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Dera head, family foil dacoity
Robbers fire over 40 shots
Ludhiana, December 18
The family of a dera head in Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Colony, near Subash Nagar, repulsed a dacoity bid by six to seven unidentified persons. More than 40 shots were fired at the family members.

(Left) Baba Sohan Dass (green cap) narrates the sequence of events regarding a robbery attempt in his house and (Right) a woman shows bullet marks on the gate in Ludhiana on Saturday. — Photos by Inderjit Verma

Environment month ends, pollution, soot remain
Ludhiana, December 18
Even as the state government tom-toms its achievements during the environment awareness month which finished today, the ground realities remain the same. Other than spending lakhs on inserting huge advertisements in a section of the media about observing the awareness month, residents remained ignorant of any such activity being undertaken by the government and could not find any change in the environment conditions of the second-most polluted city in the North.

Improvement Trust officials convicted
Injunction order disobeyed
Ludhiana, December 18
Nine Ludhiana Improvement Trust officials, including Executive Officer Avtar Singh Azad, have been convicted and ordered to be detained in “civil prison” for a week for disobeying the injuction orders passed by the court.

Bank staff defraud woman
Ludhiana, December 18
A city woman has been allegedly defrauded by some employees of the Bank of India, Miller Gunj branch, who diverted her Rs 5-lakh fixed deposit to some other person’s account and washed their hands of the matter.

Gurdas Mann draws crowds Ludhiana, December 18 All people seemed to be heading for Guru Nanak Stadium today as two exciting events took place. Today was the final day of kabbadi matches of the third International Kabbadi Cup organised by the Malwa Sports Association, Canada. Punjabi singer Gurdas Mann performs at Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana on Saturday. — Tribune photo by  Sayeed Ahmed

COMMUNITY

Shiv Sena to gherao PM’s house
Ludhiana, December 18
The Shiv Sena (Hindustan) will gherao the Prime Minister’s residence on January 10, 2005, to protest against the Centre on the issue of the Shankaracharya’s arrest. The Sena has alleged that the Shankaracharya is implicated under an “international conspiracy”.

Protest against doc's 'negligence'
Ludhiana, December 18
More than 200 workers of the Vigilance branch of the FCI, Ludhiana, staged a demonstration outside Sigma Newlife Heart Institute in protest against the alleged negligence on part of a doctor, which allegedly led to the death of a fellow employee last night.

At the Crossroads
Books as treasure troves
Ludhiana, December 18
A treasure trove is a place where valuables lie hidden. This is what has happened to books in the present times. The books are replete with gems of wisdom and information but the younger generation is unaware of these. The reason is not far to seek. Life is taking big strides and it is not easy for them to keep pace with it. They are running fast for fear of being left behind. As a result, they are feeling breathless and bewildered. They look around and find themselves in wilderness where ignorance and disinformation touch the horizon.

LIC officers flay cut in bonus
Ludhiana, December 18
Protesting against the withdrawal of functional expenses and reduction in the incentive bonus scheme by 60 per cent to 80 per cent, Development Officers of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India today presented a memorandum to Mr Charanjit Singh Atwal, Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha and Mr Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal, Member, Legislative Assembly, Punjab.

Kashmiri food festival at Sutlej Club

Ludhiana, December 18 “Wazwan”, a Kashmiri treat, is being organised at the Sutlej Club for members and guests. It will continue for the next seven days. With a view to providing a variety of food to food-lovers, the Kashmiri food festival has all prominent Kashmiri delicacies. A woman attired in a Kashmiri dress serves kahwa to members of the Sutlej Club in Ludhiana on Saturday. — Tribune photo by Sayeed Ahmed

CRIME

Six hurt in road mishap
Samrala, December 17
Six persons were seriously injured in a collision between a Punjab Roadways bus and a Maruti car near Ladhran village, 3 km from here, yesterday. According to a report, the Punjab Roadways bus of Chandigarh Depot was going from Chandigarh to Ludhiana when it hit the Maruti car while saving another vehicle.

