Ludhiana, November 26
While the authorities looking after the mid-day meal scheme in the district claim that the scheme is running smoothly, certain school managements have been raising a hue and cry alleging that the authorities have failed to provide them rations for preparing meals for students.

Several schools have not been supplied rice and wheat for the past two months. The school managements are now requesting shopkeepers to provide them rations so that meals can be cooked for the students, but shopkeepers, too, have refused to oblige them.

Among the schools where rations have not been provided by the authorities are Government High School, Brahmpuri, Government Senior Secondary School, Sekhewal, and Government Senior Secondary School, Basti Jodhewal.

One of the senior teachers at Government High School, Brahmpuri, Parveen Kumar, said there was a shortage of about six quintals of rice in their school. "I was provided the telephone number of an inspector of Punsup, who is supposed to provide the rations. When I contacted him, he asked us to give a complaint in writing,” said Parveen Kumar, adding that it was better to plead before shopkeepers than make rounds of offices of inspectors responsible for providing the rations.

Parveen Kumar said the Basti Jodhewal school also had a shortage of 85 kg of rice and about 1 quintal of wheat.

Tarsem Banga, manager of the mid-day meal scheme here, admitted that complaints had been received from schools about shortage of rice and wheat and the stocks would be provided soon.

Punsup Inspector J Jain said wheat and rice stocks for three months had been received from the FCI on November 11. “There are 46 schools in one block. It will take around 10 to 15 days in sending the rations to schools,” he said.

Jagraon, November 26
Three head of cattle were killed and eight jhuggis gutted when a fire broke out in a slum near Gurdwara Nanaksar Sahib, 5 km from Jagraon, today.

The fire broke out around 1 pm and left eight families homeless. There was, however, no loss of human life in the incident.

The damage could have been much more had the fire not been controlled in time. A team of firefighters from Moga reached the spot within 30 minutes of the incident and brought the fire under control with the help of local residents.

A police team, led by Jagraon SHO Mohhamad Jamil, also reached the spot and began investigations. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Sources said the fire broke out in a jhuggi when a woman was preparing a meal for her family. As wind was blowing in the area, the fire soon spread and engulfed nearby jhuggis within minutes. Slum-dwellers expressed anger as no official from the civil administration had visited the spot even two hours after the fire broke out. No leader of the ruling party visited the area after the fire incident.

This was the second fire incident in the slum in the past one month. Earlier, a fire had broken out here two weeks ago, causing damage to two jhuggis.

Ludhiana, November 26
Panic gripped litigants and lawyers when they heard a gunshot in the court complex here today. The incident took place at about 12.45 pm when there was rush near the library of the District Bar Association.

The bag of a person, Manjit Singh, fell on the ground. When he bowed to pick his bag, the pistol went off accidentally. The bullet hit his body, but luckily he was saved.

Blood started oozing out of his hand. He had come to the court complex to meet his lawyer in connection with his case. Interestingly, the incident took place when militant Balbir Singh Bhootna was in the court complex in connection with a case.

District Bar Association president Parupkar Singh Ghumman, former DBA vice-president Vijay B Verma, Lawyers Brigade president Sanjiv Malhotra, secretary Sham Ahuja and Rakesh Sharda said the incident had highlighted lapses in the security system in the court complex. Entry of weapons is prohibited on the court complex.

The lawyers demanded that the security should be beefed up in the court complex.

Ludhiana, November 26
A six-year-old boy, who fell from the roof of his house while flying a kite yesterday, died at the Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) this morning. The deceased child has been identified as Avinash, a native of Uttar Pradesh.

Sant Lal, Avinash's father, works at a shawl shop in the Moachpura area of Old City and stays in a room near the shop. Avinash had come back from his village a few days ago. Yesterday, around 11 am, he went up on the roof to fly a kite. While trying to fly the kite, he fell from the roof and sustained major injuries on the head and other parts of the body. Residents took him to the Christian Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries this morning.

Surinder Mohan, SHO of the Division No. 1 police station, said, “It was a very unfortunate incident. The boy sustained severe injuries after falling from the roof. He could not recover from the injuries and died this morning."

Samrala, November 26
Two lovers tried to commit suicide by consuming poison here. They have been booked by the police. The duo was referred to a hospital in a critical condition.

