decorated with special Halloween balloons and students were given Halloween masks which were brought from Canada.

Mehandi making

MGM Public School, Phase I, Dugri, organised an inter-house mehandi competition. Principal Poonam Sharma appreciated the the efforts made by students.

Student shines

Gehna Makhija of Don Bosco Global School hogged limelight in the National-Level Abacus Mental Arithmetic Competition by securing the second position. All other participants secured more than 90 per cent.

Cricket meet

Players of GMT cricket team gave an all-round performance during the Ludhiana Sahodaya School Complex Cricket Tournament that started on October 12 and concluded on October 30. The players beat GNPS in the pre-quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, GMT won. GMT defeated Greenland-32 to enter the semifinals.

Sports day

Shifaly International School organised its annual sports meet on Saturday. Principal Rosy Jain said the students from classes I to VIII participated in various events. The function was attended by RD Sharma, Deputy Mayor, former councillor Tarsem Singh Bhinder, principal of Evershine International School Bhart Dua, Manpreet Chaudhary, director of the school Parmod Kumar and Usha Jain.

Poster making

GN International Public School (senior secondary), Model Town, organised Ludhiana Sahodaya Schools (central zone) Fine Arts Competition on the campus on Saturday. As many as 32 teams from various schools participated in the competition. It was divided into two groups for the students of classes IX to XII. Each group comprised three participants. Themes for the poster-making competition were “corruption”, “India of my dreams”, “world of technology”, “female foeticide”, “knowledge enlightens” and “Inflation” while the theme for rangoli making was “celebration”.

Seminar for teachers

“Teachers will have to make their classroom teaching more absorbing, inspiring and motivational so as to bring about quality education in the system,” sated Baldev Singh, deputy director, DPI (elementary education), education department, Punjab, while addressing teachers during a seminar. — TNS

Ludhiana November 3
City swimmer Kawalpreet Kaur (17) once again established her supremacy over others, clinching as many as nine medals, including seven golds in the Punjab Women Festival, held in Amritsar, recently.

Kawalpreet proved her mettle in the 100m butterfly, 100m, freestyle, 200m freestyle, 400 freestyle, and 200m individual medley.

She also played a pivotal role for her team in winning top honours in the 4x100m freestyle relay and 4x100m medley relay in this.

Besides, Kawalpreet secured second position in two events -100m backstroke and 200 m backstroke.

Last year, Kawalpreet Kaur came into limelight when she won a silver medal in the National Women Games held in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh).

At Amritsar, Kawalpreet lived up to her reputation as she did not disappoint her coach, parents and fans. She improved on her previous performance when she won five medals in the last editions in these games.

Kawalpreet, a student of XII at Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar branch, started swimming five years ago at a community centre in the Dugri area.

She immediately caught attention of selectors who picked her to take part in swimming competitions. Initially, Kamalpreet attended the swimming coaching centre at Punjab Agricultural University centre for two years under the watchful eyes of coach, Ajay Sharma.

Currently, she has been practising at the Municipal Corporation Pool, Rakh Bagh under the guidance of the senior swimming coach from the Punjab Sports department, Amandeep Kaur.

"Now I am preparing for the Women National Games to be held in Pune (Maharashtra) from November 22 onwards. I am confident that I will come back with a gold medal. I have been practising for one-and-a-half hour in the morning and two hours in the evening everyday.

My next goal is to participate in the Asian Games" said Kawaldeep.