Ludhiana, November 8
Twentyfour students of the Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Sahnewal, were injured, two of them seriously, after a private bus collided with a divider and overturned near Choti Mundian on the Chandigarh road here today.

While 12 girls were from Bhamia village, six were from Khassi Kalan, five from Chabewal and one student was from Bhukhri village.

The injured students have been indentified as Kamaljit Kaur, Taranpreet, Sarabjit, Mandeep, Varinder, Harvinder, Ramandeep, Simrandeep, Kirandeep, Komalpreet, Sapanpreet, Priya Sharma, Prabhjot, Amandeep, Ramandeep, Rajni, Manpreet, Kamalpreet, Jasmine, Gurinder and Harinder Kaur. They were taken to the Civil Hospital while Gurvinder Kaur and Sarabjit Kaur, who suffered serious injuries, were taken to the CMC Hospital.

The accident took place at 8:15 am. The bus carrying 35 girl students was moving towards Choti Mundian.

According to one of the injured students, Ramandeep Kaur, the bus driver tried to overtake a cart from the wrong side and lost control over the vehicle. The bus overturned after hitting the road divider.

Sukhchain Singh, alias Sukha, bus driver, who suffered serious head injuries, failed to tell the exact reason for the accident.

“I do not know that how the bus hit the divider. I think the brake failed and the vehicle overturned after hitting the divider. Though I was running 10 minutes late, I was not speeding,” said Sukha.

The bus belongs to Bhupinder Singh, alias Bhinda, of Sahnewal. Sukha, who works for Bhinda, said the bus, in which the students were being transported to the school, was purchased in 1998.

Certain passersby informed the 108 emergency ambulance and the injured were taken to hospital.

Pritpal Singh Pilot and Gurminder Singh, emergency medical technician (EMT) with 108 emergency ambulance, said a few students, who were hurt in the incident, were sent home after first aid while 22 students were admitted to the civil hospital.

The accident caused a massive traffic jam and on the Chandigarh road and it took the police nearly an hour to clear the road.

In the meantime, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) S Bhoopati, ADCP-II Bhupinder Singh and ADCP-IV SK Sharma reached the civil hospital to enquire after the injured and meet their parents.

Bhupinder Singh said: “Certain students have complained that the bus driver was speeding. The driver is not carrying the vehicle documents and driver’s licence.”

The SHO, Division No 2 police station, Gurpreet Singh, said 16 students were undergoing treatment while the rest had been discharged after treatment.

Purchased from Himachal Pradesh, the private school bus, which met with an accident near Choti Mundian village, was no less than a “coffin on wheels”.

The incident has yet again highlighted how bus operators violate the norms mandatory for transporting schoolchildren.

According to Dr Kamaljit Soi, Vice-Chairman, Punjab Road Safety Council, the tyres of the bus had worn out and the driver was driving the vehicle at a high speed.

Soi, who spoke to the District Transport Officer (DTO) on the issue, said the bus operator had violated the norms.

“The colour of the bus ferrying schoolchildren should be yellow. There should be safety bars on the windows of the bus. Further, had a speed governor was installed on the bus, the incident could have been averted.”

It has also come to light that the bus was not registered with the district transport office.

Every commercial vehicle registered with the transport office has to undergo a fitness test every year, but the bus being operated by Bhupinder Singh, alias Bhinda, was not registered with the transport office.

It was free for all at the emergency ward of the Civil Hospital after the injured students of Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Sahnewal, were admitted there in the morning.

With hospital not having sufficient staff, an emergency medical technician of the 108 ambulance was seen administering injection to the patients in the emergency ward. Poor parents were seen running from one medical shop to another.

High drama was witnessed at the Civil Hospital after a paramedic handed over a list of medicines to the father of an injured girl. Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Karamvir Goyal got furious on seeing the list in the hand of the injured girl’s father.

While the SMO claimed that a report would be sent to the authorities for seeking action against the erring staff member, he received another shock when Paramjit Singh, father of another injured, Harinder Kaur, claimed that he had to spend money for purchasing a thread that was used to stitch her daughter’s wounds.

“Who is prescribing medicines and harassing the parents of the injured girls. We have all the required medicines,” said the SMO while pulling up his staff. Meanwhile, a doctor, who was attending to a patient, said: “I had prescribed the medicines as emergency treatment was required for the injured girls. Even the specific thread to be used for stitching the chin was not available,” said the doctor, requesting anonymity. Doctor DCP proves to be great help

The presence of DCP S Bhupathi, who happens to be a doctor, proved handy. Bhupathi examined the injured girls and checked their blood pressure report and their pulse rate. He asked the doctors at the Civil Hospital about the line of treatment they were following. Source said a girl was sent for a CT scan and another for X-ray upon his suggestion.

Shopkeepers of Ghass Mandi gherao excise staff team
Mohit Khanna
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 8
High drama was witnessed in the Ghass Mandi area, near Daal Bazar, here today when agitated shopkeepers gheraoed Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner Gurinder Singh’s vehicle and his team of six ETOs here this evening.

There were reports that the taxation personnel were even manhandled by the shopkeepers.

