Ludhiana, July 5
Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister of Food Processing Industry, visited the Central Institute of Post-Harvesting Engineering and Technology (CIPHET) on the Punjab Agricultural University campus here today. She said her ministry would facilitate the creation of mini food parks in different areas of Punjab to give a boost to the processing of the local produce.

Presiding over a high-level meeting at CIPHET, she said Punjab Agro could be nominated as the nodal agency for the creation of these mini food parks over an area of 20 or 25 acres each.

The minister also advocated the creation of primary processing centres to take the food processing mission to the village level. She said cooperatives would be encouraged to take advantage of grants up to Rs 2.5 crore each to create modern processing centres for milk, fruit and vegetables.

Among other projects, she said, her ministry would also give grants for setting up modern abattoirs in all the major cities in Punjab. She said these abattoirs would be managed by the municipal corporations. To further streamline meat production and maintain hygienic conditions, her ministry would provide grants up to Rs 5 lakh each to individual meat shop owners to create the requisite refrigeration facilities.

The Vice-Chancellor of the PAU, Dr BS Dhillon, apprised the Union Minister of the need for increasing the marketing avenues in the food grain, fruit and vegetable sectors. 

Jagraon, July 5
A youngster, in his twenties, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding was hit by some a vehicle on the Ludhiana-Bathinda highway near Raqba village at Mullanpur Dakha last night. The deceased has been identified as Jaswinder Singh, alias Happy (22), a resident of Hissowal village, near Sudhar.

The accident took place near Sidhu Service Station, Raqba, while Happy was returning to his house from his shop at Mullanpur Dakha. He died on the spot.

The police have registered a case against unidentified driver at the Mullanpur Dakha police station on a complaint of the victim’s brother and started investigation. According to the police, efforts are on to trace the driver of the vehicle that hit the motorcycle.

In his statement to the police, the victim’s brother, Jarnail Singh stated that his brother ran a shoes shop at Mullanpur Dakha. He was hit by an unknown vehicle while he was returning to his village on his motorcycle last night.

A passerby informed the police about the accident, following which a police team reached the spot and rushed the victim to the Mullanpur Dakha Civil Hospital. The doctors declared him dead on arrival.

The police have handed the dead body to his family after post-mortem.

Happy is survived by his parents and a younger brother.

Ludhiana, July 5
More than 24 hours after the shocking snatching attempt, in which a Chandigarh-based scribe suffered serious injuries, there has been no clue to the snatchers. Despite having the CCTV footage of the incident, there has been no headway in the case and the police continue to grope in the dark.

Yesterday, Kanchan Vasdev, a Chandigarh-based journalist, suffered bruises and injuries in the head and ankle when two youths riding on a Bajaj Pulser tried to snatch her bag. Vasdev reacted bravely and caught hold of her purse. Her head hit the road and she was dragged as the snatchers tried to flee.

The Commissioner of Police has recently constituted an anti-snatching cell to curb the incidents of snatching in the city. But, the incidents have been on the rise.

Though the police have rounded up a few suspects, they are clueless about the accused.

Dharampal , Division No. 5 SHO, said: “We are investigating the matter thoroughly. We have examined the CCTV footage. The police parties are actively tracing the miscreants. We have rounded up some suspects.”

Sahnewal, July 5
It has been more than a year that the local residents and villagers have been suffering due the lack of medical facilities and forced to shell out thousands of rupees to private doctors. Thanks to the state government which, in the name of rationalisation, has ruthlessly withdrawn medical facilities available to patients at Sahnewal.

The SMO of the local Community Health Centre (CHC) faces a tough time coping with heavy rush of patients. The hospital has no physician, gynaecologist, paediatrician, surgeon, etc. Neither regular nor emergency services are functional at the CHC. A majority of the staff has been transferred, leaving the ailing high and dry. To make matters worse, the doctors, pharmacists and staff nurses, who are here on deputation, are sure to go back one day.

