Ludhiana, November 15
A 12-year-old schoolgirl was killed in a road accident this afternoon. The deceased has been identified as Andrey Singh, a student of class VII of GMT School. She lived at New Aman Nagar in the Salem Tabri area.

Andrey, along with her elder sister, was crossing NH1 in front of her school when a speeding car hit her. The car driver sped away.

The parents, who were there to pick up their wards, rushed her to a nearby private hospital. The doctors at the hospital referred her to the DMCH where she succumbed to injuries. The doctors said she died due to head injuries at 4 pm.

According to information, the accident took place at around 1:20 pm, soon after the school was over. Andrey, along with her elder sister, who studies in Class X in the same school, was crossing the road. The car coming from the Jalandhar side hit the girl. She suffered grievous injuries on her head and other parts of the body. Some passerby noted down the registration number of the car and informed the police. The Salem Tabri police reached the spot and initiated investigation

Station House Officer of the Salem Tabri police station Maninder Bedi said: “We have the registration number of the car. A case has been registered against the driver. It was a Toyota Innova, an MPV, with a registration number of Delhi. We have informed all police stations about the registration number. We hope the driver will be arrested soon”.

Meanwhile, the parents of students alleged that the administration did not show any concern to the safety of students. They have demanded that a board mentioning “school ahead” should be installed and Zebra crossing drawn near the school.

Ludhiana, November 15
Two woman computer operators, Jaspreet Kaur and Razia, have been suspended by the Municipal Commissioner for misappropriation of water-supply and sewerage bills.

The Municipal Commissioner, Pradeep Aggarwal, told The Tribune that both the employees were found guilty. The matter was brought to the notice of the higher-ups recently. A person had claimed that he had deposited the pending bills of water and sewerage with the MC while the records showed the status of his bills as outstanding.

According to information, the person paid the bills through a middleman, who, in connivance with the MC employees, gave the receipt to the person but didn’t change the payment status in the records.

Aggarwal said 1,000 properties (till April 1, 2006) were identified which had huge outstanding amounts with the corporation. The Commissioner said a few steps were being taken by the MC to keep a check on all outstanding bills and receipts issued by the corporation.

It is learnt that this was a big “scam” in the MC and an independent councillor was also involved in this. The authorities are probing the matter.

Ludhiana, November 15
The city police claimed to have busted a gang of looters with the arrest of six of its members today. The police recovered weapons and narcotics from their possession. The accused have been identified as Deepek Ghai, alias Ganja, resident of Partap Singh Wala; Amandeep Singh, alias Baau, of Malikpur village; Sandeep Singh, alias Billa, of Haibowal; Lakshay Khurana of Durgapuri; Santosh Kumar of New Kundanpuri; and Vinod Singh of Haibowal.

According to the police officials, they were planning a strike when the police nabbed them at a check point in the focal point area.

The police recovered 2 countrymade pistols, five bullets, three sharp weapons and 560gm of narcotics from their possession.

Jaswinder Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime), said Deepak Ghai, alias Ganja, was the kingpin of the gang and he was facing several criminal cases of loot and robbery. His close associate Amandeep Singh, alias Baau, is also a hardened criminal. Both were involved in a petrol station loot in the Haibowal area”.

The arrested gang members are in the age group of 22 to 26 years. According to the police, they had been running the gang for the past several years. They were mostly active the Haibowal area.

Investigation in the case is going on. We will investigate from where they obtained the pistols and narcotic,” added Jaswinder Singh.

Ludhiana, November 15
Child Task Force rescued eight child labourers from different parts of the city today.

Mohit Singla, Assistant Director, Factories, said: “There were three teams constituted for this purpose. Our team rescued five child labourers from Apple Bikes, Jaspal Bangar Road.”

Labour and Conciliation Officer JP Singh said: “I rescued one child labourer from an ahata at a liquor vend at Sahnewal.”

