Jalandhar, January 7
A month has passed since the TRAI passed fresh order on regulation of charging and billing procedure of cable services, yet no effort has been made so far to enforce it for the convenience of the cable subscribers.

Cable subscribers have got the receipts for the months of December and January sans any details of the total number of paid and free-to-air channels that had been made mandatory by the TRAI in its notification on Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Second) Tariff (Eighth Amendment) Order, 2007, released on October 4. The order was to become effective from December 1 last year.

Deputy commissioner Ajeet Singh Pannu said he was unaware about which agency was entitled to implement the order. “I have not received any complaint on the matter. Now that it has been brought to my notice, I will get it checked,” he added.

Senior citizens who are members of the Vasant Vihar Welfare Society say they have already submitted a representation to the district administration in this regard. “We are not even given any receipts for the payments we make, what to talk of the detailed bills,” they allege.

While the news regarding a notification of the order had brought cheers among the subscribers who were often harassed, the lack of enforcement of the same has left them high and dry. Pritam Singh, a resident of Defence Colony, said, “I hoped I would be charged lesser amount but this time again, employees of the cable operator charged me Rs 300 without giving me any detailed bill about tariff for various channels that are transmitted.”

A resident of Chahar Bagh on Milap Road and a counsel, K. C. Malhotra, said he was being charged Rs 250 without being given a break-up. G. K. Aggarwal, a resident of Mohalla Gobindgarh, said he had been asked to pay Rs 250 without being given reasons for the same.”

Cable operators, however, are adamant. Anil Dutta, a cable operator from Defence Colony, said it was extremely difficult for the operators or commission agents to follow the new system until everyone right to the broadcaster and channel companies reduced their charges. “How can we give lower packages if the broadcasters continue to levy the same charges?” he said.

As per the new regulations, every cable operator of multi-system operator or broadcaster will have to give to every subscriber the bill for the charges due.

According to the new regulations, every cable operator must give a list of pay channels and free-to-air channels being provided to the subscriber along with the bill after December 1. Subsequently, written information about any changes in the pay channels or free-to-air channels being provided to the subscriber shall also be given along with the next bill given after such change, the new TRAI regulations state.

Even the charges to be levied from the subscribers had been fixed. An operator transmitting up to 20 pay channels and a minimum of 30 free-to-air channels has to take an amount of not more than Rs 160 from A-1 and A class cities, Rs 140 from B-1 and B-2 class cities and Rs 130 from other areas. For those relaying 20 to 30 pay channels and minimum 30 free-to-air channels, the charges cannot be more than Rs 200 in A class cities, Rs 170 in B class cities and Rs 160 in other areas.

Similarly, if operators transmit 30 to 45 pay channels and minimum 30 free-to-air channels, the charges cannot exceed Rs 235 in A class cities, Rs 200 in B class cities and Rs 180 in other areas. Operators relaying more than 45 pay channels and minimum 30 free-to-air channels, have been allowed to take an amount not more than Rs 260 from A class cities, Rs 220 from B class cities and Rs 200 from other areas. If an operator transmits only 30 free-to-air channels without any pay channels, the amount to be levied should be Rs 77 only, the order adds.

It has been made mandatory for all cable television networks to transmit or re-transmit minimum 30 free-to-air channels. The notification also mentions that the maximum amount of charges payable by a subscriber for his second and subsequent television connections at his same premises should be mutually agreed upon between such subscribers and cable operators. 

Nawanshahr, January 7
The district police on Monday claimed to have busted an inter-district gang of car lifters by arresting its kingpin Chander Shekhar, alias Lally, resident of Sanawa village, and his accomplices Kuldeep Kumar, alias Bobby, alias Poppy, of Sajawalpur village and Amarpal, alias Rinku, of Rurki Khurd village.

While addressing mediapersons here, SSP B Chandra Sekhar said five stolen Maruti cars have been recovered from the accused, who confessed to have lifted cars from Kapurthala and Ropar.

With the arrest of Lally, the case of looting of Rs 1.56 lakh from an employee of the agriculture cooperative society of Dopalpur village was also solved, the SSP said.

Dalbir Singh, an employee of the agriculture society, in his complaint, registered with the police on December 26, had stated that he was robbed of Rs 1.56 lakh along with his motorcycle and mobile phone at gun point by some unidentified miscreants when he was going to deposit the amount in a bank.

During investigation, police officials found that Dalbir Singh himself had enacted the drama of being looted in connivance with Lally and Sukhdev Raj, alias Billa, of Kangna Bet village. The 
police arrested Dalbir Singh along with the two accomplices in the case. The police also seized a .315-bore country made pistol, two live cartridges, a motorcycle, a mobile phone and Rs 50,000 from the accused, added the SSP.  

Hoshiarpur, January 7
The acute staff shortage in district’s government schools is hitting the students hard. With the majority of the current academic session over, the overburdened teachers and students - who are already lagging behind in studies as compared to their counterparts in private and convent schools - have started feeling the heat.

The academicians feel the crunch would further affect the annual results, which have been not very encouraging for the students in the past.

