Jalandhar, January 19
What to talk of the quality of services delivered under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in a situation when the mission itself is struggling with the chronic shortage of staff. Almost every health centre across the district is facing the grave shortage of staff nurses and auxiliary nursing midwives (ANMs). Staff nurses and ANMs are considered as one of the most important and basic component in the implementation of the mission.

Across the district, 15 health centres had been transferred into 24X7 units, where, as per norms, both professional staff and infrastructure should be available for 24 hours. As per norms of the Indian Public Health Standards, at least three staff nurses should be employed in each of these centres under the NRHM.

Ironically, barring five of these 15 centres, none of these units fulfil this norm. No staff nurse is available to provide services for 24 hours at 24X7 units of Dosanj Kalan and Rurka Kalan. Only one staff nurse is there in PHC, Baloki, Rupewali and Talhan.

“Most of these centres are running without female medical officers. As institutional delivery is the most important component of the NRHM, in the absence of doctors, staff nurses are responsible for safe deliveries. But worrisome is the fact that even the number of staff nurses is not as per requirement. How anybody can imagine safe delivery in an institute where there is no doctor and only one staff nurse?” said an official.

Similarly, eight community health centres were converted into First Referral Units (FRU) where, according to the IPHS norms, five staff nurses are required in each unit. However, only two of these units fulfil this norm.

It is important to mention here that staff nurses posted in PHCs are being given Rs 500 as incentive to conduct and Rs 100 for assistance per delivery. Nurses are also being facilitated with the house rent to the tune of Rs 1,500 per month. In spite of these incentives, there are a few takers for the jobs of staff nurses under the NRHM in these centres.

“Root cause of the problem is the absence of female medical officers (FMOs) in these centres. Nearly seven-eight centres are running without FMOs. Until FMOs don’t join, it is hard to run the centres. We are trying to fill the vacancies of staff nurses, but the major task is to fill the vacant posts of doctor”, said Civil Surgeon Dr S.S. Walia.

Jalandhar, January 19
Here resolutions are made to break and rules formed to forget. Callous disregard for public inconvenience on the part of the Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar (MCJ) and indifference on the part of traffic police sums up the story of chaotic traffic situation in the city.

In 2006, the MC had passed orders banning the parking of scooters and four-wheelers along the tri-junction in front of its office. But the road leading from PNB Chowk to Jyoti Chowk can be seen choke-a-block with haphazardly parked vehicles.

Even though four years have elapsed since the delivery of MCJ orders, there are no concrete efforts visible anywhere. It looks as if the orders were passed only to complete the official formalities and not for implementation.

The MC had constructed a parking zone for the public by encroaching upon the Nehru Garden area, its utilisation has broadly been limited to that by employees of corporation and some banks in the vicinity.

When The Tribune visited the parking area, there were just 15 cars and around 30 scooters parked, most of which belonged to the aforesaid employees, while long queues of vehicles were seen parked along the sides of roads with ‘no parking’ sign-boards hung hidden in some corner. Besides, the vehicles are parked in slapdash manner, chocking the flow of traffic.

The area is famous for big chemist shops, bakeries, roadside eateries and shoe-shops. Rainak Bazaar and Dilkhusha Market with their narrow lanes and heavy vehicular flow have turned into a nightmare for the people.

But, the MCJ and traffic police authorities blame it on the people. They claim that while a parking zone was constructed on built operate and transfer basis in August 2006, the public failed to utilise the facility.

“People here do not abide by the rules unless there is a sword hanging over their heads. These same people will never overrun a traffic signal abroad. They need constant supervision, which is almost impossible…” said a traffic police officer on the condition of anonymity.

But, the people who frequent some of the city’s oldest bazaars present in the area have their own justification. “Who shall pay hefty amounts charged by the parking contractors for some 15-20 minutes? Now, if you want to guzzle a tomato soup and have a quick bite at the adjacent tikki corner, you will no way willingly shell out 25 bucks to the parking contractor and then hassle all the way down to the eatery joint,” said Girish Kumar, a student.

With the residents flouting traffic and parking rules and the city authorities in a sleepy mood, the roads are doomed to face utter chaos.

Jalandhar, January 19
Residents of Satyam Welfare Society, Guru Amar Dass Nagar, are up in arms against the authorities of a private school for use of a public park for carrying out school activities.

