Ludhiana, July 3
Barring stray incidents of violence, the panchayat elections ended peacefully registering a heavy polling of 85 per cent today. The polling was held across 801 villages in the district.

Ludhiana, July 3
The Panchayat elections conducted in the neighbouring villages passed off peacefully. Minor incidents of group clash, however, were reported in Phoolanwal, Birmi and Bhattian villages.

Five persons, including a Congress candidate and a woman, were injured during poll violence in Ghari Fazil village near Rahon Road. The injured have been identified as Mohan Singh (Congress candidate), Baby Kaur, Sandeep Singh, Gurmukh Singh and Raunak Singh.

The injured alleged that SAD candidate Nirmal Singh and his men had attacked them during the polling process.

The five of them were rushed to the Civil Hospital, and discharged after medication.

Samrala, July 3
Two persons were injured in a clash between Akali Dal and Congress supporters at Khirnia village. The injured were identified as Daljit Singh, a supporter of the Congress, and Gurjit Singh an Akali Dal supporter.

The incident took place around 10 am, when a youth tried to accompany an elderly man while voting. Some persons, however, objected to it, which led to an alteration between the two groups.

As supporters of both the candidates assembled there, a fighting broke out.

The injured persons were rushed to the Civil Hospital, Samrala, where they are undergoing treatment.

Some other persons sustained minor injuries as well, but remained at the polling booth.

Former MLA Jagjivan Singh Khirnia and Congress MLA Amrik Singh Dhillon, who reached the spot with some of their supporters, termed each other’s party workers responsible for the incident.

Superintendent of Police (H), Khanna, Satinder Pal Singh, who also reached there, pacified both the groups and directed the police officials present at the booth to keep vigil.

Ludhiana, July 3
The police has booked a Congress worker contesting the panchayat poll for allegedly distributing fans among voters.

The police has registered a case against Gurnam Singh and his two accomplices, Nachhater Singh, a block simiti member, and Parkash Singh of Dholenwal village. The police has also recovered 200 fans from a storeroom.

Jatinderjit Singh, SHO, Meharban, said the case had been registered under Sections 123 and 133 of the Representation of People Act, 1951, and Sections 420 and 511 of the IPC on rival candidate Sohan Singh’s complaint. The accused are yet to be nabbed, said the SHO.

Sohan Singh, who owes allegiance to the SAD, alleged that Gurnam Singh, Nachhater Singh and Parkash Singh were distributing fans and money to woo voters.

Denying the charge, Gurnam Singh said the case was politically motivated.

Ludhiana, July 3
They came here to earn a livelihood. But over the years, they have become a part of the society and are politically active.

As the agrarian society dominates on the rural politics of Punjab, there is less space for the migrant workers to get the chance to contest in electoral politics. But breaking the image of a working class, a number of migrants have contested the panchayat poll.

However, not many of them are concerned about the development of their respective areas. They are into politics for the ‘well-being’ of the migrants living here. They contest elections with a single-point agenda of discrimination with migrants.

Uma Shanker Kushwah, a native of Allahabad, came to this part of the region in 1991. He is not well versed with Punjabi, but is contesting the panchayat elections from Threeke village. And a number of Punjabis are his supporters.

"We want to get a platform from where we can raise our voice for migrants. Contesting elections is my right,” he said.

Ludhiana, July 3
In their bid to ensure maximum turnout, expecting it to convert into votes for them, candidates left no stone unturned during the panchayat elections today.

At Ayali village, one of the candidates in the fray for the post of sarpanch installed air-conditioners in a tent outside the polling booth. Voters were also seen eating pakoras and drinking cold drink there, and carrying packets of potato wafers for their children.

One of the voters, Rajan, said: "Every one is aware of the fact that the candidate will not give anything to the public after the victory. So the people take whatever is offered during the campaigning. The rural people treat elections as festivals and enjoy the whole process.”

Ludhiana, July 3
Breaking male dominance in another field, female volunteers were seen ‘manning’ the helpdesk set up by a candidate for guiding voters at a polling booth here today.

Although, women have been contesting elections and a majority of them exercise their franchise as well, they are rarely seen taking charge of the polling booths. Fear of violence and use of alcohol by party workers often keep women away from performing such duties at the polling booths.

Today, however, girls were seen at a helpdesk at Threeke village. One of them, Sahu Gupta, said, “My mother is contesting the election for the post of panch. Although, we have a number of male supporters to perform these duties, I decided to do it on by own.”

"It is for the first time that we worked at a helpdesk of a candidate. It was very motivating. We did not face any inconvenience. We have proved that women are no less than men in any field,” said another volunteer at the booth, Anureet.

"The candidate provided us lists of voters from which we were supposed to pick up the names and vote numbers of voters and fill the required details. It was not at all difficult. We all enjoyed performing this task,” said 21-year-old Geeta.

