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A date with death and devastation
Mullanpur Dakha, April 4
Damaged houses engulfed in thick smoke, simmering wreckage of the fighter plane, charred bodies, wailing relatives, rescue operations and a sea of humanity was witnessed on the college road in the Bank Colony here a few minutes after the MiG-23, an IAF fighter plane, crashed into three houses killing three persons on the spot and leaving four severely injured.

COOL CANDY: Life is like an ice cream, enjoy it before it melts away. A young boy gleefully licks on an ice cream as summer approaches. — Photo Pradeep Tewari

Kidney scam scares off donors
Ludhiana, April 4
The kidney scam that has rocked the state has caused severe hardship for renal transplant patients as no donors are coming forward to help even those genuinely in need of kidney transplant out of fear of action by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) conducting a probe into the scam.

PU Extension Library gets facelift 
Ludhiana, April 4
The only surviving Extension Library, started in 1960 under the UGC and in collaboration with UNESCO, has finally got a facelift. The Extension Library near the District Courts is affiliated to Panjab University(PU) and was started for the benefit of the local colleges. The other two extension libraries in the country, in Madurai and in Jodhpur, have been converted into universities.

SARS fear grips people
Ludhiana, April 4
Though not a single case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), has been reported from the country, yet the fear of the killer pneumonia has gripped people's mind. An alert has been sounded by the authorities to deal with the SARS epidemic.

Major changes in BSc (HSc) syllabus 
Ludhiana, April 4
Abiding by the norms set by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), the Board of Studies in the College of Home Science, Punjab Agricultural University, has finalised some major changes in the syllabus of BSc (Home Science) from the coming academic session at its meeting held here today.

COMMUNITY

Partaking of jail food to avoid imprisonment
Ludhiana, April 4
Not all civilians seen on the premises of any of the three jails in the city are relatives of convicts or undertrials or criminals themselves. A sizeable number of these are anxious people, without any criminal record, but forced by circumstances to visit the jail to ward off the stellar influences or change their destiny written on the lines of the hands warning of a possible imprisonment in future.

Sukhbir is still a VIP
Ludhiana, April 4
What is so special about Mr Sukhbir Badal? He may be like any other Rajya Sabha member or the General Secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal (SAD-B). But when it comes to the treatment accorded to him by the local police and the administration here, he certainly seems to be much more than that. As important as he used to be when his father, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, was the Chief Minister of the state and he, the heir apparent.

In need of new lease of life
Ludhiana, April 4
While shopping at Chaura Bazaar you would have many times passed by Kishan, who insists on polishing your shoes. You will barely realise that this is his only hope to earn some money required for his daughter’s treatment. Kishan migrated to Ludhiana a few years ago to earn a better living. With his earnings of Rs 50-60 per day, he supports his wife Bhaku, 10-year-old daughter Maya and a toddler son.

Rally against VAT Ludhiana, April 4 The local unit of the Shiv Sena (Hindustani) today held a rally to protest against the imposition of VAT in the state. The agitators also burnt an effigy of Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and raised slogans against the government. Activists of the local unit of the Shiv Sena (Hindustani) burn an effigy of Finance Minister Jaswant Singh in protest against VAT at Clock Tower Chowk in Ludhiana on Friday. — IV

A clarification

Tractor company ‘cheats’ farmers
Ludhiana, April 4
A group of representatives of the Kirthi Kisan Union, headed by its president, Mr Jagjit Singh Hathur, and district secretary, Mr Inderjit Singh, met Mr M.S. Chhina, SSP here, and complained against a tempo-tractor company of Jagraon. They alleged that the company had cheated two poor farmers. The company dealt in Sonalika tractors.

AGRICULTURE

Timely sowing of cotton advised
Ludhiana, April 4
The Punjab Agricultural University experts have advised the cotton growers to sow the recommended cotton varieties in April and follow the pest management measures. The timely sowing of cotton will give better yields. The state government has also been asked to ensure the adequate supply of canal water for the same.

EDUCATION

Agro-biotech should get top priority in PAU: expert
Ludhiana, April 4
Punjab Agricultural University must chose agricultural biotechnology as the top priority to increase productivity of animals, crops and fruits and to enhance the range and quality of products from the primary produce. The use of bio-techniques goes much further than the genetically engineered crops which have lately become the primary focus in India as well as abroad.

Centre to promote IT education in colleges
Ludhiana, April 4
Punjab University has created an Information Technology Centre for College Education (ITCCE) to promote IT education in its affiliated colleges. This information was given by Mr Ramesh Kapoor, Honorary Director, ITCCE.

Workshop on science coverage in media
Ludhiana, April 4
A four-day state-level workshop on ‘Enhancing science coverage in electronic media’ organised in the Centre of Communication, Languages and Culture, Punjab Agricultural University concluded here today.

SLA staff to move court
Amloh, April 4
The Education Department has invited cases of non-teaching B.A., B.Ed. clerks and librarians for their promotion as masters but it has ignored the category of senior laboratory assistants (SLA) who were otherwise considered equal to the clerks and librarians, stated Mr Balwinder Singh Dhiman, organising secretary of the Government Schools Laboratory Staff Union, Punjab, in a press release here today.

CULTURE

A living classic of a novelist
Man is generally alone in old age but he feels more lonely on his sick bed. Not that the members of the family desert him, but that he withdraws himself into the innermost recesses of his memories. This is what I observed on meeting Prof Surinder Singh Narula, renowned Punjabi novelist, on March 31, 2003.

HEALTH

Wake up MC, mosquito menace is here
Ludhiana, April 4
The mosquito menace in the city has assumed alarming proportions, giving residents sleepless nights as the municipal corporation has failed to make timely arrangements to maintain the stocks of anti-mosquito medicines and keep its fogging machines and spray teams functional.

Non-functional fountain a health hazard

Ludhiana, April 4 A non-functional fountain at Kitchlu Nagar in the city has not only become an eyesore for residents and other visitors to the colony, but also poses a serious threat to public health and hygiene. Constructed in 2002 under a beautification plan for the colony, the fountain is yet to start functioning as power connection has not been released. A non-functional fountain in the Kitchlu Nagar locality has turned into a garbage dump and breeding ground for mosquitoes. — Photo Pradeep Tewari

SPORTS

DMCH athletics meet held
Ludhiana, April 4
Harpreet Singh Bains of the 1999 batch in the boys section and Gurmeen Kaur of the 2000 batch in the girls section were adjudged the best athletes in the one-day annual athletics meet of the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital held at Punjab Agricultural University here today.

ADMINISTRATION

Prohibitory orders issued
Ludhiana, April 4
The SDM, Ludhiana (East), Ms Bhawna Garg, has issued orders under Section 144 of the Cr PC, prohibiting carrying of firearms within the boundaries of Bhupana village for a period of two months from today.