President of the society Raman Kumar and members Dr K.L. Yadav, Sat Pal, Subhash Sharma and S. Mehta said the students made too much noise while playing in the park that fell just in front of their houses. “They throw papers and wrappers of eatables and disturb us the whole day,” they have written in a complaint against the authorities of Geetanjali Public School to the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, and Chairman, Jalandhar Improvement Trust.

Since the school is being run on a residential land, the residents who share a common wall with the school have another complaint, “The common wall remains damp as there are taps on the side of the school which keep on running throughout the day.”

“We face much disturbance during the opening and closing of the school since the road gets badly choked unnecessarily hindering our movement,” they said.

School Principal Kiran Verma seemed least bothered, “What if we are using the park? It is a public place. Our students who play here are the children of the same colony. We are hardly using it for half an hour, that too during recess. In return, we have also undertaken cleanliness and maintenance of the park.”

Vinay Bublani, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, said the school authorities had no right to use the public park. “I will go through the written complaint and get it checked,” he said.

Jalandhar, January 19
The glisten and glare of Belgium glass, which hangs down the strings tied to a tree, may attract passengers of a car to a halt. While beautifully crafted chandeliers invite the attention of the passersby, the condition of the purveyors could be called the exact opposite.

They have set up “shops”, along the boundary wall of the BSF complex, at PAP Chowk. Their present abode, a tiny hut of polythene shacks, comprises a few steps which cover the distance towards the railing that separates the BSF ground from the road. These sellers hail from Agra and Rajasthan and have been in Punjab for more than 10 years now.

The prosperous state has not bestowed them with a fortune, except that they are pulling along somehow. “Who cares if we are alive or die of starvation? We came to the city hoping for a decent living, but Jalandhar couldn’t afford to give us a bit of land and food thrice a day,” says 55-year-old Bheem Singh.

Night comes and the goods are slipped into the hut. While half of the family slumbers inside, the rest sleep in the open due to insufficient space. Mosquitoes and flies have become their permanent companions.

“Earlier, we were living in Ludhiana. I sent many letters to government officials demanding a small piece of land, but in vain. They are not bothered about us and if they do, it’s for the worse. I am afraid of the time we will be asked to wind up our things and leave the city,” he adds.

Monsoon brings the worst of time. For four months, there is no respite from malaria and to add to troubles, customers don’t show up either.

The fate of their children is no better. Unable to figure out their future, frustrated youths go the wrong way. “I lost my young son to a social disease (drugs) and have to shell out plenty of the meagre earnings on routine ailments,” rues Bheema.

Their children either never go to school or drop out after the primary level to assist their parents to eke out a living.

Their problems don’t end here. They become victims of the local mafia which extracts money on a weekly basis and the police which threatens to throw them out of the city. Sometimes, corporation officials harass them on the pretext of violating rules and regulations. “Some years back, they took away my craft items worth Rs 2,000,” rues Bheem Singh, hesitatingly.

Jalandhar, January 19
Funds amounting to nearly Rs 64 crore have been approved for projects under the NREGA at a meeting held under the presidentship of Mahla Singh, Chairman of Zial Parishad, Jalandhar. While addressing the meeting, Deputy Commissioner Ajit Singh Pannu said that Rs 9 crore, Rs 6 crore and Rs 4 crore had been approved for Adampur, Nakodar and Nurmahal blocks, respectively. He added that Rs 5 crore and Rs 3 crore had been approved for Phillaur and Rurka Kalan, respectively. He said Rs 2,312 crore for rural connectivity, Rs 1.45 crore for micro irrigation and Rs 20 crore for desilting of ponds were allocated.

Jalandhar, January 19
Keeping in view the regular waiting list, commuters who usually travel by Shatabdi Express (2013/2014) have demanded from Railway Minister Mamta Baneerji to attach three more AC chair car coaches in this train.

Rashtriya Jagriti Manch (RJM) president Rajat Kumar Mohindru, its vice-president Rahul Sharma and general secretary Sanjeev Bansal have said that there are presently 13 AC chair cars coaches and two AC executive chair car coaches and two generator cars-cum-guard room running in the 2013/2014 ShatabdiExpress.

