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Pendency galore in MC projects
City residents lambast govt
over power tariff hike
Anganwadi worker ‘proves’ her answer sheet was fudged
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Come summers, water woes come to fore
CHIPskates beware!
This NGO wants city to be clean, crime-free
Clocks start ticking after decade
Young World
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Pendency galore in MC projects
Jalandhar, May 10 Most works planned by the ruling SAD-BJP combine are yet to begin on ground. While a few of these projects are awaiting due sanctions at the government level, others have been cancelled for some technical reasons and there are still others which are going on at a snail’s pace. Upgradation of Burlton Park
The much-publicised project regarding the upgradation of the Burlton Park as a sports hub with world-class facilities and setting up of an international cricket stadium is still in the initial planning stage. The MC has taken more than two years just to get a detailed project report (DPR) of the proposal cleared from the government. While the first phase of the project was to be over by this year, the proposal is still awaiting a nod from the MC House as the estimated cost of the project has jumped from Rs 174 crore to Rs 201.59 crore due to delay factor. Solid waste
management
A 100-crore project for solid waste management has been lying pending at the planning stages since the past few years. Some technical glitch in the DPR is said to be the reason for the same. As per the plan, door-to-door collection of the waste and its treatment at a plant near Pholariwal is to be given in private hands. The MC is in the process of inviting tenders all over again. Lanes for cyclists
Yet another much-publicised project related to the construction of dedicated lanes for non-motorised vehicles, which was to be started with funding from the World Bank, has been long withdrawn. The beautification of 70 main roads of the city, including having urban street furniture and infrastructure like footpaths, cycle tracks, parking facility, public utilities, bus base, bus shelters, pedestrian crossings, streetlight, railings and landscaping were the part of the plan. Single window system
The MC has also outlined plans to start single window system for the residents on the ground floor of the new administrative complex, but it has been a total failure as of now. The residents are being forced to walk up to the third floor to pay their bills for water supply, house tax and make payments for tehbazari. Various works, such as getting birth and death certificates and getting the maps of their buildings approved, paying compounding fee of their constructed buildings or getting completion certificates, have to be dealt with through respective departments. GIS system
The MC is far behind its schedule of conducting door-to-door survey of houses and commercial properties and culling detailed information related to house owners, occupants, area covered, water supply and other issues. The project has just started with a survey in Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar. The survey will help the officials reach out to defaulters of house tax and water supply bills. Slum development
It has been more than four years since the scheme was launched with a grant of Rs 42.2 crore approved by Nehru Garden
The project related to development of Nehru Garden at a cost of Rs 3.27 crore has been lying pending for the past more than three years. While the garden had remained dug up for a long time, the project has gathered some pace just recently. Chandan Nagar underbridge
The two projects related to the construction of underbridge at THE Chandan Nagar railway crossing and allotment of land for hand tool cluster at Gadaipur have got delayed just due to the BJP infighting. The public and industrialists are being made to suffer for no fault of theirs. |
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City residents lambast govt
over power tariff hike