BUSINESS

Punjab VAT disappoints industry
Ludhiana, December 18
The Knitwear Club has expressed concern over the Punjab Value Added Tax (VAT) stating that the draft contains provisions that are quite opposite to what is being implemented in 125 countries across the globe.

Mild winter disappoints hosiery industry
Ludhiana, December 18
Thanks to mild winter this time, the hosiery industry is yet to witness the season’s peak period. Despite a good beginning, stocks are lying piled up and sales have come to a sudden halt as temperatures did not fall much.

‘Low costs attract MNCs to Punjab’
Ludhiana, December 18
High attrition rate, particularly in segments like retail and FMCG, is what is attracting multinationals to this region. “Not only is the cost of hiring low but also the availability of a large pool of talented manpower are key attractions for companies in this segment,” Mr E. Balaji, Executive Director, of Ma Foi Management Consultants, an HR services providing company, has said.

Tewari assures industry of cooperation
Ludhiana, December 18
The secretary, All-India Congress Committee (AICC), Mr Manish Tewari, today assured a group of Ludhiana industrialists on the cooperation of the state and Central governments to tackle the labour problem. He asserted that the government was committed to creating an industry friendly atmosphere in the state with minimum labour problems.

Biz Clips

Sacred Heart team to attend seminar in Guwahati

Ludhiana, December 18 “We are looking forward to going to Guwahati to participate in a national-level competition on December 27 after being among the five winning teams in the senior category at a state-level competition in a seminar organised by the National Science Congress on ‘’How to harness water resources for a better future”, said the five team members of the local Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, BRS Nagar.

From left — Parag Jain, Prabh Kiran Singh, Ms Amrinder Kaur Bedi, Leon Bassi and Sidhant Srivastava of Sacred Heart School with their model. — A Tribune photograph

From Colleges
Workshop on technology and communication
Ludhiana, December 18
A workshop on the importance of modern technology in effective communication and teaching was held at SDP College for Women today. Ms Sudhir Verma, Principal, presided. Senior lecturers were the main speakers. Ms Shashi Bindal, Head, Department of Political Science, delivered a lecture on “Teacher-taught relationship”. Ms Babli Ahuja, Head, Department of English, and Vice-Principal, delivered a lecture on "Personality enhancement through effective communication".

Army school celebrates annual day

Ludhiana, December 18 Vajra Army School, Army Complex at Dholewal, celebrated its annual day with gaiety today. Students of the school put up a colourful show. The programme, by the tiny tots of the school, comprised fancy dress, folk dances, skits and songs. Students of Vajra Army School dressed for a colourful cultural item in Ludhiana. — Photo by Inderjit Verma

COURTS

Lok Adalats settle disputes of over Rs 2 cr
Ludhiana, December 18
As many as 85 cases were settled in the Lok Adalat held here today by the Legal Services Authority under the supervision of Sessions Judge D.R. Arora.

Workshop on adolescence
Doraha, December 18
A workshop on "Adolescent health" was organised at Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School here for students of Classes VIII, IX and X. It was conducted by a team led by Dr Sukhmeet Singh, Scientific Secretary, IAP Adolescent Chapter, Punjab. He is a specialist in adolescent counselling. The other members of the team were Dr Ajeet Singh Chawla, a senior paediatrician and president, IAP Adolescent Chapter, Punjab, and Dr Parveen Sobti, Assistant Professor, Department of Paediatrics, DMC, Ludhiana and Dr Rajinder Sibia of Oswal Hospital, Ludhiana.

SPORTS

Teams from 27 states arrive for national games
Ludhiana, December 18
Though the 50th National School Games will be inaugurated tomorrow at Guru Nanak Stadium by Dr Harnam Dass Johar, teams from 27 states have arrived. Around 6,500 to 7,000 boys and girls under-14, under-17 for hockey and handball boys and girls for kho- kho and softball, under-14, under-17 and under-19 are camping in different government schools here.