RJM office-bearers demanded that three more AC chair car coaches should be attached with the Shatabdi Express keeping in mind the waiting list of this train. They further stated that a pantry car coach be introduced and attached with

Shatabdi Express train so that travellers may enjoy hygienic food. It is also demanded that the menu of tea and dinner needs revision in public interest and the quality of food be checked once a week.

The RJM president said the time table of Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) and Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trains running on branch lines, especially Jalandhar-Adampur-Hoshiarpur route and Jalandhar-Nakoder, Jalandhar-Ferozepur, Jalandhar-Pathankot sections, should be revised. A committee should be constituted to revise the time table on this route, he added.

Jalandhar, January 19
An HIV awareness and anaemia-detection camp was held at Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1 and 2 at Air Force Station, Adampur on Monday.

As many as 450 girl students from both the schools were examined for anaemia and at the Station Medicare Centre at Air Force Station. Medication was given to anaemic girls who were identified as anaemic. President of AFWWA (L), Air Force Station, Adampur, Baljeet Kaur Arora inaugurated the camp.

An essay-writing competition both in Hindi and English was organised on ‘HIV in armed forces and its prevention’ for the students of class VIII to XII. A drawing competition on ‘causes and mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS’ was also organised. During the camp, lectures on HIV and anaemia awareness were also delivered by Dr. AS Duggal and Dr. Ravinderjeet Kaur of Primary Health Centre, Adampur. During the lecture, Dr. Duggal emphasised on the seriousness of AIDS as a global phenomenon.

Jalandhar, January 19
Nine-year-old Salit Dua has already become a dance master among kids of his age in the city. He has shown his mettle on stage by winning the first prize not just once, but as many as 39 times.

Last month, he brought a bagful of prizes (four) at dance competitions held at BD Arya College, State Public School, Naryal Institute and Jyoti Mall. Salit also is among the final 20 contestants to be selected for auditions being held in Amritsar.

If he makes it to the last round, he would be the lucky one to appear in a dance show to be telecast on a TV channel. He has also made it among the 20 finalists of the 70 competitors vying for the Dancing Star title being organised in Ludhiana.

Salit rocks with music of all sorts. “He began taking training in western music, then started tapping his foot to the latest Bollywood hits, switched over to Salsa music and has of late started performing on Michael Jackson’s numbers. He has recently found passion in practising stunts in his performance,” said his mother Leela Dua.

A homemaker, she tells that she has been running around all the time to see her son perform well - helping him catch up with the dance class by his trainer Vivek Aggarwal, arranging with tailors to get some flashy dresses stitched, going to the market to buy jazzy accessories to go with the dress, designing new props and taking him to various dance shows in and around the city.

It all began when Salit gave his first stage performance. “It was a devotional music at the opening of a show. His performance was commendable but he did not get any prize because a three-piece classical attire which he was wearing went loose and fell off. My son was in tears. Since it was my mistake, I made up my mind that I would make him perform again and get a prize. The urge to help him get more and more prizes has been driving me ahead,” she made her point.

Salit seems to be crazy about dance. Unlike kids of his age who like to watch cartoons, he has other interests. “I watch dance shows very keenly. I also like to watch music videos of Michael Jackson and Hrithik Roshan,” he quipped.

Jalandhar, January 19
Inspired from the successful movie “3 Idiots”, about application of knowledge, the CT Group of Institutions organised a workshop on innovation in teaching skills for its faculty.

Prof Manhar Arora, director, corporate relations and placements, conducted the workshop in which he introduced the innovative techniques of teaching which couldempower students to apply their knowledge gained in the classroom.

Jalandhar, January 19
The district police claims to have arrested two persons for possessing fake currency worth Rs 20,000 from Mangal cinema in the Jalandhar cantonment area.

Acting on a tip-off, the police laid a naka and nabbed Amritsar residents Balwinder Singh of Ranjit Nagar and Hari Singh of Mishra Colony while carrying the fake currency. SP (D) Parambir Singh Parmar revealed that the duo were travelling in a Swift car (PB-46G-6512) when they were rounded up.

The SP said the duo were wanted in a number of cases, including those of murder, snatching and robbery.

Balwinder Singh was also wanted in a murder case of his uncle. A case under section 489 of the IPC has been registered against the two in this regard.