Ludhiana, May 24
Just to take revenge, a girl kidnaps her cousin's son. Sounds like a Bollywood movie's plot. Fed up with her brother's interference in her married life, the accused, Priya, kidnapped his six-month-old son Ishan from Punjab Mata Nagar on May 16.

Giving details, Deputy Commissioner of Police Harsh Bansal said Priya used to work at a boutique owned by Radha who had divorced her husband. She came in contact with a middle-aged man Jagpal, who was married but had no child. Radha and Jagpal developed illicit relations and Radha got pregnant.

But she aborted the foetus and did not tell it to Jagpal. At the same time, she did not want to snap ties with Jagpal, who had a tent house at Jamalpur. Radha asked Priya if she could be of any help.

Both Priya and Radha, with the help of another person, tried to adopt a child from an orphanage, but could not succeed. Priya then assured Radha that she would help her. Since she was not happy with the interference of her cousin, she kidnapped his son.

Bansal added that Priya called up his brother's wife Rajwant Kaur several times on May 16 and when she came to know that Rajwant had come to Punjab Mata Nagar to meet her sister, she reached there and fled with the child. She sought help from one Nipun Saini, alias Laddi. Both went to the Jalandhar bypass where Radha was waiting for them.

Radha took the child and boarded a bus for Gurdaspur. Laddi and Priya also reached Gurdaspur on a motorcycle. When they learnt that the police was looking for them, they went into hiding.

A police team, including inspectors Ashok Kumar, Ramninder Singh and sub-inspector Inderjit Singh, went to Hardwar to arrest the kidnappers.

Troubled marriage
Priya, who got married three months ago, was not happy with her in-laws. When she discussed the matter with her cousin Rajnish (Rajwant's husband), he scolded her and asked her to sort out the issue.

Ludhiana May 24
The new academic session began at government schools two months ago, but students have not received books to date. It is learnt that English medium books have not been supplied to the PSEB book depot.

Students are facing a tough time finding the books in markets. Help book publishers too have expressed their helplessness as not even a single copy is available at bookstores.

Teachers are in a fix as mathematics and science books are also not available.

Earlier, officials of the PSEB told school authorities that they were busy performing poll duties, but they would soon supply the books to the depot.

Rajesh Thapar, an office-bearer of the PSEB Affiliated Schools Union, said: "The teachers and students have been facing a great difficulty. How will the students prepare for house tests? Even help books are not available at the bookstores. The board should do something to tide over the problem."

Baljinder Singh, depot manager, PSEB, said "We have distributed all books that we received from the head office. Only a few books are yet to be supplied."

Dr Charanjit Singh, District Education Officer, ?said: "The students have been without books for the past two months. We will bring the matter to the notice of the authorities."

Ludhiana, May 24
The opening of a liquor vend in a residential area has created an uproar in Gobind Nagar. Residents have been making rounds of the Municipal Corporation office urging officials to remove the vend from the area, but no action has been taken so far.

They have been protesting for the past 45 days. Complaints have already been lodged with the MC and the Excise and Taxation Department, but to no avail. The Additional Commissioner-cum-Zonal Commissioner, Zone D, in his report, had stated that as per the master plan, the plot where the vend had been opened came under the industrial zone. But there are 90 per cent of houses near the vend.

The area measures 150 square yards and the registry of the plot was done on May 19, 2012. The building plan was not approved and a house tax surveyor had found that no number was alloted to the house by the civic body. The residents had also filed a police complaint.

Area residents Malkiat Singh and Avtar Singh said even after knowing the fact that the vend was illegal, why the authorities were not taking action against the vend owner.

"The authorities are not acting against the violator. Women have stopped venturing out as anti-social elements keep roaming around," said the residents.

Ludhiana, May 24
Fans went berserk to catch a glimpse of Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty today. Shilpa, along with her husband Raj Kundra, was in the city to inaugurate their jewellery showroom Satyuga Gold on College Road.

The railing outside the showroom got unhinged and the fans had a narrow escape. People carrying children too were clamouring to get into the showroom. With fans gathering on the road outside, the traffic scene went haywire.