Sources said a married woman of a nearby village, who had two children, fell in love with a youth and was missing from her house since November 22.

According to her husband, she was running a beauty parlour in the nearby Balala village and went missing. He reported the matter to the police, which received information that the woman was in her 30-year-old paramour Manpreet Singh's house. Manpreet Singh was unmarried and both of them reportedly consumed poison.

The police took the duo to the Civil Hospital, Samrala, from where they were referred to the Sector 32 hospital.

Ludhiana, November 26
Four labourers received burn injuries when an LPG cylinder caught fire in New Subash Nagar in the Basti Jodhewal area this morning. The injured have been identified as Raju, Ramu, Ashok and Suresh, all migrants from Uttar Pradesh.

According to police officials, the victims received 50 to 70 per cent burn injuries. The labourers were cocking food in the morning when the gas pipe leaked, causing a fire, which spread in the room. Residents came to the rescue of the labourers. They were taken to the Civil Hospital. The condition of the inured persons is stated to be stable.

Gurpreet Singh, SHO of the Jodhewal police station, said, "The injured labourers used to work in a factory unit in the area. Furniture and goods lying in the room were reduced to ashes. We have recorded the statement of the injured."

COMMUNITY

Rs 116 cr spent on roads, says DC
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 26
In a bid to ensure smooth traffic movement in the state's biggest industrial town of Ludhiana, the state government has spent about Rs 116 crore on the strengthening of the roads in the past three years.

Disclosing this here today, Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said the Administration was fully committed to realise the state government's dream of developing Ludhiana as a pollution-free city. Under a prestigious programme initiated in 2010, the entire road network across the city had been strengthened in a planned manner. Existing roads have been widened and new ones constructed to tackle the rapidly increasing vehicular traffic. The Deputy Commissioner said the traffic problem in the central part of the city had been resolved with the construction of the flyovers at the Gill and Partap chowks, and ramps on the Jagraon bridge and the Gill chowk.

Aggarwal said a 4.5-km stretch of the Ferozpur road, which is the second busiest road in Asia, had been widened from the Sidhwan canal point to the MC limits at a cost of Rs 40 crore. Besides, Rs 19 crore had been spent on the construction of small bridges and a slip road along Buddah Nullah. To facilitate pedestrians, footpaths and underpasses had been constructed near the District Courts and the Secretariat. He said approximately 70 per cent of the work had been completed and the projects would be completed shortly.

Aggarwal also added that the district administration was setting up informative boards at various points in the city to guide the public. He also appealed to the general public to obey the traffic rules and cooperate with the administration to make this highly populated industrial town clean green and pollution free.

Ludhiana, November 26
Indian exporters must expand their export horizons and give maximum attention to the top 20 emerging markets. This was stated by Ravi Capoor, joint secretary from the Ministry of Commerce, during an interactive session held here today at the United Cycles and Parts Manufacturers Association (UCPMA).

Ravi asked the industry to identify products at least 10 items wherein floor prices can be fixed. He asked the industry to upgrade the technology. He also asked the industry to prepare a comprehensive/proper plan for the R&D centre and funds were available for machines/equipment and labs, etc.

Charanjit Singh Vishivkarma, president, UCPMA, and Joginder Kumar, chairman, discussed the issues related to exporters. The association members told Ravi that bicycle was the major industry of Punjab, the units of which are situated in and around Ludhiana, and China was its main competitor. The domestic bicycle industry had adversely been affected due to heavy import from China. So, a large of units had been closed.

The members also demanded that custom duty on parts should be raised to 50 per cent from 20 per cent. They demanded that the import through such routes should be banned or some corrective measures should be taken by the government to curb these activities. — TNS

Ludhiana, November 26
A CIS Outreach programme, an initiative to create awareness about the trade and business potential of the business region, was organised by the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking (CICU) with FICCI today.

Ravi Capoor, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, said the CIS countries came into existence after the disintegration of the erstwhile Soviet Union. All CIS countries put together have a population of around 300 million and a combined GDP of around US $3 trillion. Some of these countries have rich mineral reserves and oil and gas reserves. This has played an important role in their economic development and has led to high disposable incomes and purchasing power.

Upkar Singh, Joint Secretary, CICU, said like India, many of these countries were multi-lingual and multi-ethnic. India had enjoyed strong cultural links with this region, especially the Central Asian countries, and all these countries were considered to be natural friends of India.