Dinesh Kumar, a representative of the Bachpan Bachao Andolan, a non-government organisation, said: “The third team rescued two child labourers, one from Aggarwal Department Store, Ferozepur Road, and another from Gagan Refreshment, near Durga Mata Mandir.”

The rescued children were sent to Lord Mahavir Civil Hospital for their medical examination. Later, they were presented before the Child Welfare Committee.

Dinesh Kumar said: “Of the eight rescued child labourers, two have been sent to Child Home, Kurali.”

Ludhiana, November 15
It seems the organisers of Jagannath Rath Yatra being taken out here tomorrow have taken the Swachh Bharat message well. The Bhagwan Jagannath Rath Yatra Mahotsav Committee has deployed around 500 volunteers of different non-government organisations for cleaning the route as the yatra proceeds.

Talking to The Tribune, Mahender Goyal, one of the members of the Bhagwan Jagannath Rath Yatra Mahotsav, said: “We have roped in as many as 15 non-government organisations for this purpose. HDFC Bank has also offered services of its volunteers for this social cause.”

Unlike the previous years, the committee has deputed around 500 volunteers who will clear the yatra route of the leftovers. Sunder Dass Dhamija, founder of Govind Godham and one of the members of the committee, said: “There will be more than 200 stalls of eatables and ‘maha aarti’ on a stretch of 4.5 km. There will be two huge bags on both sides of each stall. The volunteers will remove any leftovers thrown by devotees carelessly. As soon as the yatra proceeds for the next destination, the leftovers on the roads and roadsides will also be removed immediately by these volunteers.”

For collecting the garbage bags kept at the stalls, as many as 15 tractor-trailers will be stationed at different places from the Durga temple, near the Jagraon bridge, to the Nav Durga Mata temple, Sarabha Nagar.

Mahender Goyal said: “Earlier, people used to complain that whenever Jagannath Rath Yatra was taken out, the roads on its route remained littered with garbage till the next morning. We took this criticism in a positive way and planned to clean up the roads simultaneously.”

The yatra will start from the Durga Mata temple, near the Jagraon bridge at 12 noon, and pass through Fountain Chowk, Ghumar Mandi, Aarti Chowk, Kaka Marriage Palace, Malhar Lights and PAU Hate Number 2 before culminating at the Nav Durga temple, Sarabha Nagar.

Ludhiana, November 15
The city is all decked up for the massive Jagannath Rath Yatra to be taken out tomorrow. Hundreds of stalls, hoardings and banners have been displayed on major roads, at rotaries, especially the yatra route.

It is not just with this particular event, but during all the religious events, the law-enforcing agencies adopt a “softer” approach.

An official of the Municipal Corporation, when asked if prior permission was taken by the organisers for putting up these banners and hoardings for religious functions, said: “No permission is taken by the MC and the authorities cannot take stern action against these violations as political leaders are involved in all such functions. The pictures of state-level and local-level leaders are displayed on such hoardings. How can you expect us to take action against them?”

During all religious functions, no electricity bill is paid for putting up small decorative lights across the city. “The lights remain on for two or three days but nobody pays the bill. It’s a common practice during every religious function. The traditions have been carried on for the past many years and no one has raised any objection,” said an official with Punjab State Power Corporation.

He said electricity worth thousands is used during religious events organised in the city.

Ludhiana, November 15
Mudslinging has kept members of the Ludhiana Effluent Treatment Society (LETS) preoccupied ahead of the elections.

Four members, who have filed their papers for the post of CEO, are Avtar Singh, Gurmeet Singh Kular, Manmohan Ubhi and Joginder Kumar. Both Avtar Singh and Gurmeet Kular have submitted objections.

Kular alleged that as Avtar Singh was the CEO and director of the board of management, he could not contest the elections as rules stated that CEO, secretaries and directors could be re-elected only after a gap of one or two years.

Avtar Singh said many criminal cases had been registered against Kular so his candidature should be cancelled.

He said, “I was the CEO and director of LETS for two years while the constitution allows two terms (one term is of two years). So, I am eligible for the post of CEO.”