"Some women voters hesitate while interacting with men who provide them voter slips during the polls. They feel more comfortable if women are there to assist them," she said.

Ludhiana, July 3
Questioning the claims made by the Shiromani Akali Dal-led government that a huge number of panchayats had been elected unopposed due to good governance, the Congress leaders alleged that the ruling party used its political clout during the elections.

Congress MLA Malkeet Singh Dakha said: "How is is possible that no one opposed the Akali Dal candidates in villages? There is not a single panchayat, where the Congress men got elected unopposed. They threatened the Congressmen and made them withdraw their candidature.”

Jagraon, July 3
Except for minor incidents of heated altercation and verbal spats among the supporters of various candidates, the elections concluded peacefully in the Jagraon area today.

With this, the fate of 585 candidates in the fray for the post of sarpanch, and 2,198 contesting for the post of panch in various villages of Jagraon and Sidhwan Bet blocks was sealed.

Proving predictions of low turnout wrong, villagers turned out in large numbers to cast their votes at the polling booths in various villages. Around 85 per cent polling was registered in the Jagraon area.

Mandi Ahmedgarh/ Payal/Raikot, July 3
Amid allegations of large-scale rigging by SAD during the panchayat poll in the district, polling passed off peacefully with no untoward incident reported till the conclusion of polling.

Around 80 per cent voters, including a record number of women and teenagers, cast their ballot amid tight security arrangements.

Minor incidents were reported from some booths and villages that had not been declared sensitive by the administration.

Independent candidates and those supported by the Congress, however, accused the polling staff of favouring the SAD candidates. The SAD workers and leaders denied the allegations.

At Alluna Tola village, polling had to be stopped in the morning for some time, after supporters of the Congress and SAD candidates had a scuffle over the issue of identification of voters. No one was reported injured.

Commotion prevailed as the opposing parties levelled allegations against each other.

At Brahampur village, too, commotion prevailed for a long time when some polling agents and the staff objected to the entry of some voters in an inebriated condition.

In separate cases of bogus voting, some persons were detained, but later let off, by villagers following the intervention of senior Akali and Congress leaders.

On its part, the district administration had made elaborate arrangements to prevent any untoward incident. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Gill, Gurpreet Singh Sikand, who supervised security arrangements at over fifty villages falling under the Dehlon police station, said situation had remained tense at politically sensitive villages, including Dehlon, Kilaraipur and Ghabadi.

"However no untoward incident took place as the police had taken preventive measures at and near polling booths," said Sikand. He said beat officers had been advised to enhance vigil after declaration of results.

The police also remained on toes at Sihar, Barundi, Latala, Kilaraipur, Kanganwal, Rohira and Malaudh, villages known for factionalism.

• A differently abled man on his way to a polling booth at Kilaraipur village near Mandi Ahmedgarh on Wednesday. A Tribune Photograph

  Teenagers were the most enthusiastic towards casting of votes, it being their maiden opportunity.
• Elderly voters were confused about the use of ballot papers, as they complained that they could not read names of candidates of their choice.
• Shopkeepers and artisans in large villages kept their establishments closed.
• Alluring voters with money and goods took place openly during the campaigning. A family of two voters at Dhode village, which reportedly declined an offer of Rs 12,000, allegedly pocketed Rs 20,000 at the last moment today.
• In a gross violation of the code of conduct, candidates and their supporters carried voters on their vehicles. There were instances when more that one vehicle sent by a contesting candidate reached the doorsteps of large families, and drivers had to return disappointed as the voters preferred to reach the polling booth on their own.
• Members of the polling staff who had preferred to stay with their relatives living in nearby towns were a harried lot as a majority of private buses did not ply on their routes. They had to cut a sorry figure on being late for duty.
• The children were disappointed as none of the candidates offered eatables and goods of their choice during the election campaign.

Tehal Singh (90), helped by his family members, on his way to a polling booth at Hambran village

Ludhiana, July 3
People from different walks of life turned up for voting today. The first-time voters felt happy exercising their right. Amandeep Kaur (18), a resident of Threeke village, said it felt great having cast vote for the first time. She said she knew who to vote for as she had been keeping a tab on political developments in her area.

Amrit Kaur, another first-time voter, said she felt excited having exercised her right to vote for the first time. "It was nice to have the ink mark on my index finger for the first time," she said.

Physically challenged and elderly people were also took part in the election process enthusiastically.

Tehal Singh (90), a resident of Hambran village, said: "I cast my vote for the first time during the first Lok Sabha elections after the independence.”

Doraha, Sahnewal, July 3
On the election day, many voters who kept away from polling booths said they were disillusioned by the way panchayats functioned.

They included the elderly, who have time and again seen candidates not fulfilling their promises, and the youngsters, who have already given up all hopes of getting anything worthwhile from the new panchayats.

