Jalandhar, September 13
Demanding unconditional release of the counterparts arrested yesterday, hundreds of ETT teachers of the district held a protest in front of the Zila Parishad office here today.

The teachers were arrested yesterday when they were trying to organise a protest in front of the residence of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura in Amritsar.

Meanwhile, the teachers have also decided to go on strike for an indefinite period from tomorrow. The decision will affect the academic activities in over 5,752 primary and middle schools across the state, wherein such teachers were deputed by the Panchayati Raj Department.

Addressing a gathering, Beant Singh and Shivraj Singh, district president and state committee member, respectively, of the ETT Teachers Union Punjab, said the struggle would continue until the government conceded to the demands of the teachers. They said the teachers would not join the work until the release of the arrested teachers.

Hoshiarpur: Members of the ETT Teachers Union, including women teachers, of the Hoshiarpur unit closed almost all government elementary schools being governed by the Zila Parishad and Local Bodies Department in the district on Monday and staged a day-long dharna and rally at the local Zila Parishad office in support of their various demands.

Addressing the rally, member of the state executive committee of the union Som Nath said ETT teachers would continue their ongoing agitation till the acceptance of their various demands, including transfer of services of all ETT teachers to the Education Department, taking back the control of elementary schools from Zila Parishads and handing them over to the state Education Department and granting of pay scale of Rs 10300-34800+4200.

General secretary of the union Vikas Sharma said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal had promised the ETT teachers before the last state assembly elections that if the SAD formed the government it would hand over the control of government elementary schools to the state Education Department.

Out of 565 government elementary schools in the district being governed by the Zila Parishad and Local Bodies Deaprtment, 526 were closed due to the agitation.

Nawanshahr: The activists of the district unit of ETT Adhiayapak Union, Punjab, kept the schools falling under the Zila Parishads and Nagar Councils in the district closed.

They held a dharna and rally in front of the office of the Zila Parishad, took out a protest march and burnt an effigy of Panchayati Raj Minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura.

Davinder Kumar Salhan, member, state executive, and Baljinder Singh, district president, of the union, while addressing the rally said the agitation would continue till the acceptance of their demand of bringing their schools under the jurisdiction of the Education Department. Besides, they demanded suspension of the SHO and ASI of Kartarpur police station.

Phagwara: Hundreds of irate ETT teachers, belonging to more than 52 schools, today remained absent from their duties, demonstrated and organised protest march against police atrocities and lathi charge on agitating ETT teachers on Sunday.

Protesters, led by Daljit Singh Saini, sat on a dharna before the office of the Block Development Officer and later burnt an effigy of the Punjab Government near Goal Chowk on the national highway this afternoon. Protests were also organised at Phillaur, Goraya, Apra, Bilga, Noormahal and Nakodar.

Tarn Taran: All the 228 government elementary schools run by the Zila Parishad remained closed today in the district as 650 ETT teachers working in these schools refrained from duty in protest against the arrest of the hundreds of their colleagues yesterday. The teachers also burnt the effigy of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura and staged a dharna in front of the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development). 

Tarn Taran, September 13
The homeless residents of Pakhopura village, 25 kms from here, would be provided 4-marla plots. The decision was taken at a meeting of the District Grievance Redressal Committee here today, presided over by Deputy Commissioner Khushi Ram.

In the meeting, it was also decided to shift back those branches of various banks that were relocated to urban areas during the militancy period. As many as 18 out of 24 complaints were redressed on the spot in the meeting. Representatives of the political parties and the district heads of different departments participated in the meeting. The DC instructed the officials to abide by the decisions taken in the meeting. — OC

Hoshiarpur, September 13
The District Consumer Forum, headed by its president P.D. Goel, has ordered Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (Powercom) to restore the tubewell connection of Iqbal Singh of Kotlu Arayan village in Jalandhar forthwith and to pay litigation expenses of Rs 1,000 within one month.

Iqbal Singh had filed a complaint against Powercom on the ground that his father Kundan Singh had applied for a tubewell connection in his name in 1990. Kundan Singh died on February 13, 2000, and thereafter, he informed the department with regard to the death of his father and also made an application for the release of tubewell connection in his name.

The demand notice was issued in the name of deceased Kundan Singh as such, Iqbal Singh moved an application for allotment of the connection in his name which was accepted by the authorities of the Electricity Department. The authorities of the department asked Iqbal Singh to submit death certificate of Kundan Singh, Fard Jamabandi of the land and NOC of legal heirs.

Iqbal Singh completed the requisite formalities and deposited the amount of Rs 9,480 on July 1, 2004, and Rs 6,400 on January 30, 2007, and thereafter the tubewell connection was released in his name, which he was using regularly and also paying electricity bills for the consumption of electricity. But the authorities had recently disconnected his tubewell connection on frivolous grounds.

The Powercom authorities raised the plea that deceased Kundan Singh’s widow Surinder Kaur made a complaint with regard to the issuance of the tubewell connection in the name of Iqbal Singh without her consent. Three notices on July 24, 2009, August 11, 2009 and April 6, 2010 were issued to Iqbal Singh to submit a no objection certificate of other legal heirs, death certificate of Kundan Singh and Fard Jamabandi of the land. But he failed to submit the documents and as such his tubewell connection was disconnected.

The consumer forum held that Powercom had not produced on record any assurance given by Iqbal Singh with regard to the submission of NOC of other legal heirs, death certificate of Kundan Singh and Fard Jamabandi of the land.

It was held that Powercom had released the tubewell connection in the name of Iqbal Singh after the completion of requisite formalities, ie submission of NOC of other legal heirs, death certificate of Kundan Singh, etc. If the complainant would not have complied with the requisite formalities, the Powercom would not have released the tubewell connection in his name. So Powercom was stopped from raising the plea that the tubewell connection was issued in the name of Iqbal Singh without getting the requisite formalities completed and if, they had released the tubewell connection to the complainant in his name, without getting the requisite formalities completed, even then, they had no right to disconnect the same, as no person could be allowed to take advantage of his own wrong.