Harbans Singh Sains and Mohinder Singh Kooner, members of the Young Citizens Association, said: “The hospital building is now just in the name only. The government has left the people to suffer. What is the good sense in making a mere show of the things. As the health centre is more or less vacant now, with no doctors, the local residents are at the receiving end of this government apathy.”

“What do we suppose to do with the mere building of the Community Health Centre?” questioned a patient, who returned disappointed as the specialist he needed was not available any more.

“The town with its adjoining villages has a population of about 7 lakh. At Machhiwara, a town with a population of just 2 lakh, the hospital has been upgraded. The Sahnewal CHC still awaits upgrade. Even upgrade of the CHC will serve little purpose if the government continues to follow its irrational policy of rationalisation where a majority of the doctors posted in rural areas are being transferred,” said a social worker of the area.

The SMO of the Sahnewal CHC, Parminderpal Singh Sidhu, said: “It is really painful if patients, who do not have enough money for their treatment, return without medical aid. I have to handle every emergency as there is a serious staff crunch at the CHC. There is an acute shortage of staff, including pharmacists, lab technicians, multi-purpose health workers and EMOs. As the pressure has almost doubled on those left at the CHC, they, too, are no more interested in staying here. I have written to the department about all this.”

Ludhiana, July 5
The striking students of the College of Fisheries at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University who were hoping for a positive outcome from their meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and his wife, Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, were left disappointed with the “cold” response they got from the two leaders.

Four students were allowed to meet the Badal couple during their visit to Punjab Agricultural University today.

One of the students, Navjot Kaur, said: “We did not expect such a response from Badals. The Deputy CM said the government was not bothered about such strikes. He said in villages, ponds will be provided to us and we can start fish farming by getting a subsidy from the government. When we asked about a government job, Sukhbir Singh Badal just ignored us.”

Another student, Amardeep Kaur, said on the one hand Harsimrat Badal was promoting “Nanhi Chhaan” with the objective of empowering girl child, and on the other hand “she did not even bother to speak to us”.

The students have decided to continue with their protest till the government takes any decision in their favour.

Khamano, July 5
Special Secretary, Education Department, Gurdeep Singh visited some schools in the area today.

With the objective to know about problems being faced by them, he interacted with the staff and students of Government Senior Secondary Schools, Khamano, Amrala and Sanghol.

Talking to mediapersons, Gurdeep Singh said the department officials often visited schools to report the shortcomings to the government.

The official appealed to the teachers to uplift the education standards, especially in rural areas. He also planted a sapling at the local school.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 5
Office-bearers of various Education Department unions have extended support to the struggle launched by the Mid-Day Meal Official Employees’ Union.

They will be attending the state-level rally of the union at Ropar on Sunday.

Referring to the outcome of a meeting held under the supervision of state president Parveen Sharma, district president Raj Pal said office-bearers of other unions of the Education Department employees had announced their support to the struggle launched by the union to get their long-pending demands accepted and implemented.

He said the authorities had assured the union that its demands, mentioned in a memorandum submitted to Education Secretary Anjali Bhawra two months ago, would be accepted, but nothing concrete had been done.

Welcoming the gesture of other unions, office-bearers of the protesting union urged all members to turn out in huge numbers to make the rally a success.

Ludhiana, July 5
The rainy season has begun, so has the mosquito breeding. The Municipal Corporation authorities claim to have issued challans to at least 20 residents.

The MC maintains that it found larvae in 10 areas while the Health Department said the larvae were found in just one or two areas. Both the departments are supposed to take care of the issue jointly but their statements differ.

Civil Surgeon Dr Subhash Batta said larvae were found in one or two areas and a report was submitted to the MC for sending fogging machines to the areas. He said a joint meeting was also held recently to chalk out a plan for creating awareness and sending the fogging machines.

But residents maintained that they were not satisfied with the fogging schedule as they had not seen any such machine in their areas. Sarita, a resident of Deep Nagar, said mosquitoes were all around their house as there was a vacant plot nearby, where residents threw garbage. “But no fogging has been carried out so far,” she said.

Residents of Civil Lines, Khud Mohalla area and Industrial Area said the civic body did not carry out fogging in their areas.

