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Purse of SGPC chief’s kin snatched
Ludhiana, April 23 Inderjit Kaur said she had gone to the market to purchase some sports items for her son as he was to participate in an event in Himachal Pradesh. She told the police that she carrying Rs 2 lakh in her purse as she had to hand over the money to someone in the market. She put her gold ornaments in the purse, perhaps due to the fear
of snatchers. She said as there was a lot of rush on the roadside near the shop she decided to park her car at a distance. While she was barely a few metres away from the shop, two motorcycle-youngsters came from behind and snatched
her purse. She raised the alarm but the snatchers fled the scene. She informed her husband Manvinder Pal Singh Makkar, who is the area councilor, about
the incident. Soon, the police launched a search operation, but they failed to trace the accused. The police will scan the footage of the close circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed in the Model
Town area. Second high-profile snatching in fortnight
It is the second high-profile snatching in the past fortnight. Earlier, snatchers had robbed the purse of a woman judge posted at Nawanshahr. They snatched her purse on Sat Pal Mittal Road while she was going somewhere on a rickshaw.
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Security beefed up ahead of Narendra Modi’s visit
Ludhiana, April 23 Sources said security was beefed up in the wake of intelligence inputs that the rival parties would try to scuttle his visit as it was the Modi’s last political rally before the Lok Sabha elections. Officials said the police have been deployed at the rally venue to ensure foolproof security. According to police sources, around 5,000 policemen would be present at the rally venue. Police staff in muftis would also be deployed to keep a check on anti-social elements. Besides dog and bomb-disposal squads, the police would keep a vigil on the rally through close circuit television (CCTV) cameras. The police will chalk out a route plan so the city residents and Modi supporters do not face any traffic snarls. The rally is being held in favour of SAD-BJP candidate Manpreet Singh Ayali. |
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Mann proves to be crowd-puller
Mandi Ahmedgarh, April 23 The road show started from Jagera Bridge on LM Road and reached Jodhan after passing through Pohir, Lehra, Gopalpur, Dehlon, Kilaraipur, Mehma Singh Wala, Lohgarh, Gujjarwal, Phallewal and Narangwal villages. While addressing huge gatherings at various places, including Narangwal and Jodhan villages, Mann alleged that the SAD and the Congress had been oppressing the common man in the border state. "But the people of the state will not fall prey to the false propaganda and attractive slogans of these parties," said Mann, urging the residents to support Phoolka. Reiterating his party's agenda, Mann said Phoolka had been chosen as AAP candidate in recognition of his selfless services to the families of the 1984 riot victims. Phoolka reiterated his commitment to fighting corruption and injustice. Col JS Gill, Brig TS Thind, Col Bant Singh, Col CM Lakhanpal, Col DS Dhillon, Bhawjit Singh Jartoli, Babbu Grewal, Gurpreet Singh Gora, Jaggi Grewal and Sohan Singh Phallewal were the other prominent persons who took part in the show. Residents were so amused by Mann’s satiric speech that they repeatedly urged him to narrate the episodes, video clips of which had been uploaded on social media sites. Mann interacted with active workers of the party. He went to the fields to meet farmers and labourers who were busy harvesting wheat crop. |
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MC lacks in planning, public suffers
Ludhiana, April 23 Around two days ago, the Municipal Corporation started the repairs of the roads in the posh Model Town area. The work was allocated to the Buildings and Roads (B and R) Department of MC. All of a sudden, the work was abruptly stopped. The contractor reportedly moved to some other area for some other work. Arvind Sharma, an RTI activist, said two days ago, the work was started. "If they had any other work in hand, they could have avoided initiating the work here. There must be some political pressure due to which the contractor moved to some other place for carrying out road repairs. The authorities need to prioritise everything. Such way of functioning has put residents to inconvenience and resulted in loss of the public money too," said Sharma. At Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, the MC started laying storm-water pipes around two months ago. It took the civic body a long to complete the project, which the officials had claimed to have finished in around 20 days. However, the road, which was dug up in patches, has not been recarpeted so far. Officialspeak
Dr Sumit Jarangal, Additional Commissioner, MC, said the road work had been completed and only tiles had to be laid. The major reason behind stopping the work midway was financial constraints. "Two main roads, Tajpur Road and Rahon Road, are in a real bad shape and we are completing them on a priority basis. With regards to the others, we are waiting for funds. As far as the laying of storm-water pipes is concerned, we are getting an undertaking from the Sewerage Board. It will dig up a limited portion of the road just required for laying sewers," said Dr
