Ludhiana, November 26
The ongoing drive of the municipal corporation against temporary encroachments on the roadsides has evoked protests from the Rehri Farhi Union, Punjab. The union has threatened to take to streets if they were not allowed to stay put.

Not bowing under such pressure tactics, the authorities have clarified that the drive would continue but they were trying to find a solution to help the vendors, who were dependent on these small-time shops to keep their kitchen fires burning.

The activists of the union staged a protest against the MC today and claimed that the city mayor was rendering scores of people unemployed by removing them from the roadsides and confiscating their rehris and similar material.

Raising slogans against the mayor, Bal Krishan, alias Pappi, said the poor man was made to suffer as the kiosks were taken away by the tehbazaari department. He said if the drive was not stopped, they would be forced to intensify their agitation.

‘‘We will take to the streets if the confiscated rehris are not returned to us,’’ said Pappi, demanding that all roads in the city should have a yellow line for them and a specific place should be earmarked from where they could run their business. ‘‘Otherwise our children would die of starvation. How can they let this happen?’’ he asked.

While the protests have started, the MC is not perturbed. ‘‘The drive of removing encroachments will continue. We have promised to the residents of the city to provide smooth traffic flow and that is possible only if congestion on the roads is cleared,’’ said senior deputy mayor, Parveen Bansal.

He added that they were holding deliberations and would not allow these people also to suffer. The MC was finding a solution to their problem by adopting a feasible method. This is not for the first time that a similar drive had been launched.

The pressure tactics being adopted by the unionists are also not new for the authorities. But in the past, political patronage had played a spoilsport. But with the mayor himself at the helm of affairs this time, hope has not diminished.

Such vendors occupy both the sides of all roads in the city. This leads to congestion and traffic chaos. Not only the vendors, but shopkeepers also encroach upon the roads in front of their shops to exhibit items.

Several of them even sublet these spaces to vendors for selling knick knacks. They charge anything between Rs 50 to 100 depending on the area on daily basis from these people. 

Ludhiana, November 26
The transport department has decided to auction the fancy numbers in Ludhiana. About 800 special numbers will be auctioned at Circuit House on November 28. The auction was withheld for about six months.

According to the district transport officer, Ludhiana, auction for the special numbers for the series PB-10 CB, CC and CD would be held. The numbers include those in the single digits, the two digits and several others like 1111, 1234 and so on.

However, there are some reservations among the people about the procedure adopted by the department. Every applicant will have to deposit separate advance for each number in case he or she wants to bid for more than one number. But the transport authorities maintained that it was the standard procedure of auctioning as there had to be separate bids for separate numbers, hence separate advance deposits.

Moreover, the department is also not sure as what do with the numbers which will not be auctioned. Separate reserve prices have been kept for separate numbers. For example for "1" number in each of the three series, the reserve amount is Rs 50,000. The other most sought after number is "786".

There had been suggestions that the department should auction only single digit numbers and allot other fancy numbers after getting some premium on those. That process was less complicated. The transport authorities maintained that the purpose of introducing the auction system was only to ensure that the discretion was minimised, besides helping the government to get some revenue.

Otherwise, there would be dozens of recommendations for a single number from different quarters, making it difficult for the official to make the choice. Open auction would minimise any such scope and people would not feel aggrieved.

Ludhiana, November 26
Malkiat Singh, foster son of a double murder convict awaiting death for killing his wife and daughter, whom he had raped also earlier, has won a small battle with his relatives, including his sister, allowing him to file a plea against the death penalty after days of intense emotion-filled family drama.

With the control of a house worth several lakhs, owned by the convict, being the reason of the struggle among the relatives, the Haibowal police effectively got a compromise between the warring relatives, all of whom were pitched against Malkiat alone.

Malkiat had complained to the Haibowal police that his sister Shallu and other relatives occupied the house. They wanted the ownership to be changed from the name of the convict, Mohinder. However, Malkiat was against this as he wanted to file a plea against the conviction.

SHO Gurpreet Singh as per the compromise, Malkiat was free to do anything for his father.

His father, Mohinder Singh, had earned the wrath of all relatives and area residents for murdering his second wife, Veenu, and his eldest daughter last year.

But his son Malkiat Singh shocked everyone by announcing he would file an appeal against the conviction, announced by a local court last week.

Mohinder had earned the hatred more as he had committed the murders when he was on a parole . The younger foster daughter Shallu minced no words in calling his father a beast after he was sentenced to be hanged till his death.