Kular, commenting on the objections filed by his opponent, said: “I have given a copy of the constitution as evidence while submitting my objection and they should also submit evidence of cases registered against me.”

GM, District Industries Centre, Mahesh Khanna, who is also the returning officer, said he had received objections from both the candidates. “I will verify the objections and will take decision on Monday. A list of valid nomination papers will be displayed the same day,” said Khanna.

Ludhiana, November 15
The last date for e-filing of annual statement in Form VAT 20 has been extended till December 10, 2014. A public notice has been issued by the department in this regard.

Rajeev K Sharma, chartered accountant, said: “The date for obtaining tax audit report, which was September 30, was also extended to November 30.”

“To submit VAT 20 by November 20 was difficult for us because the last date for the finalisation of tax audit report is November 30,” said a trader.

Jatinder Khurana, executive member of Indian Taxation Advocates Association, said many traders were complaining that they had not received C forms yet. They wanted the department to extend the date.

Ludhiana, November 15
Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal has written a letter to the MC Commissioner to hold meetings of the Anti-Encroachment Committee on a regular basis.

An RTI activist had filed a complaint with the Deputy Commissioner, Rajat Aggarwal, on October 25 stating that the MC had not been holding meetings for the past one year.

“There are six members on the panel. The civic authorities are mum on the issue,” said the activist.

An official with the building branch said the High Court had directed the authorities to hold the meeting once a month so that the status of encroachments could be reviewed.

“In order to avoid fireworks, the officials had stopped convening the meetings. Now that the DC has written to the Commissioner, the meetings will be held on a regular basis,” said the official.

Spokesperson for Congress councillors Parminder Mehta said encroachments were mushrooming in the city and the MC had failed to follow the orders of the High Court.

Ludhiana, November 15
Senior Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, Dr RK Karkara, has replied to the show-cause notice issued to him by the Health Minister on Tuesday.

During a surprise inspection, Health Minister Surjit K Jayani had found that out of three, only one gynaecologist was on duty. Following which, he had issued a show-cause notice to the SMO. In his reply, the SMO said on the day of inspection, one gynaecologist was in the operation theatre, one was having her day off while the third gynaecologist was absent.

The minister had found that none of the gynaecologists was there in the OPD and an intern was examining patients.

The SMO has instructed doctors not to prescribe medicines which were not available at the hospital. They have been told to prescribe medicines available at the Jan Aushadhi Kendra.

Jagraon, November 15
Even as the arrival of paddy has almost stopped and most of the produce has been procured by government agencies and private rice millers, the local grain market, Asia’s second largest, still awaits lifting of a huge stock of paddy.

It is learnt that lifting process is going on at a snail’s pace at the Jagraon grain market. The situation is no different at grain markets located in the rural areas of Jagraon.

During a visit to the local grain market, which is second only to the market at Khanna in terms of size, it was found that hundreds of tonnes of procured paddy crop had been laying in the open. The situation is worst at grain markets located in rural areas.

Sources said the paddy stock could not be cleared from the grain markets because of slow pace of lifting process. “The procurement is almost done but the pace of lifting the procured paddy has not picked up till now. This is due to inadequate means of transportation and labour. Owing to the slow lifting, massive stocks of paddy are lying in the local grain market,” the sources added. However, the situation is expected to improve in the coming days.

Jagraon Market Committee secretary Jaswinder Singh said it was true that the lifting process has been a bit slow this time. “However, it is picking up now. Whole of the paddy stock lying at the grain markets would be cleared in the next few days,” he assured.

Khanna, November 15
Punjab Revenue, Information and Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia today claimed that all is well between the SAD and the BJP.

“The SAD-BJP coalition had come up on a solid foundation laid down by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal. We are duty bound to carry forward those ties and our social cohesion is rock solid,” he said while speaking to mediapersons here today.