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No check on road ‘encroachments’
Ludhiana, April 23 The residents of the Major Sham Lal Road area are a harassed lot. The link road leading to the Khalsa College for Boys has been encroached upon for dumping construction material, including bricks, sand and gravel, leaving just three or four feet
for commuters. "The persons, who are constructing the religious place, belong to a particular party and have a good voter base in the area. It has been more that 20 or 25 days since the road was encroached upon for dumping the construction material. Commuters are inconvenienced due to frequent traffic jams. Despite requests, the road has not been cleared so far," said Karanbir Singh (name changed), an area resident. The residents said the civic body officials did not keep a check on such violators, who were causing unnecessary harassment to commuters. "They are allowed to dump the material on the road for a limited period if they deposit fees with the authorities. But here nobody keeps a check. The building branch says it is the duty of the tehbazari wing to get the road cleared while the latter claims otherwise," complained Sunil Kumar, another resident. The ATP (Headquarters), Kamaljit Kaur, said it was the duty of the building branch officials to check if fees were paid to the civic body. If a person continue to dump the material on the road beyond the permitted period, a fine could be imposed on him and the road got cleared. |
ludhiana votes 2014 Minna Zutshi Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, April 23 Bittu said the former DGP (Prisons), Shashi Kant, had revealed the names of senior Akali ministers involved in drug racket. "It is now public that drug peddlers have been enjoying the patronage of the Badal Government. The Chief Minister should resign immediately on moral grounds. The Congress leaders burnt effigies of the ministers named in the illegal drug trade. Meanwhile, hinting that he would be forming his own party after the elections, Bains said the electorate should remain ready for the 'third alternative' as the Congress and the Akali Dal-BJP had failed to provide good governance to the people. In the election din, the Congress and the Akali Dal-BJP continued trading charges. Bittu alleged that the SAD-BJP alliance had betrayed the people of Punjab while Akali Dal-BJP candidate Manpreet Singh Ayali accused the Congress of being 'anti-people'. Ayali claimed that Modi was the only leader who could lead the country and provide stable governance. Keeping in with the season of 'switching-loyalties', the Congress today claimed that BJP Yuva Morcha district senior vice-president Gorish Prabhakar had quit the BJP to join the Congress. The Akali Dal claimed that Independent councillor Jasvir Singh Jassa was now 'fully supporting' the party. Meanwhile, it's learnt that the All-India Congress general secretary, Shakeel Ahmad, has asked all the Congress leaders in the district to fall in line with the party decisions and work hard to make Bittu's poll campaign a success. Ahmad was in Ludhiana today. Actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar, Congress candidate from Ghaziabad, will organise a road show tomorrow in support of Bittu.
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Candidates avoid splurging on sops
Our Correspondent
Mandi Ahmedgarh, April 23 But those contesting the Lok Sabha elections are not offering any sops to woo voters. Unlike earlier occasions, organisers of election meetings do not spend on entertainment as the expenses incurred on such meetings are supposed to be added to the expenditure list. However, smart organisers try to camouflage their support by labelling the function as some family function or social occasion. Some outfits were reported to have organised power shows on Baisakhi and Earth Day. The Election Commission having tightened the noose around candidates through a vast network of observers, supporters of various candidates have been finding it hard to woo voters through traditional methods. Despite best efforts by the administration to sensitise voters about their right and pious duty to cast vote according to conscience, a section of voters expected repetition of the ‘generosity’ shown by local leaders during the past elections for panches and sarpanches. Chanan Chaudhary, a resident, said some candidates had purchased samosas and sweets from his shop during the civic body elections. Some had even engaged sweetmeat makers for preparing sweets and snacks at their homes, he said. The contestants had then tried to woo voters with liquor, soft drinks, eatables and expensive articles. They had also doled out financial aid to religious and social organisations. Investigations revealed that supporters of candidates for posts of panch and sarpanch had offered anything between Rs 1,500 and 2,500. A family of 28 voters working with a commission agent was learnt to have declined the offer of a candidate to install a submersible pump. While candidates and their supporters visiting houses during the elections carried family size bottles of soft drinks and baskets containing eatables, stickers and pamphlets seeking votes for the Lok Sabha candidates greet voters now. Karnail Kaur, a social activist, said local leaders had to entertain activists of their factions from their own pockets.
