Rameshinder Singh Sandhu

Team to counsel Ludhiana farmers against lavish weddings

The big fat Punjabi wedding no longer seems to be a matter of pride for the region as its famous ‘spendthrift’ culture is under the scanner for all the wrong reasons.

Kila Raipur Games: Dance performance by horses and camel leave spectators enthralled

Someone has rightly said, “Dance is a hidden language of the soul.” Interestingly, to prove this right; two 6-year-old horses, Toofan and Leeli Morni, and a 12-year-old camel named Raju, came all the way from Bathinda to give live dance performance on the beats of traditional Punjabi dhol on Sunday — the concluding day of 81st Kila Raipur Games.

Surveillance gadgets gaining popularity in rural areas of Ludhiana

Gone are the days when neighbours trusted each other to keep safe in rural parts of India. Surveillance gadgets are making their foray into rural pockets with a heavy demand for CCTV cameras among villagers. And so, orders and inquiries about these cameras are pouring in from the villages, claim owners of stores that sell these security gadgets. 

Kila Raipur games, a spectacle for foreigners

Come February 17 and all roads will lead to the quaint village of Kila Raipur, the host of Kila Raipur Sports Festival popularly known as ‘Rural Olympics’. Spectacular performances and daredevil stunts make this annual extravaganza the ‘destination to be’ for scores of sports enthusiasts from world over.

Ludhiana man kept Swiss chocolate stamp refrigerated for 30 years

A class apart: Learning Urdu an ‘experience’, both as hobby and new skill

Language is the gateway to a new world, every language that you learn let’s you explore the cultural, social and literary nuances of myriad hues. The Urdu language classes conducted by the department of languages at Punjabi Bhawan of the city is one such place that lets the connoisseurs of this regal language continue with their learning pursuit albeit for different reasons.

United by love, divided by choice: Kin vote for different parties in Punjab election

United by love, divided by choice! A large number of families, especially in urban areas, flocked together to their respective polling booths on Saturday but interestingly, members of several such families voted for different parties.

Will the dead rise to vote on February 4? Ludhiana DETO believes so

If the ‘updated and latest’ list of voters by the election office is to be believed, Ludhiana district has 359 voters aged 100 and above, but the reality is that many of these ‘centenarians’ are dead in reality. In fact, some in the list have been dead for a decade now.

Sartorially savvy: Politicians who defy tradition

To walk through the power corridors of Indian politics, power dressing should not be far behind. It’s not just political ideologies after all. Sartorial choices also matter. A man or woman dressed in traditional garb such as kurta pyjama or sari pops into your head when you think of the quintessential Indian neta. However, times have changed and so has the Indian politician. There are many who defy the ‘dress code’ and have either never worn traditional clothes or rarely wear them.

More women voters this time in Ludhiana, want govt to make safety top priority

Safety tops the wish list of female voters whose presence in the electoral roll has seen a considerable surge of 1, 31, 879 voters from the previous Vidhan Sabha polls. Women from both urban and rural areas of the district want that top priority of the new government to be formed on March 11, should be to ensure safety of women.

Featured in Aamir Khan’s ‘Dangal’, Ludhiana localities become tourist spots

A modest double-storey house, nestled in the narrow lanes of Janta Nagar in Ludhiana has become a ‘tourist spot’ these days and is attracting visitors from far and wide. Reason- the movie ‘Dangal’ was shot here for three days in January this year and 8-10 scenes in the second half of the film are shot in this house.

Beggars encash Christmas spirit, sell merchandise at light points and local markets in Ludhiana

As the spirit of Christmas catches on here, there has been a rise in the number of underprivileged people, especially kids, who are enchasing on the celebrations. They are leaving no stone unturned to sell ‘Santa caps’ and other Christmas merchandise at almost every traffic light and have even made their way to local markets.

22 third gender voters in 14 constituencies; males outnumber females: DETO data

With Vidhan Sabha polls around the corner and voters data being tabulated by District Elections Tehsildar Office (DETO), the emerging statistics highlight some interesting facts regarding the electoral pattern based on gender and age. The latest survey underlines that out of the total 23, 72,931 voters, female voters lag behind their male counterparts by a difference of 1, 72,793 voters, as total male voters in the district are 12, 72,851 while female voters are 11,00,058.

Indomitable spirit: ‘Perpetrators of crime should cover their faces, not me’

In 2005, she had just turned 15 when a 32-year-old man threw acid on her face. Her only ‘fault’ was that she turned down his proposal for marriage for which she had to pay a heavy price! But that did not deter Laxmi’s indomitable spirit. Now 26, she chose to become a fighter and bounced back within a few years of the incident. She actively started campaigning with an NGO ‘Stop Acid Attacks’ and came up with a petition to curb acid sales that led the Supreme Court to order the Centre and state governments to regulate the sale of acid.