The minister said the so-called strained ties between the SAD and the BJP was all media creation and both the parties would be contesting the upcoming civic body polls in Punjab together and would win too. “Only the media as well as the Congress are worried about our ties the most,” quipped Majithia, who was here to attend the 4th Annual Sports Meet of Delhi Public School.

The SAD leader said it was strange that the Congress, which could not keep its five top leaders together, was commenting on the so-called rift between the SAD and the BJP. Majithia said Congress state chief Partap Singh Bajwa should concentrate on resolving feuds in his own party rather than commenting on others.

Commenting on the newly constituted Youth Akali Dal, Majithia said it has been done to strengthen the party at grassroots level. “Three zonal presidents have been appointed for Malwa and one each for Doaba and Majha regions. Each zonal president would head a zone comprising 21-25 Vidhan Sabha constituencies and all these presidents would report to former YAD president and Irrigation Minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon,” he said.

While addressing students, he urged them to keep social evils, such as drugs, dowry and female foeticide, at bay. The minister exhorted them to participate in sports events too. Majithia also gave away prizes to the winners of different sports events.

Prominent among those present were former MLA Ranjit Singh Talwandi, DC Rajat Agarwal and DIG Ludhiana range GS Dhillon.

Ludhiana, November 15
Gurdeep Kaur, the president of Istri Wing of “1984 Sikh Katle-Aam Peerat Welfare Society”, and the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) have given a representation to the Secretary, United Nations Organization (UNO), seeking justice for the 1984 riot victims.

Disclosing this during a press conference here on Friday, Gurdeep Kaur and Karnail Singh Peermohammad, the SFJ convenor (India), and president of All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF), said, “Even after 30 years of the massacre, none of the culprits have been punished. In this regard, the SFJ filed a petition in Geneva in 2013. On November 7 this year, a delegation of Sikh leaders met UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and gave him a memorandum to set up a commission for conducting an inquiry in the “1984 riots”, so that the Indian government could be pressed to award punishment to the guilty.”

The delegation included Gurdeep Kaur from India and Sikh leaders Gurpatwant Singh Pannu and Jasbir Singh from USA, and Jatinder Singh Grewal and Tejinder Kaur Atwal from Canada.

Urging the Punjab Government to recognise the 1984 anti-Sikh violence as “genocide”, Karnail Singh Peermohammad said it was unfortunate that the issue of justice for the riot victims has been politicised by all political parties to garner votes.

Ludhiana, November 15
To find solutions to the problems faced by adolescents, a national conference “ADOLESCON- 2014” began at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital today.

The conference is organised by the department of paediatrics in collaboration with the Adolescent Health Academy and Indian Academy of Paediatrics, Punjab. The two-day conference is going to be held on November and 15 and 16.

The first day of the conference began with a poster walk in which participants dwelt on several issues pertaining to the problems associated with adolescence.

Chairperson of the Adolescence Academy of India Dr JS Tuteja said the problems affected the mental and physical health of adolescents. Dr Tuteja said the problems of adolescents were different from those of children and grown ups and to scientifically solve these, special training should be imparted to paediatricians.

Today’s scientific session began with a lecture on “Potential risks for the untapped potential” by Dr CP Bansal from Indore. Dr Preeti Galagali from Bengaluru spoke on “Neurobiology of adolescent brain and clinical implications” followed by Dr Piyali Bhattacharya’s elaborative lecture on “Adolescent substance abuse”. The issues pertaining to management of obesity in clinical settings was discussed by Dr Sonia Kanitkar. Dr Rajiv Mohta from Nagpur dwelt on “Body image concerns”.

Dr Sangita Yadav spoke on “Eating disorders among adolescents”.

Principal Dr Daljit Singh, professor, paediatrics, delivered a lecture on “Cervical cancer prevention” followed by two consecutive lectures on “The adolescent boy: An unguarded treasure”, “Managing the mighty adolescents and social media” by Dr NC Prajapati and Dr CP Bansal, respectively.

