In Ward Nos 10 and 11of Bhagatpura locality of Phagwara, smiles come rarely. Ask people questions, and they are likely to rattle off a litany of complaints Mostly they aren’t exaggerating.

The sewerage and street pavements are rarely cleaned. The areas in and around the wards is inundated during rains. Recently rainwater even entered houses in some areas.

Preet Nagar, Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, Rampura and Ramgarhia Engineering College were the worst affected. “There’s almost no arrangement for drainage here,” says Dr Raman of Bhanoki Road.

After showers, roads are brimful with water, sewers are choked with garbage from overflowing bins and consequently, low-lying areas are flooded. At times sullage bubbles out of manhole covers makes way to houses.

Most residents allege that the Congress MLA of the area is an impediment in the development of the wards. “Our wards are represented by the SAD and BSP councillors and this MLA is always at loggerheads with these councillors, alleges a resident. “What hurts is that it’s the people who have to suffer in the end

Dr Raman, too, alleges that the MLA is ignoring the area as the ward councillors belong to the Opposition. “This is against the democratic feelings of the people who voted only for the development of their area.”

Manohar Lal, a resident of Ward No 10 told Jalandhar Plus that only four-inch sewer pipe was laid some 15 years ago for 300 houses. It is woefully inadequate for 3,000 houses, including an engineering college. The sewer pipe often overflows, mixes with drinking water, resulting in outbreak of epidemic in the area.

Residents, who live in the fear of an outbreak of an epidemic, approached the Nagar Council authorities many times along with councillors of these wards Sarabjit Kaur and Ramesh Kaul but there’s been no help forthcoming. Sarabjit Kaur, councillor of Ward No 10, had to feel the heat on Wednesday when her children were hospitalised after they consumed drinking water supplied by NC authorities which got mixed with sewerage water.

Councillors of the wards said they would do something about it and the NC authorities said they had sent teams to clear the blocked sewerage. 

Roads around the residential quarters in Police Lines have not been metalled so far. The recent spell of rain flooded the entire colony. One could see the families of the policemen wading through pools of muddy water to reach their schools or workplaces.

The pathways have developed craters. Either vehicles get stuck or residents have a fall.

The residents find it hard to come out of the campus as neither rickshaw nor auto drivers dare to ferry passengers here. A cop’s wife working with a private firm said that at times, she had to call up a taxi to go to her office.

To add to their woes, the road outside the main gates also develops pools of rainwater even days after a moderate shower. Garbage thrown outside the walls makes the area stink.

The cops’ families said that they had repeatedly written to the senior officials in the lines as well as the SSP, but to no avail. They said that they had requested that at least one or two of the three main roads be carpeted. They added that since the higher officials lived in areas with proper civic amenities outside the lines, they could hardly feel for their state of living.

Mr Ishwar Singh, SSP, could not be contacted as his phone was switched off.

Virsa Vihar, a centre for promotion of Punjabi heritage has got entangled in bureaucratic trouble.

An amount of Rs 1.13 crore has been spent from the MPLADS funds of Kartar Singh Duggal, former MP, to raise a duplex building at Namdev Chowk here two years ago.

The Public Works Department has not handed over the building to the administration for use as the Public Heath Department is yet to complete fittings of toilets. The electricity connections have also not been made functional.

The boundary wall has been broken and the passage is used for crossing over to Guru Nanak Dev District Library. There is an overgrowth of wild vegetation around the building.

Various taxi stand owners have occupied its front portion. Scores of big and small cars and temporary shelters have come up there. The building had been constructed with an aim to train youth in traditional art forms of the state.

During his recent visit to the city, Mr Shiv Singh, President, Punjab Lalit Academy, had presented a memorandum to the local administration demanding its opening so that it could be put to use for cultural activities. 

Amritsar, the holy city of the Sikhs, has also been flocked by Jain monks for generations. The city has been seen Jain missionary activities for more than three centuries. Jains are one of the smallest of world religions.

Jains have a significant population in Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat. A considerable number of Jains are also present in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Innumerable Jain shrines in Punjab speak of Tirthankars (religious preachers), who spread the message of peace, non-violence, love and enlightenment in the region. Many tourists and pilgrims visit Jain temples in Amritsar. There are occasional references to Jain saints in the Guru Granth Sahib and other Sikh texts.

There are a large number of Jains in Punjab, particularly in Ludhiana and Patiala. More than 400 families live in the holy city. Before the Partion, Amritsar was big centre of Jains. Many, however, migrated after 1947. They moved to Haryana, New Delhi and other industrial towns during militancy.