Mohinder Singh had four children of two marriages. Shallu and Malkiat were children of his second wife Veenu. He had a daughter from his first wife, who had died several years ago. He had raped his real daughter as per the case file.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 26
Acting beyond his age, Sahil Sharma, a lad of Sihar village, persuaded his parents and grandparents to be a 'green family' and strive to make a world record of planting and nurturing maximum saplings every week.

Impressed by his arguments, the Sihar family has decided to plant 100 saplings of neem every Sunday.

"Do you know what global warming is?" Jatinder Sharma Laddi of Sihar village was taken by surprise when his son suddenly asked him this question.

Sahil not only discussed various aspects of environmental management, but also emphasised the need of planting more trees.

"We cannot check growth of pollution- emitting vehicles, factories and energy- consuming equipment as they have become necessities. Planting more trees is the only alternative left with us," argued Sahil.

Raghu Nandan Sharma, market committee chairman, Malaudh, Sahil's grandfather, said the family would plant 100 neem saplings in vacant plots every week. "We do not know whether we can achieve a world record as desired by Sahil, but we will try to fulfil his desire to become a green family," said Sharma. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 26
The Dehlon police has arrested another accused of a murder case in which six persons were booked for allegedly murdering a woman of Sayan village, about a month ago. One of the accused was taken into custody on the following day of the incident.

Dalbara Singh, who along with five other persons was booked under Section 302, IPC, for allegedly murdering Ajaib Kaur of Sayan village on October 24, was arrested by the Dehlon police when he was trying to board a bus at the Sayana village bus stop today.

According to SSP Ludhiana (Rural) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, the accused was arrested on the basis of information provided by an informer.

Dilbag Singh, another accused, had been taken into custody from a hospital where he had been admitted for treatment of injuries inflicted during the brawl.

Earlier, the Dehlon police had booked at least six persons for allegedly murdering Ajaib Kaur and injuring Jarnail Singh with gun shots fired by two .12 bore guns at Sayan village near here. A dispute over hiring of panchayat land was reported to be reason behind the rivalry. Both warring groups owe alliance to the SAD. While the weapons and motorcycle used in the incident were recovered on the same day, the accused had succeeded in evading arrest.

The accused were booked under various sections of the IPC and the Arms Act.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Gurcharan Singh and Jarnail Singh had hired panchayat land for mining earth.

Dilbagh Singh and Atma Singh, who had earlier hired the land for the same purpose, got disappointed over their failure to regain the possession of the land and decided to teach the bidder a lesson.

The accused, at least six in number, attacked Gurcharan Singh and Jarnail Singh at about 9 pm on the fateful day and opened fire on them with two .12 bore rifles.

Ajaib Kaur, who had tried to intervene, received shots on her head and the neck. She died on the spot. Jarnail Singh had received shots in the chest. 

Ludhiana, November 26
VLCC observed anti-obesity day at its Sarabha Nagar centre here today with the launch of "wellness meter check." The facility was formally launched by civil surgeon Dr S.P. Sharma.

Dr Sharma expressed concern over the alarming rise of obesity in children and post-menopausal women. "The lifestyle of present-day children has changed. They spend more hours on the computer and watching TV while traditional outdoor games like kho-kho, football and hockey have taken a back seat. As far as women are concerned, they are not conscious of their diet and physical activity which is a major cause for increase in obesity."

The civil surgeon emphasised that with slight modification of lifestyle and eating habits, obesity could be very well controlled and the affected persons could have a better quality of life.

The vice-president of the company, Monica Bahl, said every third person in India was obese, out of which 50 per cent were males and 62 women. She said a majority of Punjabis were overweight because of their rich diet and sedentary lifestyle.

Showing concern over the increasing ratio of obese people, she said this could lead to multiple problems like back pains, high cholesterol and hypertension. "If the trend of bulging paunches among people is not checked, India will be among the top three countries with a high incidence of obesity.

According to centre manager Ashwinder, there are 12 crore people in India who are obese. As many as 50 per cent of women above the age of 35 years have deformed figures and they hide their weight.

“The stress of modern life, sedentary jobs, unhealthy eating habits and lack of adequate exercise are some of the factors that have led to the worldwide increase in obesity. Most people are unaware that obesity can lead to lifestyle diseases like diabetes, cancer, stroke, back and joint pain, osteoporosis, fatty liver, depression, difficulty in sleeping and infertility."