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Centre’s Mid-Day Meal Scheme not a master stroke
Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, April 23 Though it has been projected that the Centre provides 75 per cent and the state government pays 25 per cent to run the scheme. But the school managements have witnessed a poor flow of funds in the past few years. The Mid-Day Meal Scheme has been running in primary and middle schools. There are 1.75 lakh students beneficiaries in 1,549 schools of the district. According to the Mid-Day Meal Scheme authorities, 1.10 lakh students of primary schools and 75,000 of middle schools have been feeding under this programme. Contrary to the claims made by the government to provide nutritious food under this scheme, the inspection teams have found insects and poor quality food being provided at the Mid-Day Meal kitchens. To provide quality food to the students, the District Management had initiated the ‘central kitchen’ two years ago. But the experiment was unsuccessful as the contractors failed to keep hygiene. After several complaints in food, the Central kitchen closed in May 2013. Preparing the food in schools is also not an easy task. Whenever the government fails to release the funds, the teachers have to pay for the food from their own pockets or borrow it from someone. The teachers have to arrange for the food, fuel and utensils to run the mid-day meal in the schools. The teachers’ unions consider it as non-educational task. The embezzlement of mid-day meal fund by teachers has also been reported in schools. But the office-bearers of the Mid Day Meal Society claimed that they keep a regular tab on school managements to avoid such irregularities. Apart from this, the cooks and helpers, who prepare the mid-day meal in the schools is a neglected segment of this scheme. The government pays Rs 1,000 per month only to the mid-day meal workers. The workers get no health insurance or any other incentives. These workers have been struggling to get the minimum wages as per the labour laws from the last few years. Due to the shortage of funds, the schools often stop filling of LPG cylinders. In such conditions they themselves have to manage the fuel. “We are working on minimal wages. Apart from cooking, the mid-day meal workers serve as peon and take care of the students in school premises. Due to social and physical insecurity the cooks are not able to work with full devotion,” Charanjit Kaur, a mid-day meal worker leader. officialspeak The shortage of funds had been temporary in the past few years. Now, we have sufficient funds and the government also provides grains to schools. Everything is in order. The District Education Officer and other officials of the department often check the food, menu and expenditure to ensure fair functioning of the scheme — Tarsem Lal Banga, district manager, Mid-Day Meal Society
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Last date for filing quarterly VAT return extended, traders welcome decision
Ludhiana, April 23 Date was extended after changes were made in the Form 15 meant for filing return online. The VAT rate of a few items has been changed, while the details of stock of a few items were also asked by the department in the form. "We welcome the decision of the department to extend the last date of quarterly VAT return. Representations were also sent to the department in this regard," said taxation lawyer, Jatinder Khurana. Gurbir Singh, a trader, said he heaved a sigh of relief after the date of filing the return was extended. “The department has asked for stock details till February 28 and it was becoming a bit difficult to arrange the details. Now, we have one more month, thanks to which the task will become a bit easy," he said. A trader said due to the political activity in the state, he was unable to give attention to the filing of his tax return. "Even department officials are on election duty these days," he said. Some traders, however, complained of missing columns in the new form. Arun Sharma, a trader dealing in iron and steel, said the tax rate on iron and steel had been changed to 1.55 per cent, but no column of the commodity was there in the form. "I am confused if I have to furnish the information of the stock or not, as there is no such column in the form," he said.