A panel discussion on “Common medical conditions” was held. Dr JC Garg, Dr Naunihal Singh, Dr Anita Sharma, Dr Gurmeet Kaur and Dr Harinder Singh participated in it.

Post-lunch, speakers dwelt on “Behaviour modification through music therapy”, “Emotional intelligence-practical implications”, “Management of depression in adolescence” and “Study skills and exam stress”.

Ludhiana, November 15
Cancer super-specialist and executive chairman of the Cancer Council of India (CCI) Dr Devinder Singh Sandhu delivered a lecture on cancer awareness at the Sandhu Cancer Centre. Class XII students of Government School, PAU, attended the seminar.

He said one should get regular check-ups done. Dr Sandhu said the incidence of cancer, especially that of the lung, breast and uterus, was on the rise in Punjab, adding that 7.6 million people died of cancer every year.

In India, he said 0.3 million cancer-related deaths were reported every year. “The cure rate varies according to stage and type of cancer,” Dr Sandhu explained.

Although the cure rate is 90 per cent in the early stages and paediatric cancers, most of the cancer patients in India come to doctors only in the advanced stages and therefore have poor treatment outcome.

“Early diagnosis and prompt treatment in a specialised setting is essential to achieve better results,” he said. Listing the causes and risk factors for cancer, Dr Sandhu said about 40 per cent of cancers could be prevented by lifestyle modifications.

He said tobacco consumption accounted for 5.4 million deaths per year globally. A high fat diet, sedentary lifestyle, lack of physical activity, obesity, less intake of fruits and vegetables, increasing use of pesticides, water pollution, smoking, alcohol intake, pollution and infections were some of the common risk factors for cancer.

Protective food includes onions, garlic, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, soy, green leafy vegetables, potatoes, berries, citrus fruits, apples, whole grains and nuts, beans, other legumes and

cherries. Dr Sandhu stressed the need for regular yearly mammography after the age of 40 among women to prevent breast cancer, regular Pap smear for cervix cancer, annual stool test for occult blood; in addition to regular physical check. More cases are being detected at an early stage due to increasing awareness and treatment outcome is better.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 15
Doctors have warned heart patients against going out for morning/evening walks.

SMO, Civil Hospital, Dehlon, Dr Jasvir Singh said, “People have been correlating protective and preventing measures with monthly and weekly calendar and usually wait for Mondays and onset of months for wearing woollens..” Dr Singh said the elderly and heart patients should not venture out in the cold. Dr Jyoti Hind, a pathologist at Government Hospital, Malerkotla, said elderly persons should go in for pre-winter heart check-up to avoid the risk of heart attack if they are suffering from high blood pressure or any heart ailment. “In extreme low temperature, arteries shrink, blood gets thicker and blood pressure increases. The problem gets aggravated if one is already suffering from a heart disease,’’ warned Dr Jyoti. Dr Rajinder Pal Singla said for heart patients, afternoon walk proved more useful as sunlight was a good source of vitamin D.

He said people who were diabetic, heart patients or those suffering from hypertension should refrain from going out in extreme cold.

Ludhiana, November 15
For the lovers of exotic food, ‘Singaporean Food Festival’ has brought flavours from South-East Asian countries.

“As Singapore has no cuisine and culture of its own, there is an amalgamation of different cuisines there,” said executive chef Tarun Kumar at Hyatt Regency, where the food festival is being organised. So dishes from Indonesia, Malay, India, Cambodia, Vietnam and China are part of the event.

“We didn’t want to restrict ourselves to one cuisine, but rather offer a number of different cuisines of Asia, and Singapore is a great place to experience different cultures and cuisines of Asia,” he said.

Many spices and ingredients in these cuisines are similar, but there are subtle differences. Like Indian cuisine, Malayan cuisine also tends to be on the spicier side, being more pungent and spicier. Indonesian and Vietnamese cuisines are milder and palatable while there are more flavours to be savoured in Indonesian cuisines. “Use of eggs is much more in Thai cuisine,” he said. From the Chinese dishes, they are using dishes from Cantonese and Shezwan region of the country.

