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From darkness to light HOPE REKINDLED: Reading books is a joyful experience for these underprivileged children.
— Photo by Pawan Sharma |
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Phagwara residents adopt a novel way of protest MC launches partnership
programme
Artiste with penchant for bolis
Pirated CD ‘business’ booms in Phagwara
School with a
difference
Market Buzz
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From darkness to light Be a lamp unto them who walk in darkness, a joy to the sorrowful, an upholder and defender of the victim of oppression.
Many city-based philanthropists have been doing exactly this while reaching out to deprived children residing in slums and remote villages. Ms Kavita Singh, who started Free Co-educational Mission School nearly six years ago near Burlton Park here, has set up a rare example for others to follow. With a noble aim of providing free education to urchins and children of rag pickers, she began by teaching just seven such children. Now this school has over 270 students studying in Classes I to IX. The school also imparts computer training to students of higher classes and organises stitching classes for girl students. “My basic purpose is not only to help the underprivileged children read and write, but also to make them understand their fundamental rights, their moral duties and also to help them fight against odds. I also aim at making them better citizens, while helping them learn vocational skills,” explains Ms Kavita. She has not just been imparting free education, she has also been providing the children with free stationery and uniforms, of course with the help of donations coming to the school from various quarters. “The school runs entirely on donations received from people and social organisations, businessmen and even residents of nearby colonies. It was only four years back that Mr Prakash Singh Badal, former Chief Minister, Punjab, came and donated a sum of Rs 20,000,” she said. But it was not a smooth sailing for her to start with. There were some problems on financial front initially, but she carried on uninterruptedly. Even convincing the children to join the school proved to be a stupendous task. Most parents were not interested in sending their wards to schools, as the latter lent them a helping hand in supplementing the family income. The first few lessons were based on making the children understand the importance of hygiene, as most of these children were accustomed to living in shabby conditions. “They had not been taking bath for several days together. We taught them to be clean and disciplined,” she recalled. She is now joined by her daughter, who helps her take up various academic tasks in the school. Ms Kavita’s school is not a lone example of charity schools in the city. As members of the Rotary Club, many city folks have been contributing their bit by helping as many as 1350 child labourers get educated in 50 schools running in various slums and suburbs. Most such schools have been functioning in government primary school buildings after the regular schools are over. These schools run in Basti Danish Mandan, Basti Sheikh, Wadala village and Nakodar Road. Though the scheme that helps in running such schools is being funded by the Government of India, the Rotarians have been helping by monitoring, conducting various counselling sessions and educational programmes and providing the children with free uniforms, books and stationery and teaching aids. Mr Mohan Singh Sachdeva, member of the club, said he felt that most such children were “sharp” as they picked up concepts quickly. He said that as many as three batches of the students had passed out in less than five years since the school had started. “Many children are able to grasp syllabi pertaining to two classes in a year. After they appear for Class V examination conducted by the SCERT, we ensure that they get admission to government high schools for further studies,” he added. Many girls and boys with a bare qualification of Plus Two have been working as volunteers in state government run Elementary Guarantee Scheme (EGS) schools. These youngsters working for a paltry sum of Rs 1000 per month have been doing a yeoman’s service not just by teaching the students but also by preparing the latter to face the hardships in life. Some of them have even been working without a shelter, as can be seen in different villages of Sultanpur, Kapurthala. Mr Rooth and Ms Manjit Kaur, both volunteers, have been working as instructors in an EGS centre at Basti Peer Dad, Kapurthala Road. “It has been very difficult for us to convince the parents to send their wards to schools. It was only when we told them that their children would be imparted free education, given free books and stationery and even a mid-day meal that they agreed to send them to school,” says a volunteer. The school at Basti Peer Dad that started with nearly 10 students almost one and half years back now has as many as 65 students studying in Classes I to V. The school is being run in a single-room house donated by a resident. While little children sit inside the room that has a ceiling fan, those who are older sit under the shade of a tree in the open verandah. Ten-year-old Saloni Shergill, studying in Class IV in this EGS centre, helps her mother in stitching footballs For this, she gets home a kit from a factory. She is excited as she tells us that she would be appearing for board examination next year. She said she had stopped going to a private school, as her parents were finding it difficult to bear the expenses. Almost all children studying in this school work after school hours. Most children studying in other EGS schools also work. Children staying at Chak Jinde Colony help their parents in making decorative hangings for trucks. In an EGS school set up at Transport Nagar, most children work as truck cleaners. These and other charity schools have given a new ray of hope to these children whose future was otherwise bleak.