Vipul Malhotra, health officer with the Municipal Corporation, who has been given the charge of the fogging schedule, said they had sent 15 fogging machines to various areas of the city. Four machines are sent to each zone every day. “I have records pertaining to the fogging schedule. High risk areas are being covered on a priority basis. We have given 36 employees to the Health Department to visit residences and issue challans to violators. We have challaned residents in areas, including Lakshmi Nagar, Guru Nanak Pura, CRP Colony, Polices Lines and Jain Colony in Zone C. Fogging has been done in the areas,” said the official.

Ludhiana, July 5
While the evacuation of Indian citizens from Iraq has become a major issue, there are many Punjabi youths who do not want to leave Iraq and claim that things are not all that bad in the war-torn country.

Talking to The Tribune, Sanjiv Kumar from Ropar said, “I am working in the US Embassy at Baghdad with several other Punjabi youths. I am safe as our safety is the US Army’s priority.”

Sanjiv Kumar sent an email to this correspondent reiterating to convey the message to the Indian Government and especially to his family that he was safe and happy working in Iraq. “We are getting good wages and visit India every six months. If the Indian Government will insist on evacuating all of us, we may end up losing our jobs,” stated Sanjiv.

He added that he had no clue of those who were kidnapped or trapped. “However, we are working in a safe compound. We cannot send you photographs of the place due to security reasons. I do not want to court any controversy. Please, help us and convey the message that we are safe and doing well in Iraq,” stated Sanjiv in his email.

Family members of Pardeep Kumar (32), who is among the 39 workers kidnapped by the rebels from the Iraqi city of Mosul, said: “There has been no information of our son Pardeep Kumar ever since he was kidnapped. We had last spoken to him on the morning of June 15. Government officials, including the Deputy Commissioner (DC) came and met us and assured us that our son would return home safely, but nothing has been done so far,” said Jeet Ram (65) and his wife Krishan Devi at Jagatpur village, Balachaur.

Ludhiana, July 5
The state government’s campaign against drugs has yielded good results. A number of drug addicts have started afresh. Most of them have given up the bad habit with the help of medicines and counselling. But the sad part is that a few addicts are still psychologically dependent on drugs. This was revealed by Dr Sudha Vasudev, head, department of psychiatry, Lord Mahavir Civil Hospital, Ludhiana.

Dr Vasudev said, “When withdrawal symptoms disappear, we start treating the addicts. But many a time, they request doctors to keep them on medication even when they don’t need it. They ask for more medicines which means they are psychologically dependent on drugs. She said counselling was a must as there are chances of a patient slipping into depression.

Dr Rajeev Gupta, a city-based psychiatrist, said, “Such patients complain of loss of appetite and sinking feeling. They keep demanding drugs. Such persons need support and affection.”

Dr Gupta said it was like dealing with a child. He said, “To get rid of the psychological dependence, patients take months. Such patients become hypersensitive and do not like to hear criticism. Under such circumstances, families role becomes crucial.”

Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 5
Police officials are on their toes, courtesy drug peddlers and addicts. Criminals, who earlier used to peddle drugs, have now taken to burglaries and snatchings.

Beat in-charges have been advised to keep an eye on such persons. Night patrolling has also been intensified in the region.

There has been an increase in the number of attempted burglaries and snatchings in Ludhiana and Sangrur districts. Although no major loss was reported, a number of futile attempts were made by amateur burglars. Similarly, unsuccessful attempts of snatching were also reported.

The authorities suspect that drug addicts and anti-social elements, who earlier used to work as facilitators and couriers for the drug peddlers, had started committing burglaries and snatchings.

An attempt was made to rob a jewellery shop in the town. Thieves also tried to take away packets of costly items from a grocery store.

Most of the attempts were made at deras and religious places. Managers of the organisations have not ascertained losses incurred due to the thefts and burglaries so far.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Gurmit Singh and Assistant Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Sikand said beat officers had been advised to enhance vigil in commercial areas and around unattended buildings. Special patrolling teams were constituted by SHO Harvinder Pal Singh and Dehlon SHO Amandeep Singh Brar. The teams, each led by an NGO, patrolled the area two hours before and after the midnight which were considered most vulnerable periods for the burglaries and thefts.