“These political parties have befooled us time and again. Neither the ruling part nor the opposition do anything for the general welfare. They, rather, fill their own coffers,” said a villager.

“Why should we vote at all when I know it will make no difference? We have been crying for basic amenities for years, but all our pleas fall on deaf ears,” said the villager.

Enumerating the problems being faced by the village, he said: “The drainage system is non-existent, we have to live in unhygienic conditions, streets are badly damaged and remain waterlogged and street lights are also absent from most of the parts of the village.”

While some villagers claimed that the government had not given them any grants, those from other villages said their panchayats did nothing even after getting the grants.

“Do the candidates think we are fools? Sops like mangoes and drinks during the campaigning mean nothing to us. We need basic amenities,” a villager said.

A file photo

Strictly follow them

• Keep your body dry
• Switch to cotton clothes as they allow air to pass through
• Don’t wear tight-fitting clothes, synthetic clothes and thick clothes like jeans as they don’t dry easily and may lead to skin disease.
• Use an antifungal powder on body folds to keep them dry
• Drink more water
• Salt intake should be less and sugar intake should be more if one suffers from skin problem
• Do not scratch affected skin as it will aggravate the rashes
• Do not use moisturised soaps

Ludhiana, July 3
“We cannot all be masters, nor all masters cannot be truly follow’d.” The famous quotation of “Merchant of Venice” a play by William Shakespeare, seems to be befitting one to the present situation when Panjab University decided to show “him” the way out from the undergraduate classes from the coming academic session. The decision has come as a blow to litterateurs, teachers as well as students.

Litterateurs feel that without plays of Shakespeare, elective English will be a “mere skeleton without flesh and blood”.

Prof NS Madaan, a retired English Professor from SCD Government College for Boys, said: “To delete Shakespeare's plays from UG classes on the plea that students are unable to learn his spellings will tantamount to throwing the baby out with the bath water. Shakespeare is read worldwide for the sake of plot and characteristics. It is rich in expression in pretty sentences, for example “Hamlet” went well to pinpoint the procrastination of our many politicians who keep the issues in the pigeon hole. ” Interestingly, litterateurs of different languages feel the same pinch.

Eminent Punjabi poet Dr Surjit Patar said: “What I observe is that to read and learn from classical literature needs patience. But nowadays patience has become a thing of the past. There is a need to create love for literature. Our interest for literature is profession-centered only. However, literature also helps in understanding the human mind.”

Dr DV Jindal, a retired Professor of English from SCD Government College for Boys, said: “The university should review its decision over the matter as language loses its flavour in the absence of standard works of literature.”

While Dr Amarjit Singh Hayer, another retired Professor of English, said: “Undergraduate students who come from rural background are poor in English language. There is a need to develop the language. The university can replace Shakespeare with the world literature.”

Rajesh Kumar, a student of MA (English), said: “The English subject will be hollow without Shakespeare's play. Students rather enjoy learning quotations from plays like ‘Othello’, a complex tragedy full of conflicts, desires, symbolism and intricacies.

Ludhiana, July 3
Two persons died after being run over by a train at separate places here today. In the first incident, an unidentified man was crushed to death by a train near Sahnewal.

In the second incident, a 60-year-old man, Sohan Singh, died after being run over by a train in the Ladhowal area of the city.

Ludhiana, July 3
Now, e-governance is getting one step closer to the district administration. Very soon laptops/notebooks will be allotted to officials of the district administration. During the recent executive meeting of the Punjab State e-Governance Society and the Department of Governance Reforms, a policy decision on this was approved.

A letter written to all Financial Commissioners, Administrative Secretaries/Special Secretaries, DCs and all the heads of departments says that in case these officials wish to purchase a laptop, a request for the same could be submitted to the Department of Governance Reforms.

The officials are entitled to get laptops, notebooks and ultra-notebooks. The laptops will include all accessories, pre-loaded licensed operating systems, licensed office suite, anti-virus, internet security tools etc.

To encourage the maximum use of modern technology, the Administrative Secretaries may also sanction the purchase of laptops for other officials of their respective departments. The total maximum limit of the sanctioned amount per laptop will be Rs 75,000.

Ludhiana, July 3
The Division Number 8 police has booked a Chandigarh-based travel agent for duping a person on the pretext of sending his son abroad.The accused have been identified as Ramandeep Singh, a resident of Sector 34-C, Chandigarh.

Victim Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Maya Nagar, Civil Lines, said that they met the accused at his office in Chandigarh.

The accused fleeced him on the pretext of sending his son abroad. Ramesh Kumar said the deal was struck of Rs 4.5 lakh.

Ramesh said that first they paid Rs 50,000 to the travel agent and a few days later Rs 4 lakh.