Family time

It was time for the celebrity couple to catch up with relatives in the city. Raj Kundra's father Balkrishan Kundra migrated to the UK from Ludhiana while his brother's family still resides at Arya Mohalla here. Raj's nephew Rohit Kundra said the family was happy and excited to meet him. Although he had met his "chachaji", he was seeing his "chachi"(Shilpa) for the first time, he said. Rohit said they could not visit his ancestral home as they had to leave for Chandigarh. Raj and Shilpa were also happy to meet their relatives. Raj reminisced his childhood memories. 

Ludhiana, May 24
An unidentified youth was run over by Shatabdi Express at 4 pm near Shastri Nagar level-crossing today.

The railway police said the youth had not been identified so far. Eyewitnesses said the youth had put on earphones.

When they saw the train, they screamed, but the youth did not listen. The body is in the custody of the railway police. They scanned the call details of the youth and stated that he belonged to Moga. — TNS

Ludhiana, May 24
There has been a considerable drop in beneficiaries under the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) after its linkage with Aadhaar cards. The scheme has been launched by the Central government under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

It aims at reducing maternal and neonatal mortality rate by “promoting institutional delivery” among poor pregnant women.

Earlier, the beneficiaries were paid in cash but now they are issued cheques. They are required to have an Aadhaar card number linked with their bank accounts to avail the benefit.

The scheme integrates cash assistance with delivery and post-delivery care. Expecting mothers in rural areas receive Rs 700 while in urban areas they get Rs 600. ASHA workers identify the beneficiaries. They report to auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) and bring the women to primary health centres.

Sukhdeep Kaur, president, ASHA, Ludhiana unit, said, "With a few poor women having bank accounts, the number of beneficiaries has seen a drastic drop. The minimum amount for opening a bank account is Rs 500 and the cash assistance is Rs 600 in the case of urban and Rs 700 in the case of rural beneficiaries. Those, who do not have bank accounts, think it is a futile exercise and that they will end up spending Rs 500 in opening an account. Women, who do not have Aadhaar cards, cannot avail it at all”.

Twenty-two year Ramandeep Kaur from Mansuran village, who delivered a baby boy in April, said,” I was promised cash assistance under the JSY scheme. I even had a bank account in my name. But since I did not have an Aadhaar card, I failed to avail the benefit."

She said she made several requests to give her cash or a cheque, but to no avail.

Sumitra Rani, living on the periphery of the city, said the scheme was only on paper and was of no use for the poor. “Several slum-dwellers like me do not have the luxury of opening a bank account since it serves no purpose. Just to receive the JSY fund of Rs 600, we end up paying Rs 800-1,000," she added. Sumitra gave birth to a baby girl a few months ago. She feels that there is a need to amend the scheme.

Officials said the step was taken to check the misuse of funds.

About the scheme
The Janani Suraksha Yojana was launched in April 2005 by modifying the National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS). Under the scheme, a woman is entitled to a benefit of ~600 for healthcare post-delivery. The scheme aims at reducing maternal and neonatal mortality rate by ‘promoting institutional delivery’ among poor pregnant women. ASHA workers identify beneficiaries and report to auxiliary nurse midwives.

Ludhiana, May 24
Confusion prevailed among teachers of government schools over the non-issuing of registers for maintaining the record of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) by the Education Department.

The academic session started two months ago but the Education Department did not send registers to keep the record of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation of students. The teachers in schools are in fix as to where shall they record the evaluation of May tests.

Meanwhile, the officials from the Education Department claimed that they had issued the instruction that the registers would not be sent to the schools as the department has uploaded the format of keeping CCE record on the website of the department.

The teachers alleged that the Director General School Education office did not issue any fresh directions regarding CCE registers.

The state Education Department introduced the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) system in the academic year 2011-12 after the implementation of RTE Act. From the past two years, the department used to send the registers to schools for CCE.

Teachers claimed that this year the department didn’t send the registers without any prior instruction and did not provide any alternative.

“The Education Department claims to adopt the modern techniques for the evaluation of students to uplift the education standard but when it comes to sustain the system the department fails to fulfill the basic requirements. The CCE system is going well in the schools but now the bureaucrats have started experimenting with this. The registers should not be an issue for evaluation,” said a teacher.

officialspeak
As per the directions of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, we are not issuing the register to schools. We have uploaded the format of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) on our website. Teachers should download it and keep a record on hard copies.
— Amarbir Singh, Assistant State Project Director

Ludhiana, May 24
Leaders of political parties have slammed the municipal corporation over demolition drives being carried out in areas where people have been residing for decades.

