Mandi Ahmedgarh, September 29
Though a large number of NGOs and government-sponsored agencies are operating in the area, none of them have come forward to create awareness about heart problems and preventive measures on the occasion of World Heart Day that falls tomorrow.

There are an estimated 45 million patients of coronary artery diseases in India. By 2020, heart diseases will account for one-third of all deaths.

Ludhiana Tribune has found out that none of the government agencies or NGOs of the area had initiated action to observe World Heart Day.

Ceremonies are restricted to managements of some multi-speciality hospitals. Emphasising on the need for awareness about the causes and risks of cardiovascular diseases, Dr G.S. Wander, a cardiologist, said the government should have taken up the responsibility to create awareness among people. “Though we have been regularly organising seminars and workshops on World Heart Day, the information does not percolate to the target groups. However, the attempt has been to prepare the medical fraternity for coping with the problem,” he said.

Dr Sunit Hind and Dr Rajiv Sood said the increase in the incidence of heart diseases was due to rising urbanisation, increased life expectancy, poor diet, lack of physical activity and a number of health, economic, social, behavioural and demographic reasons.

A balanced diet with controlled consumption of refined oil and desi ghee, besides physical activity in routine, can go a long way to keep the heart healthy.

Officials in the state health department at various levels, however, showed ignorance about the day that was first observed in 1999. While the WHO had given a call to "team up to save heart", none of the government hospitals or dispensaries of the area have received directions to spread the message among the masses.

Khamano, September 29
Five persons of Barwali Khurd village, including a woman living in Canada, have been booked by the police on the charge of making a passport on the name of a dead person and sending sponsorship on the name of the deceased.

According to information, Avtar Singh, Labh Singh, former sarpanch of Barwali Khurd, and Baldev Singh have been arrested.

The NRI woman, Charanjeet Kaur, and her husband Mehar Singh are in Canada.

Tarlochan Singh of the village had filed a complaint in this regard with higher officials and the SSP of Fatehgarh Sahib had marked the inquiry to the DSP, Khamano.

According to the FIR, a passport was issued in the name of Surjit Singh but he died. His brother Avtar Singh used his documents and the then sarpanch and nambardar verified those. — OC

Ludhiana, September 29
Two days after the deputy commissioner-cum-district magistrate, Sumer Singh Gurjar, had imposed a ban on dumping garbage in Budha nullah, the directive is being flouted with impunity.

Residents living along the nullah are continuing to throw waste in the nullah as no ban violator has been booked so far.

Ragpickers can be seen rummaging through the heaps of garbage along the banks of the nullah. Solid waste generated by households and small industries can also be seen. Many residents were seen throwing waste in the nullah in the Haibowal, Kundanpuri, Guru Nanak Pura and Shiv Puri areas.

“We have no idea about the orders. Nobody has come to inform us,” Raj Kumari, a resident, said. 

Ludhiana, September 29
Condemning the arrest of former additional advocate general, Harpreet Sandhu, in the city centre scam, the District Bar Association has decided to strike work on
October 1.

Sandhu was arrested by the vigilance bureau yesterday.

The association president, Hemant Kalia, said it was the “high-handedness” of the vigilance bureau that it had
“falsely implicated” a lawyer, just because of his proximity with the former Chief Ministerof Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh.

Former District Bar Association president, Naval Kishore Chhibber, also condemned the arrest. To express their solidarity with Sandhu, a number of lawyers were present outside the court when he was produced by the vigilance bureau to seek his police remand.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (legal cell) termed the action of the vigilance as a result of political vendetta. 

Ludhiana, September 29
The police has booked students of Medium Scale Micro Enterprises College (MSME) for blocking road and rail traffic.

Police sources said the students were angry at the alleged police inaction, but traffic jams caused inconvenience to people.

Police sources said four students had been identified and booked under Section 283, 186 and 148, IPC, for blocking traffic and interfering with the duty of a government servant. About 40-50 unidenti-fied students had also been booked.