Ludhiana, November 25
As winter has settled in, the parents are taking special care of their kids from cold waves. But on the other hand, the children of primary schools, zila parishad, anganwadi and schools which are running under mid-day meal schemes are going to school without wearing thermals.

While some cannot afford to buy a new sweater, others are waiting for the arrival of the VIP’s or some social organisation to visit and distribute sweaters in their village.

The district education authorities of primary and secondary government schools of the city have not issued strict guidelines for the students to wear sweater during winter. The children do not bother to wear thermals and thus suffer from cold and other winter related diseases.

It is quite ironical that Ludhiana, which is famous for its hosiery manufacturing unit, could not provide sweaters to the children of these schools.

Most of the children studying in these schools are from poor families. Their parents cannot even manage a meal for their children.

However, the non-government organisations are quite active to help the children in the city. It is the condition of the children studying in the villages schools which is a matter of concern.

“We are three brothers and two sisters. My father is a labourer and my mother is a home maker. My father is the only bread earner in the family therefore it is difficult for him to look after our daily requirements. Even I don’t want to bother him by making unnecessary demands”, said Gurjant Singh, a student of Government School, Jarkhar.

Student of government primary schools near Nelon and Dhande said, “Our parents are small farmers and they cannot afford to provide us a new set of sweater every year as sizes differs every next year. Moreover, we have to wear sweater according to the school dress.”

“We do care for our wards but we belong to poor middle class. We cannot ask anyone for help but every year buying a new set of sweater is quite difficult for us”, said Darshan Singh, a resident of a village near Nelon.

While talking to The Tribune, district education officer (primary) Varinder Sharma said, “ The department has not made any guideline to schools regarding the winter clothes as it is up to the students to wear thermals or not.”

Ludhiana, November 26
Deepak Kumar and Ramandeep Kaur (MBA-II) of the department of business administration at the Ludhiana College of Engineering and Technology (LCET) were selected by ICICI Securities at a recruitment drive conducted at GNIMT campus, Model Town, here today.

Out of 200 students, who appeared in the written test conducted by ICICI, thirteen students from LCET were shortlisted for the final interview rounds.

LCET chairman Vijay Gupta congratulated the budding managers for their achievements.

LCET director Dr J.S. Sohal and principal Dr Pawan Kumar also praised the efforts of the training and the placement cell to provide best job opportunities to the students. They also encouraged the cell to continue with such activities and assured all their support.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 26
Even after more than 18 months of the indictment of examination supervising staff of MGMN Senior Secondary School in the infamous student’s suicide case, the DC, Sangrur, has yet to act on the recommendations of then SDM, Malerkotla, who had proposed action against the superintendent, the deputy superintendent and the invigilator on duty at the centre on the day of the incident.

It is suspected that the staff concerned has managed to get the inquiry report ‘misplaced’ in the DC’s office to evade action.

In her inquiry report submitted to the DC, Sangrur, in the first week of April last year, the then SDM Malerkotla (now ADC, Sangrur), Dr Indu, had held that the “supervising staff violated the rules and created such an environment in the examination hall that caused a fear psychosis among the candidates.”

The inquiry report said while pin-drop silence was required in the examination hall, mobile phones of certain staff members were ringing constantly and an altercation over the issue of joining duty by a couple had caused a lot of disturbance there.

The students could not concentrate as they were repeatedly frisked by the staff on duty, said the report.

The SDM had added, “Teachers are more than parents. But they created so much fuss over a trivial issue that students could not perform well and one of the students committed suicide as he failed to do well in the examination.”

On receiving a complaint about the death of the student, Dr Indu had during the exam days recommended the transfer of the staff at the centre as she had found that disharmony among the staff members had driven Sarabjit Singh, a youth from Ghungrana village, to commit suicide.

Kewal Singh, father of the deceased, had also told the police that Sarabjit Singh had hanged himself to death after returning from the school in the evening as he had not fared well in the chemistry paper.

After investigations, Dr Indu had observed that an altercation between deputy superintendent Baltej Singh, his wife Inderjit Kaur, and superintendent Manjit Singh had caused inconvenience to the students.

Baltej Singh and Inderjit Kaur had, however, denied the charges. They maintained that they were being framed as they had been working to curb the menace of copying.

Though Dr Indu had recommended a departmental inquiry against the erring staff, no action was initiated by the education department.

Ludhiana, November 26
The District Bar Association today condemned the incident of serial bomb blasts in the court complexes in UP, which had taken several lives. Lawyers observed a strike in court, protesting against the rising terrorist incidents.