Reacting on the eviction notices issued to residents in Barewal, Aam Aadmi Party leader HS Phoolka said members of the scheduled caste (SC) community had been living there for more than six decades.

“Some of them have been there for 100 years. Most are poor and have lost their allotment letters and other documents, while a few letters are from the pre-independence times, written in Urdu,” said Phoolka.

The AAP leader said while the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation was formed in 1976, dwellings in Barewal had been there for much longer time. He said these dwellings could not be termed as illegal or encroachments.

“The MC has no right to carry out demolition drives in the name of removing encroachments. As poor cannot fight a legal battle, AAP is assisting them,” he said.

The AAP nominee who lost in the recent elections said on May 19, the residents received notices stating that their dwellings would be removed, just two days after receiving eviction notices.

He said AAP approached the SC panel and got some relief. Phoolka said the Supreme Court ordered in 2005 that a panchayat must allot homes to landless residents.

“People can be evicted from a place only if some alternative residence is allotted to them,” he said.

Phoolka maintained that he was against encroachments, but the people living in Barewal were not encroaching upon any government or private land.

MLA Bharat Bhushan Ashu, too, came down heavily on the anti-encroachment drive. He said people living in Barewal and Haibowal had been living there for decades. Ashu sought a resettlement plan before carrying out any demolition drives.

“A separate department should be created for rehabilitating the evicted people,” he said.

Giving a political colour to the drive, Ashu said the administration was targeting those areas where residents had voted against the Akali-BJP candidate.

‘proper procedure followed’
After the Punjab and Haryana High Court passed orders to remove encroachments, we sought three months to identify illegal dwellings. A committee comprising the Zonal MC Commissioner and Assistant Town Planner was formed to look into the cases. They met every single resident. Those who got relief from the SC panel were not touched. Of the 91 encroachments in Barewal, action was taken against only those 18 dwellings whose occupants had no documents
— Shruti Singh, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana

Ludhiana, May 24
Although the Reserve Bank of India’s move to relax import norms led to a fall in gold prices, local jewellers are not too upbeat about it. Office-bearers of the Ludhiana Jewellers’ Association said major policy changes were required to revive the industry. They maintained the fall in prices would not have much impact on the domestic gold market.

The Reserve Bank of India had imposed several restrictions on the import of gold in July 2013 with the aim to control the depreciating Indian rupee and growing current account deficit. Now, with the relaxation, the price of gold witnessed a fall of around Rs 850 per 10 grams in past three days in the local market.

Anand Sikri, president, Ludhiana Jewellers’ Association, said, "We are facing a slowdown due to government policies. The change in policies can provide some relaxation to local jewellers. The present move will not have much effect on the domestic market. Although the price of gold saw a fall of Rs 750 to Rs 850 per 10 grams, reports of a further drop are baseless.”

Sikri said a jeweller’s profit was directly related to the footfall of costumers.

“Due to the reports of an expected further fall, costumers are waiting for that to take place before buying gold,” he said.

Meanwhile, costumers are eagerly awaiting a further fall in prices.

"The fluctuation in prices is a routine affair, but presently the gold prices have come down considerably. Those who are planning weddings in the coming winter season will get a good opportunity to buy jewellery. I will wait for some time before buying jewellery,” said Kiran, a resident.

Ludhiana, May 24
The NGO Feed Foundation will start “Nasha Bhagao Punjab Bachao” campaign on June 1. The volunteers will reach out to people across cities, towns and villages to make them aware of the ills of drugs.

Foundation president Jaspreet Singh said the NGO wanted to fight the drug menace in Punjab.

He said political leaders and parties were not interested in eradicating drugs from the country, which was evident from the recently held Lok Sabha elections in which none of the parties made any resolution to fight against drugs.

Jaspreet Singh said that foundation members would meet Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal after June 15 to submit a memorandum against drug abuse besides appealing to all legislators to get it cleared in the Assembly.

He said under the campaign, a toll-free number would be released by the foundation.

Ludhiana, May 24
The Bhartiya Valmiki Dharam Samaj celebrated its golden jubilee in the city today. Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal attended the function at Jalandhar Bypass. Atwal said teachings of Valmiki bonded together different sections of society and inspired people to become better human beings.

He said besides religious contributions made by him, Valmiki also contributed in a big way towards social and economic development.

“His scriptures are still creating a cohesive society,” said Atwal.