Although no arrests were made by the night patrolling teams, a number of strangers who were roaming aimlessly in markets were rounded up and later let off. 

Ludhiana, July 5
The Peritoneal Dialysis Care Centre was inaugurated at the department of nephrology, Christian Medical College and Hospital, today.

Dr Vijay Obed, Deputy Director, CMC&H, said: “At the centre, training in PD will be given. A PD nurse will manage the manual and electronic database of each and every patient,” said Dr Jasmine Das. She stated: “We have released a book “Standards of Care in Peritoneal Dialysis (SOCPD), which has protocols and guidelines, practised internationally.”

She said: “We started the structured peritoneal dialysis (PD) programme in 2011. More than 75 patients have been treated. Our PD unit is providing both continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) and automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) for chronic kidney disease and APD for acute kidney injury in critically ill patients.” One of the patients on PD has undergone coronary artery bypass grafting successfully in the CMCL.

Ludhiana, July 5
The Block Development and Panchayat Officials Association, Punjab, held a meeting at the zila parishad office today. Ram Lubhaya was elected president of the association, Gurmeet Singh Dhillon was named vice-president while Pyar Singh and Navneet Joshi became general secretary and cashier, respectively. Navdeep Kaur, Roop Singh, Sanjeev Kumar, DK Maldi, Gopal Gagnjea, Jarkanwaljit Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sukhpal Singh and Gurprtap Singh were elected members.

The next meeting of the association will be held on August 2. The new president urged all BDPOs to attend the meeting.

Jagraon, July 5
The Jagraon police have arrested three persons, including a father-son duo, for alleged involvement in the sale of illegal liquor.

The police allegedly seized 17 boxes of illegal liquor from the suspects. They also confiscated a car being used by the suspects for allegedly peddling the contraband.

The suspects have been identified as Boota Singh, his son Jasvir Singh (both residents of Mahavir Colony) and Hardeep Singh, a resident of Kothe Pona village.

They were arrested at a checkpoint near Kothe Rahlan village on the outskirts of the town, following a tip-off, this morning.

The police said the accused used to bring illegal liquor from Moga to sell it in Jagraon, and they had been involved in this trade for a long time.

Boota Singh has already been booked in another case of smuggling of illegal liquor.

Machhiwara, July 5
The Machhiwara police have booked two youths for allegedly sodomising a boy at Jodhwal village.

As per the complaint, the 15-year-old victim had gone out to play when the accused, Dheeraj Singh and Bhanu Partap Singh, took him to an under-construction house and sodomised him. The boy complained to his parents, who took him to the local Civil Hospital and informed the police.

The duo has been booked under Sections 377, 506 and 34 of the IPC besides the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. They are still at large.

Ludhiana, July 5
On the penultimate day of the inaugural edition of the Open Ludhiana FIDE Rating (below 1800) Prize Money Chess Tournament being held here at Kunan Vidya Mandir, Civil Lines, Santosh Gautam from Nepal proved his superiority to gain lead though a slender one.

Santosh wrapped up six matches to send stirs in rivals’ camp. However, local lad Sushant Manuja fought a spirited battle against Santosh and managed to hold him to a draw.

At the end of the seventh round, Santosh was leading with 6.5 points.

Other players who were at the centre stage today included Manoj Kumar and Kirti Sharma, both from Punjab, and Sudhir Kumar from Haryana. All three of them secured six points each to follow Santosh closely.

The proceedings on the last day will be keenly watched out. With 5.5 points each in their kitty, Amarjit Singh, Surinder Marwaha , Sushant Manuja, Sahil Batra all of Ludhiana, Deepak Batra, Manik Arora of Amritsar, Shishir Kumar, Harminder Singh and Rishab Jain from Delhi can still spring a surprise to push their opponents and finish among position holders.