The effects of recreational drugs and smoking on male reproductive health were generally ignored, according to Dr S.S. Chawla, Director, Satjot Human Reproduction and Research Centre (SHRRC), Amritsar.

A study on 126 male infertile patients at the centre found that all 32 patients dependent on alcohol and other drugs suffered from reproductive dysfunction.

Users who have been drug dependent for more than four years had suffered an alarming decrease in the quality and quantity of sperms produced.

Drugs altered the hormonal profile of users, leading to a decline in sperm parameters.

The damage may be temporary or permanent. The impairment was proportional to the dose and time of drugs intake.

Dr Chawla said drug abuse was rampant in Punjab. According to the Punjab Health Department’s report in March more than 40 per cent youth between 15 to 25 years were addicted to drugs. Multiple drug abuse was common.

The focus of ill effects of smoking generally focused on the cardio-vascular system and lungs.

Smoking 20 cigarettes a day increased the risk of infertility by about 40 per cent.

According to a nation-wide average, one fourth to half of the adults above 15 years had fall prey to smoking.

Dr Chawla said smoking damaged the DNA of the sperm.

High intake of tea and coffee may be associated with delay in conception, he added. 

Jyoti Sandhu, 40, with her entrepreneurial and painting skills has turned Sarhali village into a place where pieces of cloth are embroidered and painted.

The village ,located about 45 km away from Amritsar, with a population of over 14,000 has secured a place in the fashion industry of the north.

She receives customers from Delhi and Nagpur while sitting in her boutique-cum-workshop housed in her home which also has a farm house. She has provided employment to 125 village women without displacing them.

She began with a couple of cloth pieces a decade ago. Following her success about 10 more houses have sprung up in the village.

A former student of Fine Arts from APJ College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar, Jyoti has prudently used her education.

On an average these rural women earn about Rs 1000 per month as they tend their households. Some girls have left their jobs as they found working with Jyoti profitable, while remaining at home.

Even women from surrounding villages take work from her. After returning from Assam in 1991 following rise in militancy there, husband Parminder Singh Sandhu left his job in a tea estate to manage 100-acre farm in his ancestral village.

The idea of painting and embroidering cloth dawned when she gifted a couple of painted linens to her relatives and friends and the response was good.

They asked for more and were ready to pay. It was enough to encourage her to start a boutique in the house with a room which now occupies total four rooms. Her husband immediately laughed away the idea of having a boutique in village. “I was proved wrong. Customers come to our place from as far as Chandigarh, Patiala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Faridkot”, he says with glint in his eyes.

She highlights her own painted floral designs by getting needle work done with sippi (shells) and beads giving glossy and vibrant look to her creations.

Another specialty of her boutique lies in knot stitching. As a suit and dupatta or a sari takes a month to prepare.

Her mix and match design is another significant feature.

She mixes floral design, shadow work and knot -stitching to make her work unique. 

The only evening college in the city, Trai-Shatabdi Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, has shown commendable results. The school is run from the 68-year-old Sri Guru Ram Das Khalsa Senior Secondary School building.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) established the college in 1999 to celebrate 300 years of the Khalsa. It is the first degree college started by the SGPC in the city. Starting with 70 students, it has 600 students on rolls now.

The evening College offers postgraduate diplomas in computer application, business management, graduate degrees in information technology, computer application, economics, computer science commerce, besides M.Sc (Computer Science) and M.Com.

Mr Kulwinder Singh, Principal, said the thrust was on professional courses. B.Sc (non-medical) and B.Sc (computer maintenance) would be introduced from the next session.

The college has three labs with 100 computers and the latest multimedia projector. It also has sophisticated electronics, physics and accountancy labs.

Mr Kulwinder Singh was awarded the Vijay Rattan prize by the India International Friendship Society, Delhi last year.

The Principal said competitions in tying of turbans, Sikh dress, debate and quiz were organized regularly. The College has an annual bilingual (Punjabi and English) magazine ‘Adi Jugadi’. 

A new commerce block was inaugurated by the Principal, Mrs Kusum Verma, to celebrate Teacher’s Day at Kamla Nehru College for Women, Phagwara.

A week-long graphic print making woodcut workshop was organised at Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar.

Ninety one students from Bachelor of Design, Bachelor of Fine Arts, MA (Fine Arts) and the PGDCA participated in the event.

The Capital Local Area Bank recorded 62 per cent growth in the current year with a customer base of more than 70,000.

The bank business incresed from Rs 350 crore on March 31 to Rs 418 crore.