The incident took place when the mobile team from Patiala raided a hosiery shop named as Punjab Knits located in Daal Bazar here. After conducting the investigation, the personnel seized the account books of the shop.

According to Gurinder Singh, when they came out of the office of Punjab Knits, the shopkeepers of the market gheraoed their vehicle. In order to save themselves, the team entered Kiran Shawls and informed the police.

In the meantime, the shopkeepers closed down their business establishments and staged a dharna outside the shop.

They alleged that the enforcement agency was unnecessarily harassing them during the festive season and seeking huge kickbacks in lieu of not conducting raids at their shops.

The agitating shopkeepers were supported by president of the Shopkeepers Association Darshan Dawar and BJP leader Sunil Mehra.

In the meantime, ACP Swapan Sharma, ACP (Central) Ramneesh Chaudhary and SHO of the Division No. 2 police station Gurpreet Singh reached the spot and pacified the agitating shopkeepers.

Both the groups were taken to the Kotwali police station and after a prolonged discussion the matter was resolved. The owner of Punjab Knit issued a cheque for over Rs 10 lakh in favour of the Taxation Department.

Ludhiana, November 8
It’s not only the city residents but even big shopping malls have been included in the list of house tax defaulters of the Municipal Corporation.

As part of the ongoing special house tax recovery drive, a team comprising senior MC officials, including Zonal Commissioner, MC, Kamlesh Bansal, visited the premises of MBD Neopolis, a multiplex and mall situated on the Ferozepur Road, this evening. The MC officials succeeded in recovering Rs 10 lakh out of a total due tax of Rs 42 lakh.

According to the Zonal Commissioner, the mall authorities assured them that they would deposit the balance amount by November 25.

Initially, the mall authorities did not pay any heed to MC reminders as they claimed that they had already submitted post-dated cheques to the Municipal Corporation to clear their house tax dues. However, the Municipal Corporation authorities denied accepting the post-dated cheques and asked for cash remittance.

"The MC did not want to harass them but if they failed to deposit the amount in cash then we have no other option but to seal the building," he added.

Ludhiana, November 8
The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has extended the period of special house tax recovery drive here toady. According to the spokesperson for the Municipal Corporation, the drive will continue till November 30. Earlier, the MC officials decided to conclude the drive on November 9 but owing to a good recovery during the drive, they have decided to extend its period date.

The corporation started this house tax recovery drive on November 1 and has managed to recover Rs 3.22 crore during the first five days. The civic body recovered Rs 37 lakh today.

Ludhiana, November 8
With the arrest of five snatchers last night, the city police has claimed to have cracked nearly 35 mobile snatching cases that had taken place in different parts of the city in the past few months.

The members of the gang have been identified as Binder Singh, alias Dana, Amandeep Singh, Ravi Kumar, Avtar Singh and Gurmeet Singh, all residents of Daba and the Shimlapuri area. Besides mobile phones, the police has recovered sharp weapons from their possession.

They were nabbed at a police naka near the Rose Garden. “The accused have admitted to committing nearly 35 snatchings. Twentyfive mobile phones have been recovered from them. Investigations are on and we are expecting to make more recoveries,” said ACP-West Gurpreet Kaur Purewal.

All the accused are school dropouts and are in their early twenties. They are reportedly hooked to drugs. Women were their preferred targets. They used to snatch mobile phones of women as they talked on the phone while walking on the road.

Ludhiana, November 8
Twenty-three suspected cases of dengue were reported at different hospitals here today.

Out of these 23 cases, seven were reported from Ludhiana city itself.

Two were reported from Khanna, two from Sahnewal and one each from Jagraon, Macchiwara and Hambran.

According to a press release issued by the Health Department here today that four patients were from Hoshiarpur and one each from Patiala and Moga.

Two cases have been reported from Himachal Pradesh and one from Haryana.

Ludhiana, November 8
Youth festival, organised in order to sensitise the college students for fighting against social evils and to create legal awareness, concluded today on second day, here.

The students of over 24 colleges actively participated in the festival, giving it a colourful look through skits, poetry, photography and Punjab’s most favourite-bhangra.

Sessions Judge-cum-Chairman of the Legal Services Authority, Gobinder Singh, applauded the students for showing keen interest in presenting their views on hot topics of drug addiction, corruption, anti ragging, legal literacy as an instrument for social change, female foeticide and degradation in moral values.

Later, he along with Neelam Bhardwaj, principal of Government College for boys, Chief Judicial Magistrate KK Singla distributed prizes and trophies to the winners.

In poetry, Tejinder Singh of Government College Karamsar bagged first position, slogan writing-Sikha of Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women won first position.

In declamation contest, Sanchita Arora of GNG College, Model Town, Ludhiana, clinched the first position, Enakshi Goyal of Khalsa College for Women attained second position and Sukriti of SCD Governement College for Boys bagged third position.

Whereas, Swami Ganga Giri Janta Girls College, Raikot, won first position in documentary. Roopam Sharma of Lajpat Rai Dav College, Jagraon, stood first in photography. Neharika of Khalsa College for Women obtained first position in poster making and Bhavya Malhotra of Khalsa College for Women ranked first in Power Point presentation.

