Jalandhar, December 24
Projects of the city bus service, which were aimed to enhance the quality of the local transport system in Ludhiana and Jalandhar, have failed to take off, owing to the unavailability of compressed natural gas (CNG).

Recently, the High Court put a ban on the registration and renewal of permits of diesel engine-run vehicles and the government failed to provide outlets of alternative fuel to run these buses.

Cities of Ludhiana and Amritsar were taken under the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and were selected to develop the City Bus Service, in which half the share would be contributed by the Ministry of Urban Development of the Central Government.

Due to the ban on diesel-operated-vehicles, the municipal corporations of these two cities are reluctant to buy new buses.

“The supply of CNG is only up to Sonepat till now. If work on the supply line started even today, it will take nearly two years to supply CNG to buses in Ludhiana and Amritsar. And LPG can’t be used as fuel to run heavy vehicles,” said senior official of the Local Bodies Department.

A project of nearly Rs 33 crore was sanctioned for Amritsar, which would have included a fleet of 150 buses. Forty-five mini buses, 15 battery-operated buses, 60 standard buses up to 900 mm and 30 low floor 400 mm non-AC buses were part of sanctioned project.

Similarly, a project worth Rs 65 crore was sanctioned for Ludhiana, with a fleet of 200 buses, which would have included 40 mini, low floor 400 mm AC and non-AC buses each. As many as 80 standard buses with a floor height of 900 mm was also part of the sanctioned project. As per official statistics, number of average trips per day is 1.44 and 2.7 million in Amritsar and Jalandhar, respectively.

Even municipal corporation, Jalandhar, is not in a position to extend its routes due to unavailability of CNG.

“Some of the proposed route extensions are likely to be cleared by the state government. However, for substantial expansion, we need a fleet of nearly 10-15 more buses. Therefore, we are not in a position to buy any new bus owing to unavailability of CNG,” said an employee of the MCJ.

“Ban on diesel-run vehicles comes at an appropriate time. Rather, it is the job of the government to provide alternative fuel to run three-wheelers and other public transport facilities at the earliest,” said a senior official, on the condition of anonymity.

If materialised, these buses would have covered 33 and 30 routes in the cities of Ludhiana and Amritsar, respectively. Firms named Amritsar City Transport Services Limited and Ludhiana City Bus Service Limited were also formed, which will contribute to a 60 per cent share of the total cost. The rest 40 per cent share has to be contributed by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB).

Jalandhar, December 24
As many as 80 students of BTech passing out in the academic year 2010 from various engineering disciplines bagged placement with Infosys at an annual package of Rs 3.25 lakh. Out of 80 students finally selected, 35 belong to Electronics & Communication Engineering, 22 belong to Information Technology, 20 belong to Computer Science & Engineering and three from Electrical Engineering. The selected students would join the company after the completion of their degrees in June 2010.

Jalandhar, December 24
“Itni mehengai ki bazaar se kuch laata hoon, apne bachchon mein usse bantate sharmata hoon…” the phrase penned by Khallel Dhantyri’s is the epitome of the kind of problems faced by 80 per cent of people in our country. The year 2009, marked with recession and inflation, played havoc with the economies of the poor and middle-class.

“With five mouths to feed and a drunkard husband to look after, my life turned into an unwanted burden. But I can’t shy away from my responsibilities, or else I will be pushing my kids into a life of greater misery,” shares Phullan (40). She hails from Bihar and has been working as a domestic servant here for the past 15 years.

She gets up at 4:30 in the morning, cleans up her house, cooks breakfast and lunch for the entire family and hurriedly leaves to work. She provides her services to six houses, which range from cleaning to cooking. “You have weekly offs, we have none. We have to work 30 days a month and in case we take leave in the face of some urgency, we lose our day’s pay. We are not even allowed to fall sick since long leave would mean being laid off,” she added with a heavy heart.

Inflation has further escalated her pressures. While, she earns about Rs 3,000 a month, her elder son, a salesman, gets Rs 2,500. Their total monthly income stands at Rs 5,500, out of which they have to shell out Rs 1100 on house rent. “We took this house three years back for a monthly rent of Rs 800. In March, the owners suddenly increased it to Rs 1,100,” she said.

“Most of the earnings are spent on food and accommodation. The rest goes for paying the tuition fees of my youngest son Bobby. Then I have to spare some money to pay for my husband’s family back home. Earlier we used to send them about Rs 1,000, now it’s reduced to Rs 500. We aren’t able to save anything,” confided Phullan.