“Our trade with the CIS countries is less than 2 per cent of our total global trade. This implies that the potential to increase trade and investment is very high,” he said.

Avatar Singh, General Secretary, CICU, said while doing business with this region, the biggest hurdle they face was information deficit. Many people did not know about the business opportunities the region had to offer. This programme would encourage the local businessmen to look at the CIS region with a lot of interest.

Dr Mala Iyengar, director, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, said though there was an enormous reservoir of goodwill for India, this had not translated into strong business ties.

Ludhiana, November 26
Chief Vigilance Officer of the Local Bodies Department today conducted a surprise check on the premises of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust and checked the record related to the allotment of land for a Community Centre in H and I Blocks of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar here.

A city resident, Baljit Singh, had lodged a complained with the department seeking the cancellation of the allotment of the land, as the community centre was allegedly being used commercially.

The Community Centre of H and I blocks of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar is constructed on 2,000 square yards. It was allotted by the Trust in 1985 at a reserve price of Rs 51 per square yard. It has now been practically converted into a commercial entity. Moreover, 75 per cent of the cost of land have not been paid to the LIT for the last more than 25 years, he alleged.

Baljit Singh said the community centre was being run like a marriage palace and the people operating it were making huge money out of this. It is learnt that no building plan had been got approved for the construction of two big halls and 30 rooms in the community centre, which are being offered on rent for marriages and other functions.

“People living in its vicinity often complain of loud music being played during marriage functions and other parties. Music plays till late in the night, which not only created noise pollution, but also disturbs the sleep of the local residents. There is no provision for parking, fire safety and disposal of waste after the marriages or other functions," Baljit Singh alleged.

Attempts to contact CVO VP Singh went futile.

Meanwhile, sources in the Ludhiana Improvement Trust said the CVO checked the record pertaining to the allotment of the land where community centre was being constructed. “He has also taken some record with him,” said the source.

Ludhiana, November 26
Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, has decided to start the semester system in undergraduate classes in the colleges affiliated with the PU from the next academic session. An 18-member committee on the semester system, constituted by the PU, has given its nod to the system for bringing improvement in the studies. The final decision will be taken during the Syndicate meeting to be held in December in Chandigarh.

Though it will not be easy for the PU to bring this change, this has to be done to improve the education system and for the welfare of students, say principals and teachers.

Dr Parveen Kaur Chawla, one of the members of the committee on the semester system, said the change was never acceptable readily.

She said: “As per the UGC guidelines, the system is there in almost all universities. Though it will be a great challenge for the university, one has to take the initiative for bringing the improvement. This will be beneficial for students. No doubt, they will have to be more into day-to-day studies, but the next syllabus will begin once semester exams are over. At the same time, we have to make sure that other extra-curricular activities of students do not suffer due to the semester system in undergraduate classes".

The only major problem to be faced because of the semester system will be the shortage of teachers/faculty members in colleges as this system needs more teachers.

Jagjit Singh, a guest faculty lecturer, here, said there was a ban on the recruitment process by the state government and in the absence of teachers, this system might not succeed.

He said: “The respective colleges used to hire guest faculty lecturers and they were relieved after getting services for about 8-9 months. If the semester system will start, the lecturers will be hired for 12 months because after every six months, students will take the semester examinations”.

The other major problem will be the reevaluation system. The students cannot get the advantage of reevaluation in semester examinations and the university is reportedly working on all these aspects.

"These are all little hiccups, which can be taken care of by the university,” said Dr Chawla.

The Punjab Commerce and Management Association has also welcomed the move to introduce the semester system in the UG classes.

Jagraon, November 26
On the call given by the Punjab Colleges Non-Teaching Staff Association, the non-teaching staff of Lajpat Rai DAV College, Jagraon, today observed a day-long strike in the college in support of their various long-pending demands.

The striking staff members led by LRDAV College Non-Teaching Staff Members Union president Sushma Kumari and general secretary Sarabjit Singh raised slogans against the state government for constantly ignoring the demands of the non-teaching staff members of private colleges. The striking members demanded from the state government to implement all their pending demands with immediate effect.

College principal Dr Karan Sharma as well as the teaching staff of the college also supported the strike observed by the non-teaching staff members and urged the state government to fulfil their demands. Senior lecturers Professor Tersem Sagar and Dr Parvesh Kumar also took part in the strike.