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Phagwara
residents adopt a novel way of protest “Parbhat pheri” (dawn-time perambulation) of protest! It may sound surprising, but city residents, in the past few days, have been organising unique parbhat pheris to protest against the continued supply of contaminated water, insanitary conditions and lack of drainage of rain water that seeps into houses whenever there is a downpour. The Nagar Sudhar Sangharsh Committee, Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Tibbi, Phagwara, (municipal wards 9 and 26) organised these parbhat pheris. The parbhat pheri participants, including a large number of women, raised slogans against administration, particularly Nagar Council, Phagwara, to the beats of “dhol”. The drumbeats were meant to wake up the authorities from slumber, said Mr Jaswinder Singh Kanugo and Mr Gurmukh Singh Chana, leaders of the committee. The protest parbhat pheris continued for three days in the last week of July. “The residents of Chhajanwali Gali, Labour Colony, Mittal Memorial Marg, Ratanpura, Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Krishanpura, part of Industrial Area, are living in sub-human conditions. Puddles of black-coloured water greet you at almost all places. Stink, squalor, slush are common. At some places, one has to move through ankle-deep slushy water. Residents of the area suffer from diarrhoea, sores, vomiting, gastroenteritis, fever,” said Mr Chana. Even the entry point of the ESI Hospital was blocked by slush and stinking water. A police chowki is located at some distance from the hospital. There, too, rain had created puddles of stagnant water. A one-and-a-half-year-old girl Deevanshi from Ratanpura Mohalla has already died of suspected gastroenteritis. About fifty persons, including women, from Ratanpura Mohalla are reported to be suffering from various water-borne diseases. Other localities like Onkar Nagar, Kirpa Nagar, Shaheed Bhagar Singh Nagar, Bhagatpura, Shivpuri have the same sad story to tell. Together, these one dozen localities account for twenty five to thirty thousand people. No small number, indeed, in a city with about one lakh population. The Sangarsh Committee alleged that the authorities had backed out of the agreement reached about five months ago in wake of its five-day relay hunger strike. Signed on February 28 by the committee leaders and local ruling party MLA, Joginder Singh Mann, the agreement had envisioned a lasting solution to the sewerage problem of ward no 9 and 26 by separating sewerage crossing from under the railway track near the JCT Mill flyover and laying bigger pipes as the present small-sized pipes were unable to cope with the pressure. It was claimed then that an estimate of Rs 9.60 lakh was prepared for separating the sewerage crossing. “Actually, now we have learnt that the council itself had created our problem by linking the sewerage of a factory with our area,” alleged Mr Kanugo. The council authorities, however, deny this. The administration swung into action only after Kapurthala DC Sameer Kumar paid a visit to the affected areas following reports of outbreak of diseases in these localities. He directed Phagwara SDM Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, Nagar Council EO Jagir Singh Thind and other officials concerned to do the needful urgently. Mr Malkiat Singh Ragbotra, Nagar Council president, claimed that filthy water in streets had been cleared. Street drains had been de-silted, choking and water logging removed with the help of rubber hosepipes and engine pumps, he added. “About two dozen municipal employees worked for many days in order to clean the areas,” he claimed. SMO Civil Hospital, Dr Yash Mitra, claimed that five thousand tablets of chlorine had been distributed in the affected areas so far as precautionary measure. However, the Sangharsh Committee leaders rued that the temporary remedy of clearing slushy water had turned out to be the case of “out of the fire into the frying pan”. The dirty water had been pumped into an open plot, they alleged. It was potentially dangerous for the surrounding ten houses, which could cave in if the water level rose up and its stagnation continued for long. Meanwhile, Phagwara SDM Dhaliwal held a meeting with the committee representatives and the council authorities to resolve the matter.