No arrest had been made in this connection so far.

The agitating students were angry at the death of a fellow student in a road accident near the college.

They alleged that PCR cops who had arrived at the site did not shift the student to a hospital in time.

The students also alleged that the police had allowed the truck driver to escape.

Ludhiana, September 29
Minister for water supply, sanitation and information and public relations and environment Bikram Singh Majithia said today that the state government had chalked out a comprehensive plan for providing potable water in all villages of the state. He said to boost the ongoing schemes, a new World Bank-sponsored project, "Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Project" costing Rs 1,280.30 crore had been launched.

Majithia was addressing a function after laying the foundation stone of a new water supply project worth Rs 58.15 lakh at Agwar Lopon Khurd (near Gurdwara Nanaksar), 45 kms from here today.

The minister said under this project Rs 1008.80 core would be spent on infrastructure, Rs 119.50 crore on community development and Rs 152 crore on project management.

He said of the total funds, the World Bank was contributing Rs 479.40 crore,the state government Rs 235.40 crore and the Government of India Rs 207.20 core and the remaining would be shared by the community.

He said Rs 827.80 crore worth 21 water supply projects by NABARD were already under progress. In it funds worth Rs 461.21 crore had been incurred till May 31 and 2296 habitations had been provided with a potable drinking water supply. In addition, village ponds in 1000 villages were be renovated and laying of underground drainage and sewerage system in 100 villages was being taken up to improve the environment, he added.

The minister said under the NABARD programme, 113 schemes worth Rs 30.16 crore at 171 villages were in progress in Ludhiana district alone. He said the government had also accorded sanction to a new project worth Rs 3.63 crore to execute water supply schemes at 19 villages situated along Budha Nallah in Ludhiana district and to cover the remaining 116 villages, two more projects had also been submitted for approval.

Ludhiana has seen an unprecedented growth in the number of autos in the past few years.

However, no one knows if these three-wheelers are actually registered with the transport authority or not. There are apprehensions that these are the same autos that were condemned in Delhi after the introduction of CNG.

Moreover, these three-wheelers neither follow any pollution norms nor traffic rules.

These three-wheelers can obviously not be wished away from Ludhiana as they provide a convenient and cheap mode of transport to those who cannot afford vehicles of their own or are dependent on public transport for other reasons.

But the administration should fix responsibility and see to the fact that rules and regulations are being adhered to by the auto operators. This will not only make life easier but also, a lot safer.

Ludhiana, September 29
India and Canada have been working successfully to improve their bilateral dialogue on key global issues and enhance cooperation in the areas of mutual priority, including trade. With a middle income class of more than 250 million people, India represents a huge opportunity for Canadian business, said Helen Economo Amundsen, consul general of Canada, while addressing a talk on ‘Canada and India - A Partnership in Innovation’, organised by the Ludhiana Management Association (LMA) here last evening.

She said Canada’s export to India increased by 54 per cent over 2005-06 to attain $1.7 billion and Canadian imports from India increased by 7.4 per cent in comparison to 2005-06 to reach $1.9 billion.

“On the investment front, there has been a rapid increase in FDI in Canada because of the establishment of software development centres by Indian software companies such as TCS, Wipro and Infosys. Active investments have been taking place in industries like pharmaceuticals, metals, petrochemicals etc. Canada has a presence in India in sectors like power and energy, equipment and services, oil and gas, financial sector etc.”

Dr Kang, general secretary, LMA said, “Canada and India have long-standing bilateral ties, built upon shared values of democracy, pluralism and strong people-to-people links. At $3.6 billion in 2006, our bilateral trade has reached record levels.”

“People-to-people links are increasing as Canada and India foster greater links through academic and cultural exchange. This activity and interchange is taking place in tandem with a rapidly growing Indo-Canadian community, now estimated to be nearing one million. Canada has nine new Visa Application Centres across India.,” said Anil Kumar, president, LMA.