The demands of striking non-teaching staff members include release of arrear as per 2006 grade, implementing new grades revised on 1-12-2011 with immediate effect and lifting the ban imposed by the government on new recruitments on various non-teaching posts in the colleges.

Darshan Singh, Jagdish Singh, Bhola Nath, Sukh Ram, Inder Bahadur and many other members of the non-teaching staff were also present.

Jagraon, November 26
Uncountable herds of stray cattle continue to pose problems for the residents of Jagraon. There is no area of Jagraon where these animals are not seen roaming freely in large numbers.

These stray cattle, mostly bulls, can be seen creating nuisance in various areas of the town every other day. Recently, a herd of aggressive bulls created a lot of nuisance on the College Road, Jagraon. Besides damaging a few vehicles parked on the roadside, these bulls also attacked some residents and people were seen trying to save themselves by taking cover in the nearby shops.

These kinds of incidents are becoming common in Jagraon but the administration has failed to tackle this problem so far.

Apart from all other roads in the city, a large number of stray animals always remain present on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur and Barnala-Jalandhar highways. These animals can be seen moving freely on the highways or sitting in the middle of the road, thus posing a risk to the commuters.

During the past few years, several mishaps have taken place because of the presence of stray animals on the roads and a number of people have lost their lives in these accidents. But, the administration seems to have learnt no lesson from these incidents.

“It appears as the authorities concerned have turned a blind eye to such a serious problem and nothing concrete has been done to resolve this problem so far. The problem has reached dangerous proportions with the increasing number of stray animals in the area. Several meetings have taken place to discuss this problem, but nothing has been done at the ground level to improve the situation,” said Madan Lal, a senior citizen of Jagraon.

The residents feel this is high time the administration chalks out an effective plan to tackle this problem.

It is reminded here that there are three big gaushalas in Jagraon, but despite this a large number of stray animals still remain present in the town. The representatives of these gaushalas claim that it is impossible to keep all these animals in gaushalas as they are already housing animals more than the actual capacity.

Sanatan Dharam Govind Godham head cashier Jagdish Ohri said there were much more cows and bulls as compared to the capacity of all gaushalas in the town.

"Moreover, there is a dearth of funds to manage these stray animals. The government should provide more funds so that the gaushalas can hire employees to manage stray cattle,” said Ohri.

Jagraon Municipal Council Executive Officer Davinder Toor said the Municipal Council had already requested the government to provide land and funds to set up a big gaushala on the outskirts of Jagraon.

"We hope the government will soon grant us the land and funds. Once we receive the permission, we will set up another gaushala and all stray animals will be housed there,” said Toor.

Khanna, November 26
An assailant shot a chemist in his shop on the Samrala road late this evening. According to information, the chemist, Pardeep Chahal (50), was sitting in his shop named Chahal Medical Hall at about 8.15pm when a person came to his shop and demanded money. When Pardeep refused to give him money, he shot him with a revolver at point-blank range. He was critically injured.

Khanna SSP Sushil Kumar confirmed the incident. He said the reason for the attack was yet to be ascertained and they were investigating the matter. He said Pardeep died on the way to a hospital. The possibility of loot as motive could not be ruled out in the incident, the SSP said, adding that the police was yet to confirm about the number of attackers.

The SSP, the SPD and other officials concerned visited the crime scene.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 26
The Dehlon police have booked a youth under Sections 307, 354 and 506 of the IPC and Section ¾ of the SC Act for allegedly attempting to murder a girl of Kalakh village near here last night.

Ludhiana, November 26
The World Kabaddi Cup is the only world cup, which is organised every year unlike the world cups of other sports. The world cups of cricket, hockey and football, etc, are organised every four years. As the state government has been spending crores of rupees on the World Kabaddi Cup every year, the players of other sports disciplines and their organisers feel ignored.

However, the state government justify this practice, saying that organising the World Kabaddi Cup every year helps promote sports in the state. However, sports critics alleged that the ruling SAD-BJP alliance organised the World Kabaddi Cup to get political mileage.

While the government spends cores on organising the kabaddi tournaments and hiring Bollywood stars for ceremonies, the other games have been suffering for want of basic infrastructure.