Amidst hallow poll promises of working for the betterment of the aam admi, the current government, like those that it followed, have encouraged inflation, thanks to its anti-people policies. Already living in poverty, Pullan has started cutting corners to make the ends meet. “We have reduced spending on food. Instead of eating three meals a day, we eat only twice. Soaring prices of vegetables and pulses have forced us to eating rotis with chilly chutney. I have increased the amount of water in dal preparation. Now we go for broken rice as that is relatively cheap,” she said.

“Thirty six years into our marriage and not even once did my husband buy me a saree. Every time I visit my mother’s place in Bengal, she gives me an year’s stock. Only my eldest son got new clothes. The rest wore his, turn by turn,” she tells. “Kya batlaien humne kese sanjh savere dekhen hai, sukh ke aasan par bathe ghane andhere dekhe hain,” she said in a poetic vein.

She doesn’t have a ration card. Has applied for it but is still to get one. “2009 was really tough. There were times when I spent a whole day on tea, without food. God hasn’t been good to us...” she said.

When asked what she would do if her income suddenly doubled, she said: “I don’t dream of the impossible. But, only if my husband stops drinking…”

What does she expect from the government? “It should not forget the poor masses. They do come up with schemes like NREGS, but faulty implementation ruins everything. The government it seems is looking into the matter; it may come out with a solution. “Roti nahin to kya hau, bhookh he to sabr kar; dilli mein jera bahes ye mudda to he,” she concluded.

Jalandhar, December 24
The Municipal Corporation, along with the sewerage board, is planning to enhance the water treatment capacity of the city by proposing two more sewage treatment plants (STPs) of 25 MLD (millions litres per day) capacity each against the earlier proposed 185 MLD. However, the sad aspect of the story is that just a few days back, the authorities were not even aware of the exact amount of polluted water generated.

All detailed project reports pertaining to sewerage treatment plants were being prepared by assuming that the city generates approximately 160 millions litres of polluted water in a day. The sewerage board was planning to construct sewage water treatment plants with a total capacity to treat 185 millions litres of water per day.

The sewerage board was working on the theory that there were 325 tubewells of the Municipal Corporation and these produce approximately 222 millions litres of water per day. But rigorous calculations left this volume up to net 158 millions litres per day.

However, as per other estimates, the volume of polluted water generated in the municipal limits ranges from 250 to 300 MLD. The existing and purposed projects, with 185 MLD capacity, would not be able to treat this much amount of water. Now after rigorous discussion with the higher officials of other departments, the sewerage board agreed to the real volume of polluted water. 

Though still in the pipeline, the sewerage board has decided to construct two more STPs. One STP will come up at Pholariwal where 100-MLD plant is already functioning and 25 MLD is still under construction. Similarly, in addition to the already proposed STP of 25 MLD capacity, another STP of 25 MLD is proposed to treat polluted water draining in Kala Sanhgian drain. Another STP of the same capacity is already proposed to treat polluted water of Jandu Singha drain. All these drains ultimately drain water in the Chitti Vien.

Except the 100 MLD plant of Pholarowal, which was constructed under the Sutlej action plan, all other plants will be constructed with the funds allocated under sthe Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT).

The Supreme Court made it mandatory that polluted water of cities should not be drained in drains and tributaries which ultimately drain water in rivers and pollute them. 

Jalandhar, December 24
The frustrated party animals of Jalandhar finally have reason to cheer! The city today received a surprising Christmas gift with the launch of the first-of-its-kind Irish Pub of Punjab and the city-Q’s Discotheque and Kitchen at the local Model Town market here.

The discotheque, which salutes the youth culture, is equipped with the unique provision of pumping fresh oxygen to reduce stress, exertion and suffocation on the dance floor. The first Irish Pub flaunts Irish décor with wood paneling inside and highlights the youth culture of “Work for today, plan for tomorrow and party tonight.”

Amid queries and curiosity of the city youth, the discotheque was launched by the country’s only female twin DJ sisters - Shikha and Shipra famous as ‘DJ Spin Twin’ here today. The celebrity sisters were here to rock the dance floor for a Christmas party late in the evening.

“As Punjabis are known for living life king-size, the discotheque would indeed turn out to be a good party hangout for youngsters,” they maintained.

Baljinder Kashyap, the co-owner of the discotheque, said the city youth was forced to go out for parties to places like Chandigarh, but with the opening up of this discotheque, youth can now enjoy a good time. “I have seen parents fuming and worrying for their young children on their long outings and parties in other cities. And our discotheque would fulfill the requirement of both the youngsters and their parents,” he added.