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MC launches partnership
programme The cash-strapped Municipal Corporation Jalandhar (MCJ), in its bid to give the city a facelift, has launched several infrastructure development and public utilities projects worth about Rs 50 crore under public-private partnership programme — the first of its kind in the state. The infrastructure development projects being carried out in different parts of the city are based on Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis, wherein successful bidders would fund the entire cost of the projects and in return they would be allotted advertisement and user charges collection rights for a period ranging from 5 to 10 years. The Mayor of the MCJ, Mr Surinder Mahey, maintained that the work on underground parking lots with double basements at Nehru Gardens and Narinder Cinema had recently been started. These projects would ease the traffic congestion and facilitate proper parking of vehicles. “The cost of this project will be Rs 5 crore, even as the MCJ will not spend a single penny from its kitty. The cost will be borne by private contractors, who will be entitled to collect user charges from the general public for a period of 10 years,” he said, adding that the parking lots would be ready within a period of nine months. Similarly, to solve long-pending problems of the traffic bottlenecks at railway crossings near DAV College and Maqsoodan, the MCJ authorities have decided to construct two railway overbridges. “A private company has agreed to fund the cost of the project to the tune of Rs 18 crore, even as the former will be allowed to sell advertisement rights in different parts of the city for a period of 10 years to recover the cost,” Mr Mahey maintained, adding that the long vehicular traffic queues at these railway crossings would soon be a thing of the past as the work would be completed within a period of 11 months. The Mayor further said that a sum of Rs 20.71 crore would be generated during a period ranging from five to seven years through allotment of advertisement rights to private contractors, who would be responsible for construction and maintenance of green belts, street lights, bus shelters and urinals. “As many as 50 bus shelters and 24 urinals are being constructed at a cost of Rs 7.71 crore in different parts of the city. Besides, two foot overbridges near bus stand and BMC Chowk are being constructed on the same pattern,” he said, adding that the work on Rs 6.5 crore Dr B.R Ambedkar administrative complex-cum-parking-plaza would be completed within one year.
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Sale mania in city This monsoon, Jalandharites have started getting what they have been looking forward to — sales. With the majority of the city’s big and small shopping malls offering attractive “sale” options, the city residents are in for a great time while shopping. As one saunters past the city’s markets, one is greeted by “sale” banners. Grand shopping malls, showrooms, shops, company outlets are all set to lure their customers with tempting schemes and discounts that sound irresistible. All major showrooms that sell branded stuff are also offering sale. Many showrooms are giving up to 25 per cent discounts on readymade garments. But this, they say, is just the beginning. Mr Prince from one of the outlets, says, “Towards the end of September, we offer discounts up to even 60 per cent, but by then the best of our stuff is already sold.” Shopkeepers are vying with one another to lure the maximum number of customers and are offering attractive schemes like “buy two, get one free”, besides reducing rates. But they are not complaining, as they still manage to earn profits. “We see at least three times increase in our customers during ‘sale’ offers,” says Mr Pradeep Khosla, who has a shop at Model Town. And the people are equally delighted. They swarm to such shops in large numbers and are elated to buy their favourite accessories at discounted rates. Says Isha, a student, “I eagerly wait for ‘sale season’ to begin, as during this season one gets desired accessories at the minimal cost.” “The sale season has a certain charm associated with it. It perks up your shopping skills,” says Ms Ruchika, a city resident. She adds that shopping has a cathartic experience associated with it. “Even when you don’t intend to buy anything, you end up buying many things when malls offer discounts,” says Ms Gurvinder, a college student. She adds that women particularly are “sale buffs”. Interestingly, the “sale season” often results in people giving in to impulse buying. “When so many things are laid out attractively and they have the tag ‘sale’ attached to them, you cannot help buying them,” feels Mamta, a homemaker. But all this may not go well with some residents, who allege that some big showroom owners tie up with some local manufacturers during sale season, and mix local stuff to “fool their customers”. “Last year, I bought three cotton shirts from a leading store here that was selling products at half the original price. It was later that I realised that the stuff was substandard and that I could not wear after one wash what I had bought,” pointed out Mr Sanjeev Bhatia, an employee. Another city resident says that he had bought shoes that were on “sale”. However, it took just a few days for his shoes to be worn out. Revealing the “modus operandi” of many departmental stores, a local dealer said, “Some shopkeepers simply befool their customers by attaching fake discount tags with the products. They first put higher prices on the tag, then cross them out and print discounted rates below. Since most people are unaware of this practice, they get tempted to buy the goods on sale.” — A Correspondent
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Artiste
with penchant for bolis
His inclination to learn more about tradition and Punjabi folk culture has forced him to visit the remotest villages in Punjab.