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Flames of neglect engulf Fire Dept
The department has 42 firemen, eight drivers, four leading firemen, four sub-fire officers, one fire station officer and one assistant divisional fire officer to cater to the population of more than16 lakh. As per rules, one fire tender is required for a population of 50,000, which means for a population of 17 lakh in Ludhiana, 34 fire tenders are required. However, the department has only 13 fire tenders. Kuldeep Singh Khaira, an RTI activist, lamented that fire brigade had been ailing for the past many years. "The population is constantly increasing but instead of upgrading the fire brigade, the authorities are busy completing other works. "Residents are yet to realise the importance of fire safety," he said. Another city resident said politicians should make it an election issue because the fire brigade is one such department that saved several lives every year. "Instead of discussing national issues, the politicians should discuss issues which are directly linked to the city residents. And if any candidate fails to raise the issue, people should not vote for him," said Baldev Singh, a resident of Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar. A fire brigade official lamented that officials of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation are more concerned about issues such as roads and sewerage. "They hardly pay any heed towards the issue of crippled fire brigade, which is sad. We work overtime to save precious lives but our officers are just not bothered," said the official.
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Punjab Agricultural University Teachers’ Association Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, April 23 “The elections cannot be held till May 16, the day on which the counting of votes for the Ludhiana Lok Sabha constituency will take place on the PAU campus. It has been decided to conduct the poll before the second week of June,” said Dr Sukhpal Singh, who has been appointed as the returning officer for the PAUTA elections. Dr Ranjit Singh Gill from the Department of Entomology and Dr Jarnail Singh from the College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology have also been appointed as returning officers. During the meeting, PAU faculty was also educated on the new promotion policy of the varsity. “We have decided that if any of our colleagues dies, we would pay his family members an amount of Rs 10 lakh. Earlier this amount was Rs 7 lakh,” said Dr Harmeet Singh Kingra, president, PAUTA. Last year, the PAUTA elections were held on April 30.
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World Earth Day: Go-Green spirit engulfs schools of the industrial city
Baba Isher Singh Senior Secondary Public School
Ludhiana: Earth Day was observed at the school in Ludhiana on Tuesday. The school music team recited a shabad related to the day along with a poem and a dance presented by the students. Principal Ranjit Kaur advised the students to save the earth. Spring Dale Senior Secondary Public School A special lecture on ‘how to protect earth’ was organised. The kindergarten students were taken for a nature walk. A card-making competition was organised for the middle section students. MGM Public School To accentuate the indispensable need to preserve our mother earth, the junior wing students encouraged the concept of sustainable development by making newspaper bags. The senior students stressed upon the human efforts to bring favourable change for the good health of our planet by delivering speeches in the morning assembly and making posters concerning the essence of the concept. Babies Paradise
Playway School Short rally marked the day the school. Students came dressed in green colour. They conveyed the message to grow more trees by providing saplings to the colony people during the rally. BCM Arya School Marching towards clean and green Environment, the day was observed at the school with much enthusiasm. Yuvraj, Deputy District Forest Officer, was the chief guest on the ocassion. He shared his valuable thoughts and information on wildlife and its importance for humans. BCM Kindergarten MS Gill, president of Gurudwara Singh Sabha, donated 100 plants to the school. It was carried by president of Basant Vihar Dhand and tiny tots of school along with coordinator Anita Sood. Through story enactment the teachers motivated the students to plant more and more trees in their neighbouring areas. Sat Paul Mittal School A special morning assembly to apprise the students of the importance of saving the environment was conducted. It has implemented rain water harvesting to ensure that as