Kashyap also maintained that the discotheque had been planned in such a manner that even girls and the women would feel secure. The discotheque would organise 36 theme parties throughout the year, with celebrity guests every time.

And to ensure that no untoward incident takes place the discotheque would have four bouncers, two security guards and two female Guest Relation Officers for the security of the women during parties. The discotheque would allow entries to couples only with a fee of Rs 1500.

“The discotheque, which also has a pub inside, would remain open till 12 midnight,” he added. The city youth was seen ecstatic and going berserk over the launch of the discotheque which would provide them an ideal nightspot to party hard and shake a leg in the cool ambience.

“The city virtually lacked night life. Although we had been organising dance parties at restaurants, nothing can match shaking a leg at a discotheque has its own charm”, said Harman Singh, a collegiate. 

Jalandhar, December 24
After a move by a section of citizens against the project of modernisation of Burlton Park, residents of inner city have started raising voice against the miserable condition of Company Bagh, which the morning and evening walkers regard as a symbol of city’s natural beauty. Group of nearly 80 citizens today submitted their memorandum to the Mayor of the Municipal Corporation

“It is our belief that being a representative of public, you must be aware about the deteriorating condition of the park and surrounding structures. It will be better if you yourself walk over the lanes of this park and come across the ground realities,” reads the memorandum. Citizens also urged in the memorandum that if the corporation was not equipped to turn the things in a better mode than work for the renovation and betterment of park should be left to the citizens.

Jalandhar, December 24
The winters have set in at last to the delight of shop owners selling winter wear. Nonetheless late, the much-awaited drop in the mercury has raised the vim and vigour of the festival season for traders who are doing a brisk business these days.

“Our sales have gone up by 30 per cent over the past few days. Youngsters have been pouring in, looking for trendy, yet warmer stuff. The upcoming festival is also helping the trade,” said Jeevan Goyal, owner of Angoora Hosiery Centre.

“People have been opting for warmer stuff. Jackets and ladies’ kurtas are doing brisk trade,” added Goyal.

With the sale of woollens starting quite late, the shop owners were apprehensive about the business. There was a time when people used to start shopping by August-end. Sales recorded a steep low, well past into November this year. “But we are happy to see customers thronging the shop now,” said Pankaj Dua, owner, Monte Carlo showroom, Model Town.

Interestingly, another factor which may be helping retail is the influx of NRIs. December is the month for NRIs, who prefer country-made stuff. “We have recorded a 50 per cent hike in the sales this week. Though the recent fall in the temperature is an important reason, inflow of NRIs in December is a significant contributor,” said Prince Kumar of Emm Kay Woollen Store.

To woo customers, many shop owners have resorted to discount sales. “We offer 50 per cent discount on selected winter wear. It helps to draw customers,” said Jatinder Chadha of Fashion Shoppe. However, discount sales of branded wear are still awaited.

Jalandhar, December 24
Though much depends upon the policies drafted by the Central and state governments, the health authorities are ready to strengthen the network and paraphernalia of health centres in rural areas in the coming year. Along with ongoing schemes, the health authorities of the district are planning to implement the National Rural Health Mission in the district in a better way.

The Health Department is leaving no stone unturned to make sure that every pregnancy in the district should be registered with the department under the Janani Suraksha Yojana. According to officials, there is manifold increase in both registration and institutional deliveries in rural areas.

To enhance quality of services in rural areas, nearly seven Community Health Centres have been converted into First Referral Units. Similarly, another 14 health centres have been converted into 24X7 units, where the facility of institutional deliveries is provided in rural areas.

“We are trying our best to appoint Female Medical Officer in each 24X7 units. Similarly, efforts to recruit gynaecologists at each centre are also underway,” said Civil Surgeon 
S.S. Walia.

The health authorities are also planning to set up a HIV testing facility in the Mobile Medical Unit to enhance screening facility in rural areas. “Chances are always there that some cases of AIDS never come get reported due to lack of awareness in rural areas. Once the testing facility will reach villages, more HIV positive cases will come to surface,” said Dr Walia.

To provide immediate treatment to dengue patients, an apheresis machine is all set to be installed in the Blood Bank of the Civil Hospital. With this machine, doctors will be able to extract platelets up to 50,000 from a single donation.