According to the sources, out of the 99 government senior secondary schools in the district, 82 are without regular principals. Similarly, in the 136 government high schools, 62 posts of headmasters are lying vacant. Besides, 132 posts of Punjabi teachers, 39 of DPEs, 166 of social studies, 50 of mathematics, 50 of science and 23 posts of vocational teachers are lying vacant in the district. Even 20 posts of block primary education officers (BPEO) are yet to be fulfilles. Their duties are being performed by the central head teachers.

The situation in elementary schools is no better. As many as 14 posts of central head teachers, 135 posts of head teachers and 640 posts of JBT trained teachers are lying vacant here.

Expressing his concern, social activist Amarjit Singh Amar, who is also a former education department officer said, “Instead of proposing new model schools and Adarsh institutions for each assembly segment, the SAD-BJP government should make efforts to improve the standards of education in the government schools. The first step in this direction should be immediately clearing the backlog of posts so that it does not have an adverse effect on the future of the students.” The need is to give rural students more opportunities so that they can compete with their urban counterparts, he added.

Meanwhile, the Congress leaders have accused the SAD-BJP government of cheating people. “They promised to recruit teachers soon after coming into power. However, it has been more than 10 months, but nothing has been done so far,” alleged Congress committee general secretary Rajnish Tandon, while talking to The Tribune. 

Nawanshahr, January 7
Canadian MP Jim Karygiannis has expressed gladness over the progress made by Punjab and Punjabis over the years. He was addressing mediapersons at the residence of local SAD MLA Jatinder Singh Kariha. “I am visiting Punjab after about eight years and am pleased to witness a lot of infrastructural development here,” he said while attributing it to the efforts of Punjabis living here and abroad.

“The Punjabi diaspora in Canada has not only been making its presence felt in all sectors - be it social, economical, industrial and political - in Canada, but it has also been contributing a lot to the progress of its motherland,” said Jim while talking about some of his Punjabi colleagues in the Canadian parliament.

There were congenial political and trade ties between Canada and Punjab and he hoped that the ties would develop further for the betterment of the people.

Jim also expressed concern over the recent developments in Pakistan and hoped that the democracy would be restored in Pakistan. They are going to meet the Chief Minister in Chandigarh today where a dialogue between the CM and Jim would be held to strengthen the ties between Canada and Punjab. It would help in building better cooperation between Canada and Punjab to boost trade and industry, said Kariha.

Earlier, Kariha and Jim exchanged traditional Punjabi “lohi” and “Canadian flag” to honour each other. 

Hoshiarpur, January 7
The district consumers forum, headed by P.D. Goel, has ordered ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited, Ludhiana, to pay Rs 2, 90,024 as damages to a complainant for deficiency in services. 

The firm has been told also to pay Amanpreet Kaur of Miani village the amount with an interest at 9 per cent per annum from the date of filing the complaint till realisation along with litigation expenses worth Rs 1,000 within a month.

In her complaint, Amanpreet had stated that the company had illegally repudiated her car accident claim. In reply, the ICICI authorities said the claim was rightly repudiated as the driver of the vehicle was under the influence of liquor at the time of the accident.

The forum held that the insurance company could not produce the medical report of the driver, the police report on record and affidavit of Santokh Singh whose statement was recorded in the FIR alleging that the driver appeared to be drunk at the time of accident.

So repudiation of the claim by the insurance company amounted to deficiency in services and ordered it to pay the damages to the complainant. 

Mohali, January 7
Age has settled well among the wrinkles on Mehma Singh’s face, but not his heart. For more than three decades this 83-year-old former employee of the Punjab School Education Board had shouldered the burden of having been wronged.

A superintendent in the board in the 1970s, Mehma Singh was charged with having issued fake certificates to students. Following an inquiry, he was declared innocent. But he remained restive. He never came to know how his name came to be embroiled in the controversy and who the real culprits were. A horde of requests to see the case files were rejected.

It is only now, almost 35 years later that Mehma Singh had come to know the truth. Using the Right to Information Act, he had got every bit of paper that was hiding the truth.

The real culprits had forged his signatures and named him as the accused. But a handwriting expert reported the truth and the culprits were chargesheeted and suspended. No action was taken against them and Mehma Singh retired from the board in 1983 with a heavy heart.

“The case dates back to 1977 when I was working as a superintendent in the accounts branch of the board. Duplicate certificates were issued to students who were going abroad as it was the requirement of the embassies by the certificate branch,” he said.

“During a routine verification by the Canadian High Commission it was found that some of these duplicate certificates were fake,” recalls Mehma Singh, alleging that the then superintendent (certificates) and his assistant were issuing fake certificates. During one such verification of a forged certificate the superintendent (certificates) wrote to the Canadian High Commission forging Mehma Singh’s signatures stating that the certificate issued to a student was authentic.

An inquiry was marked and a handwriting expert proved that Mehma Singh’s signatures were forged. “Another inquiry by then vice-chairman of board R.G. Bajpai declared Mehma Singh innocent and held the two other employees guilty. The two were chargesheeted and another detailed inquiry was held, which also implicated the two. The two were suspended. — TNS