a school our responsibilities are discharged with diligence towards the mother earth. Childhood Kindergarten Playway School Banners and colourful charts were put up with messages such as ‘Go Green’, ‘Plant a tree’ and ‘Save Trees’. Children learnt the importance of preserving planet earth and planted saplings on the occasion. Ryan International School Students of Classes I and II prepared best-out-of-waste, Students of Classes III-V prepared paper bags and the students of Classes VI-IX enjoyed making science models of waste management. Also, students of Montessori I made cut-outs of earth in which they portrayed the water and land. Montessori II used earth icon to prepare badges. Montessori III students prepared placards baring various slogans related to green earth. BVM School Various group activities were carried out at the school. In first group, students from Pre-Nursery to KG watered the plants with a motive to make the earth green. Knowledge about the importance of trees and plants in our life was given to them. In second group, students of Classes I and II were taught to keep themselves and their rooms clean. Kids Quest Preschool Students of the school went for a nature walk holding slogans of save trees and earth. They were told about the importance of planting trees and hygienic environment by their mentors. Apple Tree Preschool Students of the preschool planted saplings in the school garden and were taken for a nature walk. Principal Komal Sareen said if we could educate our children about the importance of caring for our planet, only then we could hope that they would carry on the cycle with future generations. Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School The blessings of the Almighty were taken by reciting a prayer followed by a spiritual dance performance by the students. Amandeep Kaur, a student of Class XI, spoke on the alarming condition of our planet today and the dire need to preserve it. Primary students enthralled all with the recital of a song titled ‘I am the Earth’. Don Bosco Global School Students and teachers planted saplings on the school campus. They pledged to be the guardian of the planet and to make it green, healthy and pollution-free once again. Pre-primary children were dressed in green and shouted slogans to save earth and to keep the planet green, clean and safe.
— TNS
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Parents to intensify stir
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, April 23 According to the office-bearers of the association, the school administration agreed to forgo medical fee and miscellaneous charges of Rs 1,500. But the parents denied the proposal and staged a protest to get the re-admission fee exempted. Rajinder Gai, president of the Association, said, “The school authorities have been charging for SMS, which they send to the parents in routine. Such charges are totally unjustified. Now, all the parents have united and are demanding exemption of the re-admission fee along with the rollback of fee hike.” However, the authorities did not respond to the demand of the parents. “Now we will meet the DC regarding the issue. We will intensify the struggle if nothing is done to solve it,” Gai said.
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Hotel industry a job-creator: Assn head
Ludhiana, April 23 Obrai said the hotel industry had witnessed a significant growth of 10 to 12 per cent. Obrai said the industry provided 9.2 per cent employment directly and indirectly, and with its growth more youngsters would get jobs. He said domestic tourism was the backbone of the industry as 1,452 million tourists visited domestic destinations every year. “Punjab has the potential to attract tourists, so we are focusing on the state. In domestic tourism, religious destinations dominate. Punjab with places such as Amritsar and Anandpur Sahib is very important for the hotel industry,”
said Obrai.
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Gurdas as fit as any young actor, says wife
Ludhiana, April 23 "Gurdas Mann is as fit as any young actor and can play any role with ease,” said
Manjeet, as Gurdas Mann smiled standing beside her. "We are actors and we were merely playing our characters; so, age doesn't matter," added the lead pair. Talking about the movie, Mann said it is a family entertainer which has all emotions: love, romance, drama, action and comedy. "The film has a strong storyline and foot-tapping music,” said
Neeru, adding that it was the first time she had paired with the veteran singer and actor. The star cast also gave a live performance at
Cinepolis, MBD Mall. Fans were seen jostling with each other to catch a glimpse of the actors.
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Zarine, Gippy come calling
Ludhiana, April 23 "Today, Punjabi film industry is progressing very rapidly. When this offer came my way, I thought ‘why not?’ and gave it a try," said Zarine Khan. Talking about the film, Gippy Grewal said it is an action-thriller, “completely different from what we are watching these days in Bollywood”. Giving a hint about his character, he said: “I play a village guy who despite being from a very humble background is far more intelligent than others.” Makers of the movie have also come out with a 3D game, a first in the history of Punjabi films. Gippy Grewal, who is excited to see himself in a 3D game, says “JJ Bond” is a running-genre game (like Temple Run) where the player dons the digital avatar of Shinda—Gippy’s character. Players will get an opportunity to lead Shinda through various hurdles such as boulders, drums, bullock, carts and wagons.