Dalit Bhalai Board chairman Vijay Danav, too, addressed the gathering. He recounted the work done by the organisation.

At another function organised to commemorate the occasion at Jamalpur, Ashwani Sahota from the organisation said the day was being celebrated across the nation.

Ludhiana, May 24
PCTE–Institute of Hotel Management has joined hands with Hyatt Regency, Ludhiana, to deliver cooking classes to the residents. Classes for Hors d Oeuvre, Italian, South-East Asian, French classical cooking and much in demand bakery products will be conducted. Joint certificate will be issued by PCTE and Hyatt Regency, Ludhiana, after the completion of the course. For the first time, the city will witness an academic organisation gearing up for various activities in this summer vacations.

Prof KN Thakur, training and development officer, faculty of hotel management, who initiated the idea, said, “We worked out the details over the past two months about specific courses according to the needs of the housewives, young girls and boys, cooking freaks, et al in the city.” He further explained that Chef Tarun Kumar at Hyatt Regency, Ludhiana, had compiled the menu in a way that people could source the raw material locally and cook world-class food at home without any hassle. Dr KNS Kang, director, PCTE Group of Institutes, informed that PCTE after introducing Fusion Cuisine to the region would now deliver cooking classes to the Ludhianvis. He said now PCTE and Hyatt Regency would work together to enhance culinary skills of city residents.

Ludhiana, May 24
A workshop was organised by the Department of Critical Care and the Department of Nursing at SPS Apollo Hospital. As many as 1,000 nurses from hospitals, nursing colleges and nursing homes attended the workshop aimed at sensitising and updating nursing professionals with best practices in critical care.

The workshop covered various topics: assessment of critically ill patients, invasive and non-invasive ventilation, care of patients on ventilator, hospital acquired infections and prevention bundles, arterial blood gas analysis, fast HUG in ICU, basics of neuro critical care, ECG interpretation and monitoring of patients in ICU.

Dr Kapil Chib, Joint Director Medical Services, SPS Apollo Hospitals, Ludhiana, said the critical care services could grow in India by hard work and dedication of all working in the healthcare field but if we want to take it further than we had to train our nurses further in this field.

Khamano, May 24
The Khamano police have registered a case against four unidentified persons for forcibly taking away a jeep.

The affected Sanjay Kumar in a complaint with the Sanghol Chowki Police under the Khamano police station stated that he was carrying 46 bags of peas in his jeep towards Ludhiana from Shimla. When he reached near Sanghol, suddenly four persons who were in a Tata vehicle stopped his way and caught hold of him. They threw him out of the jeep and tied him. Later, they fled with the loaded jeep, he stated.

In-charge Sanghol Police Chowki said they had got some vital clues and they were hopeful of cracking the case at the earliest.

Ludhiana, May 24
The city witnessed two karate meets today. While the Ludhiana District Karate-Do Association organised the fifth chapter of District Karate Championship at Dugri, GMT Public School hosted Belt Test Karate Competition.

MLA Simarjit Singh Bains inaugurated the district meet. Over 300 karate players took part in it.

International karate player Shihan Chinmoy Dubey was the chief guest at the other competition. Around 250 students from 15 city-based schools took part in it. Coaches trained the students in various safety skills.

District meet results
Girls (10+, 25-30 kg) gold—Chunanda Chauhan (Krishna Convent School), silver—Sanjana (St Kabir Academy), bronze—Ravneet Kaur (St Kabir Academy);

Girls (7+, 25-30 kg) gold—Rubina Chopra (MGM), silver—Armaan Kaur (BCM), bronze—Charu Verma (BCM);

Girls (5+, 15-20 kg) gold—Kashish Bhatia (BBPS), silver—Britika Mittal (BBPS), bronze—Harkamal Kaur (BBPS);

Girls (4+, 15-20 kg) gold—Freya Gupta (BBPS), silver—Tanya Singla (BBPS), bronze—Khushi Khurana (BBPS) and Sanya Sharma (BBPS);

Boys (8+, 20-25 kg) gold—Om Sahani (BCM), silver—Paramraj (BBPS), bronze—Kanav Veer Kaushal (BBPS);

Boys (9+, >25 kg)

gold—Aryan Wasan (BBPS), silver—Mohammad Sakib (BCM), bronze—Subeg Singh (NSPS) and Rehan Verma (BBPS)