Terming the incident to be a barbaric activity of terrorists, the president of the association, Hemant Kalia, secretary, Ravi Garewal, and joint secretary, Rajan Chand said the law and order situation was deteriorating day by day. The UP state administration should take the incident seriously so that these do not take place again.

Former Bar Association presidents, K R Sikri, Jagmohan Singh Warraich, Naval Kishore Chhiber, besides several other lawyers also condemned the incident.

District Congress Legal Cell Chairman, Dharmjit Singh Khera, and convenor, Ashok Bhakri, expressed deep concern over the incident. Former chairman of state legal cell, Parsotam Dass Sharma, said it was quite strange that the terrorists had chosen the court complexes as their targets. He urged the local administration to make proper security arrangements in the district court complex to ensure that such type of incident may not happen here.

However, due to the strike in court complex several litigants faced tough time, as their cases were adjourned without any fruitful hearing. 

Mandi Ahmedgarh, November 26
Terming skin to be the strongest barrier to check entry of pathogens of various dreaded deceases, Dr Monika Bharti, a skin specialist, called upon office-bearers of various educational and social organisations to educate people about consequences of degradation of the natural barrier by hasty use of synthetic products. Majority of skin ailments were generated due to imperfect lifestyle, she warned.

Addressing a gathering at GHG Khalsa College, Sudhar, Dr Bharti said certain skin ailments were lifestyle affects. She said applying lotions and creams, without guidance of physicians, could make skin susceptible to biotic and physical factors. Environmental pollution caused by spray of pesticides and burning of straw complicates the problem, she warned.

As many as 200 students of the college were examined for skin ailments and given free treatment during an awareness camp organised at the college campus today.

Principal of the college Swaranjit Singh Deol and Gurdev Singh stressed on the need of personal hygiene for maintaining healthy skin. Devinder Chhabra delievered vote of thanks.

Ludhiana, November 26
For them, fear is fun. Despite all odds, sturdy lads at Jarkhar and surrounding villages are just re-scripting the “Chak De India” spirit by keeping alive the passion for hockey in the region.

While cricket seems to be the first choice of youngsters in the country, over 40 teenagers of the village play hockey everyday on rough grounds, barefooted.

Brushing shoulders with players from the well-equipped Jarkhar Hockey Academy, these village youths seem to be riding on the odds trying to make it a point of how motivation to excel can leave fear of injuries behind.

Even the chilling winter could not shake their confidence, as for them, walking barefooted in fields tilling the land or caring for the plants is just a routine matter.

They play in the field regardless of the fact that the hard synthetic ball could hit badly on the ankles and the shins. For them, more important thing is playing the game whether they have shoes or not.

Ever since the hockey academy opened here, the game has become such a rage that more than 140 players learnt the skills in one ground. Only 40 of those are full time academy players, who get equipment, but others play because for their passion for the game.

Academy is trying its best to provide infrastructure for everyone but shoes is a costly commodity and it has to be saved during practice.

The grit and determination of the youths to succeed has not gone unrewarded. Three of those youths are now members of the Jarkhar Hockey Academy team which has topped the pool of six teams in the ongoing Under- 14 Punjab Hockey league (PHL). The league matches are held on weekends.

One of those, 13- year- old Mandeep Singh, when asked if he does not feel scared of getting injured, replied promptly in raw Punjabi , “Pher sikh li hockey, (If I get scared then I can not learn the game). It requires a strong heart and physique. If I think of injuries, I can never play hockey. The first day, I played our coach cautioned that the road to learn hockey was tough so we have to be tough physically and mentally.”

Playing barefooted comes as a blessing in disguise, “It trains us to save our feet from the ball, which is a foul. In match situation, the ball hits us less on the feet and we don’t have to bear penalty for “carrying” the ball.”

Though, the academy is taking care of the players by providing them rich diet, education and infrastructure like sticks free of cost, all village boys playing the game cannot have the facilities due to financial constraints.

Twelve-year-old Harjinder Singh, another player said, “Shoes is one commodity which we use carefully. We do not have any regrets for playing barefooted as we are in love with the game.” His father is a daily wager.

On the other hand, Jaswinder Singh feels playing barefooted is following the path of legendary players. He said, “We have heard tales about legendary hockey players who made India proud despite having no shoes to play in the initial days of their career. Who knows one of us from this stadium will be playing for India in future”?