Jalandhar, May 10 People who were expecting some sops in the pre-election year were left criticising the ruling SAD-BJP combine as this has led to a hole in their pocket. From daily wagers and labourers to housewives and even those from the affluent families, everybody lambasted the state government’s pro-people policies. Questions are also raised on the benefits of unbundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board and creating the Punjab State Power Corporation and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited. The Tribune spoke to a cross-section of city residents about the steep hike in the power tariff during the past five years. Ashok Kumar, a labourer in a local factory, said the power tariff hike had come as a big blow for them as he had been making both ends meet with great difficulty. “I am earning a meagre amount of Rs 6,000 per month, while my elder daughter takes tuition classes to help me financially. I am baffled over the sudden increase in my domestic expenditure. Earlier, I used to squeeze my expenses to pay Rs 1,200 for electricity bills and now I will have to shell at least Rs 1,800, which is nothing short of a headache,” he said.Sukhwinder Singh, a mechanic in a garage, said the hike in power tariff clearly exposed the tall claims of the state government of working for the common man. “I am surviving on a meagre salary and now at least half of it will just go in paying the electricity bills. We have been using electricity judiciously at home to avoid any heavy electricity bills, but the new tariff has made us helpless,” he added. Even the housewives vent their ire against the hike power tariff and lambasted the state government for its move which had dwindled their monthly budget. “It is peak summers and one cannot manage without the daily support system of refrigerators, fans, coolers and air-conditioners. The SAD-BJP government has made a common man’s existence virtually difficult. I think the common man should raise voice against this else the day is not far when we will end up paying around Rs 10,000 as electricity bills,” said Anita Rampal, a housewife. Meanwhile, the industrialists also criticised the state government’s stand on subsidies. “If the government is not able to pull along the financial mess, why don’t they do away with subsidies? The government had made a mockery of the entire system. Just to secure their vote bank, they introduced subsidies for different sectors, which is taking its toll on the common man,” said an industrialist. Sources in the Punjab State Power Corporation maintained that there had been a rapid decline in the financial status of the Punjab State Electricity Board (prior to its unbundling) after 2006. “The Punjab State Power Corporation is witnessing an extreme financial crunch and given the state of affairs this is further going to increase, which means burden on the common man,” said a retired engineer from the PSEB. Power tariff hike in the last four years
2007-08 4.9 per cent 2008-09 2.6 per cent 2009-10 12.4 per cent 2010-11 7.6 per cent |
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Anganwadi worker ‘proves’ her answer sheet was fudged
Jalandhar, May 10 While the candidate, Nirmal Kaur, from Pandori Nijjran village, appeared for the the examination way back on August 28, 1996, the RTI Act has now come handy helping her prove her stance. During the examination of the original records, she found that the multiple-choice answers in the answer sheet had been marked using a ball pen. “By the order of the office on that day, we had been asked to use a pencil. But the paper shown to me had been attempted using a ball pen, which clearly implied some mala fide intention at the hands of the staff,” she rues. She complains, “Of the nearly 100 answers, a few answers written by me have been changed during the overwriting with the pen. Someone has even tried to copy my writing as it differs at places”. She laments that getting the copies of her answer sheet from the PIO of the Department of Social Security for Women and Child Development has been an ordeal. The applicant claims that it took her two years to retrieve her copy. In an order dated March 28, 2011, State Information Commissioner Jaspal Kaur had told the PIO that Nirmal Kaur was not satisfied with the information supplied to her. “She has alleged that the record has been manipulated by using a ball pen. The PIO is directed to produce original record on April 11,” the order reads. On the next hearing again, the Commissioner wrote, “The appellant has gone through the record and submitted that the title on the paper might have been written by her, but her answer sheet is not original as it has been attempted using a ball pen. She has submitted that this record is not original and therefore it is not maintainable.” An SC candidate, Nirmal Kaur (roll number 1673), said she had earlier on November 30, 2010, even lodged an appeal before the then Director of the department, Kavita Mohan Singh, but to no avail. The officer mentioned that she had scored 76 marks in the test, interview and experience (50+12+14) and could not be selected as the cut-off in the category was 89 marks.