Judicial Magistrates Rahul Garg, Harpreet Kaur Nafra, Geeta Dhaliwal, Shagun, Parul, Jublee, Karandeep Kaur made strenuous efforts for making the youth festival a great success. Anchor-Neelu Sharma successfully involved the students and seen boosting them all the times.

The winners of different categories would participate in the Zonal-level function scheduled to be held on November 17, 2012, at Patiala.

Thereafter, the state-level function would be held at Ludhiana, which was most likely to be attended by Chief Justice of India, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Ludhiana, November 8
A rally was organised by the PAU Employees Union to protest against the dillydallying attitude of the Punjab government and PAU authorities in releasing the 70 per cent arrears of revised pay scale, which is pending for two years.

Thousands of employees participated in the rally raising slogans against the Punjab government.

President Paramjit Singh Gill said pay scales of the employees were revised by the Government of Punjab on August 2009.

The Punjab government decided to grant arrears of revised pay scale to its employees for the period from 1.1.2006 to 31.7.2009 in three instalments viz. 40 per cent in May, 2011, 30 per cent in May, 2012, and 30 per cent in May, 2013.

However, the government didn’t grant the arrears, neither in 2011 nor in 2012, and the PAU employees want the arrears before Divali.

General Secretary Dr Gulzar Singh Pandhir said employees are getting step-motherly treatment from the government.

The grant of arrears is not a demand of the employees but it is their right. The government has issued orders for the 
grant of arrears in three instalments.

Lakhwinder Singh Sandhu said, “On the one hand, the PAU is celebrating Golden Jubilee Year, and on the other the employees are deprived of the arrears.”

Results: Collage making-1. DAV, Sarabha Nagar 2. Greenland Sr Sec School, Jalandhar Bye Pass 3. GNIPS, Model Town. Book cover design-1. BCM, Shastri Nagar 2. BCM Arya Model School, Shastri Nagar 3. BCM Sr Sec School, Chd Road. Maths Olympiad-1. BCM Arya Model School, Shastri Nagar 2. DAV, Sarabha Nagar 3. GGNPS, Civil Lines. Quiz- 1. BCM, Shastri Nagar 2. KVM 3. DAV Public School, BRS Nagar. Debating matters-1. BCM, Shastri Nagar 2. KVM, Civil Lines 3. DAV, Sarabha Nagar. PPP-1. BCM, Shastri Nagar 2. DAV Public School, BRS Nagar 3. GNPS, Sarabha Nagar. — TNS

Ludhiana, November 8
The city police has nabbed a woman drug peddler and seized 110 gm of smack from her possession.

The accused identified as Kiran Bala, alias Manna, a resident of New Hargobind Nagar and his companion Rajveer Singh, alias Sunny, a resident of Dholewal, were intercepted by the police near a check point. ADCP-I Nilambri Jagdale claimed that the woman’s entire family was involved in drug peddling.

“There are 15 cases under various sections of the NDPS Act, Excise Act and IPC registered against her father-in-law Brij Lal, alias Briju. There are 10 FIRs registered against her husband Mohan Lal, six cases against her brother-in-law and one case against her sister Suman at various police stations,” said police.

Ludhiana, November 8
With the arrest of four persons, the city police has claimed to have busted a gang of robbers.

The accused used to pose as auto-rickshaw driver and passengers and used to rob people at pistol point.

The accused, identified as Satyajit, alias Sajjan, a resident of Shimlapuri, Rajinder Kumar, alias Sanju, a resident of Dr Ambedkar Nagar, Sanjiv Sharma and Pritpal Singh, alias Prince, residents of Shimlapuri were arrested from Fountain Chowk area during a checking yesterday.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Harmohan Singh Sandhu said the gang used to operate near bus stand and Bharat Nagar Chowk area.

The police said the auto rickshaw which was used to rob people belongs to a woman.

Doraha, November 8
The 14th Diwali Hockey Tournament organised in the memory of Dr Ishwar Singh, the founder president of the Guru Nanak National College, was inaugurated in the Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

A total of eight teams, including Doraha Public School, Guru Nanak Model Senior Secondary School, Doraha, Government Senior Secondary School, Rampur, Shakti Public School, Mehta Gurukul Senior Secondary School, Doraha, Nankana Sahib Senior Secondary School, Kila Raipur, and Malwa Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, participated in the tournament.Director Jaswant Singh Gill inaugurated the tournament.

The first match Shakti Public School defeated Nankana Sahib Senior Secondary School, Rampur, by 6-0.

The second match was played between Malwa Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana, and Doraha Public School, Doraha, in which Malwa School won by 8-1. In the next match, Guru Nanak Model Senior Secondary School, Doraha, defeated Government Senior Secondary School, Rampur, by 6-0.

Dr Nirlep Kaur, organising secretary of the tournament, said the winner shall be awarded a cash prize of Rs 5,100 along with team and individual trophy. The runners-up shall be given a cash prize of Rs 3,100 along with trophy.