He has been traveling all across Majha, Doaba and Malwa, talking to old rural folks and has come up with a unique collection of as many as 800 Punjabi bolis. A choreographer by profession and approved artiste with Jalandhar Doordarshan, Kapurthala-based Bikramjit Singh Bicky has assiduously compiled these bolis in his diary and is planning to come up with a book when he is able to cull out 1000 bolis. The artiste is currently busy categorising these bolis under different sections. Since the dialects of the three regions of Punjab are entirely different, the bolis, too, are different, he explained. He gave an example that people of Malwa use the word “Majh” for buffalo, but those in Doaba use the word “Meh” for it. Bikramjit is also segregating his bolis on the basis of various customs and ceremonies followed in Punjab. “There are some bolis associated with the marriage of a girl and there are others that have to be sung by the There are specific ceremonies during which some bolis can be sung, such as at the time when sisters tie ‘kalghi’ on the boy’s turban, at the time when he is about to leave in barat and also when the ‘doli’ reaches the boy’s home.” The artiste tells us that he has collected numerous bolis that can be sung at the birth of a son. He is not only concentrating on collecting these bolis, he is even trying to conceptualise these bolis so that he can encourage youngsters to come up with these rare bolis during various cultural shows and contests. Bikramjit has taken many initiatives in organising various cultural shows. He has been the founder member of the Punjabi Sabhyacharak Pirh, Kapurthala that has been conducting national-level folklore festival for the last 10 years. He is also patron of the Lok Rang Sabhyacharak Sath, Moga, which organises village festivals. He is also an executive member of the Lok Natya Manch Punjab that has been organising drama festivals. Besides, he has choreographed a number of shows for DD annually, especially for occasions such as Baisakhi and He has also been organising Punjaban Mutiyar Contest and Hamdard Mela at Kapurthala. But for this artiste, having performed a major role in 11 episodes of the only live play ever organised by Doordarshan — “Chhad de baildariyan” — has The bottom line is that this artiste has devoted his life to Punjabi culture.
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Pirated CD ‘business’ booms
in Phagwara Pirated CD “business” is “doing well” in Phagwara, thanks to those who manage to circumvent law with impunity.
“The piracy sector in India has mushroomed over the last few years, causing serious losses to both music and film industry,” says an insider, adding that the concept of taking licenses for renting out DVDs and VCDs is still considered unimportant. According to police, video parlours without licences are committing two offences — one, they are renting out pirated films, and second, they are doing this without taking licence from the company — both of which are blatant violations of the Copyright Act. An original DVD would cost Rs 40 and a VCD Rs 20 for one-time rental, while a pirated DVD and VCD cost Rs 20 and Rs 10, respectively, along with a few hundred rupees to be deposited as security. “We do manage to get pirated CDs from our other shop without naming it,” says owner of a VCD store at Gaushala Road. As per the police record, Phagwara police, till date, has recovered 700 duplicate CDs and DVDs. “Most of the video parlours renting pirated CDs and VCDs are located on the outskirts of the city,” says a police official. Interestingly, NRIs prefer to buy the “original” CDs and
VCDs. Says Achharjeet Malhotra, owner of the Malhotra Music Centre, “We have customers from abroad who believe in buying original CDs and
VCDs, and don’t care for the price tag.”
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Vajra
Corps Fest concludes Hot, humid days may not be the best of times to tap your creativity. But for children and youngsters at Jalandhar Cantt, the Summer Festival organised by the Vajra Corps was a nice opportunity to showcase their talent. The five-day festival concluded on July 23. Various events, including dances,
modelling, fashion shows and songs, were organised during the festival. Interestingly, the programmes during the fest were compered by youngsters themselves. Chandni,
Manmeet, Eveleen, Varun, Ajay and Akaash anchored the show with aplomb. Undoubtedly, organising the event was not a child’s play. It required well-coordinated efforts of various members of the Vajra Corps. Those associated with the planning of the programme included Lt Gen Mandhata Singh, Corps Commander, Vajra Corps, Maj Gen
B.J. Gupta, Chief of Staff, HQ 11 Corps, Brig C.S. Sandhu, Brigadier, Administration, Col
R.K. Patyal, Lt Col U.K. Vaish and Col Manoj Kumar, Commanding Officer, Rocket Regiment. The 52 Engineer Regiment provided orchestra during all days of the festival. “The aim of the event was to encourage the children to shed their inhibitions and work upon their talent,” said Lt Col Vaish.