Ludhaina, November 15
On the second day of the Bal Swachhta Mission, schoolchildren carried out cleanliness drives in and around educational institutions. Although the DGSE office has rolled out a schedule for the cleanliness activities, specifying the theme and major activity to be conducted, most of the schools are not following the schedule and carrying out cleanliness drives.

A government schoolteacher said there was a list of activities to be conducted throughout the week, but they were not following any schedule as such. “The idea is to educate the students about cleanliness, so we don’t necessarily have to follow any schedule for that,” she added.

Navjot Kaur from PAU Model Senior Secondary School said the students cleaned playgrounds today. They were told about personal hygiene.

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Khanna, November 15
The Khanna police claimed to have arrested six youths and recovered two pistols and ammunition from their possession.

The accused have been identified as Krishan Kumar and Raman Kumar, both residents of Khanna, Amardeep Singh of Ratanheri, Arvinder Singh of Ikolaha, Hardip Singh of Khattran and Ranvir Singh of Khanna.

It is learnt that a team from the Khanna Sadar police, led by Station Houser Officer (SHO) Jagdev Singh, were patrolling near Libra village when they learnt that some youths were planning to loot someone at the cattle fair. The cops, along with Chowki in-charge Kot and Issru, rushed to the spot near the Markfed godown and nabbed the youths.

The police recovered two pistols of .32 bore, three magazines, five cartridges of .32 bore, two cartridges of .315 bore and three swords from their possession. The police also recovered two motorcycles and a Vespa scooter from them.

Sadar SHO Jagdev Singh said they have registered a case under Sections 399 and 402 of the IPC in this reagrd and begun investigations. He added that the arrested youths were produced before a court in Khanna, which sent them to police remand for two days.

Ludhiana, November 15
The police today booked a person for selling duplicate products at MBD Mall.

The authorised dealer of Burberry and the police raided the mall this morning. They found that the owner was selling duplicate accessories such as purses and belts.

Kulwant Singh, station house officer, Sarabha Nagar police station, said on the complaint of Rakesh Kumar, they had registered a case against Rajat Verma, the owner of the store in MBD Mall. Checks are being conducted at all stores to check duplication.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 15
The Sadar police have arrested three drug peddlers in two separate cases and recovered a haul of illicit liquor and pharmaceutical preparation being used as narcotics. A motorcycle used in the crime has also been seized.

The accused have been identified as Didar Singh of Kanganwal, Shamsher Singh Sheri of Binjokee Kalan and Jagseer Singh Leela of Gurbaxpura Gandhewal under the Sherpur police station.

Amargarh DSP Gurmit Singh said a police team, led by Sadar SHO Harvinder Pal Singh, nabbed three persons while they were going to supply illicit liquor and drugs to addicts in the area.

While Didar Singh was booked under the Excise Act for carrying a plastic can containing illicit liquor, Shamsher Khan Sheri of Binjokee Kalan and Jagseer Singh Leela of Gurbaxpura Gandhewal were booked under the NDPS Act after a huge quantity of cetadol tablets and bottles of rexcof, a cough syrup, were recovered from their possession. — OC

Jagraon, November 15
Three unidentified motorcycle-borne youths looted around Rs 11,000 in cash from a liquor vend at Morkareema village near Chaunkiman on Friday evening.

The robbers beat up the worker of the liquor vend and decamped with the cash lying in the collection box. The worker received injuries on his arms, legs and other parts of the body.

In his statement to the police, the worker, Bablu, said three youths came to the vend on a motorcycle on Friday evening. “They asked for a bottle of beer. While I was taking out a bottle from refrigerator, they started beating me. After injuring me, they looted the cash in the collection box and fled towards Mullanpur,” he alleged.

Bablu said soon after, he informed the vend contractor about the incident who further informed the police.

It is learnt that Jaswinder Singh, who belongs to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and holds the post of the Circle Jathedar of Sudhar Block in the party, is the contractor of the vend.