Similarly, the district is also achieving milestones in providing free surgical treatment to schoolchildren for rheumatic heart disease. Till now, 12 students from the district have been referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, for the treatment of the disease.

The health authorities are also planning to come up with a histo-pathological laboratory in the Civil Hospital. If materialised, this laboratory will be helpful in making laboratory diagnosis of diseases like cancer and other serious illnesses.

Jalandhar, December 24
Prices of potato, tomato, peas and wheat flour came down whereas onion and garlic prices went up.

Prices of tomato stood at Rs 15-20 per kg as compared to Rs 30 per kg last week. Similarly, potato prices witnessed a decrease of Rs 3-5. Potato was available at Rs 15 per kg last week. Prices of peas saw a decrease of Rs 10 per kg, which were available at Rs 25 per kg against Rs 35 per kg last week.

Ginger and lemon remained at Rs 60 and Rs 30 per kg as that of last week. On the other hand, price of garlic and onion witnessed increase in prices as compared to last week. Onion remained at Rs 25 per kg against Rs 30 per kg last week. Similarly, prices of garlic witnessed increase of nearly Rs 35-45 per kg. Price of garlic remained around Rs 140 per kg against Rs 90-100 per kg last week.

Prices of sugar remained nearly same as that of last week. Similarly, eggs also remained at Rs 38 per dozen. However, arhar dal witnessed decrease of nearly Rs 10 per kg. Prices of wheat flour also saw decrease of Rs 5 per 10 kg. Wheat flour remained at Rs 170 per 10 kg as compared to Rs 175 per 10 kg last week. 

Phagwara, December 24
The Punjab Government started utising funds for the welfare of minorities only after being repeatedly asked by the National Commission for Minorities to do so, claimed commission member H.S. Hanspaul.

Addressing a news conference at the residence of former minister Joginder Singh Maan today, former PPCC President Hanspaul said the Union Government was planning to constitute the Equal Opportunities Commission to facilitate people of all communities.

He said state-level minority commissions should be set up in every state to solve the problems of the minorities.

Meanwhile, he said maximum complaints regarding minorities have been received from Haryana. Hanspaul also advocated the demand of Sikhs of Haryana to set up a separate Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (HSGPC). He claimed Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had assured him to initiate steps to set up the HSGPC. Hanspaul, however, refused to comment on the setting up a separate “Anand Karaj Act” for Sikhs.

Replying to a question, he admitted that Jammu and Kashmir was not under the purview of the commission while it should be brought under the purview of the Minority Commission to safeguard the interests of the minorities in the valley.

He also took a dig at MPs and MLAs, involved in uproars in Parliament and Assemblies. Hanspaul said there was a need to educate these members for smooth working and saving precious time of the respective houses.

Block Congress Committee President Pawan Sharma Pappi, councillors Sanjeev Bugga and Ram Paul Uppal and PPCC secretary Gurbachan Singh Walia were also present on the occasion. 

Jalandhar, December 24
The Red Cross School for Deaf celebrated Christmas on Wednesday. On this occasion, the students decorated a Christmas tree and presented a cultural programme. The students along with their parents attended the event. The 
students were also given gifts and refreshments by Santa Claus. The participants were honoured by principal of the School, Harvinder Kaur.

The students of CT Kindergarten of CT Public School visited a church in Suranussi today on the occasion of Christmas. The teeny weenies of nursery, LKG and UKG spent time in the company of their teachers at the church listening to the story of the birth of Jesus and his life. The priest asked the children to spread happiness, peace and brotherhood in the world.

The children sang Christmas carols and participated in the prayers.

The local Manav Sehyog School, Shahpur, celebrated Christmas today. A special assembly was held on this occasion with the students singing Christmas carols. A student dressed as Santa Claus distributed gifts to the students.

Christmas was also celebrated at the local KMV School today. The students brought Christmas trees and decorated their classrooms. On this occasion they shared sweets and cards with their friends and teachers.

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Jalandhar, December 24
The Jalandhar branch of State Bank of India today distributed cheques worth Rs 78,000 to as many as 20 girl students from seven government schools of the district, who belonged to BPL families.

SBI Chief Manager Romila Sharma said those girl students who secured above 50 per cent marks were selected for the financial aid. She highlighted that earlier also, 1,300 girl students in the age group of 6 to 14 years from BPL families were adopted under the Girl Child Adoption Scheme under the Chandigarh circle.

In Jalandhar this year as many as 68 girls from 25 government schools were given monetary help of Rs 2.6 lakh. “The financial aid continues till class X”, she added.