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DC issues instructions
Ludhiana, April 23 The District Electoral Officer instructed officials to step up security around polling stations. "We will keep a check on anti-social elements," said Aggarwal. Aggarwal stated that micro observers would play a vital role in the completion of the election process.
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Reunion
Ludhiana: Students of the 1988 batch of Atam Public School arranged a reunion. Around 34 old students got together after 26 years. “It was a wonderful experience to see everyone doing well in their professional and personal lives. Most of us were meeting after our farewell in 1988,” said Badish Jindal, one of the alumni. Investiture
GGN public School, Rose Garden, conducted an investiture ceremony for the student council appointed for 2014-2015. Anureet Kaur (Class XII-B) and Isha Takkar (XII-B) were appointed as school captain and vice captain respectively. Rahul Singh (XII-A) and Asawari (XI-A) were appointed as school sports captain and vice captain respectively. House captains, senior prefects and prefects were given the badges and sashes by director principal S Karnail Singh. Fresher’s party
BBSB Convent School, Sidhwan Bet, organised a fresher's party for the tiny tots of the nursery class. Students came dressed in colourful attires. Principal Anita and management members were present to welcome the children. Awareness rally
Students of Bhartiya Vidya Mandir, Udham Singh Nagar, took out a rally to create awareness on voting right in Rose Garden and surrounding areas. Students of Classes VIII, IX and X carried placards to motivate residents to vote.
— TNS
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Association extends support
The Railway Pensioners' Association on Wednesday pledged to support Independent candidate Simarjit Singh Bains. Association chairperson Sher Singh said the country needed fearless and honest leaders. He said the SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress had failed on all fronts. Traders meet
A meeting of the Beopar Cell Punjab was held on Wednesday. A number of traders attended the meeting chaired by Jatinder Pal Singh Bedi. Congress candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu addressed the meeting. Traders and industrialists shared their problems with him. Poll appeal
Jagdev Singh Jassowal, chairman, Prof Mohan Singh Memorial Foundation, has said that after former DGP Shashi Kant’s revelations, people should not vote for political parties whose leaders are involved in drug trade. Pargat Singh Grewal, president of the foundation, said that by not voting for these political parties, people need to send a clear signal that they are against drugs. Panel to fix
rate of milk
The district administration has formed a five-member committee for fixing the rate of milk that was hiked by milk producers and dairy owners. The committee comprises the Deputy Director, Dairy; Balkar Sandhu from among dairy owners, Dr Ashwani from among milk traders and Parveen Dang and Nanak Dairy from among milk suppliers. The committee will submit its report on April 28. The rate of milk was recently hiked by Rs 10. Education fair
An education fair will be organised at Hotel Majestic Park Plaza on May 3 and 4. Representatives of colleges and universities from Australia, Canada, the USA, Russia, New Zealand and the UK will counsel the students. Foundation head flays politicos
Hardial Singh Aman, chairman, Sain Mian Mir Foundation, has said that politicians should not raise the issue of 1984 anti-Sikh riots for their political gains. “Raising this issue is like rubbing salt to the wounds of victims,” he said.
— TNS
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Match between Ludhiana, Bathinda ends in a draw
Ludhiana, April 23 In reply to Ludhiana’s first innings huge score of 442 runs, Bathinda scored 273 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 113 overs. As the issue remained unresolved, the two teams were awarded one point each. Brief scores Ludhiana (first innings): 442 all out in 93 overs (Vaibhav Kalra 166, Sajjanpreet 48 n.o, Jaish Jain 58, Deepin Chitkara 17, Gurjot 17, Nihal 17 and Vaibhav Yadav 8 for 144). Bathinda (first innings): 273 for 7 in 113 overs (Abhishek 44, Ashwani 40, Vijay 49, Ravi 43, Vaibhav Yadav 31 n.o, Rahul 17 n.o; Deepin Chitkara 2 for 97, Anmol Sharma 2 for 70, Jaish Jain 2 for 21 and Sehaj Berry 1 for 22).
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Ludhiana, April 23