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School with a
difference Army Public School, Beas, located on the National Highway No 1, about eight kilometre from Beas towards Jalandhar, has adopted 101 children from families affected by militancy in Kashmir valley. All expenses on the boarding, lodging and education of these students are borne by the school. The brainchild of late General B.C. Joshi, the then Chief of Army Staff, the school is sprawled over 40 acres of land in tranquil ambience. “The true essence of the school lies not in its infrastructure, but in its overall purpose of imparting quality education, which includes the art of shaping individual personality through physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development,” says Principal, Mr S.K. Bhardwaj, adding, “The school, therefore, devotes itself in grooming students in such a way that they excel in life.” The school has aesthetically appealing layout with modern and latest educational technology to help the students attain their optimum academic potential and imbibe moral, social and ethical values with an ideal mix of tradition and modernity. The school has spacious and airy classrooms furnished with comfortable furniture and magnetic enamel chalkboards. In addition to fully-equipped science laboratories, a well-stocked library, arts and craft, maths and geography labs, the school houses two computer labs — one each for junior classes and senior classes, along with a language lab. To provide opportunities to the students to excel in sports and co-curricular activities, the school has a multi-purpose auditorium, a gymnasium, a basketball court, a swimming pool and a stadium. “It’s a school where we want to make a difference. We try to inculcate values in children, while maintaining academic excellence. For admission to Class V up to Class XII, tests are held in February and April followed by an interview. For admission to Class XI, the cut off percentage is 50 per cent,” says principal.
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From Schools and Colleges Saffron Public School, Phagwara, celebrated the Founder’s Day on Thursday. A fancy dress function was organised on the occasion. Students from various classes acted out the part of various historical characters. Some major issues like child labour, terrorism, evil of dowry, society’s attitude towards disabled people, were also taken up. Ms Inderjeet Kaur, founder and director of the school, graced the occasion. Food Fun:
Eklavya School celebrated “food fun week” that concluded on Wednesday. In this programme, students from Classes pre-nursery to VI participated. The students were taught basic etiquettes like table manners, hygiene, good eating habits as well as the importance of eating healthy food. Interestingly, plays were enacted during the assembly to throw light on the importance of health and hygiene. To encourage cooking, students were asked to bring raw materials from their homes, and food items were prepared by them in their classrooms. The students prepared lemonade, flavoured milk, sprouts, fruit chat, vegetable sandwiches and papri chat. Competition: Among middle section students, Palak from Class VI and Riya from Class VII were declared the winners. Gurneet and Priya from Class X were declared the best among contestants from senior secondary classes. Ms Sunita Mehta, Headmistress, talked about nutritional value of fresh fruits and vegetables. Mr V.K. Mehta, Principal, gave merit certificates to the winners and congratulated them. Induction Course: Mr G. Balasubramanian, Director (academics), stressed upon effective curriculum, creativity in education and significance of various skills. National seminar: Toppers: Jaspreet Mahal, Ravneet Kaur and Simran Preet Kaur of DAV College, Jalandhar, have bagged first, second and third positions, respectively, in BFST first year examination conducted by Guru Nanak Dev University. New building:
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Market Buzz Chairman and managing
director of the Oriental Bank of Commerce, Mr
K.N. Prithviraj, and executive director, Mr M.D. Mallya, were in the city last Thursday to sign an MoU with the Small Industries Development Bank of India
(SIDBI) for promoting small to medium size enterprises (SMEs). A customers’ meet was also held in this connection to make them aware of the bank’s policies on SME financing. Mr Mallya said that under the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Small Industries
(CGTSI), the bank was providing credit for 32 activities, including setting up of PCO/ISD booths, advertising agencies, audio repair services, cable TV network, typing centres, beauty parlours, crèches, tailoring, X-ray clinics and servicing of agricultural farm equipments. During the meet, 154 customers from Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur were sanctioned SSI advances of Rs 30 crore. Elected: Mr Chugh is also a management committee member of the Finance Industry Development Council of India and secretary of Punjab and Haryana Finance Companies’ Association.
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