Assembly polls: Surge in number of elderly voters in Ludhiana, election report

In the upcoming Vidhan Sabha polls, there will be 4, 068 more senior citizen voters as compared to the figures in the same category during the Lok Sabha elections conducted in 2014. This is according to the recently compiled data for the age groups 60-69, 70-79 and 80 years plus by the District Elections Tehsildar Office (DETO), wherein the total number of voters stands as 3, 65, 486, whereas in 2014 this strength was 3, 61,418.

Harbingers of change: Soon-to-be married youngsters of Ludhiana take initiative to curb ‘weapon culture’ at weddings

Post the recent tragic death of 24-year-old dancer Kulwinder Kaur, who was shot by a drunk man at a wedding palace in Bathinda, youngsters in the region who are about to tie the nuptial knot in the coming days are making special endeavours to curb the horrific culture of flashing guns at weddings. They feel it is nothing more than an ostentatious display of power and wealth and term it as sheer ‘foolishness’.

Punjab polls: Over 12,400 to cast vote for first time in Ludhiana

In the impending Vidhan Sabha polls scheduled for early next year, a minimum of 12,459 youngsters from the district in the age group of 18-19 years will exercise their franchise for the first time to form a new state government. This data has been recently compiled by the officials of district elections tehsildar office, who believe that this figure is likely to go up, as the data on voters will be collected until December end.

Spreading warmth: With NRI aid, Kila Raipur’s youth club to distribute 10,000 blankets for charity

Kila Raipur’s ‘Youth Sports Club’ (YSC) is all set to spread a little warmth in the lives of destitute, by distributing nearly 10, 000 blankets to save them from the winter chill. The club members will realise this act of philanthropy with the help of financial aid from the village non-resident Indians (NRI).

Vehicle stickers in Ludhiana latest publicity gimmick this political season

Ahead of assembly polls, political parties are leaving no stone unturned to give a boost to their popularity among people. And with changing times, the means of advertising have also gone beyond the conventional hoardings and posters, colourful ‘vehicle stickers’ are the latest publicity gimmick this political season. These stickers bearing party name, logo and slogan, can be ubiquitously seen on various means of transport all across the city, asserting the vehicle owner’s political affiliation

A wait worth the watch: ‘Dangal’ fever grips Kila Raipur and Gujjarwal villagers of Ludhiana

There is a palpable excitement among the villagers of Kila Raipur and Gujjarwal with the trailers and songs of Aamir Khan’s ‘Dangal’, an upcoming biopic based on Haryanvi wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, recently hitting the social media, television and cinema screens.

Cash crunch takes toll on ladies’ clubs of Ludhiana

Ladies clubs of the city known for their monthly themed parties, kitties and much more have also not been spared by the demonetisation move. They have been foisted to call off or postpone their get-togethers till end of this year, but on the other hand, a majority of them feel this move has taught them several lessons.

Unkind remarks by Toronto-based RJ angers Punjabi students in Canada

A large number of Punjabi students, studying in different pockets of Canada, have raised their voice on different social networking platforms against a Toronto-based Punjabi radio channel host and a caller who criticised international students from Punjab in a recent radio show.

When elders from a Punjab village went to a movie theatre the first time in their lives!

A goodwill gesture by the village Youth Sports Club

Valmiki yatra brings Ludhiana city to a halt

Ludhiana city came to a standstill on Thursday presenting a chaotic situation with long traffic snarls and persistent honking for several hours, especially between 10:30am to 2:30pm because of Bhagwan Valmiki’s murti darshan yatra that passed through Ferozepur Road en route to Hoshiarpur via Jagraon Bridge.

Cash-strapped banks in Ludhiana suspend currency exchange

While some banks in Ludhiana are still managing to offer currency exchange service but majority of them continued to suspend the service due to shortage of cash.

Post offices open new accounts as banks busy handling cash rush in Ludhiana

While banks are yet to entertain requests for opening of new savings account as they are occupied with post demonetisation currency crunch, post offices have already commenced this service. For 49- year-old Beegan Lal, a migrant labourer from Bihar’s Patna, this Thursday was the first time ever that he opened a savings account at the head post office of the city.

Facing public anger, ATM, bank guards at receiving end in Ludhiana

Post demonetisation, city residents have been consistently complaining about braving the crowd and chaos that they have been facing at ATMs and banks, but no one has spared a thought for the security guards who have been trying their best to handle the public frenzy.

Demonetisation effect: People turn to beggars to exchange currency in Ludhiana

As managing sufficient change has become one of the most arduous task post discontinuation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes, the paucity and desperation to seek change has driven some city residents to even chase beggars.

Ludhiana is all littered as Chhath Puja ends

The four-day Chhath Puja festival that was celebrated with zeal by large number of migrants from Bihar concluded on Monday leaving the Prime Minister’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ in a sorry state.

Addicts face penalty of 5 dozen bananas in this Punjab village

It is a well-known fact that rules ensure discipline but who knew breaking rules could prove ‘fruitful’ as well. In an interesting addtion to the rule book, members of a sports club in Kila Raipur village have come up with a unique regulation that says those found under the influence of alcohol or drugs within the premises of the sports park will have to pay a penalty of five dozen bananas.