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Come summers, water woes come to fore
Jalandhar, May 10 Meagre water supply, dysfunctional tubewells and contamination of water by sewer leaks - these are common problems and if the complainants are to be believed, they will only intensify as the summers get harsher. Some municipal councillors speak about the water woes in their areas: Rajinder Beri, councillor of Ward 30, says, “There have been problems with the water supply in street numbers 1, 2 and 3 in Central Town. There are constant complaints from the residents in the area. A couple of days ago we also had problems when a pipe burst near a gurdwara here and caused supply of muddy water in many houses. The latter has been fixed now.” Beri said the lack of discipline among tubewell operators was a big cause for problems. “They do not make sure that the tubewell stays on. A person switches it on and if a power cut happens in the midst, the tubewell stays off because no one is supervising it.” Jagdish Raj, councillor of Ward 36, says, “In the Vijay Nagar area, we have been receiving complaints from about 140 houses for the past one week. The diminished pressure in the water supply and the irregular filling of the overhead tank at Vijay Nagar Park have been causing problems. One of the tubewells at Shakti Nagar, too, develops a problem every second day.” Some people from Tej Mohan Nagar have also been complaining of muddy water. Kamlesh Grover, councillor of Ward 49 (in which Tej Mohan Hangar falls) said the problem just got fixed some days ago. Anup Kaur, councillor of Ward 34, says, “As far as my ward is concerned, we have been getting complaints about eight to nine tubewells from people. We just had a problem fixed at Mota Singh Nagar, but complaints keep coming. There has also been trouble with the water supply in the New Colony and Green Park areas.” “One cannot deny that the staff employed for the supervision of tubewells is highly indisciplined. Everything is left to the labourers and many a times glitches go unchecked.” Anup Kaur, however, has a word of advice for the public, “We fail to see that the level of water has gone down and problems are bound to arise. It’s important that people stop using water indiscriminately now.” Municipal Commissioner Vinay Bublani says, “We do keep receiving complaints, but we have issued water supply schedules for the betterment of people and our men are always ready to solve the problems in areas from where we get complaints. We also have special provision to supply water to areas where people complain of bad water.” A.S. Dhaliwal, Superintending Engineer, MC, says, “We have set up offices where people can make complaints regarding their water supply problems to us. Problems also arise when they do not speak to us about their problems. We try to address whatever complaint we get as soon as possible.” “I do agree that a lot many problems are caused by water pumps. The pressure of water in houses very next to those which use them is reduced. But then they are a necessity, so not much can be done,” he says. “As for the areas mentioned, work on setting up tubewells is on in Tej Mohan Nagar and Central Town. Others are coming up at Lajpat Nagar, Mitthapur, Beant Nagar, Makkhan Singh Labhane Nagar, Golden Avenue, Phase II, Tej Mohan Nagar, Lammipura, BSF Colony, Tagore Nagar, Gandhi Camp, Basti Sheikh Adda, Lamma Pind and Saini Colony. Work on half of these is complete, while the rest will be completed by the end of this month.”
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CHIPskates beware!
Now, think twice before helping yourself to a free hotel towel or bathrobe. Three hotels in Honolulu, Miami and New York City have begun using towels, sheets and bathrobes equipped with washable radio frequency identification tags to keep guests from snagging the coveted items.
The chip comes in the wake of petty thefts of luxurious linens, which are gouging the hotel industry to the rude wake-up call of approximately 100 million dollars a year. Linen Technology Tracking has partnered with Fluensee AssetTrack to optimise and oversee the implementation of this linen-tracking initiative. "Our relationship with Fluensee allows us to easily scale our capability to serve the growing needs of our customers," the Discoevery News quoted Executive Vice President at Linen Technology Tracking, William Serbin as saying in a press release. "Through the utilisation of RFID technology we are providing companies with the unique ability to better control their operating costs and investment in assets critical to satisfying the needs of the hotel guests," he added. — ANI |
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This NGO wants city to be clean, crime-free
Jalandhar, May 10 Constituted in the August last year through an initiative of a few young professionals, corporate executives and retired employees, the NGO has organised various drives, seminars and candlelight marches addressing the challenges confronted by the city’s environment. President of the NGO Navneet Kaur, who is a fashion designer, said the idea to constitute such a group was materialised by a group of professionals, who wanted to see Jalandhar in the list of most clean and crime-free cities across the globe. “Most of the founder members of the manch have done their studies in cities, where a lot of NGOs are working in the field of environment and human rights. Actively or passively, we obviously took part in campaigns launched by such NGOs during our student life. Our dream, to provide platform to residents to discus the city-based issues through such an NGO, was an inspiration to us,” said Navneet Kaur. “Every citizen desires to make his or her surroundings clean and peaceful. Citizens are ready to contribute their efforts. However, we feel that there should be somebody who could give a call for a change,” she added. Navneet said the NGO organised candlelight marches and drives in some localities of the city on special occasions. For instance, we organized 2.5 km-long cleanliness drive to clean the city roads after grand celebrations were organised in the city to mark a religious festival, said Navneet. Besides, the NGO also organised week-long seminars-cum-interactive talks in schools to inspire students to become part of its campaign, she added. The other office-bearers of the NGO are B. Walia, vice-president, and Harleen Kaur, general secretary. Luv Kumar Joshi, Mahesh Gupta and G.S. Bal are executive members of the NGO.