It is a bitter truth that the city, in which the concluding ceremony of the mega event is scheduled, has poor infrastructure for the basic sports like football, wrestling, softball, swimming, cycling and other such games.

The Sports Department has failed to depute coaches at a number of sports wings. Moreover, while the Punjab Government awards the winning kabadddi team Rs 2 crore, the players of other games do not get proper tracksuits or sports kits.

"Kabaddi is a sport of all the Punjabis and people of the state like to play and watch kabaddi tournaments. We are not against kabaddi but when the state government is focusing only on this discipline, the other sports have been suffering. Owing to the scarcity of funds and lack of appreciation in other games, players get demoralised. The state government should uplift all the sports equally," said an official from the Sports Department.

Read the history of sports in the state and you come to know we got all the talented players from rural areas. With a lot of focus on kabaddi, most rural talents get attracted towards this sport. The rural youths do not want to opt for other disciplines. They do not think beyond kabaddi, which is not a recognised game at the national or international level. This kabaddi hype will ruin the other sports. The World Kabaddi Cup is a fun event, not sports.
Teja Singh Dhaliwal, Office-Bearer of Punjab Basketball Association

If the government spends such a huge amount to uplift hockey, then the state could revive its past glory. Other games are equally important. So, the government should chalk out a policy for a balanced treatment to all disciplines. The foreign countries give equal attention to all sports. Instead of spending crores on a 15-day event, we have to organise leagues to promote the other games.
Hardeep Grewal, Hockey Olympian

I have been participating in veteran athletics championships at the national and international levels for the past several years. We arrange for transportation, accommodation and everything else from our own pockets. Most of us left sports as we could not bear these expenses. On the other hand, the government is spending crores of rupees on kabaddi. The government should treat all sports equally.
Charanjit Kaur, veteran athlete

Punjabis have been playing kabaddi for centuries without any government aid. But there are the games like hockey and football, which need good infrastructure and can’t run without government’s support. The government should spend money on those games which provide recognition to our players at the international level.
Niku Garewal, a sports organiser

Our governments and other organisations have been saying that sports can wean the youth off drugs. But there is no motivation or support to the rural youth to join sports. Youngsters have no platform to show their mettle in sports.
Gurvinder Singh Saran, a football player

Ludhiana, November 26
BCM Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh Road, and Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, BRS Nagar, faced a little challenge from their respective opponents. They went on to set up the title clash in the girl's section on the penultimate day of the Ludhiana Sahodaya School Complex Basketball Championship (u-19) held here today.

Both the semifinals turned out to be a one-sided affair. In the first semi final, hosts BCM Senior Secondary School edged out Nankana Sahib Public School 17-3 with Shweta contributing as many as nine points.

The second semifinal played between Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, BRS Nagar, and Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar, too, was a low-scoring match in which the former came out victorious without being challenged (26-9). Ravneet Kaur accounted for 16 baskets that proved decisive in Sacred Heart Schools' victory.

Meanwhile, in the match for the hardline cup, Guru Nanak Public School pipped Nankana Sahib Public School to secure the third place.

In the boys' section, hosts BCM Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh road, and DAV Public School, Pakhowal road, scripted easy wins to secure berths in the summit clash.

BCM School, Chandigarh road, outperformed BCM Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, 32-10. However, DAV Public School survived a scare from Green Land Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar bypass, before clinching the cliffhanger with a narrow margin of just three points (72-69).

Jagraon, November 26
The pugilists of Sri Ram College, Dalla, near here, brought laurels for the college by winning two gold medals in the Punjab University Inter-College Boxing Meet that concluded recently. College student Sukhdeep Singh clinched gold medal in the boys' category while Simranjit Kaur bagged gold in the girls' category.

College principal Ravinder Talwar said Sukhdeep defeated Sukhjit of DM College of Moga in the final of the 75 kg category (boys) while Simranjit beat Simranjot of Jhar Sahib College in the girls' category.

Dr Ravinder Talwar said: "It is a matter of great pride that two students of our college participated in the championship and both returned with gold medals."

"The most encouraging thing is that our student Sukhdeep Singh defeated World Youth Boxing Championship silver medallist Kailash Gill in the semi-final before winning the final," said Dr Talwar.

Both the pugilists were given a warm welcome when they arrived in the college after taking part in the championship. They were felicitated at a brief function organised in the college.