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Colleges celebrate Mother’s Day
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, May 10 Students expressed their feelings, love and respect for their mothers and bagged prizes later. Meanwhile, Kanya Maha Vidyalaya (KMV) celebrated Mother’s Day on May 8. Students wrote messages on a notice board for their mothers. The best messages were adjudged and the students were rewarded. Principal of the college Dr Atima Sharma said respect and love for mother was the first step of the child towards being a good and a responsible human being. Students and staff members of the Kamla Nehru College for Women, Phagwara, also celebrated Mother’s Day on May 8. Students of Commerce House participated in various activities organised on the occasion. Students presented a skit highlighting a mother’s contribution to her children and sang songs based on the mother’s affection. Students also made cards with quotations written on them to give their mothers a surprise. Maths Olympiad
The Mathematics Olympiad Foundation, New Delhi, conducted tests in different schools across the country during which students of St Soldier Divine Public School, Model House, got the highest ranks in the country. Students, namely
Karandeep, Alisha, Mansha, Komal, Ansh, Surabhi and Dolsy, got the gold medals.
Ankur, Sahil, Aman, Vishal, Tarun, Tania and Tarandeep won the silver medal and
Smriti, Gurleen, Shivam, Pranshu, Sanju and Amandeep got the bronze medals. Parents’ orientation
The first session of the parents’ orientation programme was held between the mothers of students of classes I-IV and the authorities of Innocent Hearts
school. Dheeraj Banati, Principal, made the parents aware of the new changes introduced in the education and examination system by the CBSE under the
CCE. Investiture ceremony
Delhi Public School witnessed a colourful investiture ceremony at Victoria Garden on Saturday. The proceedings began with a welcome song, followed by a dance performance. Principal Asha Kumar congratulated the newly elected school council and encouraged them to bear the responsibility with poise and dignity and above all
judiciously. Eesha Thakur and Zorawar Minhas were honoured for winning the north zone trophy in the
Inter-DPS North Zone Debate Competition. The Head Boy, Zorawar Singh
Minhas, took the oath on the behalf of his Students’ Council. He was followed by the Head Girl, Tanya
Srivastav, Vice-Head Boy Sehajveer Singh, Vice-Head Girl Mannat Sohi, Sports Captains Arzoo Suman and Tarminder Singh, Cultural Captains Shivam Madan and Kritika
Bajaj. Flower arrangement
An inter-house fresh flower arrangement competition was held on May 7 at Guru Amar Dass Public School, Model Town, to celebrate Mother’s Day. Beautiful flower arrangements were done depicting mother’s love, care and affection and to pay homage to the God’s best creation - The
Mother. Bibi Dani House and Baba Mohri House shared the first position. The second position went to Bibi Bhani House and Baba Mohan House got the third position in the competition. President Atam Parkash Singh and the Principal Harminderjit Kaur Chawla congratulated the winning teams. Tree plantation
Lovely Professional University in association with its NSS wing organised a tree plantation drive on the campus. The programme witnessed participation of students from various schools. Nearly 100 saplings of traditional Indian trees, like
neem, pipal, banyan, palash, mango, kachnar, bel, etc, were planted. The students vowed to take proper care of the saplings. |
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After a gap of more than a decade, the four clocks around the four-sided pillar of Clock Tower in Company Bagh have started ticking and giving a correct time.
Not just that, the clocks have started producing soft music after every hour, which can be heard by passersby and residents of the area.
Even the dials of the clocks have been changed.
Jatinder, manager of the Punjab Press Club, said since the MC officials had refused to provide funds for the repair of the clocks as the building was now in the possession of the club, so they had got it done at their own level from the Golden Watch
Co — TNS
